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Accomplished: A Georgie Darcy Story by Amanda Quain
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What if the main character of Pride & Prejudice was Georgiana Darcy? What if she attends a boarding school in upstate New York? What if she’s trying to rebuild her reputation and live up to the standard of her perfect older brother?
Melinda and Stefanie discuss our beloved story from a different perspective, realistic mental health journeys and Hollywood teen movies tropes in Accomplished: A Georgie Darcy Story by Amanda Quain.
Links & Mentions
Need some help with the marching band terms in this episode? Here's a helpful list of the most common terms.
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 & Zombies by Jane Austen & Seth Grahame-Smith and watching the companion movie of the same name, directed by Burr Steers. If you're reading along, we encourage you to buy secondhand or support your local independent bookshop, where possible.
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Transcript
Introduction and Content Warning
00:00:00
Speaker
Hey all! Before we start this episode of Jane Austen Remixed, a content warning for this week's book, Accomplished, A Georgie Darcy Story by Amanda Quayne. This book contains a manipulative ex, toxic relationship, emotional blackmail, and explores mental health relapses and recovery. We won't go into these topics in depth, but they will be referenced as they relate to the book's plot and themes.
00:00:22
Speaker
If any of these topics might be uncomfortable for you, please feel free to give this episode a skip. Otherwise, let's begin.
Premise of 'Accomplished'
00:00:29
Speaker
Hey, Stephanie. Hey, Melinda. What if Pride and Prejudice was actually about pod favourite Georgiana Darcy?
00:00:38
Speaker
But this Georgiana attends an elite American high school and is trying to rebuild her reputation in her post-Wickham era. I am Sat and I am listening because you all know I love Georgiana.
Welcome to 'Jane Austen Remixed' Season Two
00:00:52
Speaker
Music
00:01:05
Speaker
Welcome to Jane Austen Remixed, the podcast where we examine the marching band obsessed and fan fictional world of Pride and Prejudice adaptations. I'm Melinda. And I'm Stephanie.
00:01:17
Speaker
Welcome back for season two. Yay. We're glad to have you back on this journey with us. Today, we are looking at Accomplished, a Georgie Darcy story by Amanda
Discovery and Summary of 'Accomplished'
00:01:28
Speaker
Quayne.
00:01:28
Speaker
It was published in 2022. I found out about this book on social media. It was one of the first I found after Stephanie and I spoke about starting this podcast, and it sounded so fun that I added it to our list.
00:01:42
Speaker
Now, it's time for the blurb. But the copy I got from the library doesn't actually have a blurb on it. So this is the summary from the publisher's website that Stephanie is going to read.
00:01:54
Speaker
Wait, there's no blurb on the book? Well, there's no blurb on the book. That's so weird. Anyway, here's the kind of blurb.
Georgiana's Return to Pemberley Academy
00:02:05
Speaker
It is a truth universally acknowledged that Georgiana Darcy should have been expelled after the incident with Wickham Foster last year, at least if you ask any of her Pemberley Academy classmates.
00:02:19
Speaker
She may have escaped expulsion because of her family name, but she didn't escape the disappointment of her big brother Fitz, the scorn of the entire school, or, it turns out, Wickham's influence.
00:02:31
Speaker
But she's back for her junior year, and she needs to prove to everyone, Fitz, Wickham, her former friends, and maybe even herself, that she's more than just an embarrassment to the family name.
00:02:43
Speaker
How hard can it be to become the perfect Darcy? All she has to do is rebuild her reputation with the marching band, even if it kills her, forget about Wickham and his lies, no matter how tempting they still are,
00:02:55
Speaker
And distract Fitz Darcy, helicopter sibling extraordinaire, by getting him to fall in love with his classmate Lizzie Bennet. This one might be difficult. Sure, it's a complicated plan, but so is being a Darcy.
00:03:09
Speaker
With the help of her fellow bandmate Avery, matchmaking ideas lifted straight from her favourite fanfics and a whole lot of pancakes, Georgie is going to see every one of her plans through, but when the weight of being the perfect Darcy comes crashing down, Georgie will have to find her own way before she loses everything permanently, including the one guy who sees her for who she really is.
Suitability and Comparisons
00:03:32
Speaker
Wow. Okay. I think I know why it wasn't on the book because it's so long. It's so long.
00:03:41
Speaker
So yes, this is the full Hollywood teen high school movie version of Pride and Prejudice. In terms of tone, this book is more 10 Things I Hate About You than Euphoria, but it does have some language and references to illegal prescription drug use, so that's your warning if you're recommending this book to a teenager.
00:03:59
Speaker
If this sounds like your cup of tea, switch off the episode here and go read it for yourself. Otherwise, it's time for the
Georgiana's Character Analysis
00:04:06
Speaker
spoiler chat. Before we get into this adaptation, I want to do a brief character study of the Georgiana Darcy we meet in Pride and Prejudice.
00:04:15
Speaker
What do we actually know about her? She is 16 and believed herself to be in love with Wickham. but didn't go through with the elopement. We know there is a large age gap between the siblings, so Fitzwilliam is more like a father to her than a brother.
00:04:29
Speaker
She holds him in awe and reverence because of this. She's shy in social situations, which is mistaken for pride, but she's kind, from Elizabeth's observations. She can play the piano very well, though not confidently in company.
00:04:43
Speaker
She's loyal and believes the nice things her brother says about Elizabeth and isn't swayed by Caroline Bingley's insults. She's thrilled to get a sister at the end of the novel and Elizabeth and her become very close.
