A Dishonorable Offer by Timothy Underwood - intriguing characterizations 4 Stars

A Dishonorable Offer: An Elizabeth and Darcy Story by Timothy Underwood
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I enjoy Timothy Underwood's writing and A Dishonorable Offer: An Elizabeth and Darcy Story turned out not to be an exception, although I expected it to be. The idea of Darcy asking Elizabeth to become his mistress just does not sit well with me, and I really did not expect I would like the story. However, given my enjoyment of the author, I thought I would give it a try. I was surprised how much I enjoyed the story, although it did have some flaws.

A major factor in the development of both of the main characters is the loss of their fathers much earlier than in canon. For Darcy, this means he is not Georgiana's guardian, and he himself has been under the guardianship of his uncle, the Earl of Matlock. The Earl insists Darcy keep a mistress and has done so throughout his adult years. This provides a very different kind of moral compass for Darcy than we have seen in other variations. He anticipates having a wife and a mistress once married, and believes he could devote himself to the mistress over the wife, the wife simply being the correct and proper relationship. However, due to his father's death, Darcy is determined to never fall in love.

One major change is Darcy's demeanor. Having now gone through his teen years with the Fitzwilliam brothers as close companions, he has been schooled on how to appear to flirt and tease women, although not as well as his cousins. He does not make the same kind of initial bad impression as he does in canon, and is able to charm, particularly women, quite well.

Elizabeth has had a very different life in her teen years due to her father's early death. Mrs. Bennet very quickly spent what money she had as she chose not to change her lifestyle after her husband's death. Her family is now completely dependent on their Philips and Gardiner uncles, who are not as sympathetic as we may have seen in other variations of P&P. Elizabeth, as a person, has developed a coping skill that is quite intriguing. Whenever things get bad, she imagines what it would have been like if everything went perfectly instead of as it has. Her perspective on life is such that she sees herself as basically happy regardless of the pain thrown her way.

In London, the Gardiners are pushing Jane toward a much older and fairly unattractive suitor, and in Meryton Mr. Philips is just plain bitter about every penny he spends on the family. Then, of course, Lydia ruins the family, thus making everything worse for everyone. Elizabeth and Jane return to Meryton when it is clear Jane's suitor is no longer interested.

So, from the very beginning of their connection, Darcy and Elizabeth are seeing a possible relationship in a very different way from canon. Darcy, almost from the very beginning, sees Elizabeth as a potential mistress, while she still sees him as only a friend, although one she is greatly at risk to love. Darcy feels a strong need to protect Elizabeth and wants to remove her from her situation. Elizabeth is still wishing for happy ever after for her and Jane, believing Jane is too good to deserve less. Jane, meanwhile, is becoming more and more desperate. Bingley, for example, although falling for Jane, is just finding her family circumstances too difficult to deal with.

Here is one thing that surprised me. Although definitely taking the characters a long way from canon, the author has me convinced the characters they became are reasonable given the change in their circumstances during their developmental years. Very intriguing. I found myself sympathizing with the young Darcy and his change in expectations, as well as appreciating the subtlety of his change in demeanor without a fundamental change in his personality. In canon, Elizabeth is determined to be happy, and we see her as such in this version, but in a way that blinds her to a great deal of what is happening around her. For me, these changes made both characters even more vulnerable than in other variations. I don't often cry while reading P&P variations, but this story often tore at my heart.

I found that once there has been the "dishonorable offer" made, the story seems to take a little more of a farcical bend, with a bit of melodrama that doesn't always work. Sometimes you want to wop Elizabeth across the head. So, for me, there were parts that were less than ideal in a story that was almost perfect in its creativity.

This is definitely not a story for those determined to keep to canon, but I found it a very reasonable set of circumstances. Even Lydia begins to sound reasonable when explaining her actions. I found a couple of the characters to be a little over the top, and could have done with a bit more compassion. Jane's character is made much more interesting in this variation, to the point where her actions are not surprising, only jarring.

All in all, this is a very interesting and compelling read. I found myself pushing forward in the story needing to see what happens next. I do think many JAFF readers will find it worth the time to read and I recommend it.



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