Mr. Darcy and the Secret of Becoming a Gentleman

What if Mr. Darcy, feeling intense despair and heartache over Elizabeth's unceremonious refusal, focused all his energy on repairing the damage he caused to Bingley's relationship with Jane Bennet? Darcy, realizing he was wrong, knows he must now do what is right, otherwise Elizabeth's poor opinion of him will be validated. However, reuniting Bingley with Jane Bennet, means Darcy must return to Meryton and once again encounter Elizabeth Bennet! Unfortunately, Darcy is unsuccessful in persuading Bingley to join him and must travel to Meryton alone. While trying to determine Jane's feelings towards Bingley, Darcy pays her some attention and the whole town mistakenly assumes that he intends to marry her! The rumors reach the ears of Lady Catherine, who takes it upon herself to travel to Longbourn and demand an interview with, no, not Elizabeth Bennet, but Jane Bennet!

In her debut novel, Mr. Darcy and the Secret of Becoming a Gentleman, author Maria Hamilton, shows her readers what would happen if Darcy were to return to Elizabeth's life a lot sooner. Would Elizabeth despise him more? Appreciate his efforts of her sister's behalf? Would she regret her decision? Her words? How long does it take for Darcy to earn Elizabeth's forgiveness? Her respect? Her love? In this splendid and wonderfully well-crafted variation we witness Darcy's tentative yet indefatigable courtship of Elizabeth Bennet. "Fasten your seatbelts!"

What a fantastic debut novel from Maria Hamilton! Her skillful writing and unique twists had me enthralled from page one. The premise was brilliant and I absolutely loved witnessing Darcy battle back and forth between just trying to make amends for his interference with Jane and Bingley and grasping at the opportunity to achieve his own happiness. In addition, I adored observing Elizabeth progress from feeling nothing but intense dislike for Mr. Darcy, to understanding his character and treating him with civility, to admiring him and falling ardently in love with him.

While there may have been one or two scenes that weren't to my liking, such as Darcy and Elizabeth anticipating their wedding vows (PG-13 scene), there were an abundance of scenes that I liked exceedingly. I can't decide which one is my favorite: the showdown with Lady Catherine, the way Darcy flirted with Elizabeth over dinner, watching Elizabeth fall in love before our very eyes, or the utterly romantic scene in the library at Netherfield where Darcy touches Elizabeth's hand! Completely chaste, but oh, so romantic!

Mr. Darcy and the Secret of Becoming a Gentleman is a riveting and impassioned variation that displays great admiration and respect for Jane Austen's original plot and characters. I dearly hope this is the first in a long succession of Austenesque novels by Ms. Hamilton! Brava!

Austenesque Reviews

In Maria Hamilton's book, Darcy values Elizabeth's opinion enough to realize that she is right. He needs to change. Unfortunately, the road to self-discovery is not easy especially with meddling friends, family, and aunt Catherine. But for Elizabeth's love, it is well worth.
The story begins soon after the failed marriage proposal at Hunsford. Feeling enormous heartache, he immediately sets out to fix his errors. He returns to Meryton to repair the wrong he has done to Jane and Bingley. Unfortunately, he is unable to convince Bingley to return with him. Still determined , he meets with Jane to see if she still has feelings for Bingley. This meeting is misinterpreted by Elizabeth , Mrs Bennet and the town-people. Rumors start flying that Darcy intends to propose to Jane. This amazingly upsets Elizabeth.
In order to have the happily ever after. Darcy must make it his mission to show Elizabeth that he is indeed a gentleman worth loving. Luckily for us readers, he succeeds.
This may be Maria's first novel...but I'm sure hoping it won't be her last!

