Miss Bingley Requests: A Pride and Prejudice Regency Variation

by Judy McCrosky

Beyond Pride and Prejudice - Miss Bingley’s quest for marriage

This is the story of Pride and Prejudice from the point of view of Caroline Bingley, who has always believed she will marry Darcy. However, she meets and falls in love with Mr. Tryphon, and becomes torn between what she has always expected her life would be and her desire for Mr. Tryphon.

Genres: Romance, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Adult Fiction, Retellings, Adult

339 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 21, 2016

Reviews

[Elin Eriksen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The premise of this book was something as unique as "Pride and Prejudice" retold from miss Bingley's point of view. Who can resist something new and shiny?
Dead set on marrying Mr Darcy, miss Bingley's equilibrium is thrown off by the handsome Mr Tryphone, a friend of the highly sought after Lady Amesbury.

Caroline Bingley is not one of the most sympathetic persons, although I hesitate to call her outright cruel in this context. She staid fairly true to Austen's character.
The story followed the timeline and events of canon but filled in some blanks of the time periods that are not eloborated in canon.
The new additions was however few, far between and eloborated to an excessive extent.
Reflection-heavyness combined with predictability made this a rather tedious read and I struggled to stay engaged. Although we are served many why's and how's on what happened in canon, it was not enough to hold my attention in the long run.

2.5* rounded up to 3 because it is well written, well edited and do have some interesting points inbetween.

[Kellyn Roth · Rating 2 out of 5]

... eh?

Okay, so, it was just annoying. It was simply Pride & Prejudice from Caroline Bingley's perspective. Only it was boring and didn't really lend a new perspective to her. She has a romance which she then decides not to pursue because of Darcy and then because of common sense ... I'm confused.

What was the point of this book ...? Boring me and showing that there really wasn't anything interesting about Caroline anyway? Humanizing her and then giving her an unhappy ending because we still hate her and yet we don't hate her because we've tried to humanize her?

[J. W. Garrett · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a strange but clean story. It looked like a Pride and Prejudice fan fiction. It sounded like a P&P fan fiction and it read like a JAFF [Jane Austen Fan Fiction]. However, there was just something off with this story. It was like a melody that had a few notes that somehow just didn’t sound right.

Since this story was Caroline’s POV… we were always… always in her head. Scenes had to be manipulated in order for her to overhear, see or find out about those pivotal scenes that we love so well in P&P. Perhaps that was part of it… this OOC [out of character] behavior. There was also a certain familiarity between the two families that we don’t normally see. Darcy would never tolerate Caroline acting like the mistress of his house. Nor would he appreciate her opening a closed door and walking in on his meeting. There certainly wouldn’t be such a familiarity between Georgiana and Caroline. That meant that Caroline, Louisa and Charles knew about Ramsgate and Wickham. That would NEVER happen. Darcy was too private for these people to know his business. I’m sorry. This was so wrong.

In what universe would Charles Bingley call Darcy… Fitzwilliam. And when would Darcy EVER call Bingley’s sister by her given name… Caroline. No… no… and no. And… why on earth were Bingley AND Caroline staying at Darcy House? This was crazy. I wouldn’t trust Caroline in my house for anything. This was just insane… and any invitations arriving at Darcy house included them all. Lawd!!

This Caroline was as dense as mud and didn’t understand half of what she heard and yet she thought she was so smart and understood Darcy completely. Everything Darcy or Bingley said, she filtered through her ‘Caroline’s rose-colored glasses’ filter and it came out completely different from what they intended. Her understanding was that she and Darcy would marry… period. It was a given. To her he seemed very close to proposing and she was simply waiting for him to step up to the mark. OMG! Could she be any more insane? Darcy wanted nothing to do with her and tried at every turn to discourage her. She just smiled and went on thinking that they were completely in agreement with each other. I really grew tired of being in her head. I now have a headache.

