Blessing or Burden

A Pride and Prejudice Variation

By: Elaine Burkett

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

In this Pride and Prejudice variation, Elizabeth Bennet unexpectedly inherits a large fortune as the story begins. The effects of this surprising situation are, at first, delightful. Elizabeth is able to provide her sisters with suitable dowries as well as a delightful shopping trip in London. As the realities of her situation set in, however, her male friends and neighbors turn into fortune hunters, swamping her with unwanted attention.

After a few dangerous scrapes, Elizabeth decides to try her luck in London, hoping that by keeping her good fortune a secret, she can find a suitable husband to share her burden. Her luck runs out in London when her secret is leaked, and she is once again mobbed by a great deal of unwanted attention. After a few disasters bring her spirit low and eliminates the last shred of respect she has for men in general, Elizabeth decides to forego marriage altogether, and she retires to the countryside.

With Charlotte as her companion, Elizabeth purchases an estate in Derbyshire near her aunt’s hometown of Lambton. There she meets Mr. Darcy, her handsome but reticent neighbor. Over time, Mr. Darcy gradually restores Elizabeth’s faith in men, or at least one man in particular.

Short but Sweet

Enjoyed this P&P variation very much. I was very pleased the essence of the characters was unchanged.

It was a relaxing listen

I’m surprised how far virtual voice has come. This one was one of the best I’ve heard. Yes, pronunciations and inflections are occasionally off, but I didn’t find them distracting.
I enjoyed that Elizabeth and Darcy met on more equal footing. Because of her new wealth and experiences Lizzie is better able to handle Mr. Darcy’s personality.

Enjoyed!

Nice short story. It was a free selection with my membership. The narration was fine. Didn’t realize it was AI until the end when I read the other comment. Anyway, I’ve tried to get through the original story (& movie) and haven’t been able to. This was the opposite. Thoroughly enjoyed it!

Interesting variation. Although there were the usual characters, they appeared in a different fashion.

Really was not much to dislike. Although it was a bit short. But did provide a quick read.

Better Darcy and Elizabeth relationship

I liked the way Elizabeth and Darcy met. It was not at the Assembly. Much better relationship between the two.

A delightful story!

Virtual voice is an acquired sound! I enjoyed this variation! I recommend it for anyone who likes low angst stories!

I hate virtual voice!

I don’t really know if I like the book or not. I couldn’t get past the lack of inflection in the narration. I stopped after about 45 mins. The story seemed fine. I would have rated the performance a 0 if it had been an option.

Virtual Voice (AI) is Blah

The book was free for me through my Audible membership, so I tend to judge less harshly. I appreciate the author’s attempt to reimagine a well-known story.

The narration is just so blah. It often got the pronunciation wrong, and the inflections were often incongruous to the content. The robotic feel was distracting.

If budget for a narrator was an issue, I would have preferred to hear the author read it herself. I would rather support the writer doing her best than turning it over to software.