A Matter of Prudence by Lucy Marin

 

A Matter of Prudence is a Pride and Prejudice regency variation in which Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet’s journey to true love is complicated by misleading conjectures and unexpected villains. In this novel, Mr. Darcy soon realizes he loves Elizabeth Bennet, but he is led to believe she may be betrothed to Mr. Collins, her cousin who was raised at Longbourn from a young age. This apprehension doesn’t cause much angst, but it is an obstacle these characters must face before they find happiness.

The fact that Mr. Collins was raised at Longbourn was one of my favorite aspects of this book because this small deviation altered the personalities of several secondary characters, starting in Mr. Collins himself and ending in Mrs. Bennet. I absolutely loved to see how the love of his cousins shaped Mr. Collins personality. Being raised in a loving family who cherished him made Mr. Collins a more sensible person, even if he is still very insecure and in need of a guiding hand to reassure him of the right path, he is not the buffoon we often see characterized. The relationship he establishes with his cousins was beautiful and even the effects it had on Mrs. Bennet was interesting. Knowing she would not be thrown into the hedgerows made Mrs. Bennet a much more pondered person who was not hysterical or silly, and that was wonderful. In fact, Lucy Marin’s greatest feat in this book was to alter the events so that her portrayal of these characters remained very true to the original, but more tamed as a result of the variations added, so even though these characters are still the same, and perfectly recognizable by any JAFF fan, they are also quite different and refreshing. The balance between these two points was magnificent.

The unexpected villains were also incredible! A change I absolutely loved because it changed the entire novel and made it unexpected. I don’t think it is a huge spoiler to mention them because it is quite clear from the beginning of the book, but in A Matter of Prudence all Bingley siblings are opportunistic people waiting to trap the Darcy’s into marriages of convenience. Having Mr. Bingley as a cunning young man who doesn’t care for Mr. Darcy or Jane Bennet was refreshing and I loved the impact it had on the book.

The relationship between Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth is very sweet in this novel and they both take the time to know one another and fall in love, and the fact that Mr. Darcy is unsure if she is available made it even more interesting because it allowed his feelings to flourish more ardently. However, I did love the fact that he was always uncertain about the lies he was being told, and that he kept wanting to talk to Elizabeth about them, and make sure he didn’t make assumptions without hearing her out first.

A Matter of Prudence is a beautifully written book, and the author’s deviations from Pride & Prejudice were among the most intriguing I’ve seen in the past year. Instead of just repeating the same scenes and dialogues, the author was able to truly change the story while maintaining the intense romance between Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth, and that was the game changer for me. After reading so many P&P variations, it may become a bit repetitive to see the same script developed with only minor changes, Lucy Marin was able to add minor changes but revamp the entire feeling of the book, making it an unforgettable story. I highly recommend this book to readers who love to see Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth find their way to HEA in romantic and uncomplicated manner.

 

Audiobook Narration:

Jane Bennet’s Level

This was the first audiobook I heard Caius Ashburn narrate and it was an agreeable experience, especially when hearing the female characters, however, the lower tones, namely Mr. Darcy’s sentences were a bit hard to hear while I was commuting, requiring a more silent environment. I would also like to see more inflexion in the dialogues, which sometimes felt flat, but it was still a good narration. 

 

You can find A Matter of Prudence at:

Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk

Kindle Unlimited and Audible

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