A Darcy Christmas ~ A Holiday Tribute To Jane Austen

A Darcy Christmas ~ A Holiday Tribute To Jane Austen

Amanda Grange, Sharon Lathan, Carolyn Eberhart

As the book blurb goes: "Share in the magic of the season in these three warm and wonderful holiday novellas from bestselling authors".

If you need a little nudge to get you in the christmas mood, here is a good push in that direction.

Three christmas themed stories in one book, starting with:

Mr Darcy's Christmas Carol by Carolyn Eberhart

Where a remake of Dickens Christmas Carol meets Pride and Prejudice in quite a clever blend.

Staying with Austen's characters Darcy is visited by Ghosts and Christmas Spirits in an effort to show him how badly his life will turn out if he does not get off of his high horse and go and propose to the woman he loves.

The spirit of Christmas past shows him he was not always such a prideful and judgemental man and the ghost of Christmas future shows him such a bleak future with no Elizabeth in it that he is galvanised into action. 

A fun mash up of two classics.

The second story is:

Christmas Present by Amanda Grange

Mr Darcy receives the most welcome christmas present of all, an heir for Pemberley.

In this heart warming story Jane has already pipped Lizzy to the post and given birth to a lovely baby boy and Charles is besotted.

Lizzy in the latter stages of her pregnancy persuades Darcy to let her go and see Jane and the baby and spend christmas with her family.

Caroline is ruling the roost while Jane is recovering and has organised a ball. Lizzy cant help but want to dance, resulting in labours onset.

This is a warm uplifting story with a full cast brought together over christmas.

and finally we have:

A Darcy Christmas by Sharon Lathan 

If you are a fan of Sharon Lathan's books you will love this collection of glimpses into the Christmas's through the years as the Darcy family increases and new arrivals join the loving family, some come  through marriage some through birth and of course some leave them through death.

The stories sweet or sad are all heart warming and full of love.

Romance is Sharon Lathan's forte and this collection of christmas stories delivers plenty. 

I always enjoy her character Dr Darcy, he is a real splash of colour on the page.

Young Master Darcy by Pamela Aidan

Young Master Darcy by Pamela Aidan 

A Lesson in Honour 

This is the story of a young Fitzwilliam on his return from his first term away at school.

He has started his transformation from a boy to a young man but it doesn't prepare him for the news on his return home. His beloved Mother is sick and nothing can be done to save her.

The tale of young Darcy coming to terms with the grief of losing his Mother and how it is going to affect him and his family.

To escape for a little while from the stress of a household that is grief stricken.

Darcy gallops off on his horse and finds a bit of adventure of his own to take his mind off the trouble at home for a few hours.

He feels the first stirrings of youthful longing as he spends stolen hours with other youngsters .

Lord and Lady Matlockand their Son's join the Darcy's for Christmas at Pemberley and all valiantly try to keep Lady Anne Darcy's spirits up as she has requested a 'normal family Christmas".

But Darcy runs into disaster as he tries to make both his new friends and his family happy.

Poor Fitzwilliam cannot sit down to eat his Christmas lunch after his Father has finished making his point about family honour.

This is a touching story very nicely written, thank you Pamela. 

Compulsively Mr Darcy by Nina Benneton

Nina Benneton's - Compulsively Mr Darcy 

The title of the book is explained by the fact that in this modern Pride and Prejudice, Mr Darcy's controlling demeanor thinly masks his OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder). yes, under the Chairman of the boards steely glare, there is a nervous wreck.

Poor old Bingley is on medication to cope with his ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder), all that smiling and bounciness is explained in three letters, they are both top CEO's (Chief Executive Officers) in New York.

Now Jane and Elizabeth are in Vietnam, Jane is running the Grace Church Orphanage for her Aunt.

Elizabeth is an infectious diseases specialist working out of the hospital there, but spending most of her wages on medication for the patients.

Now you would think it impossible for these four to get together.

Enter Caroline Bingley with a plot to adopt a 'designer' baby for Louisa and her Husband as they are the latest accessory to have in New York.

The entire Bingly family plus Darcy (there to make them look serious) fly in their private jet to Vietnam to visit the  orphanage and to get a baby to dress up!

And that is where the fun starts, yes, it is fun.

I enjoyed this story very much, no one is missed out but they are all recreated in modern style, even a few people sneak in from other books.

It's fast paced and there are plenty of misunderstandings between Elizabeth and Darcy, some crazy near disasters and the the bad guys are as usual horrid, with Wickham and De Bourgh's doing their best to make this story gripping. 

Throughout this story the humor shines through. It really is a good giggle.