00:04:54
Speaker
Lizzie starts coaxing her out of her shell and Georgiana becomes closer with Fitzwilliam as well.
Emotional Impact of the Wickham Scandal
00:05:00
Speaker
That's not much. No, it's not a lot.
00:05:06
Speaker
She's a side character, so it's not her story. We are both on record as being Georgiana fans. She's a delightful character in her short appearance and helps to show Lizzie Darcy's real self.
00:05:18
Speaker
But as readers, because of this knowledge gap, we project a lot of things onto Georgiana. We've both written posts on our Instagram, at Jane Austen Remixed, about how Georgiana must have been dealing with lovelorn Darcy and supporting him through the turndown proposal.
00:05:36
Speaker
In our Darcy story episode, we say she must have been encouraging Darcy in the background to keep improving himself and pursue Lizzie, that she is a helpful wingwoman. But none of that is in the text.
00:05:49
Speaker
we don't really know anything about her life. Yeah, she's a bit more of a almost like a deus ex machina in that she turns up, she makes it clear that she knows a lot about Elizabeth, which means Darcy has been talking about her at home.
Modern Adaptation of Georgiana
00:06:06
Speaker
And I think Elizabeth infers a lot out of that. And then Elizabeth going to her rescue when Wickham is so callously mentioned by Caroline and things like that. I feel like she creates a useful scenario to bring the two of them together.
00:06:23
Speaker
Yes, agreed. But we don't really know about her. So for example, How did Georgiana feel when she was found with Wickham? Yes, she comes clean, but how did she manage the complex emotions of guilt, shame, and love in the aftermath of that discovery?
00:06:39
Speaker
Is this what makes her so shy and guarded? Does she not trust herself anymore, even in company, even among so-called friends, after the betrayal of someone she'd known since childhood?
00:06:50
Speaker
What made her fall for Wickham in the first place? What was she like before all of this happened? I'm starting here because I want us to keep in mind exactly what we know about Georgiana, especially as we meet her teen movie counterpart,
00:07:04
Speaker
Georgie
Georgie's Junior Year Challenges
00:07:05
Speaker
Darcy. I mean, I feel like we can very safely answer one of those questions, which is how does she fall for Wickham? Because we've seen his behaviour. He had Elizabeth, our smart, feisty heroine eating out of the palm of his hand. So I think we all know how he groomed Georgie into falling for him.
00:07:22
Speaker
definitely true. It's just interesting to reflect on yeah her emotional state. It's not her story, so we're not going to get the ins and outs. I think it's great. I think those questions that you posed are fantastic. And honestly, I don't think I've ever really thought about it like that myself. So such a cool way to frame it up from the start.
00:07:38
Speaker
So let's get into it. There will be a lot of details and plot points here that I'm just leaving out. So as always, go support the author and read the book if this sounds like it's one for you.
00:07:49
Speaker
So Georgie Darcy is starting her junior year at high school. So the internet tells me that's around age 16 to 17 or year 11 for the non-Americans. We just use numbers for our grades. so the American high school system in your naming conventions has always confused me.
American High School Naming Conventions
00:08:06
Speaker
I'm sorry, what do you mean junior year is the second last year of high school? Surely that's the year you start.
00:08:15
Speaker
This has never made any sense to me and I've had to look it up so many times when reading books or watching movies and it just refuses to stick in my mind because it is so utterly nonsensical. Like you said, just use numbers. Numbers are fine.
00:08:27
Speaker
She's in her junior year. She attends Pemberley Academy. an elite boarding school somewhere in central New York
Georgie's School Life and Hobbies
00:08:34
Speaker
state. She plays the trombone in the Pemberley Academy marching band. She enjoys writing fan fiction about her comfort TV show, a fictional BBC show called Sage Hall, which sounds like a version of Downton Abbey set in Regency England. Something with more upstairs-downstairs vibes than the usual Regency-era show, and Netflix just needs to greenlight this show because it sounds incredible.
00:08:59
Speaker
All right. We have a show within a show. as a Downton Abbey fan, I missed that show dreadfully. i need more Downton Abbey in my life. Her brother is, of course, Fitzwilliam Darcy, who Georgie calls the golden boy, the overachiever and all-star alum of Pemberley Academy.
00:09:18
Speaker
She was always in his shadow. He was at college at Caltech in California But for this year, he's transferred to Sunny, so that's the State University of New York, specifically the Meryton campus, which is located closer to Pemberley Academy and Georgiana.
Fitzwilliam Darcy's Guardianship
00:09:34
Speaker
Intriguingly, Fitz is only three years older than Georgiana, which creates a very different relationship dynamic in this story. That's a very different vibe.
00:09:46
Speaker
Georgie says they had a really close relationship that's been forged in fire. Four years ago, so when Georgie was 12, their father suddenly died. Their mum, filled with grief, took an extended holiday of self-discovery and functionally abandoned her children.
00:10:02
Speaker
Fitz became an emancipated minor at 16. Georgie's guardian and the household staff helped to look after the two teenagers. Wow. Okay. Yeah. Damn. That's rough. It's pretty awful.
00:10:14
Speaker
That's horrible. They only had each other, so it sounds like they were very close. Until, as Georgie entered her sophomore year, so that's year 10 or age 15 to 16, stupid names, Fitz was leaving for college in California.
Wickham's Drug Scandal and Its Aftermath
00:10:31
Speaker
Georgie was feeling sad about him moving. Fitz surprises her and reintroduces her to their former neighbour and transfer student, Wickham Foster, who was starting at Pemberley.
