Rivalry & Reparations 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 Three of our Victorian Vagaries, when one of Elizabeth’s cousins has been caught meeting with a man in secret, misinformation abounds, creating disaster for poor Kitty, who then vanishes. The search for Kitty drags on far longer than it ought, as the Darcys struggle to manage their business and estates, deal with the wagging tongues of society, console their missing relatives, and find their missing sister. As any story worthy of Jane Austen should, our journey ends with a Bennet wedding.

Some friends from Sense & Sensibility also join us, though not how the reader might expect, in this 89,000 word slow burn, sweet and clean Victorian era vagary.