One Thread Pulled:

The Dance with Mr. Darcy

by Diana J. Oaks

Although I’ve read it twice before, I decided to revisit this excellent story—full of sweet romance, intrigue, and even a mystery—for The Pride and Prejudice Bicentenary Challenge. I highly recommend this book!

What if, from the story of Pride and Prejudice, weaved by Jane Austen, one thread was pulled? Diana J. Oaks imagines just that when she pulls the thread that has Elizabeth Bennet overhearing Mr. Darcy’s insult at the assembly ball. As a result, One Thread Pulled goes off in  directions increasingly dissimilar to the original as the story unfolds.

Since there was no knowledge of the insult, Mrs. Bennet declares that they should forgive Mr. Darcy’s pride, and Elizabeth agrees. Jane suffers a fall on her way to Netherfield rather than an illness, resulting in some rather amusing scenes which explain the changes in her character from the original.Without Elizabeth’s injured pride, her behavior toward Mr. Darcy is friendlier, causing both their feelings to develop sooner. Colonel Fitzwilliam and Georgiana Darcy appear earlier, as well, and the characters we love to hate are even more hate-worthy in this adaptation—a very satisfying deviation.

I was sorry to see this book end, and I am looking forward to the second of the series to be published! Diana’s first draft of the sequel is being posted to BeyondAusten.com, titled Constant as the Sun.