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The Darcy Governess by April Karber
108 Plays2 months ago
What if Pride & Prejudice began with the death of Mr Bennet? What if Elizabeth set out to forge her own path as a governess to avoid marrying Mr Collins? What if she wound up as Georgiana Darcy's governess? Make sure you've brushed up on your Charlotte Bronte to join Stefanie and Melinda as they discuss literary mash-ups, if the fortune teller dress up is the worst part of Jane Eyre, and how Melinda managed to avoid spoilers for nearly 200 year old book, in The Darcy Governess by April Karber.
Links & Mentions
You can find April Karber and her excellent memes @msjaneauten.
If you need subtitles or a transcript, these are available through Apple Podcasts. Please note, they are auto generated so we apologise in advance for it not correctly understanding our accents on certain words.
As always you can find us (and our memes) on Instagram @janeaustenremixed and you can contact us via janeaustenremixed@gmail.com.
Join us every second Monday to hear all about a new adaptation of our favourite classic novel. Next episode we will be reading Pride & Prejudice & Mistletoe by Melissa De La Cruz and watching its companion Hallmark movie, directed by Don McBrearty.
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Transcript
Mashup Proposal: Elizabeth as a Governess
00:00:00
Speaker
Hey Melinda. Hey Stephanie. What if I told you that Mr. Bennett died at the start of Pride and Prejudice and Elizabeth Bennett set out from home to become a governess to financially support her family, winding up at the country manor of the mysterious and secretive Mr. Darcy.
00:00:17
Speaker
I would say this sounds suspiciously like another classic book and I'm intrigued to see how these two get mashed together.
Podcast Intro & Discovery of 'The Darcy Governess'
00:00:37
Speaker
Welcome to Jane Austen Remixed, the podcast where we examine the scholarly and secretive world of Pride and Prejudice adaptations. I'm Stephanie. And I'm Melinda. And today we are examining The Darcy Governess by April Carver.
00:00:51
Speaker
This is another quite recent addition to my collection, and I found this one via April's Instagram, at Miss J Austen, where she posts excellent Austen memes.
Exploring Thematic Crossovers: Jane Eyre & Pride and Prejudice
00:01:00
Speaker
This novel is, as we accidentally foreshadowed in the last episode, and Melinda just mentioned, a mashup of Jane Eyre and Pride and Prejudice.
00:01:10
Speaker
Now, there are already a lot of similarities between the novels, rich grumpy men with big houses and young women left in their care, as well as pesky cousins who are members of the clergy and hellbent on marrying our delightful heroines.
00:01:24
Speaker
So, there is a lot of crossover between Bronte and Austen and I myself am a fan of both, despite the walking red flag that is Edward Rochester. Absolutely. He's waving that flag so big. It's like, what is it? Semaphore.
00:01:40
Speaker
but they Yeah. I was going to say, it's not so much a flag as someone like shaking a queen sized bed sheet in the background as
Elizabeth's New Role & Emotional Challenges
00:01:49
Speaker
a warning. All right, so to start us off, Melinda, can you please share the blurb as a spoiler-free intro for our listeners who are possibly interested in pre-reading the novel? When Mr. Bennett's untimely demise leaves his wife and daughters destitute, Elizabeth Bennett refuses to succumb to their dire circumstances.
00:02:08
Speaker
Determined and self-reliant, she seizes control of her fate by accepting a position as a governess in the prestigious Darcy household. As Elizabeth assumes her role, the sudden reappearance of the enigmatic master of the house adds a new layer of complexity to her life.
00:02:27
Speaker
She soon discovers that Mr. Darcy is a man of hidden depths and secrets, compelling her to confront the conflicts between her sense of duty and her growing desires. Now, a slight warning here, there are some slightly racier moments in this. There are no sex scenes though, so it is still a clean version, but it does have some racy hissing scenes. Alright, get off here if you've decided to read the book, and also possibly you might need to brush up on your Jane Eyre while you're at it.
00:02:57
Speaker
Otherwise,
Plot Divergence & Elizabeth's Adaptation
00:02:58
Speaker
let's get stuck in. This book shears off from the original almost immediately, by beginning with the death of Mr. Bennett. Mrs. Bennett and her nerves are even more hysterical than usual, and she insists on hiding her best silverware in her mourning clothes for the funeral, as if she expects to return after the event to find herself locked out of her home. Oh wow.
00:03:16
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. So we quickly learn that the family are fully unacquainted with Mr. Collins in this version. And indeed, he is still a stranger when he sends a letter to announce his imminent arrival at Longbourn. Lizzie reads the letter and immediately catches on in a way that her mother does not, that he intends to take a wife from among the sisters. And given Jane's beauty and prospects, she is well aware that the duty will fall to her as the second daughter. She stoically tries to assess the man on his merits before outright rejecting the idea, which lasts maybe until he's just inside the house upon his arrival.
Elizabeth's Move to London & New Opportunities
00:03:53
Speaker
Doesn't take long. In fact, Mrs. Bennett, who has not left her bed except to attend the funeral since the death of her husband, quick smart gets all the girls and herself to Aunt Phillips' house after making her usurp as acquaintance, seeming to realise that the longer the girls spend with him, the less likely any of them are to marry him.
00:04:13
Speaker
True. It's so true. Elizabeth, feeling the matchmaking noose begin to tighten, thwarts her mother's plans and simply announces that she is going to move to London to stay with the gardeners and take a post as a governess. Aunt Gardner immediately responds to Lizzie's request to stay and tells her to bring Jane as well. Yes, Mrs. Gardner again showing she is one of the MVPs of Pride and Prejudice.
00:04:37
Speaker
Absolutely. Their aunt in this version is just as wonderful as she is in the original. She's keen to socialise her nieces and keep them away from their mother's scheming so they can meet actually nice husbands. She's worried about Lizzie's decision, but supportive nonetheless, and I've included a quote for you to read. "'How is your mother?' Aunt Gardiner asked, pouring Elizabeth a tall cup of tea. "'Our leaving gave her some sense of peace. "'She was quite agitated in Jane's presence "'as she saw every moment of Jane at home, a wasted one. "'She's very anxious that she is married, you see, "'and has put all her hope in that.'
