The Events at Branxbourne by Caitlin Williams - Blog Tour - Review and Giveaway

I am very pleased to be hosting a spot on Caitlin Williams' blog tour for her new Pride & Prejudice variation, The Events at Branxbourne. I was lucky enough to receive a review copy of the ebook and I'll be telling you what I thought of the book. Read on for my review, and a giveaway opportunity!


Book Description

“Whatever else happens, and we may expect dark days ahead, never doubt that in this moment, beneath this perfect blue sky, on this warm September day, you are loved as no other woman has ever been loved before. You are loved for all that you are, for all you once were, and for all that you will come to be.” – Fitzwilliam Darcy

Lady Lambert, or Elizabeth Bennet as she was once known, appears to have made the perfect match. Having refused Mr Darcy’s proposal of marriage at Hunsford, she is now married to a viscount. Yet beneath her fine clothes beats a heart filled with regrets. Dark secrets lurk in every corner of her elegant London townhouse, and while she might have at her disposal many excellent and numerous carriages, they all seem to take her places she does not truly want to go.

Into her, now desolate, existence comes Mr Darcy again, a changed man, a better man, the very best of men, and still very much in love with her. Is it all impossible? She ought to resist him, yet she cannot stay away. Theirs is a dangerous, scandalous love.

In an age when women are owned by their husbands, can a wife escape a husband she has come to loathe, and when there is blood on her hands, how will Elizabeth explain herself?

***** 

A Pride and Prejudice variation from the author of ‘The Coming of Age of Elizabeth Bennet,’ ‘Ardently’ and ‘When We Are Married.’

My Review

I was very pleased to take part in the blog tour for The Events at Branxbourne, having read one of Caitlin’s previous books, When We are Married. This one is hugely different to my previous read, and although I knew there was a mystery, I wasn’t quite prepared for how different the tone would be. This story is a Pride & Prejudice variation. It picks up a few years after the events of P&P but the storyline diverged after Hunsford. Elizabeth didn’t travel North and visit Pemberley, due to some family events, and therefore didn’t meet with Mr Darcy again. Lydia didn’t visit Brighton, and never eloped with George Wickham. Elizabeth is married (boooo!) while Darcy has remained single. However, it takes a little while for us to learn this, as the novel opens on a train wreck of a scene, which immediately arrests the reader’s attention. It’s a scene of a violent altercation; and Elizabeth fully expects to hang for the murder of her husband:

Hanging is merely falling, after all, and I have been falling for quite some time now. I am heartily sick of the sensation, of hurtling out of control, tumbling deeper and deeper, unable to stop. Something was bound to break at some stage – be it my spirit or my will.

What on earth could have set this scene in motion? Well, we learn that despite having married another, Elizabeth has feelings for her former spurned suitor, Mr Darcy:

Mr Darcy was my downfall, yet he was well worth it. I would do it all again. To have felt the strength of his unyielding love, I will willingly hang. How can I fear Hell, for I am already there, and I will not miss Heaven, for I have felt it. Heaven is him.

The story then flashes back 6 months, to when the paths of Lady Lambert (formerly Miss Elizabeth Bennet) and Mr Darcy crossed again after their parting in Kent, and the story unfolds of the journey to this shocking scene of violence. Alternating chapters from Elizabeth and Darcy’s points of view, we learn of some of their feelings and the events that have led to this point.

There is a strong theme of abuse in this story. Mostly emotional abuse but also non-graphic physical abuse. Emotional abuse and controlling is something that has been around for many hundreds of years, but is only now being seen as a problem by society, and addressed. In older times, such as when this story is set, a husband would have such power over his wife that she was basically his property. The law wouldn’t necessarily protect her from physical abuse for another 150 years, and emotional manipulation and abuse leaves even less visible evidence. It is no wonder that a woman of these times, particularly one without an influential family to back her, would have to try and manage the situation as best she could; treading on eggshells to prevent an outburst, trying to hide the problem from family and society alike, while slowly dying inside:

I was once impudent and brave, but my courage has been stolen from me. I would confront the culprit and ask for it back, but I suspect the thief is me.

