title: The Darcys Give a Ball: A gentle joke, Jane Austen style
author:  Elizabeth Newark 
description: This light and airy bow to the Darcys after their marriage offers an acceptably Austenian setting. With their children and those of their neighbors and friends coming into their own, it behooves Elizabeth and Darcy to give a ball; they're mostly offscreen while several <i>Pride and Prejudice</i> plot lines are resolved neatly. Mr. Collins finally receives his feverishly anticipated inheritance of Longbourn; he dreams of leaving the clergy and joining the landed gentry. (Charlotte Collins, his wife, must be ambiguous about his goals, in deference to her friendship for Elizabeth Darcy.) Miss Anne De Bourgh, daughter of the late redoubtable Lady Catherine De Bourgh, is found happily married to a husband with great musical enthusiasm, if not talent, producing one of the gentle humorous moments in the work. Charlotte Collins experiences quite a change of life as well, as much due to Mr. Collins's late-developing affection for her as from his unusual reaction to the final chapter of <i>The Olde Curiosity Shop</i>. Missing is any real dealing with the passing of Elizabeth's father, Mr. Bennet, or Elizabeth's reaction to it, but the addition of the Collins's daughter, Eliza, is a welcome one. This mildly charming addition keeps the Austen mill churning. <i>(Mar.)</i> <br />Copyright  Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
zlib_text: Praise for _Mr. Darcy Takes The Plunge_
  
  “A wonderfully unique Jane Austen re-imagining. Absolutely delightful! Get
  ready to laugh.”
  
  — Mary Simonsen ~ Author of _The Second Date, Searching_  
   _for Pemberley_ and _Anne Elliot, A New Beginning_
  
   _“Mr. Darcy Takes The Plunge_ is definitely a story that I will read over and
  over again when I am in need of sunshine! My sides hurt, my cheeks hurt. Thank
  you for such a good laugh!”
  
  — Marg
  
  “I laughed, snorted, smiled, and groaned. _Mr. Darcy Takes The Plunge_ is a
  delightful story!”
  
  — Karen A
  
  “I would much rather have my soul tried with your puns than my soles tried by
  poor times. I laughed out loud - I truly love this story!”
  
  — Rachel P
  
  “Uproarious! I threw my head back and howled with laughter!”
  
  — Mischa
  
  “It was certainly no PUN-ishment to read this funny, delightful story!”
  
  — Brenda
  
  “My sides hurt from all my laughing. I can only hope that this ‘deranged
  authoress’ has more stories up her sleeve to bring us, and soon.”
  
  — Pat M