I just finished this book and was very disappointed. The author takes great liberties with Austen's original story. I expected this and overall don't have a problem with it. If authors didn't put their own take on the story, what would be the point of writing this type of book in the first place? However, this author chose to totally leave out the major plot twist of Lydia eloping with Mr. Wickham and instead replaces the story of Lydia and Wickham's indiscretion with many episodes of Darcy committing indiscretions with Elizabeth. The two are engaged of course by the time Darcy begins toying with how far he can get with Elizabeth without ripping her bodice open. Eventually however, it is Elizabeth who invites him to cross the line by entering his bedroom in his London townhouse and offering herself to him - not once, but twice! Thankfully, the author only elaborates on one of those episodes. The author takes, what started as an interesting take on the original classic (I love seeing how the author makes Bingley "man up" to his sisters) and turns it into just another story about a pair of unbuttoned pants.

I am a P&P aficionado. The Darcy Lizzy interactions were enjoyable since there are so little in the Austen book. I was enjoying this book up until the last couple of chapters. Then I couldn't even finish it. Darcy wasn't a gentleman after all and neither was Elizabeth a lady. Jane Austen would not have approved. It is very sad because this could have been a good teen recommendation.

"You are mistaken Mr. Darcy, if you suppose that the mode of your declaration affected me in any other way than it spared me the concern which I might have felt in refusing you, had you behaved in a more gentlemanlike manner." Elizabeth Bennet, Pride and Prejudice, Chapter XXXIV

The tragedy of Fitzwilliam Darcy's ill-stated proposal in the Hunsford parlor is one of the most notable exhibitions in Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice, allowing generations of readers to ponder how it all might have been different had his behavior and delivery more agreeable. As in Austen's masterpiece, Darcy is angered and shocked when Elizabeth refuses his hand in marriage... but in debut author Maria Hamilton's Mr. Darcy and the Secret of Becoming a Gentleman, Darcy quickly realizes how poorly he acted and decides how he must make amends.

In this alternative story, Darcy goes back to Hertfordshire and calls on the ladies at Longbourn, specifically Miss Bennet, Elizabeth's older sister Jane, to confess his interference in persuading Mr. Bingley against her... and to discover if she might still harbour feelings for Bingley and welcome his renewal of attentions to her. But of course, Mrs. Bennet (and Elizabeth!) misinterprets Mr. Darcy's visit, blunders in communication between Bingley & Darcy/Darcy & Elizabeth/ Darcy & the whole of Meryton, and even a rival for Elizabeth's affections, nearly throw Darcy's honorable plan off course. Fortunately, the Bennet's, and even the good people of Meryton, benefit from this more retrospective Darcy as he "practices" his social skills... and by this grace, slowly becomes a man worthy of Elizabeth's affections.

Much in the writing style of romance author Abigail Reynold's, Maria Hamilton clearly has a handle on the ruminations and passions of both Fitzwilliam Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet.

"As she leaned over the map to look for herself, she felt him by her side, his breath brushing her ear as he continued to explain the boundary dispute. His rich voice seemed to have a hypnotic effect on her as she struggled to listen. As he leaned ever closer to trace the line for her on the map, she felt her pulse quicken and hoped it was not obvious to him. Equally caught up by her proximity to him, his narration temporarily faltered. As they both stood there, looking down at his hand on the map and hers inches away, he swallowed hard and then unconsciously leaned even closer toward her." page 241

Swoonworthy, indeed. But I must include one of my all-time favorite romantic fan-fiction scenes when Elizabeth and Darcy, at a Longbourne family dinner, are overcoming one of those communication blunders aforementioned, "She suddenly understood his position. Impulsively she brought her hand to her lap and then slowly it moved toward Mr. Darcy's chair where his hand sat by his side. With a surge of determination, she reached over, took his hand, laced her fingers in his, and squeezed his hand to express her reassurance... His eyes flew open." page 264 Shocking but delicious, is it not?

I first read Hamilton's story when posted on line years ago under the title, "By Every Civility in His Powe"r... and was delighted to learn it was to be published by Sourcebooks. The story has been tightened somewhat by deleting and, or revising some of the interaction with Caroline Bingley, as well as regrettably reworking an amusing, provocative riding lesson- but in essence, the story remains the same. Fair warning however: after a very long speech by Elizabeth, explaining to Darcy why she already feels she is his wife, and why she does not feel the need to wait to be truly "man and wife," Darcy and Elizabeth do indeed anticipate their vows. By the by, if Sourcebooks was going to chop anything from Hamilton's original, I would have preferred the three letters Darcy writes Elizabeth the morning after their faire l'amour. They were a little over the top. That said, all 446 pages of Mr. Darcy and the Secret of Becoming a Gentleman will certainly keep you entertained. Congratulations to Maria Hamilton!

