Mr. Darcy’s Undoing by Abigail Reynolds

Mr. Darcy’s Undoing is a Pride and Prejudice variation. Pride and Prejudice variations take a pivotal point in the original novel and change it, thereby putting a new spin on everything that comes later. In Mr. Darcy’s Undoing, the variation is that after refusing Mr. Darcy’s proposal while in Kent, Elizabeth returns home and accepts a proposal from her life-long friend, Mr. Covington.


Mr. Covington has a modest estate and lives in the neighborhood, which will allow Elizabeth to remain within easy distance of her friends and family. Mr. Darcy returns to Netherfield with Bingley, only to discover Elizabeth engaged to another. That does not stop him from having rather naughty fantasies about her. Will Mr. Darcy prevail in winning back Elizabeth’s hand now that he has a rival?

I enjoyed Mr. Darcy’s Undoing. It was a quick, easy read that was very heavy on the romance side of Austenesque fiction. I thought it was an intriguing premise having a realistic rival for Elizabeth’s affections. I just wish the rivalry would have last longer in the novel. The last half of the novel is after Elizabeth has made her final choice and focuses more on the romance angle.

I have decided after reading the last couple of Darcy variations by various authors that perhaps variations aren’t all for me (gasp!). I really enjoy reading Austenesque sequels, focuses on other characters or on Austen, modern day presentations, mysteries, etc., but the actual variation of the Pride and Prejudice storylines just don’t seem to capture my fancy as much. Is it just me?

Abigail Reynolds is a fantastic author. I have read several of her novels and especially enjoyed The Man Who Loved Pride and Prejudice. I also love that she is a “literary local” hailing from Madison, Wisconsin. With Carrie Bebris also hailing from my great state, I think we need to have an Austen author conference here in Wisconsin! Abigail Reynolds wrote a fantastic guest blog about her process of creating a rival for Mr. Darcy. The guest blog is located here and if you leave a comment, you have a chance to win a copy of Mr. Darcy’s Undoing.

Overall Mr. Darcy’s Undoing is a great romance which finally pits Mr. Darcy against a realistic rival for Elizabeth’s affections.

Book Source: Advance Review Copy from Sourcebooks. Thank-you!