It is sad to think of any person living in such a situation, but particularly  to see a character you are already fond of having to repress their personality and actions in such a way, knowing that they could have been loved for who they were if they’d made different choices, is particularly melancholy.

So, the intervening time has taught Elizabeth the truth of the adage ‘Marry in haste, repent at leisure’. She has changed quite a lot – though at her core she is the same, her control over her thoughts and behaviour has had to be different, and she has learned a lot about herself from her mistaken choices. But what of Mr Darcy? Well, he has devoted himself to his estate. His withdrawal from high society has meant that in essence, he hasn’t changed much at all, and in one particular his affections and wishes are unchanged:

Her smile is sweet and genuine; such a pretty sight! It should have the power to break my heart if that poor organ was not already shattered into a thousand pieces.

The question is, is there any chance of a happy ending from such a tangle?

This is a compelling read; I didn’t want to put it down as I was eager to know how the story would progress, even though part of me didn’t want to keep reading because I felt so sorry for Elizabeth. An abusive relationship is something I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. Other characters we know from P&P were also in sad situations so the tone of this book is on the darker side.

I am always interested to see an author’s take on the character of Mr Darcy; this Darcy seemed more flawed than the character often is. I was expecting him to have some of the flaws exhibited, such as sometimes being abrupt in speech, and being somewhat businesslike in his approach to women, aside from Elizabeth, of course. Both Darcy and Elizabeth were pursuing a course that that was dishonourable and I’m not sure how I felt about that. There were instances of his behaviour that I found a little disappointing because I hold him to a higher standard. On the one hand, it’s easier to forgive trespasses if they are done against characters you don’t like but on the other hand I see Darcy’s honour as being a fundamental part of his character. The lapses were romantic, but I admired his character less.

Talking of romance, there is plenty of it in this book. What could be more sadly romantic than star-crossed lovers? It’s also a very exciting read. Elizabeth’s husband is extremely controlling, and just to talk to Darcy, to explain some of the events since the last time they met Elizabeth will have to resort to subterfuge. Knowing the husband's probable reaction to his wife meeting with and confiding in another man kept me on tenterhooks. I found this a gripping and emotion-inducing read. I would recommend it, but with the proviso that you don’t go in expecting a light and fluffy read! I’d rate it at 4¾ stars, but I’ll round it up to five. It’s a really gripping read.

Author Biography

Caitlin Williams lives in Kent, England.

She fell in love with all things Regency as a teenager, but particularly admires the work of Jane Austen and the way she masterfully combines humour and romance, while weaving them through such wonderful stories and characters.

Pride and Prejudice is Caitlin’s favourite novel and she finds Mr Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet so deliciously entertaining that she likes to borrow them from Ms Austen and enjoys the challenge of putting them in different places and situations.

She has written four variations of Pride and Prejudice, 'Ardently', 'The Coming of Age of Elizabeth Bennet', 'When We Are Married' and 'The Events at Branxbourne'.

‘The Coming of Age of Elizabeth Bennet’ was a best-seller and was voted the readers favourite at Austenesque Reviews in 2016.

Author Links: Goodreads Author Page - Austen Variations

Buy Links

The Events and Braxbourne is available to buy now, or read through kindle unlimited - Amazon UK - Amazon US.

You can also add it to your Goodreads Shelf.

Giveaway Time!

Caitlin is offering a giveaway of a $100 Amazon gift card to accompany the blog tour. To enter, use the rafflecopter.

Readers may enter the drawing by tweeting once each day and by commenting daily on a blog post or review attached to this tour. Entrants must provide the name of the blog where they commented.

One winner will be randomly selected by Rafflecopter and the giveaway is international.

a Rafflecopter giveaway 

Blog Tour Schedule

June 2 /  Austenesque Reviews / Guest Post Launch & Giveaway

June 3 /  Of Pens & Pages / Book Review & Giveaway

June 4 /  Babblings of a Bookworm / Book Review & Giveaway

June 5 /  Just Jane 1813 / Book Review & Giveaway

June 7 /  From Pemberley to Milton / Book Review & Giveaway

June 8 /  Obsessed with Mr Darcy / Book Review & Giveaway