Pride & Prejudice fanfic rec list (3 of 3)
Regency-Era stories, continued:
Story: Resolution and Reactionhttp://austen.com/derby/old_2006/sandy3.htm
Word count: 22,800
Author: Sandy W
Summary: After leaving Hertfordshire and after his confrontation with his sisters, Bingley takes some time for reflection and makes some observations of his own.
Gioia’s Rec: When Bingley shows a bit more backbone and insist on returning to Hertfordshire after the ball, Darcy quickly learns how wrong he was and goes with Bingley to make amends. This is a lovely, fluffy ficlet, albeit with a rather rushed resolution. Still, It’s a great feel-good story; romantic, sweet, and very well-written.
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Story: Rumour Has It
http://austen.com/derby/old_2007/annl.htm
Word count: 10,400
Author: Ann L
Summary: What if Mrs. Philips had gotten it wrong? What if the rumour of Darcy's worth had been seriously underestimated?
Gioia’s Rec: This amusing story has long stayed with me, not just for its wit, but for the way it realistically addressed the consequences of such a mix-up. My Only Critique: It is only 10,000 words! It entertained me so well, I wish it had been much longer. But I will concede that it is perfectly concise, with a well-defined beginning, middle and end. So my wishes would probably ruin it.
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Story: The Second Sister
http://meryton.com/aha/index.php?showtopic=184
Word count: 80,500
Rating: Mature
Author: Lucrezia
Summary: In 1794, two little girls disappear in the midst of a horrific event. The re-emergence of one of the girls some eighteen years later brings happiness to many but will drive a few to acts of desperation.
The young woman raised as Elizabeth Bennet for eighteen years is not whom she believes herself to be. A story of murder, betrayal and reconciliation.
Gioia’s Rec: This is another of my guilty-pleasure fics in which Elizabeth Bennet is actually a kidnapped heiress related to Darcy. The story bears almost no relation to P&P, but it’s entertaining nonetheless. It’s not as well written as “Connections,” mostly because it drags in spots, not because of any major technical problems. But overall it contains a far more mysterious and dramatic plot than any of the other fics in this sub-genre. I can’t figure out why there’s a mature Rating, though, as nothing “steamy” occurred.
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Story: Seeds of Doubt
http://austen.com/derby/old_2001/sharni5.htm
Word count: 35,000
Author: Sharni
Summary: Elizabeth begins to question her easy acceptance of Wickham's representation of the Darcys, when Georgiana accompanies her brother on the Easter visit to Rosings and proves rather different to expectations.
Gioia’s Rec: I’ve read this multiple times. It’s fluffy, light, perceptive, and features a much more rapid resolution without sacrificing the character-development that came from the failed proposal in canon.
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Story: Shyness and Sincerity
http://austen.com/derby/old_2002/sofie.htm
Word count: 68,000
Author: Sofie
Summary: Elizabeth overhears Mr. Darcy's comments to Mr. Bingley at the Meryton Assembly, but is determined not to make a hasty judgment of the man. By the time the night is done, she comes to believe that he is not haughty, but is shy.
Gioia’s Rec: I’ve read this 2 or 3 times. It’s not that memorable, though it is well-written. It’s rather angsty by my standards, since Elizabeth and Darcy fall in love with each other early on but neither suspects the other’s feelings, so the story takes just as long to finish as in canon as a result. Happy ending, though.
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Story: Silk and Ivory
http://meryton.com/aha/index.php?showtopic=5307
Word count: 22,800
Author: janez2218
Summary: Unexpected rain forces the Gardiner party to stay overnight at Pemberley, which brings Elizabeth and Darcy's unresolved emotions to the forefront.
Gioia’s Rec: So very good! I liked the drama, fluff, and tiny bit of dramatic-angst. It was a completely AU scenario, but so fun and exciting to watch it unfold. Ultimately, a very sweet tale.
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Story: Sins of the Fathers
http://austen.com/derby/janh4.htm
Word count: 103,000
Author: Jan H
Summary: Elizabeth learns the shocking news that if she engages herself to Mr. Darcy, it would be a sin against heaven itself.
Gioia’s Rec: You angst nuts will LOVE this story. It’s definitely one of the best JA stories I’ve encountered. Absolutely gripping and heart-wrenching. I loved it.
My Only Critique: Lots of angst.
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Story: Sirius' Intentions
http://meryton.com/aha/index.php?showtopic=1164
Word count: 81,600
Author: Debra Anne
Summary: Darcy and Elizabeth are helped along by her dog and perhaps another non-canon character or two.
Gioia’s Rec: This was a fun what-if scenario in which the plot of P&P is resolved much quicker when Darcy and Elizabeth discover their mutual love of dogs. The story is fairly well written, though it contains some fanon (vs. canon) details, and the basic plot was quite fun.