From my AustenProse review.

My thoughts:

Yes I still adore anything Pride and Prejudice related. These may not be for everyone and to that I will just say that variations are fun and always make me smile.

This book again was different because much was from Darcy's POV. The book begins after his failed proposal and he realizes that he needs to change. He needs to be more out there and he needs to make the wrongs to right. First he needs to get Bingley and Jane together and then he needs to work on making Elizabeth fall for him.

I had my heart in my throat a couple of times when it came to this book. I am just gonna spill it now because it happens almost at once. Mrs Bennet gets the wrong idea when 'Darcy shows up alone and soon it is over the whole area that he is courting Jane. It was horrible, in a good way, what a twist and I sat there shaking my head at Mrs Bennet's folly. If you thought she was bad before then here, it was almost that I did from shame myself. So I certainly applaud this twist.

This was a nice variation with a Mr Darcy who really tries to better himself, he puts himself out there, he tries to socialise, and he becomes the gentleman she wants him to be, or should we say expect him to be. And then we watch Lizzy fall for him once again.

Conclusion:

A fun variation where Mr Darcy is more in focus. We hear his thoughts, we watch his heartache. He is a wonderful man underneath and the journey to happiness is lovely to watch. And as I said, be prepared for the oh so amusing twist.

Rating:

Fall in love with Mr Darcy all over again.

As far as P&P adaptations this is one of the better ones. Similar to another author Abigail Reynolds' work, the novel asks a 'what if?' question and then progresses in an alternate reality.

What if Mr. Darcy didn't give up after being rejected by Elizabeth in Kent? What if he took her words to heart, and sought to change his ways and become the gentleman that was worthy of her love and devotion?

Mr. Darcy comes back to Hertfordshire seeking to repair the damage he has done to Mr. Bingley and Jane. He is able to slowly win back the trust of Elizabeth and the reader is able to see friendship transform into love. It was very well done, but I did however miss Lydia's foolish choice of eloping with Mr. Wickham. Mr. Darcy patching this mess up is one of my favorite romantic actions by Darcy and I felt Hamilton could have easily worked this plot development in creating more drama, length, and "gentlemanly behavior" on Darcy's part.

Mr. Darcy and the Secret of Becoming a Gentleman by Maria Hamilton is lengthy but not unduly stretched out. The plot develops well, and all the beloved Austen characters are present and involved. Hamilton stays very true to the Jane Austen etiquette that her fans love so much. Darcy and Elizabeth behave accordingly until the very end with a mis-step of per-marital sex that Austen would surely balk at. Besides this one transgression, the book is excellently written. The vocabulary and diction is entertaining and keeps the reader engaged. Often times these sequels can be rushed and smutty, but Hamilton's is not the case. The exchanges of wit between Darcy and Elizabeth are fun and entertaining as Austen's would be.

Every once in a while, in the course of reading Pride and Prejudice knock-offs, I go back to the original to remind myself just how far afield the Pride and Prejudice wanna-bes do drift. The original gives us nothing of the inner feelings of Fitzwilliam Darcy except what he says of them to Lizzy, and it seems to be a great temptation to modern authors to have a go at plumbing his depths. This book endeavors to give us both Darcy and Lizzy's feelings, but sadly jumps the rails at the end. Although told in generally more modern language than Jane Austen used, Maria Hamilton's tone and style are enjoyable, and she tweaks the plot in a not too outlandish manner, mostly. Her insertion of Darcy insisting to ascertain for himself the continued affection of Jane Bennet for Charles Bingley doesn't quite ring true (this could have been accomplished by letter), but it does lead to the singular scene of Mrs. Bennet being confronted by Lady Catherine--highly amusing, and worth the price of admission. What keeps me from awarding this book a fifth star is Lizzy being the moving party in the anticipation of her wedding vows to Mr. Darcy, a scene introduced by a confusing and disjointed speech by Lizzy, absolving her behavior in coming to Darcy's room in the dead of night. To that point she has been a temptation to him, but they have managed to restrain themselves, and by the time she comes to him, it is much more likely that he would have come to her. How delightful if, instead, they had encountered each other in the hall! Do not mistake me, I am not, to use Mr. Bennet's inestimable word, missish, about sex in the P & P modern versions. I prefer it when it is included, but the motivations have to be real, at least as I might imagine them to be for the 19th century. Lizzy, as presented in this novel, which in it's very title claims to speak from Mr. Darcy's heart, would not have acted as she does until led by Darcy.

