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The Blog Tour for Caitlin Williams's The Coming of Age of Elizabeth Bennet, makes a stop here today. I am reviewing the book and must say, I enjoyed the read very much! Thank you, Caitlin Williams, for sharing your talent with us.
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Book Review: The Coming of Age of Elizabeth Bennet by Caitlin Williams
This is the
first book that I have read by Caitlin Williams. I have Ardently, and hope to read it soon, especially now that I have read
this release. The Coming of Age of
Elizabeth Bennet begins after the death of Mr. Bennet. It is much earlier
in time than canon as Elizabeth is only fifteen years of age. Her father has
arranged for her to go live with his long-time friend, Mr. George Darcy of
Pemberley and be raised with Georgiana. When Mr. Darcy, his son, Fitzwilliam
Darcy and the governess, Miss Temple, arrive to meet Elizabeth and take her
home, Lizzy is nowhere to be found. Confused and angry, not understanding why
her father would want her to live so far away from Jane and her sisters, she
has donned a disguise and run away from Longbourn. When it is time for all to
leave, Fitzwilliam Darcy stays behind to find the young Miss Bennet and deliver her to Pemberley. This
begins a journey, part good, part misunderstanding, that will forever change
the lives of Darcy and Elizabeth.
The twenty-three-year-old
Fitzwilliam has been disappointed in a relationship and is a touch bitter. That
bad boy, George Wickham, is at it again! The woman of interest, Lady Emma Balcombe,
could rival Caroline Bingley in manner and behavior. She will continue to make problems
for the young Mr. Darcy and his charge. Miss Williams wrote Lady Emma well. She
created in me a strong dislike for this ‘lady’ but also a soft spot for her
sister, Lady Constance, who was a gentle and kind soul. Their portrayal and the
incidents involving them, add greatly to the plot.
Among the
many things that I liked about this book were members of the Darcy family. Mr.
Darcy, the father, was a nice man and his relationship with Elizabeth became one
much like a father and daughter would have. It was a touching bond that
I enjoyed seeing grow. I loved Colonel Fitzwilliam. He played a very
significant role as did Georgiana. The governess, Miss Temple, had a subtler guidance but one that was just as important. These were people in Elizabeth’s life that
helped her become the Elizabeth Bennet of canon and it was neat to see their
influence and shaping of her.
One of the
things that I was not as fond of was the length of time that Fitzwilliam Darcy
stayed away from home. I felt he was a little out of character with some of his
behavior. I do not believe he would have left Georgiana and Elizabeth for such
long periods. I think I understand the purpose of these absences to the
storyline but I could not feel quite comfortable with them.
Overall, I
very much enjoyed The Coming of Age of
Elizabeth Bennet. It was a book that I had trouble putting down! I found
the tone of Ms. Williams’s writing to be excellent and her story-telling delightful. Her plot was different and her Regency language good. This is a
book I highly recommend to anyone who loves Jane Austen Fan-fiction!
Well done,
Caitlin Williams. I look forward to more from you.
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Book
Description
The very worst
has happened. Mr Bennet has died, leaving his wife and five young daughters
bereft. The family estate, Longbourn, is now lost, entailed away and
fifteen-year-old Elizabeth Bennet is to go two hundred miles away to live with
strangers. George Darcy, repaying a debt of gratitude, has offered to take her
to Pemberley, to live under the mantle of his care and be raised alongside his
own daughter, Georgiana.
But on the day she
is to leave Longbourn forever, young Elizabeth, grieving and confused, runs off
into the Hertfordshire countryside. Fitzwilliam Darcy gives chase, telling his
father he will have her back in an hour or two. Luck and fate, however, are not
on his side and capturing Elizabeth Bennet turns out not only to be more
difficult than he could ever have imagined, but events conspire to turn her
little adventure into his worst nightmare.
The prideful man
and the girl prejudiced against him, meet much earlier in this rethinking of
Jane Austen’s masterpiece. Elizabeth grows up under the ever-watchful eye of Mr
Darcy, from fifteen to twenty-one. She
errs and falters, there are stumbles and trips, but could this ‘disobedient little hellion’ one day
become mistress of Pemberley and the keeper of his heart?
Author
Links:
__________________________________________________________
Author
Biography
__________________________________________________________
Caitlin Williams
lives in Kent, England, with her family. She fell in love with all things
Regency as a teenager, but particularly admires the work of Jane Austen and the
way she masterfully combines humour and romance, while weaving them through
such wonderful stories and characters.
Pride and Prejudice is Caitlin’s favourite novel and she
finds Mr Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet so deliciously entertaining that she likes
to borrow them from Ms Austen and enjoys the challenge of putting them in
different places and situations.
Her debut novel, Ardently,
was written as a hobby, usually with her laptop balanced on the kitchen
worktop, typing with one hand, a glass of wine in the other, while she also
attempted to cook dinner and keep her children from killing each other. The
success of Ardently was as much a surprise to her, as it was to anyone
else, and she has been thrilled and genuinely thankful for the positive
responses and reviews it generated.
Her second novel,
The
Coming of Age of Elizabeth Bennet, is a portrait of a much younger
Elizabeth, who is thrown into an extraordinary set of circumstances due to the
premature death of Mr Bennet, and she hopes you all enjoy it very much.
The Coming Of Age Of Elizabeth Bennet
Blog Tour Description
__________________________________________________________
A coming-of-age story told in four
volumes between Austen’s infamous couple; savor the story of the prideful man
and the girl prejudiced against him, as they meet much earlier in this
rethinking of Jane Austen’s masterpiece, Pride & Prejudice. Could this ‘disobedient
little hellion’ one day become mistress of Pemberley and the keeper of his
heart?
