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An Impromptu Bridenapping
Elizabeth's parents have forced her to accept Mr. Collins' proposal. Elizabeth is not the only one who is upset by this arrangement. Will she escape this horrible fate and find answers to misunderstandings in the process?
213 pages, ebook
Published November 7, 2004
12 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
January 11, 2018
This is a farcical story like the ones by Wade H you need to read it with that in mind. It begins with Lizzy about to marry Mr. Collins when her wedding is interrupted by a man declaring his love for her and whisking her off on his stallion. Yes it is no one other than Mr. 'Stick in his arse' Darcy.
From this point on things that happen are either highly improbable or just completely absurd. Darcy takes Lizzy to Scotland where they run into a friend of his father who subsequently needs a governess when Lizzy is seeking a position and they all end up in a giant estate owned by Darcy. here Lizzy's charges are two older girls who were raised in America and they half brother. Everything is mostly serendipitous and Darcy and Lizzy are chomping at the bit to wed but of course obstacles pop up over and over. Even after the wedding a conspiracy of dunces are still desperate to over throw their plans.
It does get rather ridiculous from time to time. And while I don't deduct for spelling errors and typos in unpublished works this story is chock full of them to the point of distraction. Altar is constantly spelled alter and aisle as isle and so on and so on.
From this point on things that happen are either highly improbable or just completely absurd. Darcy takes Lizzy to Scotland where they run into a friend of his father who subsequently needs a governess when Lizzy is seeking a position and they all end up in a giant estate owned by Darcy. here Lizzy's charges are two older girls who were raised in America and they half brother. Everything is mostly serendipitous and Darcy and Lizzy are chomping at the bit to wed but of course obstacles pop up over and over. Even after the wedding a conspiracy of dunces are still desperate to over throw their plans.
It does get rather ridiculous from time to time. And while I don't deduct for spelling errors and typos in unpublished works this story is chock full of them to the point of distraction. Altar is constantly spelled alter and aisle as isle and so on and so on.
May 26, 2017
3.5 rounded up to 4 stars
The first half of this book held more charm for me than did the second half which seemed to drag and have loose ends with implausible events.
The highlight occurs immediately as Elizabeth stands in church next to that greasy toad, Mr. Collins, and when the parson reaches the part in which he asks if anyone knows of any reason why this couple should not be united Darcy objects, states that he loves her and carries her out of church to his waiting steed and hues off to Scotland.
Elizabeth is very happy to have been rescued as both parents made her a prisoner and forced this unholy union on her...but she is frank in her opinions to Darcy (remember her rebuttals at Hunsford?) and so, Darcy is determined to win her love over the next several days as they continue to his estate in Scotland. Much discussion about past impressions and, of course, his insult and habit of staring are brought to the fore.
Darcy finds that using the alias of "Dread Pirate Darcy" gains him some of that teasing he so loves from Elizabeth and then she finds the counterpart of "Dread Pirate Queen" helps to bring about what they both want. So he has her love BUT reaching that end has complications with acquaintances and their needs, delays in bringing together another couple, etc. A wedding occurs. But then we read of the arrival of Lady Catherine, the jilted bridegroom and that lady claiming Mr. Darcy is her intended.
Now the story becomes all tangled up as there are plots, forgeries, bribes, attempted seductions, annulments, guns, blackmail and Mrs. Bennet bewailing her family's fate and ruin. There is, in addition, a side romance between two Americans who are now living in England. We also have the Jones family with two sisters, one of whom reminds us of Lydia Bennet. George Wickham lurks around and finds himself in a noose of sorts at the end of this story.
Like I said the beginning was charming but some parts seems extraneous and only adding to the length of the story. We never did find out what happened to a certain document...I kept waiting to find it turning up and being used for a further foil to ODC's happiness.
This story is only 120 pages long so does not take long to read.
The first half of this book held more charm for me than did the second half which seemed to drag and have loose ends with implausible events.
The highlight occurs immediately as Elizabeth stands in church next to that greasy toad, Mr. Collins, and when the parson reaches the part in which he asks if anyone knows of any reason why this couple should not be united Darcy objects, states that he loves her and carries her out of church to his waiting steed and hues off to Scotland.