00:10:42
Speaker
Fitz encourages them to keep each other company. Unfortunately, this Wickham is a Wickham and therefore a dirtbag. He charms the entire school. He becomes the star trumpet player in marching band and gets very close with Georgiana, so much so that she abandons all her other relationships and friendships to go out with him.
00:11:01
Speaker
But Wickham was dealing Adderall. which I believe is an ADHD medication to the students. It is. The operation is exposed and Wickham is expelled.
00:11:12
Speaker
Georgie realises she was the only person who had no idea what was going on, but the student body still hates her. Half because they think she was dealing too and only didn't get expelled because she's a Darcy, and the other half because she was a narc and dobbed on the more popular Wickham and the students lost their dealer.
Rebuilding Reputation and Personal Recovery
00:11:29
Speaker
Fitz is furious. He transfers himself to Meryton College and becomes what Georgie calls the helicopter parent sibling, making sure she's organized and that all her classes are set.
00:11:39
Speaker
And this is where the book begins. Fitz and Georgie meeting up off campus. Georgie feels keenly how the relationship with her brother has changed. They used to be close, but now Georgie thinks he's only disappointed in her.
00:11:51
Speaker
He doesn't catch up because he misses her. It's explicitly to check in and make sure she's on track. Now, this discussion is going to be a bit tricky because while this is an adaptation, most of the b plot that relates to Pride and Prejudice happens off page. If you have read or seen the play Rosencrantz and Gilderstern are dead, this is basically what is happening, but that play is about Hamlet and not Pride and Prejudice.
00:12:17
Speaker
That's such a good way of explaining it. It's all off in the wings. So we're going to discuss this a little out of water. We're going to look at the Georgie Darcy Wickham adaptation and story arc first, and then we're going to pivot back to the other Pride and Prejudice plot
Georgie's Emotional Journey
00:12:31
Speaker
adaptation. The main point of this story is a young woman leaving behind a toxic relationship, struggling with self-acceptance, overcoming setbacks, and learning to become her own person.
00:12:42
Speaker
Georgie Darcy starts this story adrift. Now, I have a selection of quotes here that Steph is going to read. For context, this is Georgie explaining how she felt about Wickham Foster.
00:12:53
Speaker
Okay, quote, I naturally had fallen for the biggest lie of all because I thought that Wickham loved me. I'd sure thought I'd loved him. So now here I was, stuck at Pemberley, surrounded by the results of my mistake.
00:13:07
Speaker
The naivety of a 16-year-old girl with a crush on her childhood neighbor who thought he might actually care about her when no one else seems to. Ouch. His email still taunted me from my inbox, even though I'd managed not to read any of the ones that had come in during the last few days.
00:13:25
Speaker
And I knew what they said too, because they were certainly just echoes of the ones from earlier in the summer, containing nothing but manipulations designed to get me to let him back into my life, to let him twist his way in until, once again, my life was nothing but Wickham.
00:13:41
Speaker
And I couldn't do that again. i wouldn't. But every time someone in the hall glared at me, every time I got that Aiken sign that I'd never be good enough, it made me want him. Ooh. Ooh, baby girl.
00:13:54
Speaker
That is some anxious attachment going on there. She's heartbroken. She's trying to heal. And all I want to do is give her a massive hug and tell her it's going to be okay. Yes, she's rich and has privilege as a Darcy, but she's never felt good enough. And who wouldn't after what she's been through, particularly with her parents?
00:14:14
Speaker
Even her love of Sage Hall is tainted after Wickham. Her favourite ship and topic of most of her fanfic was between Jocelyn, a noblewoman, and Andrew, the estate's stable boy.
00:14:25
Speaker
Wickham was her own lovable rogue, and she struggles to keep writing after this realisation, which sucks because writing is an outlet for her. And despite what she tells Fitz, Georgie does in fact meet up with Wickham when he says he's back in town.
00:14:40
Speaker
She does so to tell him to back off and she's not interested in reconnecting. Wickham tries on some of his manipulations. You wouldn't have come to meet me, Georgie, if you didn't need me. He's gross.
00:14:51
Speaker
Ew. But Wickham has a new money-making venture now and he wants Georgie to join him. Now, here comes the one part I'm a bit Ify on. But I'm also aware that Georgie is 16 and this is the teen movie version of Pride and Prejudice, so I'll roll with him.
00:15:08
Speaker
Georgie makes a deal with Wickham. She's going to become the perfect Darcy and rebuild her reputation at the school. And if she does, he'll leave her alone. And if she doesn't, Wickham's going to ruin her life.
00:15:19
Speaker
That's... what? I'm rolling with it. It's the one thing that I don't love and it doesn't really come up again. So we're just going to roll straight past it. Okay. Okay.
00:15:30
Speaker
ah right I think a a high school movie plot thing. We're just going to roll past it Nothing to see here. And so as semester starts, Georgie begins her plan to win back the school.
00:15:41
Speaker
She must face the marching band who she says hate her most of all. Georgie felt gently accepted by this bunch of weirdos, her words, not mine. But then Wickham showed up.
00:15:51
Speaker
He was a stellar trumpet player and charmed the whole band. So when Wickham got expelled, the band knew she had something to do with them losing an amazing player. As she rocks up to marching band practice, she runs into Avery, one of the guys she considered a friend before the whole Wickham thing blew up, and he treats her as if nothing has changed.
00:16:10
Speaker
I'll be real here, there is not much to Avery. He's a good student that got promoted to drum major, which I believe means he conducts the marching band. I had to Google a lot of things with this episode because I know nothing about marching bands. They're just not really a thing here.