Caroline’s friend Lady Amesbury seemed to be pushing Stephen Tryphon toward Caroline. Everywhere Caroline went… she saw Tryphon. What was Lady Amesbury up to? I suspected that Tryphon had alterative motives of his own. This was not only telegraphed loudly but was written in the clouds in huge letters. However, he conducted himself above reproach other than becoming a bit overly friendly and stretching the constraints of propriety with her. My suspicions screamed that he was after her dowry.

The ending felt like when I was a kid and was taking a test and the warning buzzer sounded for the last few minutes left on the test. I would then hurry to finish and mark anything in order to not have any blank answers. That was the way the ending felt. It was rushed… didn’t make any sense and was disappointing. I kept putting this down and would read something else. I always picked it back up as I refused to shelve this as DNF [did-not-finish]. I will admit it was close. I speed read the rest of the book. I had to get to the end so I could see what happened. Once there, I simply threw up my hands in disgust. WTC [what-the-crap]? I didn’t like this version of Caroline nor did I like this story.

I volunteered to read an unedited galley from the publisher via Netgalley. The views expressed are my own. Estimated pub date November 23, 2018

[Kris (My Novelesque Life)]

DNF @8%
2018; Crooked Lane Books

I just could not get into this book. While I like Pride and prejudice it is not my favourite Jane Austen novel. The jury is still out on what I think about retellings, but I cannot help but want to try them. Caroline was the ultimate jealous mean girl, but I was hoping with this novel we would learn more about her (through another writer's lens). I didn't get very far with this book or skim to really gage if this does get better, so check out other reviews!

***I received a complimentary copy of this ebook from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.***

[Jypsy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Miss Bingley Requests presents a unique look at Pride and Prejudice. While Elizabeth got the guy, what did Caroline Bingley get, other than a bad attitude? I basically despise her character, and this story did not change my opinion. I'm glad to read a different version of the classic, but Caroline is too shallow and taciturn to be likeable at all. I didn't enjoy this one as much as I had hoped.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a wee bit possessive about Jane Austen. I often wish her books were my secret, because all the starry-eyed gushing over romance plots and dopey quizzes on facebook telling you which heroine you are most like irritate me beyond belief.

Why would I want to be so selfish? What's wrong with different people enjoying something at their own level and for their own reasons? In general, the answer should be there's nothing wrong with people approaching something in their own unique fashion and evaluating it how they will--EXCEPT, that is, when they're missing out on what makes something extraordinary.

There are thousands of Regency romances. There are thousands of costume dramas (admittedly, there's only one scene where Colin Firth emerges soaking wet out of a fountain). There are many, many stories inspired by Austen's works. But there's only one Austen.

Austen is special because she created the kind of fiction that people have been loving for over 200 years now. We love the romance plots, of course. We also love the characters she brought to life. Even though people dress and occupy themselves differently, those sorts of characters still roam about the world. We all recognize the guy who thinks he's God's gift to humanity; the lonely old lady who wants nothing more than some company every now and then; and the reckless young person who is about to get a taste of reality.

She is special because her writing is elegantly restrained, her observations about human behavior are sharp, and, although she can be critical of people, she reigns her observations in with great sympathy.

Given my snobbishness on this subject, I may not have been the best person to review  Miss Bingley Requests by Judy McCrosky. Except I'm exactly the sort of person who would never pass up an opportunity to read something based on Pride and Prejudice. I am Ms. McCrosky's target audience.

The problem with writing a novel based upon such a famous work is the same problem my friend Ted encountered when he was planning his set list for a musical gig. He suggested creating a special arrangement of Strawberry Fields. His teacher tried to talk him out of it. She said, "It doesn't matter how well you play it. People love the Beatles so much that any other version just won't hold a candle to the original--at least in their minds."

Ted played Strawberry Fields anyway and he did a great job. However, he's not one of the Beatles.

Miss Bingley Requests is a retelling of Pride and Prejudice from Caroline Bingley's point of view. If you will recall, Caroline Bingley is the sister of Mr. Darcy's best friend. She believed that she and Darcy would marry someday because it was the most sensible match imaginable--at least to her. They were connected by friendship and both belonged to the same social class. Much to her confusion, Mr. Darcy doesn't respond to her flirtations and she finds herself dreaming of another man, Mr. Tryphone.

