Chivalry & Chauvinism by Caroline Cartier

How would the story change if Elizabeth wasn’t poor? What if she wasn’t lacking in noble connections? What if Jane was not an angel? What if there were telegrams and a bit more industry? How would the story change?

The Victorian Vagaries are a bit of a fairy tale… Have you ever read Pride and Prejudice, a Variation, a sequel, or any other book, and just wish it could go on for years? The Victorian Vagaries is the story of the Bennet women over twelve years of life and love… The men and heroes we love are ever present of course, but this is the story of the Bennet women in a slightly more modern setting, while keeping to the historical fiction theme that we all love.

Moving the story forward 36 years brings us to a time where more women were working, and the industrial revolution is taking over. Times and opportunities are changing for men and women alike, and Lady Elizabeth Astley, a society widow, and the eldest of her siblings, must protect herself and her vast fortune earned by investing with her uncle from fortune hunters and heiress snatchers, as well as support her step mother and four half sisters as they each break free from the fates laid down before them and meet their destinies. Some characters deviate from canon, others remain charmingly as we know them, and friends from other Jane Austen worlds join us, but never how you might expect, though everyone we love finds their happy ending, and when Elizabeth and Darcy find their happiness, their bond is as strong and beautiful as any of us could hope…

In Volume Two of our Victorian Vagaries, when Elizabeth and Darcy travel to Pemberley after the wedding in all haste to assist Georgiana – who is desperately ill – Elizabeth has high hopes of a warm welcome from the staff and the assistance of a kind and experienced housekeeper. Mrs Reynolds – who has been in the service of the Darcy family for four decades – does not approve of her master’s new wife, her child, her family, nor even her little dog – and has no intention of handing over the reins of the household.

As Georgiana’s health hangs in the balance, Darcy and Elizabeth struggle to learn the cause of Georgiana’s illness, while Mrs Reynolds stubbornly does her utmost to interfere in her new mistress’s arrangements. Later, when the family returns to London for the season, Mary must learn to take on society, avoid compromise, and find her heart’s desire.

Some characters of Sense & Sensibility join us in this 89,000 word slow burn, sweet and clean Victorian era vagary.