Pemberley Ranch

By: Jack Caldwell

Narrated by: Benjamin Fife

An extraordinary reimagining of Jane Austen’s immortal Pride and Prejudice.

When the smoke has cleared from the battlefields and the Civil War has finally ended, fervent Union supporter Beth Bennet reluctantly moves with her family from their home in Meryton, Ohio to the windswept plains of Rosings, Texas. Handsome, haughty Will Darcy, a confederate officer back from the war, owns half the land around Rosings, and his even haughtier cousin Cate Burroughs owns the other half.

In a town as small as Rosings, Beth and Will inevitably cross paths. But as Will becomes enchanted with the fiery Yankee, Beth won’t allow herself to warm to the man who represents the one thing she hates most: the army that killed her only brother.

But when carpetbagger George Whitehead arrives in Rosings, all that Beth thought to be true is turned on its head, and the only man who can save her home is the one she swore she’d never trust…

©2010 Jack Caldwell (P)2024 Jack Caldwell

Critic reviews

“It’s Pride and Prejudice meets Gone With the Wind—with that kind of romance and excitement.”—Sharon Lathan, bestselling author of In the Arms of Mr. Darcy

We’ll written and narrated

I’ve read the book and throughly enjoyed it. So I already knew I lived the plot and characters. However, with such a great narration by Mr fife, it came to life!
Highly recommended!!

An American Tale

Excellent variation based in America that begins with an action-packed prologue during the Civil War. Jack Caldwell brilliantly weaves the story and characters of Pride and Prejudice into post-Civil War Texas. His love of history is evident in the writing.

The Bennets are northerners originally from Ohio and have relocated to Texas following the Civil War. The Darcys are Texan and the Bingleys are from Georgia. Elizabeth has brought along her prejudices and preconceived notions about southerners, leading to her usual dislike of Darcy. There are villains who provide plenty of angst in the style of the wild west in the 1800s when there were gunslingers and outlaws.

I do enjoy a JAFF in America story from time to time, and this is a very good one. Highly recommend.

Mature content, including violence and assault.

Benjamin Fife’s narration and performance of the P&P characters in a southern US setting is so different from his usual British accented performances, but was most enjoyable too.

Pemberley Ranch

Jack Caldwell’s Pemberley Ranch, set in the American state of Texas a few years after the US Civil War, has been a favorite of mine for several years. It captures the drama of Austen’s Pride and Prejudice but moves the story from Regency England and provides a fresh canvas to illustrate Elizabeth Bennet’s Northern prejudice and William Darcy’s Southern pride. The historical attitudes and problems of the time are a major component of the story. There is also humor and romance, though, it’s not all serious Reconstruction history!

To listen to the audiobook narrated by the talented Benjamin Fife is a real treat. He exceeded the challenge of providing a wide range of voices for the characters, including the many individual Southern-style accents. His “Mrs. Bennet” and “Cate Burroughs” (Lady Catherine) voices are as different and distinctive from each other as they can possibly be. The audio brings this dramatic and adventurous story to life. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

P&P meet Texas

What do you get when you blend pride and prejudice with Texas after the Civil War? You get this book. It was well researched and enjoyable read and listen on the audiobook. The e-book had an advantage of having footnotes that helped with little bits of history and terminology. Others have shared the synopsis of the story, but there is so much that each character has to process in their prejudices and pride before and after disaster hits at various points. This story is not for the tame of heart as some harsh realities of that era are brought to the forefront. Issues that are dealt with or at least touched on are both sides of the Civil War, death, racial prejudices, slavery, prostitution, religion, landownership, railroad, and banking issues in addition to life in general. Overall, this is a book I will gladly read again or better yet, listen to again as the narration is fantastic. I am thankful that this author continues to choose human narrators that truly bring these stories to life.

Range war!

Great story. A bit of civil war history, some bushwacker gun slingers, range war and P n P in the mix. I enjoyed it in every way!