00:05:14
Speaker
My absence was a relief, and I think she will try her best to ignore my existence until I share my first pay. Mrs Gardner knew enough to not completely contradict Elizabeth and instead offered comfort where she could.
00:05:27
Speaker
You will find work very soon, Lizzie. I am sure of it. It's very in keeping with the characters. Yes, absolutely. Now, Lizzie is well aware that her aunt and uncle won't be able to keep both girls with them for a long time because it is expensive to keep them and they have their own children to
Becoming Georgiana's Governess
00:05:45
Speaker
support as well. So Lizzie is determined to get to work as soon as possible so that Jane has the longest possible time to stay in London so she can focus on finding a husband.
00:05:54
Speaker
A fortnight later, Lizzie convinces her uncle to let her walk to the postbox alone when he is too busy to help her post her job applications. Setting off, she runs into Denny and Wickham, with whom she is acquainted with from Meriton. After brief hellos, Lizzie is left to walk on a alone and melancholy with the knowledge that her attraction to Wickham can go nowhere now that she is nothing more than a governess with absolutely no dowry whatsoever. no single tear. Dodged a bullet, Lizzie. You'll learn eventually. You'll learn. You'll learn. Thankfully, in narrative terms, we don't have to dwell on that for too long, because while continuing on to the post, looking down to count her letters, Lizzie walks smack into an older woman and her young charge, who were likewise not focused on what was in front of them. Amid their mutual polite exclamations and dropped letter regathering, the polite older woman spots her own name on one of the letters that she hands back to Lizzie. our heroine has bumped into none other than Mrs. Annesley, the soon-to-be-retiring governess of Miss Georgiana Darcy.
00:06:59
Speaker
Ah. Now, Georgiana in this retelling is only 10 years old, making her an exact match for Mr. Rochester's definitely not illegitimate daughter Adele.
00:07:10
Speaker
impressed by elizabeth's manners and presentation mrs annennasley tells her to do away with the rest of her applications and that she will send a carriage for lizzie that afternoon So
00:07:25
Speaker
so far so jane ey Yes, yes. The household is abuzz about the new governess, who seems so much like a proper lady. But Lizzie is determined to keep her quote-unquote tragic backstory to herself. During all of this, we get introduced to the Bingleys in absentia, through the eyes of the current governess, Mrs Annesley, and Mrs Reynolds, a housekeeper, along with their thoughts on the women in general who are chasing Mr Darcy. And it is hilarious. I've included some slightly condensed quotes for you to read. "'The master is taking his time getting married,' Mrs Reynolds announced. "'Not that I'm complaining, of course. Better know one than... Miss Bingley?'
00:08:08
Speaker
the older woman interjected. "'In truth, Miss Bingley had only come to Mrs Annisley's mind "'because she had seen that particular lady most recently.' There were dozens she could have named. The ladies, as beautiful as they may appear from afar, possess not the same quality up close. Half were dull and half were conniving, simpering, ladder-climbing socialites. The dull half had mothers who were conniving, simpering, and ladder-climbing, and the conniving had dull mothers.
00:08:38
Speaker
Fair. Fair. It's savage, but also probably true. Yeah. Yeah. The narrator then goes on to absolutely roast Bingley and Caroline in hilarious fashion, intimating that Charles is a bit thick while his sister is such a punish that the staff drew lots to see who would be stuck serving her as she lounged about the Darcy London mansion while her brother studied in the library.
Elizabeth's Newfound Independence
00:09:01
Speaker
oh Wow, okay. Things aren't well liked. That's, I mean, Caroline's never well liked. They don't have any problems with his manners, but they are disappointed that he takes so long to study because it means she's around a lot longer. oh okay. Of course. As Lizzie settles into her role in her new home, there are some touching scenes.
00:09:22
Speaker
Her first ever bedroom. and a bed that is hers alone. She spent her whole life sharing a room and a bed with Jane after all. And then of course, she needs new dresses and orders herself a half a dozen, a luxury she has never had before. Not only are they new, she has never owned so many at one time.
00:09:39
Speaker
It's sweet, and these pieces of the story all go a long way to showing the happiness, sadness, and disorientation that Elizabeth is feeling as she settles into a new life that is, though not what she ever expected, certainly thrilling. And our girl is reveling in having her own freedom and her own money for the first time in her life. Woo-hoo!
00:09:58
Speaker
Yeah! As we move through the novel, the family begins to prep to travel to Pemberley to meet up with Colonel Fitzwilliam, and we learn that Darcy travels far and wide and is often absent for long periods, sending gifts for his sister to make up for his neglect.
00:10:13
Speaker
And this is where we see the first melding of Rochester and Darcy. This Mr Darcy is not as present as he could be for his beloved sister, leaving her to almost be entirely raised by staff with little familial contact. Oh, well, it makes it, as you've said, it makes it more Mr Rochester, but it's a sad indictment on the character of Darcy and sad for Georgiana too. Yes, absolutely. Once at Pemberley, Lizzie finds herself in the company of Fitz, who, apart from being an outrageous flirt, tells Lizzie that his cousin asked him to spy on her and report back as to whether Mrs Reynolds' assessment of the new governess is correct.
00:10:51
Speaker
So he's not a wingman in this one. He's a, well, he may turn into a wingman, but he's a spy at this point. No comment. Oh, huh. Okay.
00:11:02
Speaker
Fitz declares that he will have to spend so much time in Lizzie's presence that he couldn't possibly have time to write back to Darcy. And Lizzie's trademark prejudice begins to creep in.
00:11:13
Speaker
Why on earth does this man who employs her spend so much time inquiring after his staff and his grounds and his sister from a distance when he could simply be there in his own house with his family instead?
00:11:24
Speaker
He is mega rich after all. Elizabeth concludes that he must be pompous, overbearing and controlling to carry on like that, despite the fact that everyone at Pemberley who does know him seems perfectly happy to roll with his quite odd requests and forgive him the long absences. However, Mr Darcy's imminent arrival is foreshadowed by Fitz remarking that there have been just too many changes for his cousin to be comfortable staying away for much longer. Now Darcy's arrival almost perfectly matches Rochester's. We are treated to Lizzie taking a long walk into Lambton because of course. And as she crests a hill, she is startled by a large dog and a simply enormous horse, which rears and tosses its rider into the rocks.