There's a lot to recommend this book to a devoted Austenite. First, the author vividly paints the world we know and love and she ties in some of our favorite scenes from the original. It also contains some funny lines and observations:

"Great ladies are like onions," Caroline said, and then paused for a moment when Lady Amesbury looked puzzled. "So many layers," she hastily added...

Unfortunately, it was impossible for me to sympathize with Caroline Bingley throughout most of the novel. She is headstrong, blind to obvious clues, and snobbish. The moment when I finally felt like she showed some evidence of her humanity was when she was mortified by her brother's chastisement. I held out some hope that she would use that feeling to make some changes and find true happiness, but that wasn't meant to be. Miss Bingley didn't change one bit.

Those are two faults Jane Austen wouldn't have committed in her work. Every one of her heroines learns something and makes changes before the last chapter of the book. Even the character Austen thought would appeal to fewer readers--Emma--was cast in a sympathetic light. Emma is egotistical at first, but through a variety of experiences, she is humbled and learns to appreciate people who she once deemed beneath her.

What's more, for a character who refuses to change, it becomes tedious to read her many expressions of the same sentiments and convictions in the face of ever more convincing evidence that she's deluded. This is compounded by the fact that we already know how everything is going to turn out. I'm sure I'm not the only reader who would become exasperated with her. 

At the risk of sounding like a prude, I will also admit that I did not care for the more blatant treatment of sexual attraction in this book. I like a steamy sex scene as much as most hot-blooded women, but when set in the context of an Austen world view, it feels cheap and silly:

"What is it like, Louisa, between a man and a woman?"

Sexual tension was rife in Austen's books, but it simmered under the surface, it was never spelled out in vulgar fashion. Austen was more concerned with the minds and hearts of her characters, than their bodies.

 I really wanted to like Miss Bingley Requests, and did appreciate certain scenes, but I had to slog through it. Fellow Austenites, I'd save your fits of the vapours for other works.

[Mimi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poor Miss Caroline Bingley.... Although not a loveable character, she does evoke some sympathy in this reader.
That being said, the book seemed to drag for the first two-thirds. Not bad, but not great either.

I received a copy through netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Genres and Journals *Tia* · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pride and Prejudice through the eyes of Caroline Bingley sounded like quite an intriguing concept to me. But unfortunately this novel was boring. Absolutely nothing happened. Caroline had zero personality and zero character growth throughout the course of the novel. It felt like she was just sitting around waiting for Mr Darcy to return which was utterly pathetic.

[Tania · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is Pride and Prejudice, told from Caroline Bingley's perspective, who is, let's face it, one of the least likeable characters in the whole book. In this, she is just as vapid and snobbish, but she is also amazingly stupid. How could she not think that her new friends were up to no good. It is an easy read, but a bit too long for what it is. As a fan of Jane Austen, perhaps I am not the best person for this book. I think the real rating for me is 2.5, but as I gave 'Mansfield Park' 3*, I couldn't bring myself to rate this one on a level with an actual Austen novel.

**Thanks to Netgalley for a review copy**

[Heidi Goehmann · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun read with another vantage point of the beloved Pride and Prejudice. It seemed designed to give attention to the external world with lots of familiar scenes and details in the first half and more on the internal world of the foremost character on the back half. It gave me more compassion for Miss Bingley whole simultaneously leaving me frustrated and irritated with her character, a feat well accomplished.

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun romp through Jane Austen-land from the point of view of Caroline Bingley. Not particularly deep, but it did make me think about how societal systems can twist people's souls...

[Kate Leimer · Rating 3 out of 5]

A shame really as it’s an interesting idea and well written by someone who clearly knows and loves Austin’s original but the characters remain two dimensional and the plot is lacks both insight and research.