00:16:26
Speaker
Avery is friendly and kind to Georgie when most people still aren't, and he follows her around on most of her schemes. He's the genuine all-round nice guy in the movie. He's fine.
00:16:36
Speaker
Georgie asks Avery if they can be friends again. She feels like she needs a real one in amongst all of the chaos, especially since Fitz seems determined not to trust her. Georgie's first performance back with the marching band is a disaster. She tries to buy everyone food as a nice gesture, but eating right before playing is a terrible idea. Then right as they get out in the field for the halftime show, she sees Wickham in the distance in the crowd misses some choreography and sends the trombones and half the flute section to the ground.
00:17:07
Speaker
Oh no. This is, I can already see this playing out in a movie. I can see how this would happen. It fits the vibe very well. She talks to Wickham afterwards.
00:17:17
Speaker
Great job rebuilding that reputation, kid. Georgie tells Wickham she's on the outs with the band after buying everyone lunch. Wickham scoffs, you're such a Darcy. You think your money can solve everything. That's the reason the school hates you. You're an ice queen who keeps to herself and rewatches her comfort TV show.
00:17:35
Speaker
I made you likeable. He knows what to say and it's awful. I want to kill him already. Yes, he needs a slap. And we need to kidnap Georgie and take her away.
00:17:48
Speaker
Yes. After this, there is what I think is an important exploration on emotional triggers that felt really real and impactful. Georgie meets up with Avery and they go to breakfast to catch up. Georgie ducks away from the table and notices her Sage Hall fan site notifications blowing up.
00:18:05
Speaker
There's a report that her favourite ship, Jocelyn and Andrew, will share a kiss in an upcoming episode. Normally, Georgie would have been squeeing at this, but given how closely she related the ship to Wickham and her, She stands in the bathroom and completely spirals.
00:18:20
Speaker
I thought I was past this. I'm clearly not. What is going on? She stays there for a little while and has an absolute anxiety attack in the middle of the bathroom. She takes several deep breaths, enough to even herself back out, and heads back out to Avery and they keep talking.
00:18:36
Speaker
They get a bit personal too, which Georgie wasn't expecting, but she finds comforting. She realises that she trusts Avery because he makes her feel safe. It's a massive win for her given the other relationship she has.
00:18:49
Speaker
And this conversation inspires her to start writing again with a new original character in her fanfic, Henry, a good person and Jocelyn's faithful friend who has always seen the real her.
00:19:01
Speaker
oh Aww. How cute. But also, that depiction of emotional triggers and spiralling into an anxiety attack, that seems really real, so props to the author.
00:19:12
Speaker
think how she handles mental health in this is really great. Some other stuff happens, it's not really important. Georgie gets teased some more and her and Avery end up chatting in the library. Avery suggests they watch something as a distraction and he remembers that Georgie loves Sage Hall.
00:19:27
Speaker
As she loads the latest episode, though, she realises it's the one from the report where Jocelyn and Andrew kiss and she freaks out. It's going to be amazing, but it's also going to crush her.
00:19:38
Speaker
and she planned to watch it on her own and cry. Avery notices the freak out and says he's happy to watch it with her, and maybe with a friend it might not be so bad. So as expected, the show's kiss brings up memories of Wickham and how she learned all the wrong ways to love someone.
00:19:55
Speaker
Georgie ends up telling Avery about her relationship with Wickham in more detail. The childhood crush, how special he made her feel, and how ashamed she was that she didn't know about the drugs. And Avery listens and validates her.
00:20:07
Speaker
He's still her safe person. Georgie realises she's glad she didn't watch it alone, and spends the night writing stories about Henry. Aww, cute. Next, there is this very funny frat party that I'm going to discuss in the Pride and Prejudice section. We will get to it.
00:20:24
Speaker
I will not leave this out. In summary, Avery gets tipsy from Punch and says how much he liked going out with Georgie. Again, I'll explain it later on. Georgie realizes that she might be interested in Avery as more than just a friend. And then the next day, when theyre hanging out, Avery blurts out in one word, do you want to come to homecoming with me?
00:20:43
Speaker
ha ha. Georgie says yes, but also can't help thinking that Avery deserves better than her, which is sad. Oh, baby girl, no. Outside of the band room, Georgie runs into one of the other trombone players named Emily. Emily used to be her friend, but they hadn't really spoken since the incident.
00:21:02
Speaker
Georgie and Emily make plans to decorate their lockers the next day. It's a homecoming something something. Again, we don't have homecoming in Australia. Whatever. Blahdy blah. but it's a step forward in rebuilding their friendship.
00:21:15
Speaker
But Georgie panics because she realises that she doesn't have anything to decorate the lockers with and the fact that it's homecoming tomorrow and she now has a date for homecoming, she also doesn't have a dress.
00:21:26
Speaker
Fitz happens to call her mid-panic and he comes through. I'll take you shopping tonight for decorations. I'm sure we can find somewhere that's open all night and let's go shopping tomorrow for a dress. The trombones gather the next morning to decorate their lockers and have this really sweet bonding moment. The dress shopping montage is also quite fun too, as Georgie starts trying on absurd dresses just to freak Fitz out. It's very funny.
00:21:49
Speaker
yeah Excellent. Strong younger sibling energy. I fully relate and this is absolutely something I would have done. The homecoming game goes really well. Georgie goes to see Fitz, who's watching the game.
00:22:01
Speaker
Again, we're going to talk about that later. But Georgie then gets a text from Wickham, who is at the game. She goes to meet him and says she's done with him. But Wickham kisses her.