Caitlin
Williams, author of the highly-praised book, Ardently, tours the
blogosphere from June 13- June 26,
2016 to share her newest release, The Coming Of Age Of Elizabeth Bennet.
Fourteen book bloggers, specializing in Austenesque fiction and romance stories,
will share excerpts, guest posts, an exclusive interview with the author and
book reviews from this highly awaited Austen-inspired novel. Eight
ebooks are also being included in our giveaways and entry is available to
anyone who participates in this blog tour.
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Blog
Tour Schedule
____________________________________________________
June 13/ My
Jane Austen Book Club/Launch Post/“Happy Birthday Fanny Burney & The Coming Of Age Of Elizabeth Bennet”
& Giveaway
June 26/ A Covent Garden Gilflurt's Guide to Life/ "A Most Scandalous" Guest Post
Thank you for stopping by and please be sure to visit the other blogs for a chance to win one of the eight eBooks that are up for grabs. I would love to hear your thoughts so leave a comment if you feel inclined.
The further along I get following this blog tour the more I want to immerse myself in this story. Thank you for your honest review, and do please enter my name in the giveaway.
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome. I hope you get to immerse yourself in this story soon. Good luck in the giveaway.
DeleteThanks for such a comprehensive and well-thought out review, and for being part of the tour.
ReplyDeleteIn my my mind, Darcy is still the 'selfish being' he describes himself at the end of Pride and Prejudice, when he stays away so long. And the situation at home is not good. I thought the separations necessary, as they are both quite flawed at this stage and need time to grow and change. But I do take your point and I really enjoyed reading your thoughts. Thanks again for reading and I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Thank you so much for taking the time to respond to my review. I truly appreciate your thoughts and your comment. It was my pleasure to read and review your book. You are an excellent author and have a wonderful command of Regency language. I hope you will continue to write many more novels for us to enjoy.
DeleteThanks for the review! I have enjoyed the tour, especially the excerpts and am most eager to read this book, as well as Ardently.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you stopped by, Tamara. I hope you get a chance to read the book soon. Let me know your thoughts. Maybe we can both read Ardently in the near future.
DeleteThanks, Tamara. I think there is one more excerpt to come on the tour. I hope you'll give this book and Ardently a try
DeleteThank you Janet for your review. I am thrilled you enjoyed the story so much, and I hope you read "Ardently" because it's also a wonderful read! I also want to thank you for all of your support with the blog tour.
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome, Claudine. It was my pleasure to support this blog tour. I enjoyed the book very much and hope to read 'Ardently' sooner rather than later. Caitlin Williams is an excellent writer.
DeleteI can see how Fitzwilliam would be gone for long periods. If his father is living, there's not the need for him to be at Pemberley, as there is in P&P. Young men would also go off to check on the business interests of the family, and if those business interests were in the West Indies, for example, that would take a long time. Plus there's the rite of passage of the Grand Tour, and he was at the right age for that. Besides, Georgiana had a parent, a companion/adopted sister, and a governess to keep her company and help her along. Fitzwilliam wasn't really needed for that part.
ReplyDeleteAll of these reviews on the blog tour are really whetting my appetite for this book!
You are correct in all your thoughts, Ginna, but they do not apply to the particular situation in this book. At the time I was referencing, Mr. Darcy, the father had passed. I hesitate to say more as I specifically didn't say more in my review because I do not want to give any spoilers. When you read it for yourself, you will see why it was a completely different situation from what you mentioned. As I said in my review, I do understand why the author chose that course and Ms. Williams commented above about the length of time he was gone and why it was necessary to her premise.
DeleteThank you for taking the time to comment and I do hope you get the chance to read the book. It is excellent and this one thing did not hinder my enjoyment of the book.
Thanks Ginna. I hope you'll read the book. Darcy stays away mainly because he us unhappy and thinks they all manage well enough without him, but it's a peculiar set of circumstances. Thanks for following the tour.
DeleteWhat makes me want to read it more is in the review you say - "I loved Colonel Fitzwilliam. He played a very significant role as did Georgiana." I love reading about the Colonel.
ReplyDeleteI always do too, Vesper. Glad that made you want to read it! I hope you get the chance soon.
DeleteThanks Vesper. The Colonel has a big role to play
DeleteI want to know why Darcy stayed away so long. Does his father have to bring him under good regulation? Great review! I really want to read this book. Thank you for the giveaway.
ReplyDeleteNo, his father doesn't have to bring him under good regulation, but...to say more would give too much away! I hope you get to find out for yourself soon. Glad you enjoyed the review!
DeleteI agree, Eva. Janet did a great job reviewing the book. I hope you will give it a try
Deletesounds wonderful
ReplyDeletedenise
Loved this story, it's such a different premise then what we've seen in the past.
ReplyDeleteThe more I read about this new book, the more interesting it sounds. It's also tempting me to go and get Ardently too!
ReplyDeleteI think new characters, especially Balcombe sisters, created by Caitlin Williams are very interesting and realistic. I read first chapters on amazon and almost from the first desriptions of Emma and Constance, their behavior and relations with Darcy I disliked the former and liked the latter. Usually, I am not a big fan of new characters introduced by JAFF authors, but I think Constance might be the first to break this tendency of mine and I hope she will have her own happy ending in the book.
ReplyDeleteHave read 55% of this amazing book and I can't wait to find out what happens next.
ReplyDeleteIt's beautifully crafted and seems so realistic.