In the sub-genre of P & P variations told from Darcy's point of view, what is missing is, firstly, the inclusion of his waking fantasies and sleeping dreams about Lizzy. When he looks at her with what she takes for disapproval, we as readers must know it is, in fact, lust. As the book is acted in most every film or TV version, she assumes he is finding fault when more likely he is wondering how many layers of clothing she is wearing, and how long it would take to undress her from a standing start. How tongue-tied his own thoughts make him! It cannot be easy to go from wondering what her earlobe tastes like to asking after the health of her daft mother. Would some one write a scene, and I believe Maria Hamilton could do it, where after an engagement, or perhaps on their wedding night, Darcy admits his improper early thoughts to Lizzy, so that she can blush prettily while understanding the true nature of the words "how ardently I admire and love you"? Secondly, the deflowering scenes are never realistic, and we rarely know what worldly education Darcy has received to make him the skillful and attentive lover he always appears to be. There has yet to be a book that combines all of this into one satisfying read.

Still, this is well worth reading, and comes so close to getting it right.

Mr. Darcy and the Secret of Becoming a Gentleman by Maria Hamilton is by far one of the best variations I have had the pleasure of reading in a long time. In this novel, Darcy has just received Elizabeth's rejection of his proposal of marriage in Huntfords. She has told him of how his actions have hurt both Jane and Mr. Bingley. In seeking to rectify the damages he has caused and hopefully receive a second chance from Elizabeth, Mr. Darcy has return to Meryton. This novel is well researched, written and developed.

Overall, Mr. Darcy and the Secret of Becoming a Gentleman was a fun departure from the original story, asking the reader to consider "what if" Darcy decided to change from that first tongue lashing by Elizabeth? Could he have changed and won her over by showing her who he really was? These questions fuel this new story line as Darcy works to show Elizabeth that he isn't the pompous rich guy she has come to believe him. He ends up showing back up at her home to interact with her family and to try to be more social.

With these twists, some other story lines drop out from the original. I won't give away which ones those might be, but you can imagine who might or might not show up in the story if Darcy stuck around. One interesting change is in Mrs. Bennet, who soon recognizes that Darcy might be a better match for her Jane than she originally thought. He quite wins her over with his charm and pocket change! Not only does he win her over, but he also fuels the gossip mongers who all think he has eyes for Jane. That, of course, makes Elizabeth slightly jealous and confused. Her intrigue leads her to consider this man she wrote off, to wonder if she made a big mistake in jilting him.

Romance is all over in this retelling of Pride and Prejudice. For the most part it is all good, clean romance, with some later interludes that make for a dramatic departure from the story we all know and love! I wouldn't say it's salacious in any way, but might be shocking. At times I'll admit to being annoyed by the miscommunication and constant fact checking Darcy and Elizabeth demonstrated; they just seemed so unsure of what the other meant, that they were constantly self conscious of everything they said or did. Eventually, the "I'm sorry, that's not what I meant..." felt overdone at times. I do get that this added extra tension and work to Darcy and Elizabeth's relationship forced them to draw together more. I guess I just didn't want them to have to always feel so insecure.

The "what if" story between Darcy and Elizabeth is a relaxing continuation of sorts, for anyone who enjoys Pride and Prejudice and likes to read other retellings. The story is romantic and filled with human missteps that keep the story moving in a new direction, and although the outcome isn't surprising, the journey is different and new.