My Only Critique: OOC behavior in spots.
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Story: Speak Not Against the Sun
http://meryton.com/aha/index.php?showtopic=5996
Word count: 76,200
Rating: All
Author: 4GiveMeJane
Summary: Not being able to breath the air at Longbourn after Collins’ long-winded and presumptuous proposal, Elizabeth heads for the woods where she runs as fast and as far as she can. Not being able to watch his friend Bingley mope while tying up loose ends at Netherfield, Darcy goes for a last ride before the entire party departs for London. Their individual escapes collide, and neither Elizabeth nor Darcy can escape the consequences.
Gioia’s Rec: Wow, was this ever good. It wasn’t the rapid acceleration of events that I initially expected, but neither was it the vapid rehashing of fanon I anticipated. This story had real depth and fantastic characterizations. It was interesting how the author took the characters on such a vastly different journey from such a firmly entrenched kick-off point in canon and yet managed to achieve fantastic character growth in spite of skipping Jane Austen’s intended journey.
My Only Critique: : This isn’t fluff. It’s a very character-driven piece with a vastly different plot and as a result there is definite angst here. However, it’s not as gut-wrenching as it would’ve been in the hands of a less talented author. There’s a purpose to everything here and the angst isn’t drawn own.
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Story: Summer at Pemberley
http://austen.com/derby/old_2005/lucy6.htm
Word count: 85,000
Rating: All
Author: Lucy
Summary: An influx of house guests disturbs Darcy's wish to be alone with his wife, and one guest appears disturbingly interested in Georgiana. Elizabeth convinces him to attempt reconciliation with Lady Catherine.
Gioia’s Rec: I very much enjoyed this fic depicting the first year of marriage for Darcy and Elizabeth. The matters only referenced briefly in the book’s last chapter, such as the reconciliation with Lady Catherine, are explored more fully here. The story is very well-written.
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Story: Three Dances and an Engagement
http://austen.com/derby/old_2002/marks9.htm
Word count: 13,300
Author: Marks
Summary: Mr. Darcy tries to convince Elizabeth that there are times when his interference in the matrimonial affairs of others is well justified and for the best.
Gioia’s Rec: This was funny and very entertaining. Rather AU, but very enjoyable nonetheless.
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Story: To Be Mistress of Pemberley Might Be Something
http://www.austen.com/derby/old_2008/brenna.htm
Word count: 1,300
Rating: All
Author: Brenna
Summary: After seeing Mrs. Darcy hard at work, Caroline Bingley decides she's better off single.
Gioia’s Rec: I like how much is crammed into this tiny story. The Bennet family snow games are awesome, particularly Georgiana’s participation in them. This story gives us an excellent glimpse at why Elizabeth loves her family so much. Caroline’s set down is just the icing on top of this already marvelous tale.
My Only Critique: I’m stretching here for anything I could possibly critique. Possibly Elizabeth’s use of the word “career” in relation to her role is a bit too modern of a term?
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Story: Twelve Days In August
http://meryton.com/aha/index.php?showtopic=3845
Word count: 166,000
Rating: Mature
Author: dominiquesdh
Summary: We read the year 1801. August the 1st, French troops came ashore in Brighton. Nobody could stop them and five days later the news are reaching Pemberley while Geoffroy d'Arcy, French commander in chief, meets Jane in Rosings. Not without consequences.
Sequel centered on Jane (free variation based on Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. This fanfic takes its liberty with P&P at book III chapter II).
Gioia’s Rec: This was an iffy rec for me. The French author’s patriotic perspective on that era is an amusing contrast to the very British mindset of P&P and the JA Fandom. The story features Jane as the protagonist and goes AU about the time Elizabeth is visiting in Lambton. Overall, I thought the story was good fun, if only vaguely related to canon.
My Only Critique: This is the English translation of a French fic based on the French translation of Austen’s 200-year-old English book, so there are understandably some very obvious technical faults in the writing which seem to be a result of the translation process. I’ll admit that it isn’t easy to ignore all the mistakes, such as the awkward sentence structure, inclusion of modern slang or references to carriages as “chariots.” There are also some clear examples of OOC behavior here, particularly in Jane who is written as if she’s channeling Lizzy. In the end, though, I found the fic amusing enough that I could excuse those issues. I tend to judge crack!fic very lightly due to its tongue-in-cheek nature, and I found the story to be extremely entertaining crack!fic which excused a lot. I also have enough experience with translations to forgive quite a bit there, too. This is a great example of a story that would benefit from a professional translator and editor, though.
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Story: An Unknown Quantity of A Girl
http://austen.com/derby/old_2003/lucy5.htm
Word count: 26,200
Rating: All
Author: Lucy
Summary: Darcy marries Elizabeth against his family's wishes, but Colonel Fitzwilliam is determined to support his cousin, while Darcy is confident that Elizabeth will, with time, win their esteem.
