The Companion of His Future Life

By: Jack Caldwell

Narrated by: Jo Ashe

One of the great what-ifs among Pride & Prejudice aficionados is: If Mr. Collins married Mary Bennet instead of Charlotte Lucas, how would that influence Mr. Darcy's dogged pursuit of the elusive Elizabeth? In this breezy and hilarious re-telling of Jane Austin's classic novel, the author explores what would have changed - and what would have not - had two of literature's most self-righteous characters found their way together. Elizabeth Bennet goes to Kent with her sister Jane, and the fur flies! A wonderful, mad-cap romp!

©2014 Jack Caldwell (P)2019 Jack Caldwell

Witty and funny

I really enjoyed this story by Jack Caldwell. He writes is a way that makes you giggle to yourself. I highly recommend this book to a Jane Austen fan fiction lover.

it's OK

I do not like this narrator. she makes the characters sound whiney. it started getting on my nerves. the storey itself was good but the performance made it not as good as it could have been.

Wonderful retelling with many liberties

Very enjoyable. Lots of different threads expertly woven together as well as a few surprises.

Thoroughly Enjoyed It

What if Dr. Who went back in time and accidentally tripped Mary Bennet - and in so doing altered the entire flow of events in Pride & Prejudice? Rest assured, Dr. Who is not in this book. I picked up this book because I always secretly wanted Mary and Mr. Collins to get together. I kept reading because it felt like I was watching the deleted scenes of Pride & Prejudice. The author uses the phrase "I believe I will be ill now" far too much, but other than that, a very fun read.

Ok

I’ve read so many Pride and Prejudice Variations that this version was not very different leading to a bit boring read.
Not a spectacular read but mediocre.

Intersting premise

This was entertaining. It picks up after Bingley and Darcy leave folllowing the Netherfield Ball. Elizabeth and Jane go to Huntsford to visit sister Mary, who has married Rev. Collins. Mary does a good job managing Rev Collins and lives a fairly contented life. The "letter from Darcy" part of the original story happens except that both Jane and Elizabeth get a letter. Mr. Darcy tries to correct the Bingley/Jane separation. The visit to Pemberly by the Gardeniers happens, except Jane and Elizabeth are with them. Overall the story follows the original plot except there are additions of people and some small twists. I like the combination of Darcy/Bingley/Gardiner/Col Fitzwilliam/Mr. Bennett as they hunt for and confront Wickham. At the end Charlotte and Anne are settled satisfactorily. Lady Katherine is handled well. Caroline and Lydia get their just rewards. I just wish I could enter the Longbourne world for a few minutes to slap Mrs. Bennett. She is so disgusting.

A good story

I enjoyed the story and how the little changes in the characters made so much difference. The narration was great. I loved listening to the book so much more than reading it.

I like this one

It hits my favorite alternates. Mary marries Mr. Collins (who isn't a bad man, just rather stupid), Anne marries Colonel Fitzwilliam, and even Charlotte gets a happy ending. Oh, and Lady Catherine isn't a total monster.

A Good 'What if'.

Enjoyable Pride and Prejudice variation. In many ways it follows canon, but with enough differences to keep one interested. The character portrayals were the main differences. I love the twists in the Mary, Anne, and Jane portrayals. Bingley learned a good lesson, Anne was a good friend to the Bennet sisters, and Mary proved wiser beyond her years. Typical Wickham and Lydia, and I rather enjoyed the author’s take on Elizabeth’s Wickham set down. Nicely done.

The narrator reads well, but I feel like there’s not enough difference between her narrative and character voices at times to realise someone else has started speaking. Fans of P&P can easily figure it out quickly though through the dialogue. Also there's not enough differentiation of the male and female characters. I think some attention to this, along with adjusting pausing and pace where appropriate in the dialogue and between scenes would help to improve the enjoyment of this audiobook. I had to slow the playback to 0.9.

Nice changes to the story!

This author uses Jane Austen books as the base of his stories, and then makes some interesting changes! At first I thought that this book might be vacuous, as other authors have made Austen's books - but this author made some changes that were actually interesting and good. This book is based on the change that the heir to Longbourne, through entailment, Mr. Collins, the vicar, instead of marrying Charlotte Lucas, marries Lizzie's sister, Mary Bennet, because he sees a kindred spirit in her love and study of the Bible. This means that both Jane and Elizabeth Bennet go to Rosings Park. Towards the end of the book, this author nicely wraps up each characters matrimonial state, including some you may not suspect. I enjoyed his twists in the plot! And the narrator was very good, too!