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Excerpt from my new book! — 61 Comments

  1. I think I would go with Bound by Duty!
    I wonder why Drew was disowned? Also why he’s reluctant to ask Mrs Reynolds for help? 🤔
    Why was Darcy not at home when Elizabeth visited? (I suppose that would put an end to this story before it starts!)
    No angst yet so that’s one chapter ok! 😉

    • Bound by Duty has collected some votes from my critique group, too. It’s very fitting, though one person vetoed all my titles with ‘bound’ in them, saying that it’s a keyword for BDSM. I’m so naive sometimes! But it’s definitely on the short list. As for why Darcy isn’t there, the backstory is that the Gardiners didn’t delay their trip as they did in P&P, so they got there earlier than Darcy. He arrives on schedule a couple of weeks later.

  2. I’m so looking forward to this book! Yesterday, I suggested the following titles on your Facebook post: Duty Bound; Darcy’s Emancipation; The Emancipation of Mr. Darcy.

    • Thank you! I have to say I’m tempted by the Emancipation titles because Darcy does manage to free himself from some of the restraints of society by the end of the book, but it might be a little confusing for the first 80% of the book. It’s on the list, though!

  3. Dear Abigail,
    I think Mr Darcy: Bound by duty would be a good title.
    Thank you so much for those excerpts! I’m looking forward to read more!

  4. My suggestions:
    Pride & a parsonage
    Mr Darcy – brokenhearted
    An heir & a spare
    The other mr Darcy

    I love all your books regardless of the titels – when I have read different other P&P books – I return to one of yours – and it feels like coming home 😘

  5. Hi Abigail,
    This excerpt was certainly intriguing. (!) I went to the list of your books and so many of them start with ‘Mr. Dary’s ……’ and another has a key word, ‘A Matter of Honor.’ ‘A Matter of Duty (or Loyalty) sounds too derivative where somehow ‘Mr Darcy’s …. sounds neither overused or confusing but might get lost in the crowd.

    So taking from your description at the end of this excerpt: Mr. Darcy’s Desperate Loyalty, or just ‘Mr. Darcy’s Loyalty’ which would be for both Elizabeth and his family. I also thought about ‘Mr. Darcy’s Secret Duty.’ Hard to come up with just the right thing since as you described, the book will have a very wide scope of experiences (and locations?)

    At any rate, angsty or not I’m so looking forward to reading the finished product, opening up all the secrets. Best of luck Abigail.

    • Yes, lots of locations! Lambton/Pemberley, then Longbourn, then Bath, then London. It’s all over the place. And experiences.

      When I first started publishing, the plan was to use ‘Mr Darcy’ in each title as sort of a branding thing. That worked when I was the only person publishing variations, but then lots of other people started using ‘Mr. Darcy’s this-and-that,’ and it made it hard. But Mr. Darcy’s Loyalty would be good.

  6. What? You didn’t choose my recommendation? I can’t imagine. (Snort!😂).

    I don’t know how I missed the posting of your first chapter. It was positively delighted to read. What a great hook, Abigail. However, you are a rascal. Poor Darcy! You do seem to enjoy making him miserable, don’t you?

    In this offering you have written Drew so our sympathies are stirred for both men. Well done! I eagerly anticipate more.

    • Here are some ideas for titles.

      A Change of Seasons
      Gone With the Wind (haha! Just kidding)
      The Heart’s Inclination
      The Price of Pride
      Shattered Pride
      The Better Man
      Elizabeth, Are You Nuts? (Sorry! My fingers made me type it.😂)
      The Price of Paradise

    • So glad you feel sympathy for Drew! He’s a good man, and I don’t want readers to hate him for not being Darcy. But yes, this is my Darcy torture book! And I like your titles. The Price of Pride is definitely going on the short list!

  7. I was skimming the last paragraph and thought you were recommending other books- I would read any of those titles!
    My poor suggestion In the Heart of Derbyshire.
    Wish it were coming out sooner!

  8. Mr Darcy’s Oath would be more in keeping with titles of your previous works, perhaps.
    On another subject, if I may make a small comment on the text: I think (and I am no expert on antique furniture so I am willing to be schooled on this) that the term ‘loveseat’ is very much a modern Americanism. I think the English Georgians would have used the word “settee” or “sofa” to describe this particular item. I know that it is not a term that I have come across except in modern American writing, and it always jars with me when I read it in books supposedly set in England in Georgian or Victorian times.

    • Thanks, Melody, I appreciate that information! This hasn’t been through beta-readers yet, so there are still problems cropping up. I’ll be sure to take that out.