00:12:08
Speaker
Darcy, of course, accuses Lizzie of being a witch before demanding her help to get back on his horse since he has sprained his ankle in the fall. Realising that this huge hulk of a man is actually not a vagrant, but actually probably quite wealthy and just unkempt from travel, she gets him back on his horse and hopes to be well shot of the rude man forever.
Awkward First Meeting: Elizabeth & Darcy
00:12:27
Speaker
This guy does not give his name, but he does introduce his huge dog, who is now lovingly drooling onto Lizzie's skirts, as Rochester. oh gro I you've got to do it. You've got to do it. You've got to do it. We love it. You have to do it. Always later, Elizabeth returns home to find that the master of the house has arrived. And it is, of course, the man from the road who is now bathed, freshly shaven, and properly dressed. He gently mocks her while trying to goad her into praising herself, which she obviously avoids because our girl is nothing if not sensible whether or not she is in a character meld with Jane Eyre. This Darcy is guarded, suspicious, and determined not to fall under the spell of the new governess, despite Mrs Reynolds thinking she is wonderful and his own cousin having clearly fallen in love with her in a platonic never-gonna-happen kind of way. Our girl is possibly even sassier in this version, having gained Jane Eyre's lack of patience for social propriety, particularly when it comes to the grumpy men who employ them as governesses. Unbeknownst to her, though, Darcy is already well on his way to yearning, and he falls asleep fitfully thinking about her fine eyes.
00:13:39
Speaker
a Now, the forcing function of Darcy having to stay put at Pemberley in this story is that his ankle is actually not sprayed, but fully broken, and he is forbidden to so much as, quote,
00:13:53
Speaker
move rooms without the help of three servants, let alone leave the country without the help of any. As the story progresses, we get more hints towards this Darcy's character. Like Rochester, he hates being home and has not been there for more than a fortnight in five years. And unlike the original Darcy, he's a successful businessman with interests in places as far flung as Turkey, which add to the already enormous fortune to be founded in the Pemberley estate. But why on earth is one of the richest men in the country lowering himself to partake in trade.
00:14:27
Speaker
Agreed. There's a quote for you. Okay. Darcy had established successful businesses in each country he ever visited, more than doubling the intake of his estate, but because it would have been a mark of the lower classes, never let it go public. He had received enough attention from the ton with 10,000 a year.
00:14:46
Speaker
He could not stomach the notoriety of his success, bringing in double that and more. Besides, Darcy was spurred by a gnawing fear. that his future may require the use of his extra earnings.
00:14:58
Speaker
He was not a stranger to blackmail, and would often wake up in a cold sweat, having dreamt that history would repeat itself. Once Georgiana was grown and matched, he could worry less, no longer needing to account for the safety of her reputation.
00:15:13
Speaker
He cared little for what would happen to him if her future did not lie in the balance. Oh, that's odd. She's 10 in this, right? So far, so mysterious.
00:15:24
Speaker
Yes. Let's press on and find out what he is hiding, other than a burning desire to prove to everyone who has fallen for Lizzie's charms that she is actually conniving and awful.
00:15:35
Speaker
Good luck, mate. As the story meanders on, in a good way, The two get to know each other slowly, and Darcy begins to put together the backstory of his mysteriously well-bred governess, showing her sympathy for the loss of her father. Lizzie, on the other hand, is still getting weird mixed messages and is torn between thinking he is a good man and an incredibly selfish one for spending so much time so far away from his family merely to enjoy the frivolities of travel.
00:16:00
Speaker
As Darcy continues to haunt around, we get some semblances of scenes from Lizzie's visit to Rosings Park. There is one scene in Georgiana's maths lessons that resembles a piano scene at Rosings, with Lizzie calling out Darcy for staring at her, while Darcy continually hangs around Fitz and Lizzie, trying to suss out their connection, despite knowing that his cousin needs to marry a woman with a fortune to uphold his family's dignity and indeed his own social position. We learn here as well that Darcy is moving around to avoid none other than Mr Wickham. Okay.
00:16:33
Speaker
Fitz casually brings up one afternoon when Lizzie is not around that old mate has joined the militia and is moving from town to town, leaving debts in his wake. Darcy becomes very twitchy at the thought of Wickham finding out he is at Pemberley and asks Fitz to pull strings to have him removed as far as possible in military postings away from Derbyshire.
00:16:53
Speaker
Ah, the Colonel part comes into play. His thoughts turn darkly to having Jean married off the day she turns 16 to a good man who will keep her safe. And the plot thickens again. As the big man, indeed Darcy is described as a hulking figure while Lizzie now has Jane Eyre's tiny stature. continues to fall for the feisty governess who seems utterly unafraid or impressed by him. Our heroine is finding him exhausting to have around. Elizabeth finds his constantly swinging moods perplexing while she strives to find something to say or to do that will make her employer think better of her. Like in the original, Lizzie interprets his dark looks and silence as disapproval, not what they actually are, which is annoyance and having found his intellectual equal and more annoyance with the whole business of falling desperately in love with her. That'll do it.
00:17:41
Speaker
That'll do it. And there are some very funny moments in this process, and I have included a slightly abridged one that occurs after he is presented with a rather silly painting that Elizabeth has created in A Lesson with Georgiana.
Tension and Humor in Darcy & Elizabeth's Interactions
00:17:55
Speaker
That sounds intriguing. Miss Darcy remained blissfully unaware of the tension, whereas Elizabeth was drowning in it. She had never seen Mr Darcy look so sour, irritable and intimidating. Darcy opened his mouth and closed it again.
00:18:09
Speaker
He repeated it several times in what Elizabeth could only assume was an attempt to phrase her dismissal, when sudden gales of laughter escape. That songbird, he finally managed between gasping breaths, is the most unspeakable thing I have seen, Miss Bennet.
00:18:26
Speaker
Unspeakable? Elizabeth demanded to hide her relief. Duchess Dovetail and her band of singing squirrels resent that. Fair. It's an anthropomorphic songbird who has squirrels as backup dancers. Excellent. Greenlight it. There's some fun parts to this that I really enjoyed.
