Variations (#5, #8 & #10) by Jack Caldwell (R)
Title: Variations, a series of "what ifs": #5 (Lovers' Vows), #8 (Combe Magna) & #10 (In the Year Eight).
Fandom: Jane Austen Novels (Mansfield Park, Sense & Sensibility, Persuasion).
Pairing: Fanny Price/Henry Crawford & Edmund Bertram/Mary Crawford; Marianne Dashwood/John Willoughby, Anne Elliot/Frederick Wentworth.
Categories: Angst, Romance.
Length: Long as a complete series; individual stories are either short or middle-length.
Warnings: None.
Author on LJ: n/a
Author Website: Ramblings of a Cajun in Exile
Review:
"Variations" is a series of ten "what-if" stories that ponder what might have happened should some key events in Austen's novels had happened in different ways. Some of these variations are common fic ploys (such as the Gardiner's never going to Derbyshire) and others go a little too much in the crack direction for my taste (re: #2 and #9). There are, however, three fics that really caught my attention.
"Lovers' Vows" and "Combe Magna" present a rather realistic and well-done look (not much present in fics in this fandom) of what might have happened had Fanny become Mrs. Crawford and Marianne married Willoughby. While I do enjoy a good, well-written redemption story (such as Everingham), I have no love lost for Crawford and Willoughby as they have been written by Austen and rather enjoyed a non-romanticized glimpse into these possible futures involving them. The last story I'm reccing, "In The Year Eight", does indulge my romantic sensibilities, as it shows Wentworth and Anne reconnecting in 1808, after Wentworth swallows his resentment and writes to Anne hoping to renew their engagement.
All in all, while I did not enjoy all stories in this series, the fics I did enjoy were quite refreshing amidst the seemingly endless stream of Darcy/Elizabeth fics that take over 95% of the Austen fandom.
Variations (all stories)
Pride & Prejudice
I. - An Uninterrupted Visit (What if... Lydia did not go to Brighton?)
II. - A Most Deserving Couple (What if... Wickham and Lydia were not as immoral as they seem?)
III. - Three Conversations (What if... the Gardiners did not go on their trip to Derbyshire?)
Mansfield Park
IV. - Reflections (What if... Sir Thomas Bertram had made different choices?)
V. - Lovers' Vows (What if... Edmund had married Mary and Fanny had married Henry?)
Emma
VI. - Highbury Hijinks (What if... circumstances had forced Frank Churchill to disclose his engagement much earlier?)
Sense & Sensibility
VII. - A Very Worthy Young Man (What if... a Edward Ferrars that had never been engaged decided to fight for Elinor?)
VIII. - Combe Magna (What if... Marianne had married Willoughby?)
Northanger Abbey
IX. - We Have Mrs. Radcliffe to Thank (What if... there was a dark secret at Northanger Abbey?)
Persuasion
X. - In the Year Eight (What if... Wentworth had written to Anne?)
Fandom: Jane Austen Novels (Mansfield Park, Sense & Sensibility, Persuasion).
Pairing: Fanny Price/Henry Crawford & Edmund Bertram/Mary Crawford; Marianne Dashwood/John Willoughby, Anne Elliot/Frederick Wentworth.
Categories: Angst, Romance.
Length: Long as a complete series; individual stories are either short or middle-length.
Warnings: None.
Author on LJ: n/a
Author Website: Ramblings of a Cajun in Exile
Review:
"Variations" is a series of ten "what-if" stories that ponder what might have happened should some key events in Austen's novels had happened in different ways. Some of these variations are common fic ploys (such as the Gardiner's never going to Derbyshire) and others go a little too much in the crack direction for my taste (re: #2 and #9). There are, however, three fics that really caught my attention.
"Lovers' Vows" and "Combe Magna" present a rather realistic and well-done look (not much present in fics in this fandom) of what might have happened had Fanny become Mrs. Crawford and Marianne married Willoughby. While I do enjoy a good, well-written redemption story (such as Everingham), I have no love lost for Crawford and Willoughby as they have been written by Austen and rather enjoyed a non-romanticized glimpse into these possible futures involving them. The last story I'm reccing, "In The Year Eight", does indulge my romantic sensibilities, as it shows Wentworth and Anne reconnecting in 1808, after Wentworth swallows his resentment and writes to Anne hoping to renew their engagement.
All in all, while I did not enjoy all stories in this series, the fics I did enjoy were quite refreshing amidst the seemingly endless stream of Darcy/Elizabeth fics that take over 95% of the Austen fandom.
Variations (all stories)
Pride & Prejudice
I. - An Uninterrupted Visit (What if... Lydia did not go to Brighton?)
II. - A Most Deserving Couple (What if... Wickham and Lydia were not as immoral as they seem?)
III. - Three Conversations (What if... the Gardiners did not go on their trip to Derbyshire?)
Mansfield Park
IV. - Reflections (What if... Sir Thomas Bertram had made different choices?)
V. - Lovers' Vows (What if... Edmund had married Mary and Fanny had married Henry?)
Emma
VI. - Highbury Hijinks (What if... circumstances had forced Frank Churchill to disclose his engagement much earlier?)
Sense & Sensibility
VII. - A Very Worthy Young Man (What if... a Edward Ferrars that had never been engaged decided to fight for Elinor?)
VIII. - Combe Magna (What if... Marianne had married Willoughby?)
Northanger Abbey
IX. - We Have Mrs. Radcliffe to Thank (What if... there was a dark secret at Northanger Abbey?)
Persuasion
X. - In the Year Eight (What if... Wentworth had written to Anne?)