  9. Hmmm…. I have to say that I so wanted to not like him! But he does sound nice. And while I can’t imagine yet how their relationship grows up yo the point of betrothal, I feel I would have to hate Elizabeth ! I would think that she should at least consider the effect on Darcy!
    But I am sure you’re weaving some magic there and will therefore have to wait…🥺

    As for the titles… As you said After a serie of Mr Darcy’s that or this, A Matter of…. could be your next “brand” name…
    A Matter of Duty
    A Matter of Loyalty
    A Matter of Brotherhood

    Or
    Love and set free
    Love and Loyalty
    Right to Love
    The Right Brother

    • And it was nagging at me that actually I have read about another Elizabeth, more mindful of Darcy’s feelings if confronted with a similar situation!
      right I have! Just came to me that actually it was one of yours, in Darcy’s Refuge!!!

    • Hmm, I hadn’t thought of using A Matter of… as a brand name. Great ideas!

      Yes, it’s a real dilemma with Drew, because he is a good person and a good match for Elizabeth, but he’s not Darcy. Stay tuned!

  10. I’m already half in love with this book 😊 There are many very good suggestions in this facebook post. My favorite is Duty Bound. I would suggest Mr Darcy’s vow

  11. Wow! That was … interesting to say the least! What I don’t get is why Drew has such a horrible relationship with Pemberley and his brother?
    As a suggestion for a title; “The Darcy Brother’s betrothed”, or “Betrothed to the wrong brother” would be a fun title! 😂
    Omg I can see angst coming already!
    Can’t decide if I like Drew or why Elizabeth falls for him?? Can’t she imagine the effect on Darcy? Especially after his butchered proposal?

    • The angst is definitely coming! Finding out the truth behind Drew’s problems with Pemberley will take quite a while. But I do promise that Elizabeth will be sensitive to Darcy’s feelings! I can’t imagine her being otherwise.

  12. Did Elizabeth want to be engaged to Drew? If not, how about “An (or The) Unwanted Betrothal? Hard to know without knowing more! I hope I will be able to withstand more angst! Poor Darcy. Can’t wait until your new book is released.

  13. Yay!, since the posting the first chapter, I’ve been eagerly visiting your blog for any new updates. It’s such a great premise to focus on brother and how loss/being disowned would further affect how Darcy would take duty to an even greater degree. Then being faced with a brother who appears to live solely by compassion (excluding FD) who gains the hand of a woman he holds as ideal— soul crushing! I cant wait for next week.

    My suggestion: something pertaining to devotion, as both cause and loyalty— addressing both brothers’ story.
    Riffing on other titles: A Matter of Devotion, The Price of Devotion, Balancing Devotion, Honor & Devotion

    Thanks Abigail!!!

  14. Always eagerly awaiting your new books

    Some suggestions:

    Darcy, Drew and the Jewel of Longbourn 😉 (Just joining the fun…I was inspired by Ms Joy Dawn King)
    To Love A Different Darcy
    To Love the Wrong Darcy
    Betrothed to the Wrong Darcy
    A Brother’s Legacy
    For the Love of…

    • Just thought of 2 other titles… don’t know if someone had these

      Indecent yearning

      Yearning for a Different Betrothal ( This could be for either FD and EB, not sure of Drew’s true sentiments or if his eye will be caught by another)

  15. Oh I thought of another title…

    His Beloved…. His Betrothed… or His Beloved … but Another’s Betrothed (something to the effect of FD’s Beloved but Drew’ betrothed)

    • I was thinking of 2 guys looking at a a lady in the middle (with the lady looking back over her shoulder on one. Like she is longing for that guy)… Just like the situation here. I assume EB’s heart had always been FDs

  16. This story sounds wonderful, as I love P&P stories with angst, but where ODC end up happily together.

    My title suggestion were
    ‘A tale of two Darcys’
    ‘Brotherly Love’
    ‘The cost of sibling rivalry’

  17. Pingback:Another excerpt from my new book! | Jane Austen Variations

  18. Mmmmmm. Andrew is a little dull. He reminds me of Fanny Price. I expect him to begin moralising at any moment. Dull and kind and ordinary is good though, he’ll be no match for a love-lorn FD.

    I really didn’t like the whole bit about assessing the servants though. It seemed like a lead in to talk about slavery but the maid was black and living in the English countryside – wouldn’t that be enough of a lead in? I think I’d prefer if he wanted decorating tips because the house was a bit run down and he needed a nice parlor to greet the parishioners and give them tea!

    • Sorry you didn’t like the part about the servants. I originally had planned to have him ask Mrs. Gardiner for help on restoring the parsonage, but it’s historically inaccurate, as the physical maintenance of any parsonage would be handled by the Pemberley steward and isn’t the responsibility (or even the right) of the rector who lives there. Also, I wanted to indicate why Andrew needs a wife, and decorating the parsonage is a one-time thing, whereas managing servants is an ongoing issue. It’s much more about Andrew being taken advantage of by his staff than about one of them being black, which really wasn’t unusual at that time in England, even in the countryside, despite Elizabeth’s diplomatic excuse.

  19. Pingback:The Price of Pride, Chapter 4 | Jane Austen Variations

  20. Pingback:The Price of Pride, Chapter 4 | Jane Austen Variations

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