00:18:46
Speaker
So, as the weeks pass, Lizzie finally begins to pick up on some of the less obtuse signals from her employer and desperately begins to hope that he is not trying to put her in a compromising position or indeed that he might think that she is trying to entrap him in some way. please note that I have elected to ignore the slight ickiness of the power imbalance between a teenaged governess and her older and much more socially powerful employer because of the time period of the original
Darcy's Secret Evaluation of Elizabeth
00:19:14
Speaker
stories. We are not going to fall into the trap of putting too modern a lens on these story tropes. I can see you nodding, Melinda.
00:19:20
Speaker
Yes, agreeing. it's always It's always a bit gross. But yes, yeah good. Let's skate on past it. Everything's fine here, guys. I don't what you're talking about. Now, two things happen that we know are linked.
00:19:31
Speaker
Jane writes to say that she has met a lovely young man in London who has called on her six times and she is falling in love. Then Mr. Darcy... announces that Mr Bingley and his sister, singular, are coming to visit while they're touring the country in search of an estate to call home. Unspoken is the fact that Bingley is the only other person Darcy trusts not to spread his whereabouts while he desperately hopes that he can trust Miss Bingley to be discreet. Lizzie is distressed on two fronts.
00:19:58
Speaker
One, she is no longer a gentleman's daughter and will be treated as staff by the visitors. And two, Darcy insists that 10-year-old Georgiana act as the hostess for their guests, since Darcy is still hobbling on his healing ankle. Unbeknownst to Elizabeth, this is actually a test for her, as she will need to guide Georgiana through her duties. Darcy is actually wanting to test her hostess abilities and indeed her suitability as a wife. Okay. That makes more sense. I was going to say, why is the 10 year old hosting the family? Yeah. That makes more sense. it's It's very much in line with Rochester inventing excuses to have Jane around when he has his guests. Yes.
00:20:41
Speaker
Yes. That sounds very familiar. I'm just hoping, and I'm going to look away so you don't give it away, I'm really hoping there isn't a scene where Mr. Darcy dresses up as a witch and gives everyone's fortunes. Worst, weirdest part of Jane Eyre. Honestly. of my favourite parts.
00:20:59
Speaker
The Bingley's arrive and they are much the same. Charles is his lovely self and Caroline is a snobbish cow, perfect as the simulacrum of Blanche Ingram with no changes to her character. Caroline immediately gets roasted again by Elizabeth this time and I've popped in a quote for you because we love to see it. We do love a a roasting.
00:21:18
Speaker
From the look of her, Caroline Bingley seemed a high-class, well-connected member of the ton, without the manners or personality to match, making her just the type of person Elizabeth could do without. For all the wealth, titles and land one could amass, personality, manners and intelligence did not automatically come with them.
00:21:38
Speaker
Yep. Bingley immediately asks Elizabeth of her connection to Jane and almost refuses to speak of anything else from that moment onwards. Lizzie immediately realizes that this must be the young man from Jane's letter. ah More letters arrive from the Bennets, one from Jane saying that her suitor has left the city. Lizzie immediately suspects a ploy from Caroline to separate the lovebirds. and one from her mother, saying that Charlotte is now Mrs Collins and the mistress of Longbourn. Lizzie is, if not pleased for her friend, at least very understanding and hopes Charlotte will write soon so she can wish her well. Oh, okay, that's a different take. There are some character departures here that I really enjoy within this context. I think there's some some really fun builds and we'll talk about them all at the end. all right. In the meantime, in an attempt to
Misunderstandings & Unexpected Kiss
00:22:30
Speaker
trap Mr. Darcy, Miss Bingley connives a game of hide and seek in the dark. Oh, this is so much worse. You're going to wish that we were doing ah Darcy dressing up as a gypsy woman. Oh, no This is so much weirder. Right. Right. But not in a fun way. But it's so much weirder. This game leads to Darcy hobbling out of his chair, trapping Lizzie in a corner and kissing her in the pitch black. Great. She is mortified, assuming he meant to actually kiss Miss Bingley due to the fervour of the kiss.
00:23:02
Speaker
Oh, okay. She mistakenly assumes that they have been kissing in secret for some time. We the readers, of course, know that the fervor has been building for a while as Mr. Darcy's affection for Lizzie are currently at a fever pitch. His intentions are so intense at this point that he's already stealing himself for the onslaught of social disapprobation that will occur once the ton finds out that he has married his sister's governess.
00:23:28
Speaker
Yeah, drama central. Miss Bingley in the meantime only succeeded in accidentally clutching at her brother and is now in a foul mood. no Thankfully, like she just grabs his arm and he shrieks, like he screams.
00:23:41
Speaker
Mr. Darcy at this point begins to suspect that Miss Bennet is actually acutely unaware of his feelings for her and resolves to be more open now that he has quote unquote broken the ice with a kiss. Look, good thought, need to communicate feelings. Yep. yeah Bad thought, maybe kissing her not the best option. He was overcome. We find out later that he had no plans to do it and soon as the lights went out he was just like, screw it, I'm going in.
00:24:07
Speaker
Great. This Darcy is also waiting for an opportunity to tell Bingley to get himself together and make an offer to the older Miss Bennet. Oh, okay. Yes. So he's not anti-Jane. This Darcy knows that he previously would have worn Bingley off such a match, but now he is all for it because, well, people in glass houses.
00:24:29
Speaker
Oh, okay. I suppose that character growth coming early is good. Yes. So we do see a few little tweaks here that kind of bring the characters a little bit more into line with their Bronte counterparts. But then also it is like fun to see Carver as a fan of the original, sort of tweaking out those parts that probably annoyed her in the original.
00:24:51
Speaker
Like Darcy not being honest with his friend. Yeah. And I'm here for it. She's done it well. Mrs. Reynolds, on the other hand, starts dropping very obvious hints to Elizabeth about her becoming the mistress of Pemberley because she has not missed her boss telegraphing his affections. But like Jane in Jane Eyre, Lizzie interprets them as signs of an imminent proposal to Miss Bingley and she's pretty depressed about it. Meanwhile, Miss Bingley is not helping by starting to play house, putting herself in the position of hostess in the evenings and plotting to send Miss Bennet away as soon as she is secure in her position. But all her scheming is thwarted by Darcy and Bingley having that aforementioned heart to heart and Charles announcing that they will be returning to London post-haste before asking Elizabeth to inform her family there that he will be visiting. Ooh.
