After reading this headline some of you are probably thinking, “Oh, goody, it’s about time we got to the good stuff,” (the ‘good stuff’ being more scenes between Darcy and Elizabeth), while others are saying, “What the heck is she talking about?” In case you’re in the latter category, here’s the scoop on P&P200!

P&P200 is a unique project originating from the creative minds of the Austen Authors as a way to celebrate the 200^th anniversary of our beloved Jane’s amazing book, Pride and Prejudice. We decided it would be fun to retell Pride and Prejudice in a new and original way – in “real time.” The first P&P200 entry was last September, exactly two hundred years after Mr. Bingley toured Netherfield for the first time and decided to lease it.

Over the past year, Austen Authors have brought new life to the familiar story though a variety of original vignettes. Some are re-imaginings of existing scenes but using different points of view. For example, last fall we saw the Netherfield ball though the eyes of the Hursts, the cooks in the Netherfield kitchens, and Lt. Denny.

Austen Authors have also dug deep to “discover” missing scenes that (we hope) add new insights to the familiar story. What fun was it last fall to be a fly on the wall when Mr. Bingley announced to his sisters that he’d leased Netherfield and – Oh, horrors! – intended to go there for an extended stay. We also got an inside look at Mr. Darcy’s torment after Jane and Elizabeth left Netherfield following Jane’s illness and rode along in the carriage with Darcy and Fitzwilliam as they traveled to Rosings to visit their aunt, Lady Catherine.

Now, just like the temperatures in August, the P&P200 story is heating up! It’s time for Elizabeth and Darcy to be reunited at Pemberley – and then be torn apart by the news of Lydia’s elopement with the infamous George Wickham. So please join us at Pemberley next month. We’ve planned some amazing vignettes, and you won’t want to miss a single one!

Here’s just some of what’s coming up in August:

• Lydia’s Elopement from Lt. Denny’s Point of View (POV) and Lydia’s POV
• Colonel Forster sends letter to Longbourn about the elopement
• Colonel Forster brings the latest info to Longbourn

• The Gardiners and Elizabeth tour Pemberley from Mrs. Reynolds’ POV
• Mr. Darcy, Miss Darcy and Mr. Bingley call on Elizabeth at Lambton
• The Gardiners and Elizabeth call on Miss Darcy at Pemberley and Mr. Gardiner goes fishing
• Elizabeth receives Jane’s letters about the elopement and dinner at Pemberley has to be cancelled

• Darcy calls on Mr. Gardiner in London to report on efforts to find Wickham
• Lydia goes to Gracechurch Street to await her wedding
• Mrs. Bennet comes downstairs at Longbourn for the first time in a fortnight
• Lydia’s stay at Gracechurch Street (Mrs. Gardiner’s POV)
• Lydia Bennet becomes Mrs. Wickham
• The Wickhams travel to Longbourn

All previous P&P200 vignettes are available for you to read or reread just by clicking on the P&P200 logo in the side bar or on the Writer’s Block. We hope we’ll see you at Pemberley very soon!

Susan Mason-Milks

Susan is the author of "Mr. Darcy's Proposal," a Jane Austen "what if" story. She is currently working on another "what if" which she hopes to have out in the summer of 2013.

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