Elizabeth is very happy to have been rescued as both parents made her a prisoner and forced this unholy union on her...but she is frank in her opinions to Darcy (remember her rebuttals at Hunsford?) and so, Darcy is determined to win her love over the next several days as they continue to his estate in Scotland. Much discussion about past impressions and, of course, his insult and habit of staring are brought to the fore.
Darcy finds that using the alias of "Dread Pirate Darcy" gains him some of that teasing he so loves from Elizabeth and then she finds the counterpart of "Dread Pirate Queen" helps to bring about what they both want. So he has her love BUT reaching that end has complications with acquaintances and their needs, delays in bringing together another couple, etc. A wedding occurs. But then we read of the arrival of Lady Catherine, the jilted bridegroom and that lady claiming Mr. Darcy is her intended.
Now the story becomes all tangled up as there are plots, forgeries, bribes, attempted seductions, annulments, guns, blackmail and Mrs. Bennet bewailing her family's fate and ruin. There is, in addition, a side romance between two Americans who are now living in England. We also have the Jones family with two sisters, one of whom reminds us of Lydia Bennet. George Wickham lurks around and finds himself in a noose of sorts at the end of this story.
Like I said the beginning was charming but some parts seems extraneous and only adding to the length of the story. We never did find out what happened to a certain document...I kept waiting to find it turning up and being used for a further foil to ODC's happiness.
This story is only 120 pages long so does not take long to read.
September 18, 2017
2.5 rounded up to 3 stars
This starts out well, but the charm gradually wears away. By the end of the story, it's just too ridiculous for me.
The beginning premise really is delightful. As suggested in the title, the very first scene describes the wedding of Elizabeth Bennet to the odious Mr. Collins, which is unexpectedly interrupted by Mr. Darcy. He surprises himself as much as he does his captive lady. He knew he was attracted to her and hated to see her marry such a doofus, but loudly objecting in the middle of the marriage ceremony and absconding with the bride is not premeditated; it is a compulsive action of the moment. He hoists Elizabeth up on his horse before anyone else can react, mounts up behind her, gallops away from the church, and the best part of the book is over.
Naturally, Elizabeth is happy to be rescued from this forced marriage, but she doesn't know what to think of Mr. Darcy, who she believed disliked her. They travel chastely together toward Scotland, where he hopes to marry her over the anvil and she hopes to become a governess. Mr. Darcy does all he can to show her his true character, which he believes was set free when he fell in love with her, and get her agreement to be his wife. Now he's the "Dread Pirate Darcy," which is a theme that runs throughout the book. It's cute for a while, but it's overused. The reasons for postponing the eventual marriage after she finally does agree also seem flimsy.
The Jones family shows up in the story. Mr. Jones is a good friend of Mr. Darcy's and, conveniently, needs a companion/governess for his two teenage daughters, Elaina and Rene, and his young son, Hinton. This introduces a completely new storyline that operates more or less independently from the other. Elaina is in love with Mr. Jonathan Richards, a young man who aspires to be a writer but has not found success yet in his literary attempts. Elizabeth manages to get him to come to Scotland, and Darcy hires him as a personal secretary. Rene, the younger sister, can be a brat but generally has her heart in the right place.
By the time Mr. Bennet, Lady Catherine, Caroline Bingley and Wickham all get to this same corner of the world, any pretense of believability has gone out the window. Lady C. and Caroline Bingley crawling through a window to break into a house? Rene (briefly called "Josephine" for a few confusing pages) acting as bait for Mr. Wickham? Really? C'mon!!!
The writing is as good as one expects from an unpublished work, with smatterings of grammar and spelling errors, but generally it flows well enough (despite Rene/Josephine and Elaina/Ella). There's no buildup to a defined turning point, though, with all the various plots and subplots swirling around. As I've explained, the story just went way over the top into jump-the-shark territory by the end.
This starts out well, but the charm gradually wears away. By the end of the story, it's just too ridiculous for me.