00:25:37
Speaker
She's got one more ace up her sleeve though. Uh oh. Walking the halls after a nighttime visit to Georgiana's bedside, Elizabeth is precariously balancing a bowl of water and a lantern when she hears a cry for help. She rushes in and finds Darcy on fire, his sleeve having caught a candle as he falls asleep. Shockingly, Miss Bingley appears in the doorway not long after that in a very sheer nightie, having been on her way to um get that bag, shall we say? She flees, and Elizabeth tries to do likewise, profusely apologising to Darcy for having got between him and his lover for a second time, and also at the same time trying to resign. He isn't having it, and he's actually quite badly burned. Elizabeth starts to render him first aid and we get a fun trope filled moment of Darcy having to get his shirt off. Lizzie is a tad overwhelmed at the sight of all the chest hair and muscles and Darcy takes the opportunity to kiss her again. Okay, my guy, might be overwhelmed, but you need to work on your game a little bit. He's trying really hard to control himself. And I was expecting this to get a bit spicier, but he does control himself because he doesn't want to like damage her reputation. She's then, oh my God, what are you doing? And he tells her that he planned to kiss her and definitely not Miss Bingley in the dark. And his only regret is that he was a tad more vigorous than he had intended.
00:26:58
Speaker
and this is where we get this book's version of the first proposal. And I've included it for you to read. One tiny
Darcy's Confession & Formal Courtship
00:27:04
Speaker
bit of it. Declaration of Love. Here we go. Give me your best Darcy. Come on. I love you, Miss Elizabeth Bennet. You have bewitched me, body and soul. i suspect that this may come as a surprise to you. And so i will delay saying more. I hope that you are not indifferent to my regard and you will accept my request to court you. Was that a good Matthew McFadden?
00:27:24
Speaker
ah tried I tried. liked it. I liked it. sir You felt more McFadden than first. He's definitely more of a McFadden vibe in this one. I think also just because McFadden is such a large man as well. So Lizzie agrees to be courted and heads back to tell a startled Mrs Reynolds that the master has burns and has had another fall, so maybe she should have someone fetch the doctor. Miss Bingley, her last card played, feigns a fever to avoid the lovebirds and Lizzie is all aflutter with happiness as she heads into Lambton a few days later and finds Mr Wickham waiting for her. Okay. I've been holding onto a thought because I was really hoping it wouldn't go this way. Yes. I have no idea where this is going, listeners. I have not read this as we've established. I was really hoping there wouldn't be a lantern incident because I was like, no, because that means Darcy's going to have a wife in the attic, which spoilers for Jane Eyre.
00:28:20
Speaker
playlist for a 250 year old book i managed to not know for far longer than i am genuinely impressed that you managed to not know this until this year but we will come back to that because now we have a story to tell we sure do um so i i am intrigued because it feels like mr wickham is being set up as rochester's wife's brother Mr. Mason. Mr. Mason, thank you. And that is the vibe I'm getting. I'm going to leave it at that and Stephanie can continue. But yes, I am a little concerned.
00:28:49
Speaker
We have a Mr. Mason situation
Wickham's Deceitful Plot
00:28:51
Speaker
on our hands. This is where we get our Wickham arc. So it actually strays away from Jane Eyre and back into Pride and Prejudice territory. Good news. All right. Georgiana is 10. There's no trigger warning at the beginning.
00:29:06
Speaker
Good, good. Wickham's gonna Wickham and he launches straight into his sob story with plenty of added spice. Darcy not only defied his father's wishes and kept Wickham from his inheritance, but gambled away the family fortune and ruined the lives of many young women, promising them the world before deserting them. Conveniently for Wickham... Darcy of course only has eyes for women in foreign countries, except one, the love of Wickham's life, who Darcy impregnated with Georgiana. Oh, that's how they do it. Oof, okay. His parents covered it up by announcing that they had conceived another child and the high-born society lady's family were placated by the Darcy's procuring an older and well-respected gentleman to marry her. Then the final bomb drops. That husband is now dead and the widowed lady, cruelly torn from her only daughter, would like her back. She has entreated Wickham
00:30:02
Speaker
and to steal Georgiana away from her evil, morally bankrupt father, Mr Darcy, and restore her to her mother's love. Oh, okay. It's a great twist on it. It works quite well. It's really inventive. it puts Georgiana directly in the position of Adele. Sure does. But Wickham doesn't know about Darcy and Elizabeth, and this will turn out to be the fly in the ointment. He goes on to tell her that Georgiana's fake older brother can't possibly be paying attention to his sister daughter and she will be easy to steal away because Darcy will be too busy shagging Caroline. Oh, okay. That's a big assumption, though I suppose it would make sense, right? He is assuming that Elizabeth is not spending any time with them and she won't be with them in the drawing room at nighttime. And actually, and he assumes that she will know nothing about that relationship because he would assume that staff members are shut away from the society people.
00:30:57
Speaker
Of course. What is particularly gross about this Wickham, and this Wickham is egregious. is that while he is spinning this tale to Lizzie, we are inside his head listening to how he is relishing how good his story is that he's telling and thinking forward to the ransom he will receive, as well as the m pleasures that Elizabeth will provide while he waits for the money to come through, because after he whisks both of them away to hide them, he is certain that she won't refuse him after a few days of him wearing her down. Ew. Reading that bit made my skin crawl.
00:31:33
Speaker
Oh, I bet. Also, you know, i suppose snaps to Wickham for the self-confidence to think that his yeah plan's going to work. yeah But, eww, yuck. There is a brief moment where he sees hesitation in her eyes, but he thinks to himself, having never been refused by any woman before, that don't worry, he's doing a good job. He's going to get away with it.
00:31:53
Speaker
Lizzie rushes back to Pemberley and just after she arrives back in the house, she hears a snippet of Darcy's conversation with Bingley. Darcy is telling Bingley about the spoils of overseas. And of course, Elizabeth assumes that the friends mean to seduce the sisters, then rack off overseas to seduce more women. Because she obviously has no idea that Darcy is actually traveling this much because he owns many, many businesses. She has no idea that Bingley's family were previously in trade. And so so he's clearly now bringing his friend into the secret of his overseas businesses. But unfortunately, this has the problem of sealing Lizzie's new opinion of her employer because she now thinks that he's confirming he's a rat bag. Huh.