Gioia’s Rec: This post-canon story presents an extremely in-character view of how Elizabeth might have been received by Darcy’s relatives and London society. It’s told from Col. Fitzwilliam’s POV and is very perceptive and detailed in his insights as he observes Elizabeth, Darcy and those around them. I genuinely adore this story and consider it a benchmark when it comes to writing for the JA fandom.
My Only Critique: I wish there were more!
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Story: Wait Until...
http://meryton.com/aha/index.php?showtopic=966
Word count: 48,000
Author: Lynne R
Summary: When Darcy finds Lizzy crying over the thought of her sister being lost because of her elopement, he decides to offer his help.
Gioia’s Rec: Another story I would describe as sweet and largely fluffy. This is also another in which there is a prior relationship between the Bennet and Fitzwilliam families which Darcy and Elizabeth are unaware of.
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Story: When Least Expected
http://austen.com/derby/old_2003/lucy2.htm
Word count: 9,500
Rating: All
Author: Lucy
Summary: Though he gave his consent to Mr. Darcy, Mr. Bennet still has reservations about his new son-in-law. With a desire to understand the man better, Mr. Bennet heads towards Pemberley.
Gioia’s Rec: I really liked this story. It’s one of my favorites. Five months after the wedding, Mr. Bennet learns to better understand Mr. Darcy by visiting Pemberly. His reflections and observations make this a very happy story. I love all of this author’s stories.
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Story: White Lies and Other Half Truths
http://scotch-and-sirens.waw.pl/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=478
Word count: 87,000
Author: Barbara A
Summary: A light, fun look at the consequences of a little white lie. There are also many white lies and half-truths told by the rest of the characters in the story and you will learn about what happens as a result of each. It is low angst, high on humour and yes, HMS!! It is a classic Darcy and Elizabeth pairing, but it is not a typical canon story!!!
Gioia’s Rec: This is one of the smuttiest P&P fics I’ve encountered. Be prepared to giggle quite a bit as you read. The premise of the story - that they get together following the Netherfield ball - has little to do with the title and even less to do with the story in the end. Mostly, the story is a big excuse for lots and lots of well-written smut. There is notable OOC behavior and changed background to the canon tale, most specifically in creating a relationship between the Darcy & Bennet families of which Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth were unaware. This is a published P&P story.
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Modern-Era or Non-Regency Stories
Story: Flight of Fancy
http://www.austen.com/derby/oldf/sharni3.htm
Word count: 17,800
Rating: All
Author: Sharni
Summary: William Darcy believes that the airlines intentionally seat him next to annoying people, until he is seated next to a lovely young lady.
Gioia’s Rec: I liked this! I was looking for well-written fluff with snappy characters and I definitely found it in this fic. Caroline Bingley is nicely done, too!
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Story: Perfect Fit
http://meryton.com/aha/index.php?showtopic=3814
Word count: 185,400
Rating: Mature
Author: Linda (booknut)
Summary: Darcy stumbles upon Elizabeth at his cousin Anne's wedding, ruining her shoe but charming her heart.
Gioia’s Rec: The first “modern” adaptation I’ve read. I stepped outside my comfort zone with this one because I liked the author’s regency fics, and the description on this sounded relatively angst-free. I liked how the author applied a modern adaptation. The culture-shock issues that Elizabeth faced were nicely chosen modern alternatives to what is seen in regency fics.
My Only Critique: Some of the other character pairings were a bit hard for me to swallow, not because they didn’t work for her characters, but because it was hard for me to picture the canon characters (albeit modernized versions of them) in those situations. I had a hard time liking Anne after the scene at the beach house, too. I hated that scene.
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Story: Silver Dust
http://ellen3.mrsdarcy.com/
Word count: 77,700
Rating: Mature
Author: Ellen G
Summary: The milieu of this story will be familiar to anyone who has ever seen the old American TV show "Bonanza." Gold Hill was the lesser sister to Virginia City, Nevada, where much of the show's "in-town" action took place. A saloon in that show was named the Silver Dollar. Pemberley is meant to be roughly the size of Ben Cartwright's Ponderosa ranch, described on Wikipedia.org as being 1,000 sq. miles - over six hundred thousand acres, or over 2,000 sq. kilometers. So think of Darcy as Ben Cartwright...only younger and much, much better looking. I am indebted to the fascinating book Saloons of the Old West by Richard Erdoes for many of the particulars that will appear in this story.
Gioia’s Rec: This was an interesting, well-written story. It’s not Regency era; it’s set in the 1870s in Nevada with most of the canon characters in similar roles. Elizabeth is absolutely great in this story. I love her Levi’s-wearing, gun-toting characterization. The adaptation of the Regency-era characters to the culture of the Old West was well done, too.
