Letters by Candlelight
(2026)(A book in the Pride and Prejudice Variation series)
A novel by Lyr Newton
When she agrees to visit her friend Charlotte Collins, née Lucas, in Hunsford, Elizabeth does not expect to see Mr Darcy at Rosings Park. Their reunion is awkward; every meeting with him is strange and uneasy, his stares and silence making her uncomfortable. So nothing prepares her for what happens one afternoon — a marriage proposal from the last man in the world she imagines saying such words to her.
The disastrous proposal, arrogant and insensitive, induces her to respond as it deserves — with a harsh rejection and an outburst of all her resentment against him. However, as the hours pass, her turmoil increases until it becomes unbearable, and in the middle of the night, she goes for a walk. As she strolls through Rosings Park in the darkness, she notices a light at one of the windows, and even from afar, she recognises Mr Darcy’s shadow, pacing the room, sitting at a desk, then pacing again. His apparent torment affects her, but it is only the next day, in full daylight, when he gives her a letter of explanation, that she realises she witnessed his struggle to write it.
The letter changes everything she has previously believed and trusted, and disturbs her sleep. The storm of thoughts and feelings within her cannot be soothed, so she writes a letter of her own, which contains her reflections and her regrets. A letter she never expects to be read but which ends up in Mr Darcy’s hands. So instead of leaving Kent, as he had planned, Mr Darcy remains for one more day and writes another letter.
Under Lady Catherine’s and Mr Collins’ scrutiny, with pressing business that requires Mr Darcy’s presence in London, will Elizabeth and Darcy be able to resolve their previous misunderstandings? Will his feelings resist the offence and rejection while hers gradually change? How long can a young woman and a gentleman write to each other before some indiscretion occurs and the correspondence leads to a compromised reputation?
This new novella from Lyr Newton explores all these questions in a romantic way, taking Elizabeth and Mr Darcy on an alternate path towards their happy ending.
Genre: Literary Fiction
The disastrous proposal, arrogant and insensitive, induces her to respond as it deserves — with a harsh rejection and an outburst of all her resentment against him. However, as the hours pass, her turmoil increases until it becomes unbearable, and in the middle of the night, she goes for a walk. As she strolls through Rosings Park in the darkness, she notices a light at one of the windows, and even from afar, she recognises Mr Darcy’s shadow, pacing the room, sitting at a desk, then pacing again. His apparent torment affects her, but it is only the next day, in full daylight, when he gives her a letter of explanation, that she realises she witnessed his struggle to write it.
The letter changes everything she has previously believed and trusted, and disturbs her sleep. The storm of thoughts and feelings within her cannot be soothed, so she writes a letter of her own, which contains her reflections and her regrets. A letter she never expects to be read but which ends up in Mr Darcy’s hands. So instead of leaving Kent, as he had planned, Mr Darcy remains for one more day and writes another letter.
Under Lady Catherine’s and Mr Collins’ scrutiny, with pressing business that requires Mr Darcy’s presence in London, will Elizabeth and Darcy be able to resolve their previous misunderstandings? Will his feelings resist the offence and rejection while hers gradually change? How long can a young woman and a gentleman write to each other before some indiscretion occurs and the correspondence leads to a compromised reputation?
This new novella from Lyr Newton explores all these questions in a romantic way, taking Elizabeth and Mr Darcy on an alternate path towards their happy ending.
Genre: Literary Fiction