The beginning premise really is delightful. As suggested in the title, the very first scene describes the wedding of Elizabeth Bennet to the odious Mr. Collins, which is unexpectedly interrupted by Mr. Darcy. He surprises himself as much as he does his captive lady. He knew he was attracted to her and hated to see her marry such a doofus, but loudly objecting in the middle of the marriage ceremony and absconding with the bride is not premeditated; it is a compulsive action of the moment. He hoists Elizabeth up on his horse before anyone else can react, mounts up behind her, gallops away from the church, and the best part of the book is over.
Naturally, Elizabeth is happy to be rescued from this forced marriage, but she doesn't know what to think of Mr. Darcy, who she believed disliked her. They travel chastely together toward Scotland, where he hopes to marry her over the anvil and she hopes to become a governess. Mr. Darcy does all he can to show her his true character, which he believes was set free when he fell in love with her, and get her agreement to be his wife. Now he's the "Dread Pirate Darcy," which is a theme that runs throughout the book. It's cute for a while, but it's overused. The reasons for postponing the eventual marriage after she finally does agree also seem flimsy.
The Jones family shows up in the story. Mr. Jones is a good friend of Mr. Darcy's and, conveniently, needs a companion/governess for his two teenage daughters, Elaina and Rene, and his young son, Hinton. This introduces a completely new storyline that operates more or less independently from the other. Elaina is in love with Mr. Jonathan Richards, a young man who aspires to be a writer but has not found success yet in his literary attempts. Elizabeth manages to get him to come to Scotland, and Darcy hires him as a personal secretary. Rene, the younger sister, can be a brat but generally has her heart in the right place.
By the time Mr. Bennet, Lady Catherine, Caroline Bingley and Wickham all get to this same corner of the world, any pretense of believability has gone out the window. Lady C. and Caroline Bingley crawling through a window to break into a house? Rene (briefly called "Josephine" for a few confusing pages) acting as bait for Mr. Wickham? Really? C'mon!!!
The writing is as good as one expects from an unpublished work, with smatterings of grammar and spelling errors, but generally it flows well enough (despite Rene/Josephine and Elaina/Ella). There's no buildup to a defined turning point, though, with all the various plots and subplots swirling around. As I've explained, the story just went way over the top into jump-the-shark territory by the end.
May 29, 2017
This is a completely out of canon Pride and Prejudice variation and it was so much fun. Darcy rescues Elizabeth from a forced wedding to Collins and takes her to Scotland. He must convince her to marry him as he discovers a his playful pirate side. There is also a family with two American daughters with some different ideas. There is a lot of over the top schemes and planning to thwart the "bad guys". Throw in Lady Catherine, Wickham, Caroline Bingley, and Collins and this book reads more like an action adventure. The second half was a bit disjointed and The worst part was that it seemed to just end.
It is an unpublished work with so it needs some help, but I found it to be very enjoyable.
It is an unpublished work with so it needs some help, but I found it to be very enjoyable.
May 26, 2017
This is an awesome story line. It just needs some editing and in my mind some more romance (Steam, what's there is just flat) between Darcy and Elizabeth (especially after they "marry.") Honestly, I did get a little frustrated by how much they kept putting off the wedding. At some point the angst was not believable. Also, I felt like the ending did not really wrap up all of the story lines. I think this plot in the hands of a more seasoned story teller could have been amazing. I was willing to overlook historical inaccuracies such as getting licenses/priests to perform marriages in England quickly.
But, despite these flaws I thoroughly enjoyed the read. Who doesn't want Darcy to just barge into a church and steal Elizabeth away. I love the Dread Pirate Darcy! BRAVO!
But, despite these flaws I thoroughly enjoyed the read. Who doesn't want Darcy to just barge into a church and steal Elizabeth away. I love the Dread Pirate Darcy! BRAVO!
July 26, 2017
Interesting premise but was in great need of editing. I really thought a shorter novella would be better ending after the wedding finally occurred. After that there was just too much going on and dragged out the whole thing. I allowed myself to believe that Darcy might behave so uncharacteristically but I couldn't believe that his aunt would do things that would be so scandalous. And actually, I couldn't believe that Mr. Bennett would force a marriage with Mr. Collins. Without that part none of the rest of the story works. The author gives a reason behind it but it just didn't ring true to me.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews