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Review – The Coming of Age of Elizabeth Bennet

Posted in Book Blogger

The Coming of Age of Elizabeth Bennet

by Caitlin Williams

The Coming of Age of Elizabeth BennetGenres: Classical Rewrite, Historical Fiction, Romance
Release Date: June 6, 2016
Pages: 502
Purchase from: Amazon
My Rating: ★★★★★

The very worst has happened. Mr Bennet has died, leaving his wife and five young daughters bereft. The family estate, Longbourn, is now lost, entailed away and fifteen-year-old Elizabeth Bennet is to go two hundred miles away to live with strangers. George Darcy, repaying a debt of gratitude, has offered to take her to Pemberley, to live under the mantle of his care and be raised alongside his own daughter, Georgiana.

But on the day she is to leave Longbourn forever, young Elizabeth, grieving and confused, runs off into the Hertfordshire countryside. Fitzwilliam Darcy gives chase, telling his father he will have her back in an hour or two. Luck and fate, however, are not on his side and capturing Elizabeth Bennet turns out not only to be more difficult than he could ever have imagined, but events will conspire to turn her little adventure into his worst nightmare.

The prideful man and the girl prejudiced against him, meet much earlier in this rethinking of Jane Austen’s masterpiece. Elizabeth grows up under the ever-watchful eye of Mr Darcy, from fifteen to twenty one. She errs and falters, there are stumbles and trips, but could this ‘disobedient little hellion’ one day become mistress of Pemberley and the keeper of his heart?

Identifying and Dating a Vintage Esterbrook

Posted in Fountain Pens

While volunteering at the 2019 Baltimore Pen Show, I was gifted a lovely red, lever-fill, vintage Esterbrook pen. Admittedly, I know next-to-nothing about vintage Esterbrooks. I also have a penchant for finding out as much about my vintage pens as possible.

That said, it should be no surprise that I set out to identify and date (as accurately as possible) my new Esterbrook as soon as I was able.

Because I had fun doing so, and I found the information interesting, I figured I’d share it with you in the hopes that my research would prove useful to others.

2019 BWIPS Volunteering

Posted in Pen Shows

As I mentioned in my last post, this was my first time as pen show volunteer staff. It’s an experience I look forward to repeating many times in the future.

When Corinne, the show organizer, put out a call to the DC Pen Crew for volunteers, I eagerly signed up. My reasoning, beyond wanting to help out, was that if I was volunteering, I wouldn’t be spending money.

That theory worked out well. When I received the schedule, I was happy to see myself listed for Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning. That shift schedule worked so well that I’m hoping for the same next year.

2019 Baltimore Pen Show

Posted in Pen Shows

Alright, my third pen show of the year. Allow me to start of by saying that the Baltimore Washington International Pen Show (BWIPS) is my favorite pen show. I’ll do my best to describe and rate it (since I haven’t done so previously) in an unbiased manner, but I don’t know if I’ll be wholly successful.

To start, this was a show with several firsts for me. It was the first time I’d attended a full pen show, the first time I’d stayed at the show hotel, the first time I’d attended a pen show workshop, and the first time I’d volunteered as part of the show staff.

I’ll cover my volunteering experience in another post. For now, suffice to say it was great. I’m eager to volunteer again next year.

Review – Mistress

Posted in Book Blogger

Mistress: A Pride and Prejudice Variation

by Sophie Turner

MistressGenres: Classical Rewrites, Historical Fiction, Romance
Release Date: March 5, 2017
Pages: 186
Purchase from: Amazon
My Rating: ★★★☆

One night, to decide his entire life’s happiness.

Chastened by Charles Bingley following Mr. Bennet’s untimely death, Fitzwilliam Darcy determines he will offer marriage to Elizabeth Bennet, but she marries another.

Years later, a widowed Elizabeth is mistress of Longbourn, and has vowed she will never marry again. A house party at Netherfield brings them back together, but Darcy will have to win more than her heart if he is to have any chance at making her mistress of Pemberley.

