Pemberley Gothick: A Collection of Gothick Tales Inspired by Jane Austen

While in the middle of writing a book of study notes for Pride and Prejudice , the author took a break and amused herself by writing a short story in the style of Jane Austen entitled A Night at Pemberley . She submitted it to a Jane Austen Fan Fiction web site and it was well received, encouraging her to attempt other, ever wilder, flights of Jane Austen-based fantasy – Darcy as a vampire, Darcy falling in love with Ann Radcliffe's Emily instead of Elizabeth, ghosts at Pemberley (from Mrs De Burgh's comment about the "shades of Pemberley", and many more. Darcy fans should note that these stories celebrate the gothic, rather than the romantic, in Jane Austen's oeuvre. They are the kind of gothic burlesque which Jane Austen herself enjoyed writing in her early work, particularly Northanger Abbey . The author also expresses some scepticism about the relationship between Darcy and Elizabeth – which is heresy to many Jane Austen fans – you have been warned! She has also written several other Jane Austen inspired works, including Wickham , Darcy's Daughters and Sex and Sensibility, and enjoyed it so much that the study notes are still unfinished. Prospective purchasers should note that some of these stories have been published separately or in other collections. Please check the list of contents. Pride and Prejudice is an 1813 novel of manners written by Jane Austen. The novel follows the character development of Elizabeth Bennet, the dynamic protagonist of the book who learns about the repercussions of hasty judgments and comes to appreciate the difference between superficial goodness and actual goodness. Mr. Bennet, owner of the Longbourn estate in Hertfordshire, has five daughters, but his property is entailed and can only be passed to a male heir. His wife also lacks an inheritance, so his family faces becoming very poor upon his death. Thus, it is imperative that at least one of the girls marry well to support the others, which is a motivation that drives the plot. When Elizabeth Bennet first meets eligible bachelor Fitzwilliam Darcy, she thinks him arrogant and conceited; he is indifferent to her good looks and lively mind. When she later discovers that Darcy has involved himself in the troubled relationship between his friend Bingley and her beloved sister Jane, she is determined to dislike him more. When Elizabeth Bennet first meets eligible bachelor, Fitzwilliam Darcy, she thinks him arrogant and conceited; he is indifferent to her good looks and lively mind. This novel shows the folly of judging by first impressions and evokes the friendships, gossip and snobberies of provincial middle-class life. It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.