Finding Darcy

Then I found what I was looking for. A photo of a man in army uniform. Written in pencil, on the back of the photo, was Darcy Charles Fletcher, 1941. When Darcy Abbott is sent to live with her surly grandmother and silent great-grandmother (and a TV curfew of 9.30 and no internet access) for three months, she discovers a mystery regarding the death of her great-grandfather, Darcy Charles Fletcher, during World War II. By Finding Darcy, Darcy Abbott discovers exactly what she has been searching for all her life - except she didn't know it. From the author of the award-winning Allie McGregor's True Colours comes this powerful story of the damage that secrets can wreak over generations - and the healing liberation of truth.

What if Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth met when they were young? What if Mr. Darcy had an ambitious, cunning uncle? Years ago, Mr. William Oliver was a different man. He was raised to inherit Pemberley, as Fitzwilliam Darcy. The summer of his thirteenth year, he spent his time sneaking off to play games with a girl named Elizabeth, who was visiting her aunt and uncle in Lambton, just miles from his home. But all that changed one tragic day when the boy’s father fell to his death, directly after they’d had a terrible quarrel. His uncle, Simon Darcy, ushered him off, telling him that everyone would believe the boy had killed his own father, and that he must run away and never come back. And so, for ten years, Mr. Oliver has lived another life with another name, as a foundling in London, dependent on the employment of his friend, Charles Bingley. He accepts an invitation to the country with the Bingleys and accompanies them to a public ball. Then he sets eyes on Elizabeth, all grown up. He recognizes her immediately, and he is stunned by her beauty. Also, he is determined that she never reveal who he truly is. This variation adjusts ages to accommodate the idea that Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth could have conceivably been childhood playmates and adds in a few entirely new characters. It could not be termed entirely clean, but there is no consummation until the very end, after our dear couple are happily married.

When teenager Darcy Abbott is sent to live with her surly grandmother and silent great-grandmother she uncovers a mystery regarding the death of her great-grandfather, Darcy Charles Fletcher, during World War II. In her quest for answers, she discovers exactly what she has been searching for all her life – except she didn’t know it. Finding Darcy is a coming-of-age novel by award-winning Australian author Sue Lawson. This young adult fiction book is about the damage that secrets can wreak over generations – and the healing liberation of truth. Long-listed for a Golden Inky and short-listed for the Children’s Peace Literature Awards. For more realistic YA by Sue, read Allie McGregor’s True Colours, After, Dare You, Pan’s Whisper, Forget Me Not and You Don’t Even Know. Sue’s website is www.suelawson.com.au “This is a special book. The shadows the past casts on one family – and on our society – are brilliantly explored in the voice of a young girl. Sue Lawson manages to weave the profound with the everyday language of a teenager.” Jackie French. “Written in teenage vernacular, humorous and topical, the novel is nevertheless a serious commentary on the effects of name-calling and cyber-bullying on adolescents. The strength of this novel is that it manages to be quite didactic about the issue, as well as the evils of racism and government indifference, while still engaging teenagers in a relevant school scenario. Recommended.” Magpies magazine “Finding Darcy is a compelling journey of discovery … Darcy is a fully-developed, likeable character who struggles to adapt to her challenging new living environment. Issues of family secrets, bullying, racism, small town small-mindedness are all handled realistically and sensitively.” Aussie Reviews “Intense, skilful writing makes this rather serious novel a thoroughly memorable read, provoking the reader to pause and think deeply about the futility, destructiveness and pain of war. As Darcy learns, if we worked a little harder to understand and value one another, the world would be a much more peaceful place in which to live. Highly recommended.” NSW Association of Gifted & Talented Children “Lawson has a beautiful way of sharing her world with the reader and the storyline had me entirely invested in the outcome … The humour, drama and tension of this novel, along with the peppering of our country’s war history, is an amazing read exploring the relationships between four generations of women.” Persnickety Snark “Fiction firmly based in Australian history, Finding Darcy is a book which will help young readers not only understand the effects of war, but maybe understand their own families a little more … From the first page to the last I was extremely moved.” The Reading Stack

