A Tale of Two Courtships

As P&P variations go this one wasn't bad. The author made great changes that made the original book annoying, which I really enjoyed. But there were other changes that were baffling. For example, Lydia and Kitty are removed from the equation early on when Mr Bennet realizes his mistake in leaving them to his wife's schooling and sends them to a finishing school. However, the only mention of them is in the epilogue when it's noted that they returned and while they were better behaved they were still as lively as ever. Very anticlimactic and unsatisfying. Mr Bennet finally puts his foot down with regard to Lydia and Kitty but then he's rarely seen again for the rest of the book. The whole book spans about 3 months, in which Darcy falls for and proposes to Elizabeth early on and the rest of the time is spent on their engagement. That would be find if it wasn't for the fact that not much else of any note happens after that. There are long periods where the author drones on with inner monologues and then something of note happens and I would think, "Great! Now the story will actually start!" only to have it start to drag again for long periods before anything remotely interesting happens again. Caroline is her usual conniving self and is thwarted at every turn by an equally conniving (albeit, kinder and benevolent) Elizabeth. One would think that Charles should be the one to finally put his foot down in his own house. And, while he does give her 2, maybe 3 mild verbal set-downs, he never really takes her in hand. Which leaves him looking like somewhat of a wimp. The overall story was great, but the author seems to have taken up 95% of book to relay the beginning of the story and then crammed the rest of the story (the good parts) into a 3 page epilogue.