"Those with a taste for the balance and humour of Austen will find a worthy companion volume."―Book News The weddings are over. The guests (including millions of readers and viewers) wish the two happy couples health and happiness. As the music swells and the credits roll, two things are certain: Jane and Bingley will want for nothing, while Elizabeth and Darcy are to be the happiest couple in the world! The couples' personal stories of love, marriage, money, and children are woven together with the threads of social and political history of nineteenth century England. As changes in industry and agriculture affect the people of Pemberley and the neighboring countryside, the Darcys strive to be progressive and forward-looking while upholding beloved traditions. Rebecca Ann Collins follows them in imagination, observing and chronicling their passage through the landscape of their surroundings, noting how they cope with change, triumph, and tragedy in their lives. "A lovely complementary novel to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Austen would surely give her smile of approval." ―Beverly Wong, author of Pride & Prejudice Prudence "witty, full of carefully sketched descriptions, and exactly the right amount of dialogue." ― Words.Blogspot.com The weddings are over. The guests (including millions of readers and viewers) wish the two happy couples health and happiness. As the music swells and the credits roll, only two things are certain: Elizabeth and Darcy are to be the happiest couple in the world, while Jane and Bingley will want for nothing! Rebecca Ann Collins follows them in imagination, observing and chronicling their passage through the landscape of nineteenth century England, noting how they cope with change, triumph, and tragedy in their lives. Their personal stories the usual concerns of love, marriage, money, and children are woven together with the threads of social and political history. Those with a taste for the balance and humour of Austen will find a worthy companion volume. Book News A lovely complimentary novel to Jane Austen s Pride and Prejudice. Austen would surely give her smile of approval. Beverly Wong, author of Pride & Prejudice Prudence Rebecca Ann Collins is the pen name of a lady in Australia who loves Jane Austen’s work so much that she has written a series of 10 sequels to Pride and Prejudice, following Austen’s beloved characters, introducing new ones and bringing the characters into a new historical era. Excerpt from the Prologue to The Pemberley Chronicles THE WEDDINGS ARE OVER. There are rose petals everywhere. Jane and Elizabeth Bennet have been married to Mr Bingley and Mr Darcy on a shining Autumn day, and everyone is smiling with the joy of sharing in their happiness. "They looked more beautiful than princesses," said the little maids, Caroline and Emily Gardiner, who with Kitty Bennet and Georgiana Darcy had assisted the brides. "Could anyone have looked happier than Lizzie?" asked her aunt. "Not unless you looked across at Jane, who seemed as if she was all lit up like a candle," said Colonel Fitzwilliam. Both bridegrooms looked extremely well. Mr Bingley was the favourite, of course, being universally charming. But even those who had reservations about Mr Darcy, thinking him proud and reserved when he first came to Netherfield, could not deny how well he looked: tall and very handsome, his countenance suffused with delight as he and Elizabeth stepped out into the sunlight. Sir William Lucas said over and over that we were losing the brightest jewels in the county and Mr Darcy was a real dark horse, because no one had guessed he was in love with Lizzie, whereas everyone knew, he said, from the very first evening they met, that Mr Bingley had lost his heart to Jane. Sir William even claimed credit for the match, having been the first to call on Mr Bingley and invite him and his party to Meryton. He was boasting of his success to Mr and Mrs Gardiner, who knew a good deal more of these matters, being particular friends of both Mr Darcy and Elizabeth, but they just smiled and let him chatter on. Later, on the way home they would comment that, had he known it was at the reception at Lucas Lodge that Mr Darcy had first noticed Lizzie's beauty and found himself wanting to know her better, Sir William might have become quite impossibly conceited about his role in their marriage, too. Jane and Charles Bingley are gone to London, where Charles wants to show off his beautiful wife, while Lizzie and Darcy have left for Oxford en route to the estates on the borders of Cheshire and Wales that are part of Darcy's family inheritance. Mrs Gardiner, who helped Lizzie and Jane pack for their journeys, says Lizzie is longing to see Wales, never having visited the area before. They are all to meet in London some six weeks hence to dine with the Gardiners. The servants gathered up the debris on the lawn, and the guests began to leave. Some of them seemed more reluctant to