Bitter Mournings

A Pride & Prejudice Variation

By: Linda Gonschior

Narrated by: Richard Auty

The deaths of his wife and sister weighed heavily upon him, and there was little left in life to enjoy…

It is summer's end of 1821 when the ladies of Longbourn learn that Netherfield Park has been let at last, to two wealthy young widowers. The news is elating to Mrs. Bennet, who has never given up hope that her beautiful eldest daughter Jane would one day marry a rich gentleman. For the former Miss Elizabeth Bennet—now Mrs. Matthews—the news is less exciting. A widow herself, she is more interested in caring for her two young children and settling her recently widowed mother into a new home than thoughts of husbands.

Fitzwilliam Darcy harbors no thoughts of acquiring a wife, only entering into the society of Hertfordshire on behalf of his friend. Yet, the more he sees of Mrs. Elizabeth Matthews, the more she draws his eye and the more his dreams of Pemberley becoming a house of warmth and laughter and love prick at his mind.

But a life lived in the shadows of grief has become too comfortable for them both. Falling in love will require both Darcy and Elizabeth to recover their lost hopes, reignite long-forgotten dreams, and regain the courage to give their hearts to one another.

Bitter Mournings is a Pride and Prejudice variation set in England during the Regency Era.

©2022 Linda Gonschior (P)2022 Quills & Quartos Publishing

In Mourning…

Really loved the audiobook narrated by Richard Auty. His Mrs. Bennet was right on the mark, and I loved his performances for Bingley and Darcy. Highly recommend.

Book Review:
The story begins with a prologue at Ramsgate in 1811. Darcy and Colonel Fitzwilliam are discussing Darcy’s future plans following Georgiana’s almost elopement.

Chapter 1 jumps forward ten years later at Longbourn. The residents are in mourning. Mr. Bennet has died, Mr. Collins is soon to arrive to claim his inheritance and, Jane and Elizabeth are trying to find a new home for Mrs. Bennet. Elizabeth is a widow, visiting with two young children and Jane has never married. The other Bennet sisters are married and live a distance from Meryton.

Netherfield Park is let at last, but there are no ladies. Only two widowers, one of whom has two young children—Bingley. Darcy is hopeful that a change in society will help Bingley, who remains grief stricken. A dinner at the Lucases introduces them all and when it is discovered Elizabeth has children, play dates are arranged for them. Of course, the adults will also get to know one another during these visits. Mrs. Bennet is still a matchmaking Mamma, determined to marry off her only spinster daughter, Jane. Wickham is not around to defame Darcy’s name, but someone else is.

I enjoyed the book. There are some very nice moments for the couples as they work through their respective doubts and questions. The dialogue is good and flows well. Bingley, with the years, is more mature and a good father, Darcy is a devoted “Uncle Fizzwilly”! Loved that!

It is a lovely book, nicely written, no angst, with a very different beginning and premise. I enjoyed it very much and recommend it.

Unique story

This story is told later than canon and multiple changes have occurred before its beginning. Both Darcy and Bingley are widowers, Elizabeth is a widow with two children. Bingley has two children from his marriage to Georgiana Darcy. Both deceased wives died in a fire at Pemberley. Darcy has brought Bingley south to get away from the bad memories at Pemberley and to slowly reenter society on a quieter scale than trying to go to London.

Even though the remaining Bennets (Mrs. & Jane,) are in mourning for Mr. Bennet’s passing Mrs. B. is sure the rich single gentleman leasing Netherfield is destined for Jane.
Both gentlemen think they are there for respite. But children need activity and playmates and a natural connection occurs between the two parties with visits for the children’s benefits.

Jane and Elizabeth are rather distracted about getting their mother to choose a new place to live because the Collins’s are going to arrive in a fortnight. All Mrs. B. can think about is catching Mr. Bingley. Non of the previously married people think they’re interested in marrying again.

But when Darcy finds out the housing situation he jumps in and helps the Bennet ladies find the right property. I loved this part.

Of course the right people fall for the right parties and the happy ever after is lovely. It’s poignant and sweet and well written. I liked the audio version better than the written version, myself. I read slowly. With the audio I think it was paced just right and I see myself repeating the pleasure multiple times in the future.

Highly recommended to JAFF lovers.

A lovely story for our dear couple

I enjoyed this story about a mature Darcy and Elizabeth earning their happily-ever-after in a more realistic and less dramatic way. It was refreshing that they both brought some life experience to their relationship, having previously been married to others and losing their spouses, and as a result had already learned to value what matters most in life. The audiobook narrator did a good job creating distinguishable voices for each of the many characters.

Meh

Sad for pretty much the first two thirds of the story. Elizabeth is noting like cannon. Mrs. B’s voice is extremely irritating. This story may be better as a Kindle read, rather than audio.

What if Netherfield wasn’t Let for 10 years!?

Elizabeth had married and was now widowed. Mrs. Bennet is also now recently widowed so they must make way for Mr. Collins.

The story is very good. Not too fond of the female voices, but otherwise the narrator does a fine job.

So So

I had a hard time staying awake - the story was too slow and I did not like the "older" Bennet sisters theme. Darcy was very dull and Elizabeth was not very exciting.