2019 LA Pen Show

Posted in Pen Shows

The Los Angeles Pen Show was the fourth show location I’ve attended (DC, Baltimore, Philly, and now LA). There were a decent number of tables, but the layout was appalling.

We arrived around 10:30, assuming that would allow us to avoid the opening crush of people we’d heard a lot about.

The exterior line at the LA Pen Show
The half of the line outside…
The interior line at the LA Pen Show
… and the half of the line inside.

Unfortunately, we arrived to find a line that wound down the corridor, out the door, and about half way down the building. Surprisingly, the line moved fairly quickly, but getting into the show was less than half the battle.

An unconsidered side-effect of arriving after the show had started was a lack of street parking. There wasn’t much to start with, but it was all taken by the time we arrived. Parking at the hotel ended up costing us around $20 for the little time we were there. I don’t want to know what people who stayed the whole day paid.

2019 Philadelphia Pen Show

Posted in Pen Shows

As I sat down to write my post about the LA Pen Show, I realized I’d never written a post about the Philly show. Therefore, even though it’s over a month late, allow me to share with you my experiences at the Philly show.

We drove up from the DC area with a friend of ours, and, thankfully, there was no real traffic. Upon arriving, I realized how fortunate I am to have the DC and Baltimore shows.

My immediate thought was that the show is overpriced for its size. We paid $13 online (it’s $15 at the door), a single-day price higher than DC, Baltimore, and LA. It’s also smaller than those other three shows.

I will say that the aisles were roomy, on par with Baltimore and far surpassing DC and LA. The selection was fairly evenly dispersed between vintage, new, expensive, and affordable. There was a decent selection of inks. And, for the overall size of the show, a decent number of nibmeisters.

Review – Ardently

Posted in Book Blogger

Ardently

by Caitlin Williams

ArdentlyGenres: Classical Rewrite, Historical Fiction, Romance
Release Date: June 7, 2015
Pages: 312
Purchase from: Amazon
My Rating: ★★★★★

So much in life depends on chance and sheer luck. How much do we often owe to being in the right place at the right time?

In Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth Bennet plans to visit the Lake District with her uncle and aunt, yet ends up at Pemberley instead, just as, by coincidence, Mr Darcy also arrives home. They meet, understand one another better and all eventually ends well.

But what if they did not have such luck? What if Elizabeth actually went to the Lake District and was nowhere near Pemberley, and she and Mr Darcy never met again until another four years had gone by?

Now they are very different people, altered by marriage, time and situation, although, Mr Darcy’s failed proposal in the Parsonage at Hunsford still haunts both of them in different ways.

Elizabeth is a companion to her Aunt, Mrs Mountford, a widow of great standing in society who married exceptionally well and ‘Miss Bennet’ finds herself accepted in the very best of circles and able to marry whomever she might chose.

Mr Darcy did his duty by his sickly cousin, Anne de Bourgh, and married her to protect her from the tyrannical force of her mother Lady Catherine. He has come to Bath, however, a widower, with his family, the Fitzwilliams, and his sister, Georgiana. Darcy sees Elizabeth, the woman who rejected him, in the opposite box at the theatre and cannot help falling in love with her all over again. Now though, it seems there are even more hurdles to overcome for them to be together, including Elizabeth’s new suitor, the handsome and charming Mr Yorke.

Mr Darcy is still a little proud, still not able to ‘perform to strangers’. Can Elizabeth see past his reserve and awkwardness to the decent man underneath?

This book is a re-telling of Pride and Prejudice from Chapter 36 onwards (Darcy’s failed proposal and the delivering of his letter). It is a light-hearted mix-up of Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion, with a nod and a wink towards Northanger Abbey.

