Dear Reader,
If you are a returning reader from when
I first began this journey, (or even when I attempted to begin again)
then thank you for returning. If you are new and have joined me for
the first time then welcome. Thank you for choosing this story out of
the thousands there are to read on this site. Mr. Bennet Takes a Wife
is the product of a love for all things Austen and my overactive
imagination. I started this with no intention of publishing in any
way but as these chapters sat collecting dust I found I could not
help myself but share my newest piece with you here. I hope that you
all enjoy the finished product. I started to post this before I was
perhaps ready and between a lack of inspiration and some personal
struggles I had to stop with my writing. If you have returned you
already know what those struggles are. At the end of August my
grandmother lost her battle with cancer. I was lucky enough to spend
the last few months of her life with her and while it hurts that she
is no longer with us I know that she would not want me to shut myself
off. She was the one that pushed me to pursue my writing so for her I
determined to finish this story.
When I attempted to post over on the
site fanfiction.net I was bullied by people who hid behind online
anonymity and so I decided to pull my stories from that site and post
elsewhere...hence this blog. I am also posting over on the writers
coffee shop and as soon as my month long pre-screening wait is over I
will also be posting at A Happy Assembly.
In keeping with the style of Ms. Austen
herself, I decided that instead of writing headings at the start of
each chapter, I settled on a forward. I want to take this time to
explain several things. First of course is the overall theme of this
story. This is a take on an often repeated theme in fanfiction, a
what if situation. Many easily find fault with the minor Bennets in
the original work, no one more so than the hero himself Mr. Darcy.
However this lead me to wonder how things would have been different
if Mrs. Bennet had not been in the picture. Are we truly a product of
our environment or are some things unavoidable and in our very
makeup? Though I am certainly not the first to ask this question, I
hope that, with my original characters, I have added something new to
this universe.
Now let me explain some of the other
changes I have made in this work. I lost count on the number of
reviews I received from people the first time I posted, trying to
“helpfully” inform me on “mistakes” that I had made and how I
had “gotten it wrong” because something I had wasn't as it was in
the original story. So I am now going to write all of my changes and
reasons here and when I receive such reviews I will just refer those
readers to this first chapter. This isn't to say that I do not
welcome your feedback, just know that if the only reason you are
reviewing is to tell me that my story is different than the original
you need not do so. I am well aware that I am not Miss Austen, I do
not live in 1800's, and I did not come up with any of the wonderful
stories that have been treasured for generations. However I did come
up with this story and this is fanfiction. The whole purpose of this
form of writing is to be able to change things as we like. After all
this is my sandbox now and I can build it however I deem fit. If you
do not like the changes I made I am sure there is another story on
this site that will fit more to your tastes and I understand.
The fist change to discuss is the
lineage of the original Mrs. Bennet and through this also the lineage
of Mr and Mrs. Gardiner. In the original work Mr. Gardiner is
referred to as “Mrs. Bennet's brother from town.” And I took that
directly from the Pride and Prejudice text. However I want the
Gardiner's to play a larger role in this work. And if they were
simply only related to Mr. Bennet through his first marriage I
couldn't see them doing that easily so I changed it. I made Mrs.
Bennet, a Miss Smith before her marriage. Her family's position was
not changed in essentials, just in name as I explain in the first
chapter. I then made the Gardiner's a relation to Mr. Bennet a little
more directly by making Mrs. Gardiner, Mr. Bennet's sister.
Another point of some strife for the
earlier readers were the similarities that I had made between the
original Mr. Darcy and my Mr. Bennet. Some assumed it was accidental
but it was not. I meant for them to be very similar. This point
really came about after a talk we had in my psychology class about
how women who had a strong bond with their fathers growing up tend to
marry men just like them. I also think the original Mr. Bennet is
similar to Darcy anyway. Both of them are introverted gentlemen who
are more comfortable around their families than with strangers.
Neither of them take much pleasure in social events and both are in
charge of young children. Also people are forgetting that we are
seeing a different Mr. Bennet than in the original story. My Mr.
Bennet is only a few years older than Mr. Darcy in the original. He
also hasn't lived with the nervous, and lets face it annoying, Mrs.
Bennet. The similarities between my protagonist Miss Baker and Miss
Elizabeth Bennet I believe stem from their love of the outdoors,
reading and the ability of individual thought. I really did not go
out of my way to make Isabelle like Elizabeth, honestly I based her
personality on myself and her appearance on my best friend. So for
those that say she is too much like Elizabeth I shall just take that
as a compliment. However I have changed a very important trait of
Miss Baker from when I originally posted this story that will make
her quite different from Elizabeth, and no I shan't spoil the
surprise here. You shall just have to read on to find out!
I have made other minor changes to the
plot and the time line of the original work, but none that really
signify pointing out here in the forward. However if something is not
perfectly in line with Miss Austen's original story you may assume
that I meant for it to be so. This is at the end of the day a work of
fiction.
I also need to point out that I wanted
to write this in a regency style. However I am a twentieth century
woman and I found quickly that I would never get it perfectly right.
Therefore I am amending my style to a modified regency style. I will
try to be as close to period as possible but do not expect
perfection. I am a person not a machine and I will make mistakes.
If you still feel the need to correct me, I of course welcome your
input but remember that this a complete work and while I could
possibly change my draft at home I will not be re-posting unless it
is something completely horrendous.
I will also be publishing on this page
an Index that will include my version of the Bennett Family Tree both
the completed one that I will be working off of for all the stories
including this one (Beware it contains spoilers), and then just the
family tree for the family members that are alive now. I will also be
posting several other reference things on that Index.
I have a lovely lady that looks over my
story and helps me with content but I am looking for a third person
who can help me with grammar and such. If you are interested please
let me know. With that I give you the first chapter of Mr. Bennet
Takes A Wife. Enjoy.
~~~~Kat
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