Category: General

May Flowers: When a Rose is More Than Just a Rose

We have a new month and a new theme here at Austen Variations! You’ve heard that April showers bring May flowers. I’m counting on it. We’ve certainly paid our dues here in Seattle with our wettest October through April on record. Now we deserve flowers in equally generous proportions. With that hope in mind, here’s …

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In Darcy’s Arms

April Showers bring May Flowers… and for Elizabeth Bennet, they might just bring romance, as well. On this particular April day, she has an unexpected (and stormy) encounter with Mr. Darcy…   “Odious, despicable man!” Elizabeth Bennet flung herself out of the kitchen door and hurtled down the path, narrowly missing the watering-can and sending …

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Darcy and Wickham: The Duties of Friendship

The plundering of Mr Wickham’s private correspondance continues this month, with a newly discovered series of letters exchanged with his boyhood companion, Fitzwilliam Darcy. It seems that the gentlemen were at an advanced stage of life when these exchanges are penned, and while much water has flowed under the bridges and old grievances have become …

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April Showers – A Dash in the Rain (from Return to Longbourn)

The “April Showers” theme immediately brought certain images to my mind – two in particular: the scene in the rain at the end of “Wives and Daughters” and one that I wrote myself in “Return to Longbourn.” In both cases, the romantic overtones and the sense of as-yet-unfulfilled longing seem to be heightened by the …

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While It Rained

I don’t know how many of you are as impatient for spring as I am but here in the northeastern US it seems like we’re getting an extra dose of winter this week! So hopefully this little bit of D&E fluff will bring some warmth to you! Thanks for reading!  The rain fell heavy and …

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Words from Experience to Youth: Part Four

Welcome to the part four of our special March Mashup! Plans are afoot for the silver-haired George Wickham and his silk-clad wife to visit Margaret Thornton in her new marital home. Read on to learn of perfume, scandal and Mrs Wickham’s hard-won battle with her ornamental feathers. If you would like to catch up with the correspondence, …

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March Madness: Mrs. Bennet meets Mr. Woodhouse

Mrs. Bennet is on her way to Newcastle to visit her daughter Lydia, but an accident with her coach causes her to end up at Hartfield during a snowstorm…   Mrs. Bennet was still fuming over her husband’s refusal to allow her to go to Pemberley for Christmas. Why, her own brother had been invited, so why should …

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Words from Experience to Youth

Hello, everyone, and welcome to another edition of March Mashups! Today we bring you a series of letters exchanged between the most unlikely of correspondants- a young Margaret Hale, and an older and much wiser George Wickham.  When Catherine was compiling some of Mr Wickham’s later correspondence, she stumbled across a curious set of letters from …

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A New Love: Excerpt from Who Needs Mr Willoughby?

Is there anything more exhilarating than that first, heady flush of love? The world becomes a wonderful place and life is suddenly full of possibility. Birds swoop against the bluest of skies, singing a cheery accompaniment as the new lovers embark on a romantic adventure. Of course, if one doesn’t choose wisely, heartache will eventually follow …

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Most Romantic Lines Ever

Happy Valentines Day to our dear readers! To celebrate this romantic day, we’re sharing our favorite romantic line with you. Share your own favorite lives with us in the comments!   Mary Simonsen – Convincing Mr. Darcy – “You make it sound as if my wish is your command,” Darcy told Elizabeth. “It is not. …

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