00:32:35
Speaker
Okay. So the the prejudice kicks in after the proposal. it kind of started before he was grumpy, awful. And she thought he was away just kind of like gallivanting around rather than spending time with his family. She didn't understand that he was on the move so he couldn't get blackmailed and so that he could keep all of his businesses going in the occurrence that if he does get blackmailed, he has plenty of spare cash. Yeah, okay, that makes sense. He is power paranoid. Yeah, okay, very Rochester. Very.
00:33:06
Speaker
So, despite all of this, Lizzie cannot bring herself to remove Georgiana from a place where she knows the little girl is so happy, even if her father-brother is a ne'er-do-well.
Rescue Mission: Elizabeth & Darcy Unite
00:33:16
Speaker
Distraught, Lizzie writes a goodbye note to Georgiana and to Mrs Reynolds to apologise for her abrupt departure and flees the house, winding up at Longbourn. She is welcomed by Charlotte but and Mr Collins, and eventually she tells the whole sorry story to Charlotte, who tells her that Wickham has deserted the army. o Lizzie realizes that they don't actually know what is really going on, and our wonderful, sensible Charlotte tells Lizzie she did the right thing. There was no sense in ripping Georgiana away from everything she knows for some mysterious woman, mother or not. Lizzie is mollified and goes out for a walk to her favorite places around the estate, but her calm is shattered by the arrival of Mr. Darcy, who is demanding to see her because Georgiana has been kidnapped.
00:33:57
Speaker
Oh! No! So despite Lizzie's best efforts, Georgiana gets taken anyway. Darcy convinces the Collinses to allow him to speak to Lizzie. Bless them, they were trying to throw him out of the house. And between the two of them, they piece together several conversations and they figure out that Wickham has taken Georgiana to Lyme. Elizabeth still mostly believes Wickham at this point, despite seeing the ransom note for £80,000, which is six million dollars Woofed.
00:34:25
Speaker
In today's money. I was going to say $10,000 year. $80,000. Yeah, wow. Woofed. Yeah. But she loves Georgiana so much that she demands that Darcy take her too. He is planning to get on his horse and go and meet Fitz. So Darcy procures a carriage to preserve her honour while he, still with a mostly broken angle and a severely burned arm, goes on horseback. Of course, though, just like there is only ever one bed left at the inn, Darcy cannot ride hard enough to get to Georgiana any faster because he's already half dead. So he has to get in the carriage. Ha And this is where we get our letter scene. oh
00:34:58
Speaker
Oh, okay. But it plays out as a conversation. Nice. Elizabeth is determined to be unmoved as Darcy lays out the whole sorry story from start to finish. Here we diverge from the original with Wickham impregnating a 12-year-old married king who was the Darcy's next-door neighbour when he was just 15.
00:35:20
Speaker
He manages to talk his way out of it and the kings simply disappear to preserve their daughter's honour. This is closely followed by him knocking up one of the other serving girls she is promptly dispatched with, and so it goes on. The old Mr. Darcy dies, Wickham takes the money rather than the lodging, and he disappears, with Darcy left to uncover another pregnant serving girl. Unlike his father, Darcy kept her on and paid her generously to help her support the child. Good. And of course, the reason why Darcy was inviting Bingley to the spoils of overseas was to secure his friend's fortune, given that he was in love with a woman with no dowry to support them in the future. Ah, yes. Good call.
00:35:59
Speaker
All the pieces fall into place. It's actually a really sweet conversation that you hear, that hear like retold. Darcy's like, you have to go for the woman that you want. I know your father wants you to be a gentleman, but you have to be happy. Your son can be the gentleman. I just think it's really sweet. That's great. That's lovely. Lizzie unfortunately is still clinging to Wickham's words, refusing to believe Darcy is anything other than a rake.
Confronting Wickham & Engagement
00:36:20
Speaker
But as the journey goes on, her sensible side finally takes over and she begins to conquer her prejudice. Georgiana is thankfully found without much prelude and is unmolested in any way. Darcy arranges for Wickham to be shipped off to Australia. Imagine, what a punishment. Oh, go away. We don't want him. don't want him. It's even worse because Darcy's like, I have to get him out of the country for the safety of every woman. but I'm like, what about us?
00:36:46
Speaker
No. What about us? Send him to Antarctica. Please. Better yet. die on the journey at that era. Please. Do us all a favor. Tie a cinder block to his ankles and throw him in the Thames. but We do not condone murder. But unfortunately, as a parting shot, Wickham tells Darcy that he has had his way with Elizabeth before she ran away from Pemberley and he should expect a little gift in nine months' time. Oh no, no, no. Oh, that's a great move though.
00:37:17
Speaker
Lizzie overhears this because she had snuck into the hall to listen at the door. So Wickham is sent off and Darcy calls for Lizzie. They have a pages long innuendo leading conversation, not in like a sexy way, because Fitz is there. Yes. And so they're trying to talk about the courting thing without Fitz knowing what they're talking about. And so we get these, it's several pages. We get several pages of Fitz being like, I think they're talking about something Else.
00:37:42
Speaker
What is happening here? favourite himbo is sitting there, she's like, hang on a second. And he finally cottons on to the fact that something is going on. And finally, our favourite wingman is allowed to be actually useful. And after Lizzie leaves the room, he tartly remarks to his cousin that he had better sort out a new title for Miss Bennet because governors clearly doesn't suit her anymore. But I don't think that Georgiana doesn't get in on the act in this book either.
00:38:07
Speaker
While Darcy thinks his little sister hasn't noticed anything, Georgiana is still very intelligent and she precociously demands to be returned to her London home. Because don't you know Lizzie needs to be closer to her family after this terrible ordeal? Aw, cute. And so Darcy proposes to Elizabeth in private and they announce their intention to wed to a thrilled Georgiana and a very amused Fitz. Lizzie goes home to Grace Church Street and tries to keep her countenance as Bingley and Darcy turn up on the doorstep not long after. Aunt Gardner immediately assesses the situation and sends the four lovebirds out for a convenient walk. While she is acquainted with Bingley, she's never met Darcy, but she knows what's going on. Yeah. Yep. When they return, Bingley whisks their uncle off for a private chat while Aunt Gardiner successfully baits Lizzie and Darcy into betraying their own betrothal, giving Darcy her permission to wed her favourite niece just as Mr Gardiner comes beaming back into the room with the other soon-to-be bridegroom. And he says, Mrs Gardiner, we're to have a wedding. And she says, i think you'll find we're having two. So now we're at the end. I can actually reveal that I gave you homework for this episode, Melinda, because you had never read Jane Eyre. And I need you to explain to me why the woman who reads 100 books a year never managed Jane Eyre before 2025. Hi, my name Melinda.