00:22:13
Speaker
Georgie pushes him away and says she knows about his new venture and would tell on him to his parents if he comes near her again. so This negates their deal and Wickham is gone for good. Okay, good. I mean, awful. This is one of my least favourite teen movie tropes and I know it's a thing that creates conflict and like kicks the storyline along and everything, but I hate, I hate the evil ex-boyfriend grabs main character for kiss and then someone sees it and blah, blah, blah, blah. blah
00:22:45
Speaker
Hold on to that thought, but you aren't wrong. Then it's time for the homecoming dance. It goes full teen rom-com here. Georgie and Avery banter and then dance and then there's a slow dance and the music and everything is going swimmingly until it all comes crashing down.
00:23:03
Speaker
Georgie checks her phone to see six missed calls from Fizz. Thinking something is wrong, she calls him back, only to hear distrust and sarcasm on the other end of the line. How have you been spending your night with Georgiana?
00:23:15
Speaker
Check your Instagram. Turns out someone snapped a photo of Wickham kissing her and tagged her, which made fits. See it. Oh my god.
00:23:25
Speaker
People just need to chill. Honestly. Agreed. Georgie starts crying, but I got rid of him. Fitz is furious and is not listening. They have this really large fight where they both get quite angry and say some really awful things to each other.
00:23:40
Speaker
Georgie runs from the dance spiraling again. Fitz will never trust me. He hates me. There's no way Avery and Emily are actually my friends. I'm not good enough for either of them. She decides that that's it.
00:23:52
Speaker
She's going home to the Darcy's house in Rochester. She's running away and she's done trying to fix her mistakes. Avery spots her and when Georgie tells him her plan, he offers to drive her home.
00:24:03
Speaker
They have this really sweet heart-to-heart on the drive and we get a little bit of teen romance. They share a very sweet kiss where Avery is panicking because he's trying to be respectful. It's very cute. It sounds very cute. He sounds, if one-dimensional, very sweet and lovely and exactly what she needs to help pull her back from the edge.
00:24:24
Speaker
He's got Bingley energy, but he's the perfect person for her at this moment. When they arrive at the Darcy Mansion in Rochester the next day, Avery is floored by how rich she really is.
00:24:37
Speaker
He's a scholarship student. Georgie's there because she bought her way in. Georgie starts explaining the full plan she's concocted without checking any of this with Avery. Avery's going to stay with her at the mansion until she sorts out what's happening next.
00:24:51
Speaker
Maybe she'll run away to London or Paris. Avery flips out and calls her out on a privilege. You expect me to stay here with you while you run away and just give up. Am I part of your plan to make your brother proud? Some of us don't have the privilege here to recover from something like this. I'm not some carriage boy in Sage Hall that's going to save you.
00:25:11
Speaker
Then Avery leaves. oh Yes, Avery. Grow a spine. But also, why is she treating him like a servant? So you're just going to hang out here and then I'm going callously abandon you. That's cool. Yeah, that's cool.
00:25:26
Speaker
Yeah, I think it comes back to the she's 16 of it all and she doesn't understand how privileged she is. That is something that comes up a few times over the course of the book. She does learn it by the end.
00:25:38
Speaker
The fight's a bit odd, but I'll forgive it because they're 16. Avery's got some good points. It's just a bit dramatic and there's fault on both sides. All fights are extremely dramatic when you're 16, right? Yeah, exactly.
00:25:50
Speaker
Georgie starts wallowing and, of course, starts watching a sage hall. But then Fitz arrives and Lizzie Bannert is with him. We're on that later. Fitz is angry and starts trying to fix everything. They keep fighting.
00:26:05
Speaker
I'm over whatever rebellious phase this is. Well, I'm over trying to live up to the insane Darcy expectations. I can't. I'm done. Just write me off. I don't want to be a Darcy anymore.
00:26:17
Speaker
Which freaks Fitz out. You have to be a Darcy. If you aren't a Darcy anymore, what does that make me? I told dad I'd look after you and I am failing.
00:26:29
Speaker
No. I mean, Fitz, buddy, it's not about you. Not in this moment, no. Not in this moment. Not about you. But I'll forgive it. He's 20, so yeah he's not much older. He's 19 or 20. Yeah, and he is currently a parentified child because they've been effectively abandoned by their mother. I get the panic, but also chill out, mate. She's 16. She's 16. She doesn't have to have it all together. Goodness sake.
00:27:00
Speaker
I think the tricky part here, which I do actually like in the story, is that I don't think Fitz thinks he's putting unrealistic expectations on Georgie, but he's the organized older sibling, right? He has to have it all together. And Georgie is seeing that and kind of freaking out at, oh, I have to live up to this. So it's kind of that weird dynamic that one of them isn't necessarily communicating that, but the other one is picking up on that as being communicated.
00:27:29
Speaker
Fitz kind of breaks at this point and Lizzie sends him away, giving the ladies time to talk. Lizzie actually listens to Georgie and says it sounds like she handled things with Wickham and Fitz definitely doesn't hate her.
00:27:42
Speaker
He loves her so much it hurts, but he just doesn't know what to do. So after Lizzie's pep talk, Fitz and Georgie finally talk. They talk about their parents and their relationship with each other.
00:27:52
Speaker
how sometimes it's smothering and there has to be some sort of middle ground. Georgie wants to handle some things herself and Fitz sees it as his job to help her. She wants her brother and friend back and the siblings reconcile.
00:28:04
Speaker
That's really sweet and I really love the flip of Lizzie being the trigger for the relationship to improve. That's really cool. Yeah, it's a nice inclusion. Over dinner, Georgie says that she's changed her mind. She doesn't want to run away anymore and wants to try again at Pemberley without the shadow of Fitz or Wickham hanging over her.