An unlikely sub plot is awkwardly slotted into the much-loved Austen novel. Caroline Bingley remains an unsympathetic character, not really developed or made any more interesting

The possibility of such a socially ambitious young woman mixing with a bohemian widow accompanied everywhere by a young single man whose wealth and family have not been thoroughly scrutinised, discussed and dismissed by her peers is as awkwardly unlikely as it is distracting.

The only points of interest are where the plot touches that of Pride and Prejudice but it throws in no particular insight or surprises.

[AnnMarie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Miss Bingley Requests: A Pride and Prejudice Regency Variation by Judy McCrosky is a standalone story which as the title suggests is a retelling of Pride and Prejudice but from Caroline Bingley's perspective.

It is difficult to review this book because on the one hand there are of course many references and scenes used which were in the fabulous Pride and Prejudice. On the other hand, sometimes a better insight into characters isn't always a good thing. I enjoyed the former but didn't enjoy the latter. Even though he is a proud man I love Darcy and seeing how his love for Lizzie developed. In this book, he comes across as an ignorant, childish gossiping man. Caroline and her sister come across as really nasty pieces of work too. I found it very hard to believe that Caroline would fall in lust with another man (Mr Tryphon) when she is supposed to love Darcy so much. She was such an unlikeable character that it started to detract from the Pride and Prejudice story. I think that is the problem with variations of an already perfect story, it's like fan fiction and what the author sees as a good addition to an already perfect story can come across as spoiling a good thing.

I will admit that there were a couple of amusing scenes that I did enjoy, but despite being well written this book was too long and only grabbed my attention when scenes were retold from the original story. It's a shame really as the synopsis of the book sounded quite promising. Perhaps for a person who hasn't seen or read Pride and Prejudice, this would be a far more enjoyable book. There would be no chance of them comparing the original characters to this author's take on them.

[Vicki · Rating 2 out of 5]

Here is my central question of this book: is Miss Bingley naive?

I actually think it’s a really interesting idea, maybe one that the author implies a decent amount throughout the book. But Miss Caroline Bingley never wises up in this story. And I never thought the original Caroline was naive, just self centered and haughty. But maybe she really was naive. Her family had really only recently come into money. Maybe Caroline had ideas about how Society Should Work that weren't based in reality, but just inferred from an imperfect understanding?

McCrosky's Caroline never quite "gets it" in this book, therefore her fate isn't that extraordinary. But I also get the feeling that another installment is coming.

[Andy N · Rating 3 out of 5]

Here is a fun re-telling of the Pride and Prejudice, unlike any of the stories I’ve read so far. The fact that we go through the story in Caroline Bingley’s perspective, is both original and a bit horrifying considering her role in the original novel. The best part is that Judy McCrosky kept the most of the original story with making any major changes to the plot, and that includes Caroline herself.

Presented by Jane Austen, Caroline is nasty, ignorant, arrogant, shallow, and vain. On a more positive note (yes, it’s possible even for her), she also determinate and confident in her values. We through the story in Caroline’s perspective entirely, with means some of the scenes in the original novel had to change so she could be included somehow. While in some scenes I found that her presence would be rather unlikely, in others, it actually makes sense. McCrosky was able to include Caroline in a way that doesn’t feel intrusive to the story. It flows perfectly almost from the beginning to the end.

Caroline is the product of her education and upbringing, she’s well aware that her social class allows her to act the way she does, especially with people she considers to be inferior. In her arrogance, she doesn’t fully listen to conversations, interpreting them and retaining only what she finds interesting. In her conversations with Mr Darcy, it’s clear she hears one thing and responds to something completely different. Also, she interprets Mr Darcy’s actions as interest for his part of marrying her, even though it’s clear for the reader he tries to discourage her advances at every turn. She lives in constant hope, and constant desire and almost need, for him to do so.