00:39:29
Speaker
hi my name is melinda And I have a crime to confess to. um Okay, so I didn't, I guess Steph might bring this up, but I wasn't expecting to be so confronted. um Yes, I am an English literature major and somehow managed to just miss Jane Eyre.
00:39:53
Speaker
Scandalous. Yes. It has been a running joke with several different friends for about a decade. I'm not sure if Steph knew quite that early, but there have been several friends who have in the last few years bought me copies of Jane Eyre.
00:40:09
Speaker
to try and make me read it. It's not that I avoided it on purpose. It was just one of those things that I i never studied it. All of my studies were on Austen or other texts or Shakespeare or whatever. I missed the Brontes.
00:40:23
Speaker
Not completely. I had read Wuthering Heights. The worst Bronte. I know that's a different book and I didn't like it. And, you know, I didn't let that cloud my judgment. But, yes, I had just somehow...
00:40:36
Speaker
missed it. I have a massive TBR and so many classics I should have read that I have not read. So yes, I had somehow missed it. So yes, Steph said, I'm putting this this adaptation into this first batch of episodes. You have to read Jane Eyre. And yes, somehow I'd managed to miss in all of that time that Mr. Rochester had a wife locked in the attic. I knew something was up with a person in an attic because that's just, it's like- Osmosis.
00:41:08
Speaker
Yeah. Cultural osmosis. I knew books. Like it's, I did know there was something, but I did not know exactly what was going on. So I don't think I knew it was his wife. I think he just, I thought he just had a person locked in the attic. Not really any better, be honest. still bad.
00:41:28
Speaker
And yes, I read Jane Eyre this year for the first time. I was very confused. It's like six books in one. it's so many It's so many stories. It's so many things happening. I love it. I love it. i think I actually discovered you hadn't read Jane Eyre when we were discussing supernatural adaptations because I have Jane Slayer which is about Jane Eyre being born a vampire slayer and it involves zombies and werewolves and all sorts of things and I was like you have to read it and your response was well I guess have to read Jane Eyre first and I think I nearly fell over
00:42:00
Speaker
Yep. That's usually people's reaction. Yep. Absolute shock. Anyway, I've read it now. And on that note, what did you think? Did this live up to your expectations for a crossover?
Analyzing Character Dynamics
00:42:09
Speaker
i for one, am bitterly disappointed there was no wife in the attic because I thought that would have been hilarious.
00:42:14
Speaker
So I think I liked it was more Pride and Prejudice than Jane Eyre. I wasn't a massive fan of Jane Eyre. Reading it as a full adult makes a difference. Yes, I think that probably had a lot to do with it because I just kept thinking, just Rochester, say what you're thinking. Why are you dressing up as someone and trying to get someone to trick a confession? Why is Jane just saying nothing? Why is she running away in a carriage? Because she can't confront. Oh, it just kind of did my head in a little bit.
00:42:44
Speaker
and I didn't really like Mr. Rochester. So when the whole thing finished and Jane and and ended up like the reader, I married him. ah, what are we doing? So I liked the adaptation because I think it leaned away from the parts of Jane Eyre that I liked the least. And that's not to say I know plenty of people who love Jane Eyre. It just, I was very confused by it.
00:43:07
Speaker
Onto the analysis. In terms of narrative beats, this one follows, I feel, slightly more of a Jane Eyre structure with beats of Pride and Prejudice within it. The characters we know and love have been uprooted from their bucolic romance novel into a darker, more gothic style of novel. It works, but it does mean that quite a lot of our favourite story beats are missing. I did find myself wishing a few more were there, but overall I really enjoyed this book and the story arc that it followed, being a massive fan of both novels. There are obvious diversions into new territory.
00:43:43
Speaker
I really liked the misdirect of Wickham pretending Georgiana is Darcy's illegitimate daughter. and Caroline sneaking through the house instead of Bertha. Though, for my money, I would have made her accidentally set fire to the bed, then flee mid-seduction, rather than walking on in on Darcy having been extinguished, because I think that would have been much funnier. Yes. Okay, now I can see that.
00:44:06
Speaker
Lissy's character meld with Jane Eyre mostly works really well here. She is cut adrift from her former life and navigating society from a totally different level. It stands to reason that she is off kilter and her usual sharp wits fail her as she grasps for the truth amongst the unraveling stories and lies around her. She holds onto believing Wickham for much longer than I would like, but that's in keeping with his disorientation and his consummate skills as a liar. Darcy doesn't help by going from caustic grump to heart-eyed lover on a dime. We have seen his feelings developing, but Mr. Must Be Under Control at all times has successfully kept all of it from the object of his desire. Her horror at thinking she had been accidentally kissed alongside her feelings of, holy hell, that was actually quite fun, was very funny to experience as a reader.
00:44:52
Speaker
And we also get a strong dose of stubbornness from both characters as she demands to be taken to find Georgiana to help her feel safe post kidnapping. This mashup creates a fun new read on Elizabeth and I really enjoyed it, even when it strayed from the character that we know and love. This adaptation goes in deeply on a key feature of the original text that a lot of the adaptations we have read so far skip over.
00:45:15
Speaker
Like our book from last time, Carver really features those strong female relationships that we love from the original novel. Jane and Lizzie support each other through their grief and how they are planning to navigate this new position of lesser status that they now inhabit within society. Lizzie bonds with the housekeeper Mrs Reynolds immediately and her blossoming relationship with Georgiana is beautifully illustrated. Another thing that is often missing from the books is the deep and loving relationship between Elizabeth and her aunt Gardiner. And this book features that relationship really strongly. And it's one of the things I love most. Here we see Aunt Gardner as the mother that Lizzie and Jane always really needed. Yes, that definitely came across in your recap.
00:45:55
Speaker
I really wanted to bring that to the front. The one thing that does stand out to me is that Charlotte is not mentioned until page 48. And even then, it's only briefly in passing. Wow. Yeah, I do have a feel that this is rectified when Lizzie learns of her marriage to Mr. Collins.