00:28:25
Speaker
Fitz drives her back to Pemberley and Georgie texts Avery to apologise but doesn't get a reply. That's fair. He's allowed to have some space. Exactly. Once Fitz leaves, Georgie reads over her latest fanfic and realises how much Henry is just like Avery. And it shows how much she cares.
00:28:45
Speaker
But for now, she has to wait. She texts Emily about studying together to try and improve her grades and starts putting her life back together. But she misses Avery. In a phone call, Lizzie reminds her that while she doesn't need a boy to make her happy, she should reach out again if she misses Avery.
00:29:02
Speaker
Georgie sends Avery an email with the Henry fanfic attached and lets her wait. That is a bold move. It's a very bold move. That's a move only a 16-year-old could do. That's very true.
00:29:16
Speaker
Avery, of course, shows up and praises her writing. So is this about us? Georgie apologises for messing things up and for hurting him. She doesn't see him as a lesser, but an equal, just the way Jocelyn looks at Henry.
00:29:29
Speaker
And, of course, their makeup. Six months later, there's an epilogue at a marching band competition. Georgie finally feels like herself and lights up with what she calls not Darcy pride, but Georgie pride.
00:29:43
Speaker
Aww. Cute. Very cute. So that's our Georgie Darcy storyline in a nutshell. Mm-hmm. I really like how the author handles Georgie's mental health in this story.
00:29:54
Speaker
Like I said at the start, the the shame and lack of self-love are ah sadly accurate for what she went through, both from losing her parents and the toxic relationship with Wickham. It's heartbreaking and it's a long, hard road of recovery.
00:30:06
Speaker
She takes steps forward and she faces setbacks, but she's healing. And while the setting is modernised, I think this is probably completely in character for Georgiana Darcy,
00:30:17
Speaker
It genuinely makes me want to learn more about what Austen thought her Georgiana had been through. Are there some sections where Georgie Darcy is particularly whiny, self-centered, or blind to her privilege?
00:30:30
Speaker
Nice. But she's also 16, and this is the teen movie version of the story. In that context, I'll give it a pass. Georgie needed room to grow, and she does by the end. Yeah. That sounds great. And I mean, let's be honest, there are a lot of times in the original text where I really wanted to slap Elizabeth because she was being silly. So, you know, there has to be a moment. There has to be the friction where you want to shake your main character be like, why are you doing this? Why you being so silly?
00:30:57
Speaker
Because it gives them the space to grow, which is what we need. If they don't grow, it's real boring. So now we've covered Georgie's story It's time to turn back to the beginning, to the plot points that are more closely related to Pride and Prejudice.
00:31:10
Speaker
In one of their early check-in phone calls, Georgie teases Fitz about being in college and not going out to parties. And we get this exchange, which Stephanie is going to read. For context, this is Fitz speaking.
00:31:22
Speaker
Okay. Charlie made me go to one last night. Fitz had met Charlie Bingley at the transfer student orientation over the summer, and even though he wasn't the type of guy my brother was normally friends with, aka he was fun, it seemed like he'd be good for him.
00:31:39
Speaker
He joined a frat already. It was about as bad as I expected. You didn't get drunk and dance the night away? You know I don't dance. And I don't know who I would have danced with.
00:31:51
Speaker
Charlie abandoned me the second we got there for this girl he spotted across the room, Jane something. No love at first sight moment of your own? Please, Fitz scoffed.
00:32:01
Speaker
Charlie kept trying to pawn me off on the girl's sister, but even she wasn't pretty enough to tempt me. Mm-hmm. Fitz? He was joking. Probably. The sort of deeply sarcastic joke that Fitz found funny, but he forgot to tell anyone else.
00:32:15
Speaker
That didn't make it right. Don't be gross. Sorry. He sighed again. She was just one of those... She just had something clever to say about everything. Oh, I'm sorry, Fitz. Did she make you feel intellectually inferior?
00:32:32
Speaker
Love this. I love the fact that Georgie calls out what Fitz says about Lizzie. is gross. and It is gross. It's always been gross. It is gross. It was gross in the original and it's still gross now.
00:32:45
Speaker
Agreed. But she also picks up early that Fitz has a crush. He talks about Lizzie so much on that phone call for someone that he doesn't like. A few things happen, details aren't important, that make Georgie realise Lizzie makes Fitz happy.
00:33:00
Speaker
And maybe if he was distracted by a new relationship, he wouldn't be as much of a helicopter sibling in her life. Unlike in Pride and Prejudice, Georgie takes a more active role setting up Fitz and Lizzie. She goes full Emma Woodhouse, inspired by the characters in Sage Hall.
00:33:23
Speaker
love. She swaps fits to Lizzie's discussion group and then starts sending Lizzie flowers every week from a secret admirer. How does she swap his classes? What is she like a master hacker? What's going on here?
00:33:37
Speaker
He has access to his emails and emails his tutors. I love it. I love it. That's so funny. It's very fun. When Fitz cancels a couple of his catch-ups with her to study, Georgie's convinced it's working, especially after seeing photos of him, Lizzie, Charlie, and Jane on Charlie's Instagram.
00:33:58
Speaker
And when Charlie mass invites his Instagram followers to the next frat party, Georgie wants to attend to step up the matchmaking efforts. Oh, oh no. No 16-year-old girl should be at a frat house. I'm sorry. Okay, we're just going to pretend this is a nice frat, okay? Because in this story, it's a nice one. Again, we don't have this in Australia. Not really. Sort of. Whatever. but this is Charlie Bingley's frat. We're going to pretend it's nice.
