Product Description

In Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, Fitzwilliam Darcy arrives at Netherfield in a state of indignation and delivers an insult that nearly ended his future before it began. What if he did not go to Meryton that autumn and instead met Elizabeth Bennet later in London during the winter? What if their introduction was not an insult, but rather a challenge to smile, and how does the strength of an extraordinary couple help them to survive all that life sends their way? Chance Encounters is a journey of the imagination, and explores how a resigned and wiser Elizabeth meets a hardened Darcy. It follows them and their families through their courtship, marriage, and beyond. Together they experience a mature love. Linda Wells is also the author of Fate and Consequences, and Perfect Fit

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #71840 in Books
• Published on: 2008-09-27
• Binding: Paperback
• 460 pages

Customer Reviews

Disappointing
Jane Austen is my favorite author and Pride & Prejudice is my all-time favorite book. I am usually happy to read any fan fiction just so I can live a little longer in the world of Elizabeth and Darcy. This book, however, was anything but a joy to read; it was actually quite painful. There are errors throughout the book. On page 79, for example, Mrs. Collins' family is described as "Sir John Lucas and his daughter Maria." He later returns to being Sir William Lucas.

The reference to the book Kama Sutra was interesting. Pride & Prejudice was published in 1813. According to Wikipedia, the first known English translation of Kama Sutra was privately printed in 1883, 70 years later. So, how did a copy find its way to the library at Pemberley? I know readers have to suspend belief when reading fan fiction, but c'mon. This is a fact that could have easily been researched.

The book, in general, did not seem to fit the Regency period. The author tries to put 21st century attitudes on adoption, for example, into the 19th century and it does not work. Propriety and manners were also quite different. There is a scene where Georgiana meets Alex Carrington in a milliner's shop and he asks to be introduced to her aunt. Georgiana's aunt is the wife of an Earl. No introduction would take place unless it was at the Countess's request. Recall the scene in Pride & Prejudice when Lady Catherine arrives at Longbourn. Elizabeth does not immediately introduce her mother to Lady Catherine. She waits until Lady Catherine shows a willingness to be introduced: "That lady, I suppose, is your mother?" And Lady Catherine is NEVER called Aunt Catherine. Where in canon do you see Darcy or Colonel Fitzwilliam call her Aunt Catherine? The woman had a title and that is what was used. Even an untitled woman was never called "Aunt First Name" - recall Aunt Gardiner and Aunt Phillips.

The sex scenes started out interesting, but after the first 150 scenes, the novelty had quite worn off. Yes, I get it. They are a newlywed couple very much in love, but after reading about them in the woods, in the carriage, in front of an "audience," etc., it got to be a bit redundant. In addition, the language used to describe the events became cruder and cruder. I guess I just expected a variation on a Jane Austen to have a bit more taste and refinement. My imagination is vivid enough; I don't need every minute detail explained to me. Leave the crassness and vulgarity to the trashy drug store romance novels, please.

So much for the small annoyances. The biggest problem with this book is the plot - there isn't much of one. There is plenty of action - stuff happens for over 400 pages. What is lacking is any type of identifiable theme. One of the reasons why Pride & Prejudice has been so endearing for almost 200 years is because of Jane Austen's use of character development. She uses a combination of action, dialog and the third person omniscient narrator to take us into the minds of her characters. Elizabeth prides herself on being an excellent judge of people's characters, yet she totally misreads Darcy. Mr. Darcy has been prejudiced by his upbringing to care for none beyond his own family circle and to think meanly of the rest of the world. Both characters must realize their faults and correct them before they can hook up in the end. The journey of their self-discovery is why we love P&P.

