Tag: Joana Starnes

P&P The Untold Stories: Mr Darcy Dines with the Gardiners

Mr Gardiner is quite concerned about his guest Sept 1, 1812 Mr Gardiner sunk his spoon into his syllabub as his glance travelled between his charmingly poised wife and their guest. It was quite extraordinary, the alteration in Mr Darcy’s manner. During their lengthy interviews to address what Madeleine had tactfully and restrainedly termed Lydia’s …

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The Life of a House

Sometimes the life of a house is as full of twists and turns as an angsty novel that follows a beleaguered heroine from riches to rags and back again. Basildon Park in Berkshire is a house with such an adventurous history. An eminently Regency house, it was built in the late 1700s for Sir Francis …

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Under May’s Changing Skies

Some years ago, I went down the rabbit hole looking for wedding-day superstitions, and came across this: ‘Marry under May’s changing skies – a chequered path before you lies.’ It was a line from a traditional English rhyme, and it tickled me, because it was a great fit for the plot and the timeline of …

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P&P The Untold Stories: After the Proposal

The bitterness of rejection… April 9, 1812 Fury choked him. All-consuming fury – at her, of course, but no less at himself for laying himself open to the abject humiliation. Darcy tugged his gloves on and his countenance twisted into an almighty scowl. Heavens above! How had he failed himself so utterly, so completely? He, …

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P&P The Untold Stories: Darcy Plans His Proposal

Darcy goes for a ride to clear his head and put together a gentlemanlike proposal… April 9, 1812 Darcy tightened the reins, and brought his mount to a halt. To his left, far into the hazy distance, stood the great house, grey and squat, surrounded by manicured parkland. He could not see the parsonage from …

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Behind the Mask

Would you like to step into your carriages, drive down memory lane and attend a masked ball in Cornwall? Mr Darcy is wretched. Mere hours earlier, his offer of marriage had been rejected. Worse still, he is plagued by fears for Elizabeth’s safety. Had she put her trust in a dangerous man? THE FALMOUTH CONNECTION …

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2023 Deck the Shelves in the Closet Book Sale

MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE! The Holiday season is in full swing. We’ve finished Thanksgiving (in the US) and Chanukkah, and Christmas Day is upon us. We’re decking our halls and wrapping our presents. How about something to tide you over in your quiet hours as you await New Year’s Day 2024? Like a great book! This …

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Gretna, Lancaster & Lyme: Landmarks of a Real-Life Elopement

Good morning. Would you like to come on another virtual trip with me? It starts in Liverpool, at a boarding school for young ladies of good fortune, and finishes at Pemberley, which is no surprise. All the stories I’d like to share with you finish at Pemberley. But this time the heroine is not Elizabeth. …

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Down Memory Lane ~ a Vignette & a Giveaway

Today I’m going for a walk down memory lane, and I hope you’d like to come along with me. An old favourite has a new cover, and I thought I’d celebrate with a special offer and a giveaway. So, what do you think of Mr Bennet’s Dutiful Daughter now? Doesn’t she look like she’s thinking, ‘Oh my …

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Courage in Adversity

A few weeks ago I went on a short camping trip with my family, and as luck would have it, I found some material that’s ever so fitting for this month’s post. We camped in Dorset, within driving distance of Jane Fairfax and Frank Churchill’s Weymouth, and of the pretty village of Osmington, where John …

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