00:46:11
Speaker
I really love Lizzie being so understanding of her friend's motivations and what she will endure in a husband in order to secure a comfortable life. This Elizabeth is greatly softened by her new social circumstances. I also love that when Elizabeth flees, she goes straight to Charlotte, who takes her in without a second thought.
00:46:28
Speaker
This Charlotte is smart, sensible, and very much in charge of her new household. And not even the wrath of Mr. Darcy will stop her barring him entrance to her home to save her friend. Even yet Mr. Collins gets his moment here. Despite being the long-winded fool we love to despise, he is totally down to back his wife and protect his cousin, despite feeling quite faint the idea of offending such a great man as Mr. Darcy.
00:46:55
Speaker
Like he's ready to throw down. That's great that Charlotte does get her moment. She seemed very on brand for Charlotte in this, which is great. Yeah, yeah, yeah. She is the Charlotte we know and love, like, dialed up to 11.
00:47:08
Speaker
Amazing. Speaking of favourite side characters, we also get a more fully sketched out friendship between Darcy and Fitz, as well as more insight into Fitz's unfortunate predicament than we do in the original novel. There is more Fitz in this book, and he's not entirely the happy himbo-adjacent Fitz that we know and love. This man is grittier, as befitting a more gothic style of novel.
00:47:30
Speaker
Abandoned by his family financially, always second fiddle to a titled brother who simply refuses to marry, and socially in the shadow of his far wealthier cousin who also refuses to marry, this Colonel Fitzwilliam is jaded and wary, but he falls instantly for Elizabeth, much like in the original. But in this version, i found it even more bleak that he cannot pursue his heart but because in this adaptation, he can't even pursue his fortune.
00:47:54
Speaker
Because the other two are unmarried, no women will even look at him. Yeah, that's rough. However, it is really nice to see just how happy he is that his closest friend and cousin has secured this wonderful woman for a wife. He wingmans them together successfully instead of accidentally pulling them further apart.
00:48:11
Speaker
Yes, well done. Finally, successful. Happens every so often. Every now and again. right, on the subject of our great romantic hero, this Darcy is not so much proud as he is paranoid, secretive, and aggressively antisocial. He has the worst of these two literary characters' characteristics with some additional bad ones thrown in. While Rochester is at best indifferent to Adele, his definitely not daughter, He is also controlling, manipulative, and driven by his lusts. See his asking Jane to live as his mistress. This Darcy, by comparison, is driven and indeed driven mad by his controlling nature and his drive to protect his sister. He tamps down his almost instantaneous lust for Elizabeth, determined to trip her up into revealing her true nature as some sort of evil entity, when in fact he already knows that she's the perfect lady to usher his darling sister into being a gracious lady of society. One aspect of the character melding I did not enjoy was this Darcy's distance from his sister. While not as awful as Rochester and Adele, and while he does still spoil her, there is none of the brotherly and sisterly closeness that we see in Pride and Prejudice during the Pemberley arc. He clearly cares for her and has spent his entire adult life striving to protect her from the predator who is circling just out of sight. He knows Wickham well enough to know that he will try to seduce and marry her as soon as she turns 16, hence his constant drive to find her a husband. Ah, okay. Still creepy. Still creepy. Yeah.
00:49:39
Speaker
But for a man in those days, what else is he supposed to do? He can't remove her to overseas. She has to have a future in her own society. Thankfully, with Lizzie's good guidance, he begins to blossom into the close and loving brother we know from the original. Moving on, the rest of the Bennett family are almost entirely missing from this adaptation, mentioned in passing or through letters.
00:50:00
Speaker
which makes sense because Elizabeth is off making her own way
Final Thoughts & Creativity Appreciation
00:50:03
Speaker
in the world. The closeness of Jane and Lizzie is established and well presented and Lizzie does pine for her father's guidance while studiously avoiding her mother. One thing i would have loved to have seen more of in this novel was show, don't tell. We want to be shown that Darcy's character is developing instead of just having the narrator simply tell us that it is. We see some really lovely illustrations of the relationship developing between Lizzie and Georgiana. It's sweet and gentle and we love to experience it rather than being told outright, like we are with Darcy's fear of blackmail. Instead, I would have loved to have seen him fussing over Elizabeth being poor, quizzing her incessantly over what lengths she would go to while hinting darkly that he has seen the lengths people will go to to make their fortune. Carver has a real knack for showing the relationships between her characters and building out their feelings and emotions, but there's a slight blind spot when it comes to Darcy, and I would have loved to have seen more of that in his case. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed this book, even the moments where I wanted to shake Lizzie and tell her to be sensible, because that is very much in keeping with Jane Eyre, as you have already iterated. Yes. Because I assure you, there were many times where I wanted to shake Jane. as well. Yes, yes. And now for the rating.
00:51:13
Speaker
For me, this book is Austen approved. It's fun and engaging, and I genuinely liked the way the characters are melded together, the way Pride and Prejudice has shifted into a slightly more gothic setting, and overall, the twists and turns that the story took. I think it was really well written, and that Kaaba has created something genuinely original.
Listener Engagement & Feedback
00:51:30
Speaker
So, we hope that you enjoyed this episode of Jane Austen Remixed.
00:51:34
Speaker
We love exploring this wonderful corner of the literary world with you. Please share the podcast with your friends, family, literary fans, and other Janeites, and we would love it if you could leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you are listening. This helps us to reach our other fans of Pride and Prejudice and build our community. You can also follow us on Instagram at janeaustenremixed, and if you have a question or a suggestion for a book, movie, or something you'd like us to review, drop us a line. You can email us at janeaustenremixed at gmail.com. And you can also join us in two weeks when we discuss Pride and Prejudice and Mistletoe by Melissa De La Cruz and watch its companion Hallmark movie of the same name, directed by Don McBrarity.
00:52:13
Speaker
And so, Stephanie, to finish off the podcast, the most important question we ask during these episodes, does this Darcy Rochester dive into a lake? Ha ha ha!
00:52:27
Speaker
No, no, Darcy Rochester does not dive into a lake, but he does just fully get his shirt off instead. So, you know, come see, come see. And on that note, see you next episode.
00:53:12
Speaker
you