Witty, romantic and insightful, Darcy’s Passions captures the original style and sardonic humor of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice while turning the entire story on its head. Written from the perspective of Fitzwilliam Darcy, this novel tells his version of an improbable, even obsessive relationship with a most impossible woman—Elizabeth Bennet. This novel reveals Darcy’s passion and conviction but also his turmoil. Darcy knows that duty to family and estate demands he choose a woman of refined tastes. Yet, what his mind tells him to do and what his heart knows to be true tear him in opposite directions. He loves a woman he first denies for being unworthy, but it is he who is found wanting when Elizabeth Bennet refuses his proposal of marriage. Devastated, Darcy must search his soul and transform himself into the man she can love and respect.

A murder in Meryton leads to Lizzy becoming Darcy?s Alibi. When Wickham is discovered with a knife through his heart?and the hilt has the Darcy crest?suspicion immediately turns to Mr. Darcy. Lizzy soon learns who the real killer was, and the circumstances of why, and she is forced to act to save the culprit and Mr. Darcy. She claims she spent the night with him at Netherfield, thus besmirching her reputation and ensuring utter ruin unless Darcy offers marriage. He does, but he believes she is the murderer, and he holds her at arms? length, clearly not trusting her. Lizzy is miserable in their marriage, but telling the truth betrays the trust of another. How can she get Fitzwilliam to see past his assumptions and allow them to have a genuine marriage built on love and respect? While Abbey sometimes writes steamy JAFF, this is mostly SWEET. There is one fade-to-black scene between the married couple.

For the last two hundred years, women all over the world have wondered what it would be like to live the life of one of Jane Austen's heroines, but does anyone ever act upon that curiosity? Emma Elizabeth Kennedy believes that she can do just that. Equipped with a vast knowledge of Ms. Austen s writings and an intelligent and determined mind, she sets out to find her very own Mr. Darcy. The real questions, however, are: can Darcy exist in the twenty-first century, and can he exist in Boston, Massachusetts? Join Emma as she searches for love and the kind of happiness that is inspired by one of the greatest romance stories of all time. Romance and true love, are not forgotten!

Jams Austen (1775-1817)Jane Austen Has Been Regarded By Critics As The Moot Perfect Artist In English Fiction. George Saintsbury Compared Her To Shakespeare Whose Detachment And Elusiveness She Certainly Shares. She Was A Truly Great Novelist Of Manners Among The Country Gentry. Born In The Family Of A Rector Of Steventon In Hampshire, Jane Austen Had Her Early Education In Oxford And Reading. She Started Writing Early In Life. Between 1792 And 1798 She Completed Her First Four Novels, Lady Susan, First Impressions (Later Entitled Pride And Prejudice), Elinor And Marianne (Later Called Sense And Sensibility) And Northanger Abbey. Later She Produced Three More Novels: Mansfield Park, Emma And Persuasion. She Contracted Tuberculosis And Died Tragically Early At The Age Of 41. Although Not Recognized In Her Time, Her Popularity Has Increased, Rather Than Faded, With The Passing Of Years, Which Will Be Evident From The Remark Of F.R. Leavis: Jane Austen Inaugurated The Great Tradition Of Fiction. Pride And Prejudice Was Jane Austen S First Novel. She Started Writing It In 1797 Under The Title First Impressions. Later She Revised It And It Was Published In 1813 Under The Title Pride And Prejudice. It Is A Novel Mainly Concerned With The Problems Of Marriage. Four Pairs, Elizabeth And Darcy, Jane And Bingley, Charlotte And Collins, Lydia And Wickham Are Married On Different Considerations. The Main 3Tory Concerns The First Pair Who Are First Separated Because Of Their Pride And Prejudice And Later Reconciled And United As Their Misunderstandings Are Removed. This Novel Has Been Accepted As The Masterpiece Of The Novelist Having A Superbly Balanced Plot-Construction And A Well-Defined Character Development. Jane Austen Here Succeeded In Wedding Realism To A Lively Dialogue And Evolved A Witty Narrative Style To Express In The Most Vital Manner The Story Of A Young Girl And Her Love.