And This Our Life

New Book Continues Where Austen’s ‘Pride and Prejudice’ Leaves Off

“Pride and Prejudice” has been a favorite of Jane Austen fans since its publication in 1813. In “And This Our Life: Chronicles of the Darcy Family Book I” (published by iUniverse - http://www.iuniverse.com), C. Allyn Pierson picks up where Jane Austen left off, taking readers through the engagement and first year of marriage of Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy.

As the book opens, readers are immediately embroiled in the hectic preparations of the Bennet family for the double wedding of daughters Elizabeth and Jane. In the whirlwind events of the early chapters, “And This Our Life” re-introduces Georgiana Darcy, a character relatively underdeveloped by Austen. Pierson gives her readers insight into Georgiana’s shy nature and anxiety over assuming her role as a woman in Regency-era high society.

As Pierson weaves the saga of the Bennet and Darcy families, she focuses on the hurdles Elizabeth faces as she endeavors to settle into life as a married woman. Elizabeth finally prevails when she conducts her first holiday ball at Pemberley, the Darcy ancestral estate, successfully introducing herself and the Bennet family to the country gentry.

Flush from her success, Elizabeth then turns her attention to young Georgiana Darcy, intent on drawing her young sister-in-law out of her shell. In the course of becoming friends, young Georgiana confesses that she is in love. As with any Austen book, the heroine devises a plan to bring her new friend together with her desired suitor:

I always worshipped him as a child and thought of him as almost another brother, but it was not until my stupidity with Wickham that I realized that I had let a foolish, romantic tale almost make me do something that would ruin my life, as well as the lives of my relations. Colonel Fitzwilliam came to see me afterwards and he had not one word of blame for me; his only concern was for my well-being. My brother was of course the same, but he is my brother, not a cousin who has been saddled with the guardianship of a stupid young girl. I think that was the moment when I realized that I had always loved him, and not merely as a brother!

“And This Our Life” expertly incorporates Austen’s characters and comedic style to weave a colorful and whimsical story that will engross even the staunchest Jane Austen fan.

About the Author: C. Allyn Pierson is a mother of two and a dermatologist who lives in Fort Dodge, Iowa, with her husband.