Friendship and Fortitude

A Pride and Prejudice Variation (Sweet Pride and Prejudice Variations)

De: Amelia Westerly

Narrado por: Karen Savage

A delay on the road to Ramsgate will change everything…

When his carriage is damaged on the way to surprise his sister with a visit, Mr Darcy is sure the delay is of no consequence. He could have no idea that even then, Mr Wickham was persuading Georgiana Darcy to marry him. The successful elopement will result not just in a highly imprudent marriage, but in icy estrangement between the Darcy siblings - and the alteration of Mr Bingley’s plans to let Netherfield Park.

Three years later, Georgiana Wickham is made a widow by her husband’s folly, and Elizabeth Bennet is left near-penniless by her father’s death. While she seeks work as a lady’s companion, Georgiana seeks a companion warm and witty enough to help her bear up under what she imagines to be her brother’s anger and disapproval. Aghast that Mr Darcy would judge his sister so harshly, Elizabeth does not look forward to meeting such a cruel man…but she soon learns that Mr Darcy is not what he seems.

Friendship and Fortitude is a tale of slow-blossoming love, finding joy in the wake of grief, and the twin blessings of good friends and inner strength. It is best enjoyed by listeners who seek a relatively low-conflict story, a great deal of amusing folly from Mr Collins and Lady Catherine de Bourgh, and a courtship based on mutual respect.

Friendship and fortitude will save Elizabeth from despair…but as a penniless lady’s companion, is love beyond her grasp?

©2024 Song Sparrow Press (P)2024 Song Sparrow Press

Elizabeth as a companion to Georgiana

3 1/2 rounded to 4
This is a new to me author & narrator.
In this outside of canon story, Darcy arrives to late and Georgiana marries Wickham. With a broken heart Darcy retreats to his estate. The ever cheerful Bingley shows up to rescue a morose Darcy thus Bingley does not inhabit Netherfield. Several years elapse, Mr Bennet dies and the girls are split up. Elizabeth & Mary decide to go into service as Jane goes to take care of her young cousins. Georgiana is now a widow and looking for a companion and Elizabeth is exactly who she needs. A strong friendship grows and Georgiana & Darcy's relationship is healed with Elizabeth's encouragement. This is a low angst story. There were a few parts that I thought could have been developed deeper but overall it was a nice read / listen.

Nicely Done

I previously read the ebook and was delighted to find an audio version on Audible. Miss Savage performs wonderfully, seamlessly transitioning between characters. The low angst and a happily-ever-after for Darcy and Elizabeth make for an excellent listen for those who enjoy a well-crafted story where Georgiana's marriage to Wickham doesn't lead to dire consequences for her or her situation.

Seeet, Clean & Satisfying

This Narrator performed well. Her voice is pleasant & well modulated & appropriately expressive. A pleasant Read.

Great read

This was a different take on pride and prejudice. It is not often in Jaff that Wickham succeeds in eloping with Georgiana. It happened here. Great Jaff.

Good Premise

An excellent narration by Karen Savage. Her pace felt a tad on the fast side. It caused me to slow down the playback a notch, which corrected that particular issue for me. I liked her performance of the characters very much. She has a pleasing and articulate voice. Another new-to-me narrator, I am enjoying the many new voices being introduced to Pride and Prejudice variation audiobooks in general.

In Friendship and Fortitude, Darcy’s failure to stop Georgiana’s elopement with Wickham leads to an unnecessary rift between them because Georgiana believes her brother will never forgive her, while Darcy, from a distance, feels she could never forgive him. In the meantime, he does what he can to ensure she’s cared for while she lives in Scotland with her husband. When Wickham dies, Elizabeth becomes Georgiana’s companion, and from the little Georgiana reveals to her, she develops preconceived ideas about Darcy, thinking he is harsh and unkind. However, as Elizabeth gets to know him, she realises her initial quick judgment of him was wrong, and a genuine friendship grows between them. Up to this point, I was really enjoying what I expected to be a five-star review, but…

Then, what felt somewhat sudden to me, that friendship shifts to love. There isn’t much in the way of a slow courtship—it feels as though they recognise their deeper feelings all at once. Another thing that felt very rushed was Darcy’s decision to never marry Elizabeth because of her lower status and the scandal it would cause. This decision is quickly overturned after a brief conversation with Georgiana. Elizabeth had just left Georgiana’s employ, but then she quickly returns and proposes to Darcy out of nowhere, which didn’t fit the careful development I’d been expecting. They marry, with little focus on how their marriage might cause a scandal or how they would deal with society’s reaction.

The epilogue, where Elizabeth introduces Jane to Bingley at Pemberley, is a nice moment, but I found myself wishing there had been more depth earlier, especially regarding how Darcy and Elizabeth would address the challenges I expected them to face. I had a difficult time grasping there would be nothing said among the gossips.

That said, the writing is polished and flows well, with a nice touch of period authenticity. Overall, it’s a pleasant and enjoyable read, though I think more time spent on the emotional and social struggles would have made the resolution feel more satisfying.

Kisses only.