In Chance Encounters, Elizabeth and Darcy lock eyes and are eternally in love. The author then spends 400+ pages droning on and on about how in love they are and how strong their love is. I found myself rolling my eyes thinking, "They've only know each other 4 months. New love is always perfect. Let's check back in a few years and see if they can still stomach the sight of each other." There was no change to either of the main characters. They fell madly in love at first sight and that was that. The author did attempt some character development in Mr. Bennet. First, she turned him into a total psycho. Then he had one of those "Saul on the road to Damascus" moments and turned completely around in one split second. He also was given the power to cure his wife of 20 years of nervousness with a single embrace. (Yeah, like that's believable!) Making Mr. Bennet so controlling and possessive is contrary to his original character and the other changes are too little too late.

So, if you like romance novels with explicit sex and no theme, then buy this book. If you are looking for something in the same vein as Jane Austen, save your money and keep looking because you won't find it here. Yes, I have the contradictory view of this book, "...and now despise me if you dare!"

I feel something like regret for buying this...
I am a fan of ALL of the re-tellings, sequels, alternate realities, 'what ifs', etc. of Pride & Prejudice. I don't care if there are inaccuracies, or the language is not like Jane Austen's (I mean, really, who's going to write exactly like her, I ask?). Anyone expecting a "second Jane Austen" to emerge out of these types of books will always be disappointed.

I think that the point is that Jane created two amazing literary figures in Elizabeth and Darcy. And it's always interesting seeing these well-developed characters in new situations, with new interpretations by different authors. To me, if the representation of Jane's characters are true to the original spirit - then bring on the new situations to put 'em in! But not in this book...

I'm sorry, but I really regret buying Chance Encounters. I guess I don't understand why there are so many positive reviews about it?! In fact, it's these same positive reviews that prompted me to spend $22 and are now prompting me to write my first ever review. I felt so much regret, that I didn't want someone else making the same mistake.

There were some bright moments and interesting new takes (like drawing the conclusion that Darcy's mother had the same constitution of his cousin Anne, showing a family trait), but those bright moments are few and far between and at times it's just painful to read.

Examples: the reason the book is 400+ pages long is not because you're going to get a lot of story or time in the P&P world -- it's that the same story gets repeated over AND over AND over again. Lord and Lady Matlock recognize Elizabeth in a public setting - and that same story is repeated in no less than 6 different places. In another instance (hope I'm not giving anything away here) Mr. Bennett opposes the attachment - and that fact gets repeated over AND over AND over AND over (and not in the context of dialogue of one character relating it to another) which caused many an eye roll for me. It may be just me, but I could find no reason to spell out the same story constantly, as it didn't help the story. When the exact same scene was written out the seventh time, I actually said, "come on!" out loud...

Also, I do believe that Darcy is extremely passionate under that stolid, reserved mask of his, but I don't believe that he would cry as much as depicted in this story. Elizabeth is ALWAYS wiping the tear streaks from this man's cheeks at the drop of a hat. He's a "weeper" according to Linda Wells. As is Colonel Fitzwilliam and all of the other men in the story. Soooooo not the Darcy that Jane Austen wrote.

Which brings me back to the original point. A good sequel, to me, should continue the "spirit" of characters that you just can't get enough of. Regardless of factual points, or true Regency language, or historical accuracy.

I buy the sequels because I love the characters and am still interested in them. But the bad writing style and repetitive nature of Chance Encounters just kept pulling me out of that fictitious world (even more than all the typing errors, unfinished sentences, lack of plot and grammatical issues).

In fact, the story made me think more about the chunk of money I lost in buying it, than losing myself in the brilliant Jane Austen characters. I feel pretty comfortable in saying that there are MUCH better sequels out there with so much more to feed our obsession with Elizabeth and Darcy than this book. Trust me.

Enjoyable but not really P&P
I did enjoy this book, but agree with the previous comments regarding editing. I don't need a lot of he said, she said but it really wasn't clear who was speaking when.

Although the book was a little long and I did skip through quite a few bits it was a pleasant diversion. However I never really felt as though it was Darcy and Elizabeth of P&P. Darcy semms to have achieved his change in attitude merely by delaying going to Netherfield? Elizabeth openly'"picks up" a man at the theatre? This stretches the imagination a little too far.