However, I feel McCrosky missed the target when it comes to the familiarity between the characters. Caroline’s arrogance and need to be close to Mr Darcy at all time would never extend to the lack of manners. Her interruption of his meetings and her attitude as mistress of the household would be highly unappropriated for a lady at the time, no manner the level of proximity between people. Also, the way the characters address each other is something that was simply not done at the time. The use of the first name is something personal and it happens only in more personal relationships, like when Darcy calls Elizabeth by her first name when she proposes the second time. Darcy would simply not call Caroline by her first name, nor Bingley address Mr Darcy as Fitzwilliam. I understand what the author tried to do, to bring out the familiarity between the two families. But it should have been done through the character’s actions, more than their speeches. The 19th century is known for being its unique mannerisms and those were always in the spotlight, especially among the bourgeoisie.

Overall, it was an interesting read. Hands down to McCrosky for re-telling the story of Pride and Prejudice through the eyes of the villain in a nice way and in a style of writing that matches the historical period and Austen’s style.

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher Accent Press and the author for allowing me to read and review a digital copy of this book.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Pride and Prejudice, and have read many retellings and adaptations of it. This one was reasonably entertaining, but fell a bit flat for me. For me, a retelling should add something new to the story, or give us insights into a character that we did not have before. I did not feel that this book did that. The introduction of the Eleanor/Tryphon storyline was new, but all the parts that mapped back to P&P bored me, because they were just a rehashing of what I already knew. This book focuses on Caroline Bingley, but I didn’t feel that I learned all that much about her that wasn’t implied in the original P&P. I kept waiting to learn more about her as a person and her motivations for behaving the way she does, but I never felt like she had deepened or become more understandable for me. She was basically exactly the way Austen wrote her, which is fine, but I’m not clear on why a whole separate book needs to be written to tell us that.

I was also frustrated by the rewriting of Mr. Darcy’s motivations in separating Bingley and Jane. In P&P, it’s clear that Darcy convinced himself that Jane doesn’t return Bingley’s affections because of his own prejudices, and he doesn’t reconsider his biases and motivations until after Elizabeth rejects his first proposal and says scathing things about him. In this book, his role in that issue is written much more kindly, which I felt went against the whole point of his character’s evolution in the original.

That being said, the book had some sly humor in parts, which I appreciated, and was a quick and mostly enjoyable read, though it dragged at times. I don’t see myself returning to this one or seeking more from this author, but I don’t feel that it was a waste of my time to read it.

Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for providing an ARC for me to review.

[Missy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is a truth universally acknowledged that Miss Caroline Bingley is destined to marry Mr. Fitwilliam Darcy. At least in the minds of Caroline and her sister, Louisa. This Pride and Prejudice story is told from the perspective of Caroline, who is easily one of the most disliked characters of Austen's beloved novel. Caroline doesn't love Mr. Darcy, but believes that she is meant to be his wife. When she meets Mr. Tryphon, she begins to to feel things that she has never experienced. As we move through the story that we all know so well, Caroline must navigate moving toward the future she has always envisioned or following a different path all together.

I am a sucker for anything Pride and Prejudice. Like most people, I am sure, I have a strong dislike for Caroline Bingley. This new take on the classic was entertaining. I really enjoyed how it blends the original story with new characters and a different perspective. Caroline is no less haughty or pompous, but she is a bit more of a sympathetic character. While she believes that she is so accomplished, she is very naive when it comes to her relationships with others in this new tale. McCrosky keeps Caroline true to the original story but adds a depth and humanization to an otherwise extremely unlikable character.

I wouldn't recommend this read to anyone who is unfamiliar with the original Pride and Prejudice, but for those who, like me, cannot get enough of the story, this book would be an entertaining read.

***Thanks to NetGalley for and advanced reader's copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.***

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Judy McCrosky’s Miss Bingley Requests is the telling of Pride & Prejudice from the point of view of Miss Bingley. However, to give an added twist, before Netherfield is let, Miss Bingley happens to read a love poem that Mr. Darcy was reading. After a chance meeting with a Mr. Tryphon, new to London, Miss Bingley is scrambling not to let the meaning of love deter her from her goal of becoming Mrs. Darcy. Throughout it all, the classic Pride & Prejudice is taking place, with our dear couple (Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett) generally none the wiser to Miss Bingley’s turmoil. 