00:34:25
Speaker
So Avery is accompanying her on all of these schemes, so he goes with her to the frat party and we get this very funny exchange as they arrive. So Steph's going to read this and this is Avery speaking.
00:34:37
Speaker
Quote, do we have a plan here are you just going to lock your brother and his friend in the bathroom and hope for the best? I'll have you know that I've seen at least three Hallmark movies where that exact plot point works out perfectly.
00:34:52
Speaker
This girl runs on fan fiction. Oh, my God. i don't think Hallmark movies are documentaries, babe. I would hard agree. ah we are well documented. how Both of us don't like Hallmark movies. But I thought given the fact we'd looked at a few, that was very funny. Yeah, although I have definitely seen at least three early-2010s teen movies where this exact plot point works perfectly. so Oh, totally. It's a rom-com trope. Yeah.
00:35:21
Speaker
Thankfully, before they do anything wild, they run into Charlie first, who panics slightly that his mass party invite got to underage high schoolers, but he mostly doesn't care. Oh, Charlie. Charlie Bingley is described here in several ways that I'm going to get Stephanie to read out because I find them hilarious.
00:35:42
Speaker
Is this revenge, Melinda? Getting me to read out strange quotes? No, it's not that bad. All right. He was like a dream frat boy from a CW show.
00:35:55
Speaker
Charlie Bingley, it turned out, was absolutely ripped. Good for Jane, I guess. Final quote, Charlie Bingley looked at me with a level of sincerity I did not know existed in a modern human.
00:36:09
Speaker
Aww. Who said that last one? Did Georgie say that last one? think Georgie says all of them. Okay. Either directly or in her narration. Okay. Because I'm like, if Georgie has said that last one, has she looked around her recently? Because I feel like Avery also fits this description. Okay.
00:36:26
Speaker
Well, at this point, she's a little bit clueless on the Avery front. She's getting there. She's starting to warm up, but I think the frat party is kind of the turning point for her. Fair. Georgie tells Charlie that they're there to set up Fitz with Lizzie.
00:36:40
Speaker
Charlie gushes. They're his two teen guardian angels sent to help him. do He's so into setting these two up. It's very funny.
00:36:52
Speaker
so we actually have two Emma Woodhouses in this story. Yes. Charlie also thinks it's hilarious that she's the one responsible for the flower arrangements as well. Yeah, that's so good. That's so funny.
00:37:06
Speaker
Georgie thinks that they need some big romantic gesture and suggests Charlie, Jane and Lizzie accompany Fitz to Pemberley's homecoming game. She's going to put their names on the guest list for the high donor box, which is where Fitz goes apparently, and they can all dress up and go out and be together. And Charlie is in with a capital I-N.
00:37:27
Speaker
After this, Avery and Georgie nearly run into Lizzie, who is scolding another party crusher, her younger sister, Lydia. Lydia is underage too.
00:37:39
Speaker
And then Wickham walks into the room. What? Yep. He was Lydia's ride and offers that maybe it's time to drive her home.
00:37:50
Speaker
Lizzie, though, sensibly says no way and drags Lydia away. Oh, thank goodness. Oh, my God. Yes. Georgie is understandably shaken, seeing Wickham. But Avery convinces her that maybe they should dance together before they drive back to school.
00:38:05
Speaker
When it comes to the shopping trip for the locker decorations, Lizzie is the one with the hot tip for Fitz about where to go that's open after hours. Lydia apparently works at a massive 24-hour Target nearby.
00:38:17
Speaker
Lydia takes them shopping. When Fitz heads for a coffee, Georgie and Lydia discuss the fact that their siblings are going out. Georgie finds it weird. But then, Lydia mentions that...
00:38:27
Speaker
Her friend Wickham totally used to go to Pemberley. Did Georgie know him? no. Actually, probably you didn't. I think you'd probably run in different circles. Georgie evades, but Lydia then shares about Wickham's new venture, recycled research papers.
00:38:45
Speaker
So cheating. This is where Georgie gets the info to boot Wickham from her life later on. So good. I love that Lydia is useful. This is like the, oh, whoops, did you know that Darcy was at my wedding?
00:38:58
Speaker
Yes, it's exactly that same energy. Love. At the homecoming game, Georgie goes up to the high donor box to see Fitz, Charlie, Jane and Lizzie. Georgie greets Charlie and Charlie mentions he's broken up with Jane. Fitz had been saying that he needed to focus on his studies and Charlie decided that Fitz was right and he needed to focus a bit more.
00:39:17
Speaker
So that is our interfering relationship. thank God damn it. Georgie then officially meets Lizzie for the first time and marvels at how much her brother is smiling standing next to her.
00:39:29
Speaker
Lizzie says how much Fitz talks about Georgie and Georgie starts down the, he talks about how fun and smart and pretty you are all the time until Fitz elbows her in the back.
00:39:41
Speaker
ah Again, i would just like to say that's the biggest little sister move. Yes. Absolutely something that I have done to my brother. He talks about you all the time.
00:39:52
Speaker
end you basically know where the book ends from here when Georgie runs home to Rochester Lizzie arrives with Fitz Lizzie says they were just studying together but Georgie notes how she looks at Fitz and that they're trying to not to hold hands the entire drive home and the fact that Fitz is actually comfortable talking about family drama in front of her Georgie and Lizzie have that heart to heart and Lizzie mentions that Lydia used to hang out with Wickham so she knows how awful he is but Georgie lets her know that Lydia knows about Wickham's cheating ring so the hanging out is probably not past tense and that photo of Georgie and Wickham kissing it was posted by Lydia's Instagram account oh he did it he did it through Lydia's of course yes that's how it got out and it was a setup and Yep.
