It’s always a treat to have Victoria Kincaid as a guest on Diary of an Eccentric, and today I welcome her here to spotlight her newest Pride and Prejudice variation, Darcy’s Honor. I had the pleasure of editing this delightful novel, which has the perfect balance of drama, humor, and romance. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did!
First, here’s the book blurb to grab your attention:
Elizabeth Bennet is relieved when the difficult Mr. Darcy leaves the area after the Netherfield Ball. But she soon runs afoul of Lord Henry, a Viscount who thinks to force her into marrying him by slandering her name and ruining her reputation. An outcast in Meryton, and even within her own family, Elizabeth has nobody to turn to and nowhere to go.
Darcy successfully resisted Elizabeth’s charms during his visit to Hertfordshire, but when he learns of her imminent ruin, he decides he must propose to save her from disaster. However, Elizabeth is reluctant to tarnish Darcy’s name by association…and the viscount still wants her…
Can Darcy save his honor while also marrying the woman he loves?
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Now, please give a warm welcome to Victoria Kincaid, who is here to discuss the importance of reputation in Jane Austen’s time:
The issue of reputation drives much of the plot of Pride and Prejudice (and many other Austen novels). Darcy’s need to protect Georgiana’s reputation compels him to keep the incident at Ramsgate (and Wickham’s perfidy) quiet. Elizabeth’s aspersions on Darcy’s character cause him to write her a letter, but then his concern about her reputation (because it would be improper for her to receive a message from an unmarried man) prompts him to give it to her in person rather than sending it with a servant. And, of course, Lydia’s careless behavior with Wickham affects not only her reputation, but her whole family’s.
Austen was well aware that the burden of maintaining a pristine reputation fell more on the shoulders of women than men. In P&P, Mary observes: “Unhappy as the event must be for Lydia, we may draw from it this useful lesson; that loss of virtue in a female is irretrievable—that one false step involves her in endless ruin—that her reputation is no less brittle than it is beautiful.” While Mary may be annoyingly pedantic, she is not wrong. Wickham can get away with all manner of dastardly behavior that is covered up or shrugged off. But Lydia’s one misstep is treated like a capital crime. Collins even says she’d have been better off dead.
This inequity strikes me every time I read an Austen novel, and it occurred to me to make it part of a plot for a P&P variation. What if Elizabeth lost her reputation—through no fault of her own? Not that she actually did anything wrong, but that everyone assumed that she had. How would Darcy react? How would Elizabeth behave? I was unsure of the answer to all of these questions as I set out to write Darcy’s Honor, so writing it was a process of discovery for me. Some of the results surprised me. And I hope that readers will find the book surprising and entertaining as well.
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An excerpt from Darcy’s Honor, courtesy of Victoria Kincaid:
Miss Bingley was still speaking with a rhythm that was almost hypnotic. Darcy’s attention began to wander as his head dipped lower and lower until it nearly rested on his chest.
“…Meryton…” Darcy was pulled out of somnolence with an abrupt jerk. Was Miss Bingley discussing Hertfordshire? “….A letter from Anna Hopkins,” Miss Bingley said to her sister. “You remember her?”
Mrs. Hurst tittered. “Does she still maintain a correspondence with you? Apparently she remains under the delusion that she will obtain an invitation to Bingley House.”
Miss Bingley flicked open her fan with a snap, only to employ the object rather lazily. “Heaven knows. I certainly do nothing to encourage the acquaintance,” she sneered. “However, the missive did include one item of note.” Her glance flickered toward Darcy as if to ensure he was paying proper attention. “About the Bennets. You remember them, Louisa?”
Such a disingenuous act! Darcy ground his teeth together. No one from the Netherfield party was likely to forget the family that Bingley had nearly married himself into. Even Georgiana watched with wide eyes, having heard stories about the Bennets of Hertfordshire.
“What about them?” Bingley asked, hastily setting down his teacup.
His sister took a languid sip of tea, making a great show of indifference. “Charles, you will be very pleased we are gone from that neighborhood and have no more acquaintance with that family. It is an absolute disgrace!”
A chill raced down Darcy’s spine. What had happened to the Bennets?
“What is?” Bingley asked impatiently.
“Miss Elizabeth Bennet.” Miss Bingley avoided glancing at Darcy as she spoke, yet he had no doubt her words were intended to wound him. He clenched his fists to forestall any impulse to cry out at her.
Instead, he waited while Bingley demanded, “What about Miss Elizabeth?”
His sister shook her head sadly. “Such a disgrace. I do not know how the family will ever recover.”
Darcy could hold out no longer. “What has happened?” he finally growled.
The triumphant smile on Miss Bingley’s face hardly registered. “Eliza Bennet was caught with that oily viscount—”
“Henry Carson, Viscount Billington,” Darcy supplied automatically.
“Yes, that was the name. They were found in a”—she coughed delicately —“compromising position during a ball at Lucas Lodge.”
A tight hand seemed to squeeze Darcy’s heart.
“Oh dear!” Miss James’s exclamation was half distressed and half amused.
Mrs. Hurst tsked. “I confess I cannot be surprised. The whole family had no sense of decorum. The way her younger sisters carried on with the officers! And her mother’s behavior. Quite shocking.”