Review – The Ruin of Elizabeth Bennet

Posted in Book Blogger

The Ruin of Elizabeth Bennet

by Darcie Rochester

The Ruin of Elizabeth BennetGenres: Classical Rewrites, Historical Fiction
Release Date: September 27, 2018
Pages: 340
Purchase from: Amazon
My Rating: ★★★★★

After the deaths of their parents and the public disgrace of their youngest sister, the Bennet ladies are alone in the world. It falls upon Elizabeth to navigate their way, a nearly impossible task given their meager funds. When she becomes reacquainted with Mr. Darcy, she hopes she has found her salvation. But it is ruin he offers her.

This book contains dark themes and scenes of a sensual nature. Reader discretion is advised.

Review – The Ghostly Father

Posted in Book Blogger

The Ghostly Father

by Sue Barnard

The Ghostly FatherGenres: Historical Fiction, Romance, Classical Rewrite
Release Date: October 6, 2018
Pages: 252
Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
My Rating: ★★★★☆

Was this what really happened to Romeo & Juliet?

Think you know the world’s most famous love story? Think again. What if the story of Romeo & Juliet really happened – but not quite in the way we’ve all been told?

This part-prequel, part-sequel to the original tale, told from the point of view of the Friar, tells how an ancient Italian manuscript reveals secrets and lies which have remained hidden for hundreds of years, and casts new doubts on the official story of Shakespeare’s famous star-crossed lovers.

If you love the Romeo & Juliet story but are disappointed with the way it ended, this is the book for you.

Review – Becoming Mr. Bingley

Posted in Book Blogger

Becoming Mr. Bingley

by Samantha Whitman

Becoming Mr. BingleySeries: Ditching Mr. Darcy, Book 2
Genres: Classical Re-write, Historical Fiction
Release Date: July 20, 2018
Pages: 402
Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
My Rating: ★★★★☆

Letting the man of her dreams go would have been much harder had he been a real person. Living happily ever after with her soul mate would be much easier if reality was as uncomplicated as her dreams. And for Elizabeth Baker, the future would be much clearer if the lines between dreams and reality were not blurring yet again.

FanFiction Review – A Little Wave

Posted in Book Blogger

A Little Wave, A Big Change

by loverofeevee

Genre: Harry Potter
Word Count: 19,937
My Rating: ★★☆

The usual story. Manipulative Dumbles, Harry gaining his independence. This takes place after Harry’s third year. It was a perfectly normal day in Privet Drive. The birds are singing, the bees are buzzing, and the Dursleys were their usual cheerful selves. Then suddenly… Now, what on earth is going on this time!

Fan Fiction Reviews Coming

Posted in Book Blogger

Sorry I’ve been MIA recently. The government shutdown has hit me hard (mostly emotionally). I’m going to try to get back to posting more often.

Now then, I’ve been feeling the urge to re-read some of my favorite fan fiction (FF) lately. And since I have all this free time right now *insert eye roll here* I’ve gotten the chance to do so.

For those unfamiliar with FF, it’s fiction about characters or settings from an original work of fiction, created by fans of that work rather than by its creator. Fans may maintain the creator’s characters and settings or add their own. (Thank you Wikipedia) Specifically, FF denotes free work. The plethora of Pride and Prejudice re-writes would not be considered FF to most.

You can find all sorts of FF on fanfiction.net — they even have an official app (Apple | Android) — and on An Archive of our Own, and many others (just Google ‘fan fiction site’). There is some overlap between the sites, but most have exclusive stories. 

Review – Ditching Mr. Darcy

Posted in Book Blogger

Ditching Mr. Darcy

by Samantha Whitman

Ditching Mr. DarcySeries: Ditching Mr. Darcy, Book 1
Genres: Classical Re-write, Historical Fiction
Release Date: December 7, 2017
Pages: 357
Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
My Rating: ★★★★★

What would you do if you crashed your car into a ditch and woke up as the main character of your favorite book? What if nothing happened the way it was supposed to? What if you met the dreamiest romantic hero in literary history and yet you fell in love with someone else instead? What would happen if you never woke up again? What would happen if you did? Elizabeth Baker is about to find out.

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