I’m a big fan of Pride & Prejudice variations. It’s fun to see these characters play through different adventures. One of the important things in writing a variation is characterization. Overall, McCrosky seems to have the gist of most characters, especially the Bingley family. While Jane Austen didn’t delve too deeply into these characters, there is a general feeling, an air if you will, to who they are. In structuring a story primarily around Caroline, McCrosky stays true to the generally understood characterizations. There were a few instances, however, when Mr. Darcy did something joking or playful that felt terribly out of character for him, as staid a gentleman as ever Austen wrote. As a fan of the original, I found those moments tended to pull me out of the world McCrosky was rebuilding. 

The rest of this review can be found at Commute Reads.

[Hijinx Abound · Rating 2 out of 5]

**I received an ARC from Netgalley for an honest review**
Although I have not enjoyed Jane Austen's books, I do love her stories. That sounds odd but the language was always too much for me. I was excited to read a book from Miss Bingley's perspective. I was never quite sure what her motivations were in the original story.
I enjoyed several parts of this story:
The characters from a different viewpoint were interesting. Especially how she saw Darcy and his potential. Caroline is a vapid, spoiled child who saw people as either above, equal to, or below her. She did see their value unless they could elevate her some how.
Watching Elizabeth eviscerate others was fun and I enjoyed seeing that others could see Darcy's attraction to her.
The author did a good job writing within the period without wrecking the original story.
Things I didn't enjoy:
The story was too long.
Caroline's childishness got old quickly. Her machinations and relationship with her sister became irritating.
Parts of the story felt unnecessary and bored me.
I could see how someone who really love's all of Austen's writing would enjoy this different perspective but it is not one that I would recommend to those just looking for a good read.

[Rebecca Swayze · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pride and Prejudice is such a classic, it's no wonder there are rewrites of it popping up all the time. Their existence is inevitable, but most of them have a strong reason for being. This one...this one might be an exception. And that's ok. I can't say that I was ever seeking out the perspective of Ms. Bingley. She was odious in the original, and I was happy to see her unhappy. This book teases out exactly why she ends up unhappy and it demonstrates her own ability to perfectly design her own downfall. However, the additional material that departs from the main narrative of Pride and Prejudice is challenging to say the least. There are hints that she is attending parties where people are basically having sex in the corners, and she barely bats an eye at that behavior because "that's what this high society person does and I only care about her." It's never made explicit why Mr. Darcy doesn't like the high society friend, and it only leads to more confusion with the rest of the subplots. Overall, it was fun to watch Ms. Bingley fume over disappointment, but as a reader, I was left a bit disappointed over why I had read this. A fun time, but not particularly meaningful.

[MadRead · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting take on the original Pride & Prejudice story, and as such had much to live up to. I enjoyed the way that the author developed Miss Bingley's character beyond what was included in the original book, and she did well to emulate the world in which the characters were living in. It was however difficult to emphasise with the main character as she was portrayed which is different to Jane Austen's style of writing. The characters limited views and pastimes became a little frustrating towards the end, however this is not a criticism of the writer as it likely depicted the time period well. I recommend Pride and Prejudice lovers read the book as it develops scenes from the original and gives another opportunity to be immersed in and enjoy the lives of the characters, but don't expect lots of new ideas or content as it is more a coverage of the events from the original but seen from Miss Bingley's perspective.

[Jilleebean · Rating 2 out of 5]

For a Pride and Prejudice retelling, told in Caroline Bingley's POV, I had hoped to find something likable in Caroline, but she is just as mean, snobbish, and pretentious as in the original. There is no change in her character from the beginning to the end. Also, Caroline is rather naive and stupid in her belief that she will marry Darcy and in her relationship with Lady Amesbury and Mr. Tryphon.

