Reduced Circumstances by Ola Wegner 4 stars with pluses and minuses

Reduced Circumstances by Ola Wegner
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Reduced Circumstances has Elizabeth as a fairly changed woman due to circumstances that took place after she refused Darcy at Hunsford. Mr. Bennet dies leaving his family impoverished. This changes all of the conditions of the Bennet family members. But, other situations have effected Elizabeth's view of the world and her ability to trust.

Although Jane marries (not to Bingley), which saves the family financially, Elizabeth determines she does not wish to be a burden to anyone. She accepts a position of companion to an elderly woman in Leeds. At the beginning of our story it is now several years later. Elizabeth's employer, Mrs. Walker, has died and Elizabeth has had to flee Leeds. Mrs. Walker's family has accused her of stealing and had previously attempted to ruin her reputation. On her way to London, she meets with Mr. Darcy and Miss Darcy and they convince her to accept a ride with them. Darcy has never married, nor forgotten the woman he loves. This meeting recommences the relationship of Darcy and Elizabeth.

What makes this variation interesting is the changes brought about to Elizabeth by her experience in Leeds with the Walker family. Although treated well by her employer, she lived a lonely existence. Being mistreated by her employers children and grandchildren for no apparent reason has caused Elizabeth to learn to mistrust for the first time in her life. She is not the lively and happy person she was when Darcy knew her. She is also struggling to trust anyone. This changes the dynamic of the couple.

This variation works, for the most part. It is hard to see why Darcy is still so set on marrying Elizabeth and why he is pushing her when he had indicated he would not. Elizabeth waffles back and forth, and it is also not easy to see why she eventually accepts and learns to trust Darcy. I felt the story somehow lacked pivotal moments to bring about the changes to the relationship. It appears the sexual relationship was a major factor, but this didn't really work for me. However, I enjoyed seeing this more mature Elizabeth relearning to trust.

One minor point of irritation for me was the author's misuse of the term "my person". She used it to mean the whole being, as in "My mother appears to take interest in my person only when she sees that it benefits her.". The term is usually used to reflect the persons body, as in "please remove your hands from my person". I found this misuse sprinkled throughout the book to be slightly distracting.

All in all, this was an interesting and unique variation with pluses and minuses. I am rounding up the rating to 4 stars, but would say it was actually 3 1/2. But, worth reading for the premise and the interesting change to Elizabeth's character.

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