00:40:39
Speaker
oh It was a setup to provoke Fitz. Great. so Lizzie goes and makes some phone calls to take care of it. The book ends with Fitz, Lizzie, Charlie and Jane all watching that marching band competition in Florida. Charlie has even made them matching We Heart Pemberley, but especially the trombones t-shirts, which is super cute for our golden retriever. It's really sweet.
00:41:02
Speaker
So... What do we think of the other Pride and Prejudice elements in this story? I like the characterization of Fitz, Lizzie and Charlie. However, we do not hear much about Jane and she is mostly back to our pod's least favorite trope, the sexy lamp. That is where a female character does very little in the story and could be replaced by a lamp.
00:41:23
Speaker
Go back and listen to our Unleashing Mr. Darcy episode for a full rundown. It's one of the best things I've ever introduced. Yes, a agreed. In this story, Fitz isn't really proud, but Georgie thinks he's proud. He's the golden child, the standard to live up to, and in her mind, that makes him a step above her.
00:41:41
Speaker
Comparing him to Pride and Prejudice's Fitzwilliam Darcy, he is Georgie's guardian and cares very deeply for her, even though he isn't the best at showing it. His relationship with Lizzie seems to have the same spark as the original and that Georgie and Lizzie are friends by the end is also on point for the original book.
00:41:57
Speaker
Also, Charlie as a golden retriever ripped frat guy trying to find a girl for his bestie is so on brand and very, very funny to me. It's so funny. The frat guy with a heart of gold trope is one of my favourite things from teen movies, absolutely. But other than that,
00:42:16
Speaker
I think it's hard to judge the Pride and Prejudice plot points here because they are still happening off screen. Georgie is more involved because of the matchmaking, but she's the still the main focus of this book. Yes, Fitz and Lizzie spar and eventually get together. It's on a much shorter timeframe, mind you. Charlie pursues Jane, they break up and get back together, but it's mostly off page.
00:42:38
Speaker
Georgie Darcy is the star here and it's her story of recovering after an awful relationship. Which seems to make sense. It seems like it tracks well. And now it's time for our rating. Accomplished, a Georgie Darcy story is not actually Austin.
00:42:53
Speaker
And want to be clear here. I do not mean that in a bad way. This book was super fun and thoughtful. I read it in a day and enjoyed myself. But other than characters with the same names and some similarities with a few plot points, this book is about recovery and refinding self-worth. And that's great. I enjoyed the arc that Georgie went on in this story, that she made mistakes and had to learn her own way to be a Darcy, that she shouldn't be trying to live up to her brother's legacy.
00:43:17
Speaker
I also really enjoyed seeing her point of view after the Wickham scandal. We don't get that in the original text. Would Georgiana have felt ashamed that she fell for the charms of a guy she thought she knew? i love how this Georgie reckons with her feelings and deals with the fallout. Georgie becomes aware of the bubble she's in. She learns that as a Darcy, she's privileged and can recover more easily from her mistakes.
00:43:38
Speaker
But what makes this ultimately not actually Austin for me is the focus of this story. The focus is a 16-year-old trying to find her way in high school after being taken advantage of by a seemingly nice guy, struggling to make friends, coming into her own despite her overbearing brick brother and falling for the nerdy guy she never expected to.
00:43:57
Speaker
Yes, Georgie Darcy dealing with the aftermath of Wickham is very Austen. And in fact, I think it's likely Austen approved. However, if you named this character Chloe and there was no Pride and Prejudice tie-in at all, it would be very similar to every other Hollywood teen movie. That doesn't make it bad. It's just a coming-of-age story. which is awesome and I love. I just don't think there is enough Pride and Prejudice here to call it Austen approved.
00:44:22
Speaker
That seems fair. And also just as a reminder for everyone, Not Actually Austen is for the books that we loved, but we didn't think we we're close enough adaptation to be considered a full Pride and Prejudice adaptation. I'm just going to throw that in to bolster Melinda's point that this is not a bad rating. So i think that makes a lot of sense. to me from having listened to you go through it. It seems very fun and very tropey and a great story. But you're right, if you change the characters' names, it wouldn't be particularly Pride and Prejudice because all those major plot points, as you said a few times already, happen off screen. Seems super fair.
00:44:59
Speaker
So we hope you have enjoyed this episode of Jane Austen Remixed. We love exploring this 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.
00:45:15
Speaker
This helps us to reach other fans of Pride and Prejudice and build our community. You can also follow us on Instagram at Jane Austen Remixed. And if you have us a question or a suggestion for a book, movie, or something you'd like us to review, drop us a line.
00:45:28
Speaker
You can email us at janeaustenremixed at gmail.com. Join us in two weeks when we examine Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, written by Jane Austen and Seth Graham Smith, and its companion film, directed by Burst Ears.
00:45:44
Speaker
All right. And now, Melinda, for the most important question of the episode. Does this Darcy dive into a lake? No. Neither of the Darcy siblings dive into any body of water during this story. No wet shirts and no lakes, not even in the Sagehole fanfic, which is a big disappointment.
00:46:05
Speaker
I would have loved it if they'd flipped this and it was like Georgie getting, don't know, pushed into something with her trombone in her hand by the school bully. No, there's no water.
00:46:18
Speaker
See you next episode.
00:46:54
Speaker
you