Two things I found entirely implausible in this retelling:
1. The entire Bingley family knows about what happened between Georgiana Darcy and Wickham.
2. Darcy writes a letter to Bingley to tell him that he proposed to Elizabeth and was refused.
Darcy is much too private of a man to have ever divulged either of these events to Bingley.

Although not a terrible book, it's certainly not one I will ever read again.

[Tammy Buchli · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun Austenation. Didn't make any major changes to canon, being largely a straight retelling of Pride and Prejudice from Caroline Bingley's POV. I was surprised (being a veteran of these types of stories), that the author really made no changes to Caroline's character as presented by Austen. Caroline in this book was just as shallow, vain, nasty & delusional as she has ever been. Kind of comforting, actually. A self-aware and kind Caroline Bingley would sort of shake the foundations of the world, wouldn't it? I did feel the book could have benefited from a bit more editing, there were a few passages that drug on and on. But all in all, a good read, with a satisfying ending.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC copy to review.

[Mary L H · Rating 2 out of 5]

Miss Bingley Requests by Judy McCrosky is Jane Austen's beloved Pride and Prejudice from Caroline Bingley's point of view. While covering all of Austen's plot points and fleshing out Miss Bingley's life, McCrosky does nothing to change the fact that Caroline Bingley is a snide, unlikeable character. I couldn't even feel sympathetic when she finds out the truth about Mr. Tryphon and Lady Amesbury.

Having read Jane Austen's original and many variations and viewed every movie version available, including one from Bollywood, I was open to new takes on the story line. While McCrosky writes well, this didn't cut it for me.

I received a copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this variation we see the events of Pride and Prejudice from the viewpoint of Caroline Bingley. A viewpoint which is delusional as far as her aspirations towards Mr Darcy go. The story also introduced a couple of new characters to add to the tale.
(If you are only interested in the angst between Darcy and Elizabeth then this is not for you.)
I found this an entertaining well-written read and at times felt even sorry for Caroline Bingley. Though I am someone who enjoys reading about the secondary characters of P&P and variations of other Austen works.
A NetGalley Book

[Allison · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had never even heard of this book until I was browsing the new fiction section at my local library and spotted it. I'm always intrigued by Austen variations that are told from the perspective of characters other than the hero/heroine. This book is the P&P story we know told from Caroline Bingley's perspective. It was a well written and intriguing story that kept me interested. The reason I only gave it 3 stars, however, is because I didn't like how it ended. But I won't go into any further details so that I don't spoil it :)

[Kris C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am happy that I read this book because the perspective of Caroline Bingley emphasized to me which personal attributes and virtues I admired and liked in people. Caroline's character in the novel was disgeniune, vain, and discriminates against people in a lower socioeconomic situation than herself. Needless to say, she was not my favourite character. She pretended to be someone else she is not to gain affection from certain characters- and fails. I thought the book was refreshing because unlikeable people rarely narrates the novels that I have read.

[Mrs.Bee.17 · Rating 2 out of 5]

The main character isn’t endearing, she’s judgmental, snarky, and incredibly naive. Seeing the world through her eyes was tedious and the book dragged. The ending was bizarre and left me wondering what the purpose of the book was? it was a long trek through Caroline Bingley’s head then I’m not sure readers gain anything of note by reading it.

On the upside, the language, grammar, and mechanics are all well written.

[Margaret · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting story. It's the tale of Pride and Prejudice told from the point of Caroline Bingley. She has always assumed she will marry Mr Darcy, so the appearance of Jane and Elizabeth Bennet is not welcome.

Even though you still don't like Caroline Bingley, you do develop sympathy for her and understanding of how and why she acts the way she does.

I am almost always interested in anything related to Pride and Prejudice and this was no exception

[Emma · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

I wasn't quite sure what to expect when I started this book, but I was on a Jane Austen kick and needed more. I loved seeing Pride and Prejudice from another lens - Jane and Bingley are the cutest. I had trouble connecting the Caroline from the original book and from the miniseries/movies to the one in this book. I always envision her as ambitious, calculating, and manipulative. Here, she's the one being manipulated and seemingly out of character.