…Imagine how it was before Netherfield is let.

‘Intrigue At Longbourn’ is probably the most authentic ‘Pride & Prejudice’ derivative you will ever read.

Elizabeth Bennet enjoys a lively six months before Netherfield Park is let at last. She is appalled to learn that a pregnant teenage kitchen maid, Alice, was dismissed from Longbourn House eight or nine years earlier with no thought for her welfare or that of her unborn child.

Unable to involve her family on the occasion, she approaches the recently arrived, handsome, young rector of Longbourn parish, Mr Wilde, and he agrees to assist her in secret. Their apparently clandestine association is noticed and misinterpreted by some.

Meanwhile, to secure the family’s future, Mr Bennet embarks on a complicated, high-risk scheme which is ultimately in danger of spiralling out of control.

Holidays provide welcome diversions and the social scene is enhanced by a young scientist named Julius Fairweather.

Nevertheless, father’s and daughter’s separate manoeuvres inevitably clash as the summer races inexorably towards Michaelmas of 1797 when a young man of large fortune named Bingley first enters the neighbourhood.

…Become better acquainted with the characters in Jane Austen’s magnificent ‘Pride & Prejudice’ and prepare yourself for the sequel, ‘Menace At Pemberley’…

…Witness the first encounters between Elizabeth and Darcy…

…Read the first chapter of ‘Menace At Pemberley’ which begins immediately after Elizabeth and Darcy marry and continues with a large Christmas family gathering at Pemberley as foretold in ‘Pride & Prejudice’…

Written in a classic, easy-to-read, literary style, ‘Intrigue At Longbourn’ is a well-researched account of life in the late eighteenth century for the landed gentry and others and is a tribute to literary icon Jane Austen.

Readers said:

A delightful read, which draws you into the story.

What a fascinating book, and so well researched! I was sorry to reach the end…

I am immensely impressed. Jane would have been proud.

I loved this book and found it exceeded expectations. I really appreciated how you continued the ‘voice’ of each character – especially Mr Bennet – I think the plot works really well.

The plot and subplots are pleasingly enthralling without being dramatic, which is exactly in keeping with what Jane Austen usually gives us.

I really enjoyed the book. You’ve drawn the characters well, particularly giddy Lydia and the scatty Mrs Bennet. I found myself wanting to keep reading till I found out what had happened…

Very authentic and extremely well written…fans of Pride and Prejudice won’t be disappointed.

Gill Mather

I was a practising solicitor for several decades and at various times worked in most of the basic areas covered by general practice in England (crime, family, employment, civil litigation, wills, probate and property). I ran a small solicitor’s practice from my home near Colchester until 2020. I’m a member of several writers’ groups in Essex and Suffolk, and also a member of Dedham Players. Some of my earlier novels were originally published under the pen name of Julie Langham.

My love of reading led to writing informally on and off during the 1990s and 2000s but I thought the ‘day job’ didn’t allow time for me to write more seriously. In about 2013 I made a firm decision to find the time and started work on a romantic/crime novel set in a solicitors’ practice, ‘Internment’. This turned into 5 novels in the same series, Colchester Law World charting the lives of different characters over about 10 years… READ MORE

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