My Only Critique: The aggressive sexuality displayed by Darcy (and, occasionally, Elizabeth) is a real issue for me. In addition, the extent of his forgiveness of one of the minor characters after the Lydia/Wickham debacle is not only OOC for Darcy, it’s absurdly stupid. Finally, while I can’t comment much about the accuracy of Nevada culture in that era, I can say without a doubt that the easy welcome of lascivious behavior would not have been acceptable for a young lady in Texas during that time period.
I’ll admit that these critiques made this an iffy rec for me, but in the end I’m listing it among my recs because it really is fairly well written and I had fun reading it.
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Story: Up From the Ashes
http://austen.com/derby/old_2005/sofie9.htm
Word count: 81,400
Rating: All
Author: Sofie
Summary: Elana Barnes needs to rebuild a greenhouse business that has fallen into disrepair so that she can start a new life for herself and her young son. Darien Stewart, owner of the neighbouring equestrian centre, is less than welcoming. He has wanted to buy her property for years, if only to rid the neighbourhood of the blight it is to the landscape. He is very insulting upon their first meeting but later finds himself irresistibly attracted, against his better judgement.
Gioia’s Rec: Great writing, interesting characters, and a believable story. I stayed up absurdly late (or early) reading this one night/morning.
My Only Critique: I felt that the way in which the Wickham character was reintroduced brought an unnecessary amount of angst to the story, but I think that is due to my being angst phobic. Also, I was frustrated that the Darcy character never apologized directly for certain things he said to Elana in the Hunsford-ish scene. But I suppose Darcy never apologized any more directly to Elizabeth.
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Links to Jane Austen Fanfic sites
(In no particular order)
Link: Jane Austen FanFiction Index
http://www.jaffindex.com
Description: This is an indexed site listing all the JA fanfic as well as an extensive “links” list. The username is SASReader and password is Edinburgh (Case sensitive)
Gioia’s Comments: This is probably the best JA site I know of because it sorts through existing fanfic and categorizes it so thoroughly that it’s very easy to search for specific fics or types of fics. Whoever updates this does an incredible job.
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Link: Other Links
http://www.jaffindex.com/ff_links.php
Description: A very complete list of JA fanfic boards, both public and author-specific.
Gioia’s Comments: You will need to login in to see this. The username is SASReader and password is Edinburgh (Case sensitive).
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Link: 50 Miles of Good Road
http://scotch-and-sirens.waw.pl/index.php
Description: Php posting/message board containing hundreds of stories (about 730 novel-length), all Ratings and lengths.
Gioia’s Comments: Seems to have more fics than AHA, but gets fewer hits.
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Link: A Happy Assembly
http://meryton.com/aha/
Description: Php posting/message board containing hundreds of stories (300-500 novel length), all Ratings and lengths.
Gioia’s Comments: Similar to 50 Miles from what I can tell, but stories on this board get 10 times the traffic.
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Link: Derbyshire Writers' Guild
http://austen.com/board/index.cgi
Description: Archival board hosting hundreds of completed stories. No Adult-rated stories allowed.
Gioia’s Comments: I gather this is one of the best known JA fic sites. This board seems to have the oldest archives, dating back to the 90s.
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Link: Austen Underground
http://www.austenunderground.com/forum/
Description: Php posting/message board
Gioia’s Comments: I only saw about 50 stories on here, but I noticed that the moderators are among their fandoms BNFs.
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Link: A Quick Succession of Very Busy Nothings
http://www.faulkes.co.uk/heather/regency.html
Description: Regency Fanfiction inspired by Jane Austen
Gioia’s Comments: I haven’t searched through this yet, but some of the stories that are linked are ones I already know I liked.
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Link: Happily Ever After
http://lifeandstuff.com/happilyeverafter/index.cfm
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Link: Longbourn Loungers
http://www.longbournloungers.yuku.com/
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Link: PPPemberley FanClub
http://pppemberley.webs.com/
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Link: A Novel Idea
http://austen.com/novel/nindex.cgi
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Link: Bits of Ivory
Gioia’s Comments: This site seemed to have mostly short stories, and all those I looked at were consistent with the complete canon. I.e., they were either post P&P sequels or missing moments within the book.
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Link: The Hyacinth Gardens
http://thegardens64400.yuku.com/
http://www.hyacinthgardens.streekgids.nl/index.php
http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.hyacinthgardens.com
Description: THE board to go to for mature-rated fics
Gioia’s Comments: This was the main JAFF board to host NC-17 stories. Unfortunately, the board went down (in 2008, I believe) and it was announced in the fall of 2009 that they are never going to be able to get the board up again due to corrupted data. The backup site to this board is inactive.
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Continued...
P&P Recs page 1 of 3
P&P Recs page 2 of 3