Publication Date: March 1, 2024
An insulting proposal. A band of criminals. Can they fight off their kidnappers and find their way to happily ever after?
Elizabeth Bennet is seething. Firmly refusing an offer of marriage from the man who ruined her beloved sister’s chance at happiness, the spirited young lady goes walking to clear her head. But her anger changes to fear when three strange men who believe she’s Anne de Bourgh throw her unceremoniously into a carriage and drive off.
Fitzwilliam Darcy regrets his offensive proposal. But when he chases down the object of his affection to set the story straight, he is horrified to witness her kidnapping. And after his gallant rescue endeavor merely gets him captured too, he worries revealing her true identity could get them both killed.
Bristling at her forced proximity to her spurned suitor, Elizabeth is pleasantly surprised at how well they work together. But even as they disagree on whether or not to risk an escape, Darcy suspects their survival may not lead to him winning her heart.
Can they fix their cascade of misunderstandings to find happily ever after?
Fitzwilliam Darcy is insufferable, and Elizabeth Bennett gets upset whenever she thinks of his arrogant proposal the day before. Sound familiar? Of course, it’s a well-known scene in Jane Austen’s beloved Pride & Prejudice, but that is where the plot similarity ends—well, almost in Heather Moll’s delightful reimagining in Rising Courage: A Variation of Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice.
Mr. Darcy is still rebounding from his rejection at the hands of Elizabeth Bennett. It’s not that what she said wasn’t warranted, but Darcy truly does ardently love and admire her.
Determined and with his letter of explanation in hand, he starts toward the grove where they’d encountered each other before to deliver it. To his horror, he sees Miss Bennett forcefully thrust into a carriage. This will not do, and he immediately endeavors to save her from being kidnapped. Outnumbered and in fear for Elizabeth’s life, Darcy has no alternative but to be forcefully taken captive as well.
It’s a matter of mistaken identity as the kidnappers’ intended victim was to have been Anne deBorough. Seeing how ruthless their captors truly are, Elizabeth and Darcy go along, letting them believe Elizabeth is Anne and let the kidnapping plot play out.
Locked up in a small room together, Elizabeth and Darcy have ample opportunity to talk through their differences, except for Elizabeth’s belief in Mr. Darcy’s cruel treatment of Wickham. As events unfold, Darcy and Elizabeth grow closer and closer while danger swirls about them. Will they live to realize the full strength of the powerful love Mr. Darcy feels for Elizabeth, and which she is beginning to feel for him as well? With so many lives, reputations, and fortunes at risk, the stakes couldn’t be higher. But are they high enough that true, ardent love can’t overcome seemingly insurmountable circumstances?
Fast-paced from the very start, harsh glimpses of the cruelty they must endure are witnessed and evidence of the very real reasons Darcy and Elizabeth fear for their lives at the hands of these cruel thieves. There is no reasoning with them. They are set on revenge—at all costs. Rising Courage: A Variation of Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice by Heather Moll is a well-written, fully engrossing tale with the perfect balance of a new plot and inclusion of lines from Jane Austen’s pen in Pride and Prejudice.
With its gripping, fast-paced, fresh plot, Rising Courage: A Variation of Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice is a heart-pounding read that’s equally engaging as a dramatic adventure and intimate love story. 
 
Heather Moll writes romantic variations of Jane Austen’s classic novels. She is an avid reader of mysteries and biographies with a masters in information science. She found Jane Austen later than she should have and made up for lost time by devouring her letters and unpublished works, joining JASNA, and spending too much time researching the Regency era. She is the author of An Appearance of Goodness, An Affectionate Heart, Nine Ladies, and Loving Miss Tilney. She lives with her husband and son, and struggles to balance all the important things, like whether to buy groceries or stay home and write.