“Indeed.” Miss Bingley nodded her agreement. “I would not be surprised if her mother arranged the situation to entrap the viscount.”
The fist around Darcy’s heart closed even more tightly and painfully.
“Naturally,” Miss Bingley continued, “Lord Henry did the proper thing and made her an offer.”
No, Darcy wanted to cry out, but he had no breath. Mrs. Bennet might be capable of such a maneuver, but Elizabeth would never consent to be part of such a plot.
Mrs. Hurst pursed her lips disapprovingly. “So they are now betrothed?”
Oh, my! I bet you can’t wait to find out what happens next!
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Giveaway
Victoria is generously offering a copy of Darcy’s Honor in a reader’s choice (print or ebook) giveaway, open internationally! To enter, please leave a comment with your email address. This giveaway will close on Sunday, April 23, 2017. The winner will be chosen randomly and announced in the comments section of this post. Good luck!
I do love hearing directly from an author.
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Hi Lloyd, I’m glad you found the post interesting. Good luck with the giveaway!
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At least he did the proper thing that Lord
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Thanks for your interest and good luck with the giveaway!
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Oh dear. Poor Elizabeth. How can you leave it there Victoria? I love the sound of this book and I love the cover. That dress is gorgeous. I can’t wait to find out how Darcy rescues her. Thank you both for this post and the giveaway 😃 glyniswhitelegg (at) gmail (dot) com
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Hi Glynis, I love how the cover turned out too! The designer did a great job. Good luck with the giveaway!
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Looking forward to putting this taste into context.
marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com
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Hi Mary, I hope you enjoy the book! Good luck with the giveaway!
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No need to enter me into the giveaway, Anna, as I already know what happens and how we eventually reach our HEA. All I’ll say is that this is yet another entertaining read from the pen of Victoria Kincaid, more serious in tone than the last two, but the humour is still there peeping through from time to time. The eventual solution to the problem is very interesting and I assume came as one of the results of Victoria’s research.
Highly recommended!
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Hi Anji, Thank you for that endorsement! I’m so glad you liked it. And thank you for sharing.
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Looking forward to reading this book.
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Hi, Thanks for your interest and good luck!
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I’d love to get a chance to win this one
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Hi Mystica, Thanks for your interest and good luck!
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With that small excerpt, I’m hooked! Another winner Victoria kincade!
Fingers crossed!
Carol hoyt at yahoo dot com.
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Hi Carol, Thank you for being a loyal reader! Good luck with the giveaway.
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My fingers are twitching. I want to bang Caroline and Louisa’s heads together! Please include me in your giveway. Thank you.
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Great post Victoria. What bothers me most about situations like this, is the expected solution. 😦 One man destroys woman’s reputation, and it can be repaired ONLY by marriage to him or another man. It doesn’t matter what the woman did or DIDN’T do. She is just handed over from one ‘gentelman’ to another, like an object. 😦 It took a lot of courage not to give in.
Thanks for the giveaway. 🙂
kasiakepa@yahoo.com
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I have enjoyed a few other of Victoria’s books and would love to add this into my collection of JAFFs. Thanks for the interesting excerpt and giveaway!
priscillateh@live.hk
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Wonderful post. I am quite curious to see what Darcy does about this news. Love Victoria’s stories. This is a must read for me! Thank you for the giveaway.
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I loved the excerpt! Can’t wait to read more! Thank you for the giveaway and congratulations on your new book, Victoria!
My email address: danielaquadros@gmail.com
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Thanks for the giveaway! I’ve read a few other books of yours, Victoria, and quite liked them, so this is automatically going to my wishlist 🙂
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Terrific excerpt. Can’t wait to read the whole book. Please include me in the giveaway.
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Great Excerpt. Thanks for this wonderful giveaway.
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Great excerpt. Thanks for sharing and for the giveaway. jadseah4 (at) yahoo
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Too cruel to leave us on the edge of our seats. Where are my salts? I can’t breath!! This is too much. I must know what happened. Awesome excerpt. OMG!! You certainly left us in a lurch. Whew! Maybe I will calm down…. Anna, thanks for hosting the give-a-way and excerpt.
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Can’t wait for this one!
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Oh,my!! Poor Lizzy! His did she ever manage to get herself into this terrible situation…and with a man such as Cardon. He sounds despicable!
Poor Darcy! I know he’s going to do the honourable thing,can’t wait to find out what befalls ODC.
The cover of this book is lovely!!
Best of luck with this one,Victoria!
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Wow … the book blurb and excerpt sound awesome … reading the conversation between Caroline and the rest of the party I could almost feel Darcy’s heart sinking upon hearing the news. I really can’t wait to find out what happens next.
Love,
Anna
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Seems like another good P&P book. I have to read this one.
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I plan to read this book one way or another. If my name is drawn: odara7rox(at)rcn(dot)com I am sure it is going to be an excellent story.
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I love her other previous books!
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Thanks so much to everyone who stopped by to check out the excerpt and guest post! I hope you all get a chance to read the book!
The winner is KateB. Congrats and Happy Reading!
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Congratulations Kate
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Congratulations. Enjoy.
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Congratulations Kate. You’re in for a treat with this one!
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