EXCERPT & REVIEW : "A Lady's Birthday Wish" : A New Release by Caroline Cartier
Hello, dear readers! Today, I am delighted to be hosting my fellow JAFF author, Caroline Cartier, who has a new release this month in honor of Jane Austen’s 250th birthday: “A Lady’s Birthday Wish” releases on Kindle tomorrow!
Review:
This was a fast-paced read with lots to love! Plenty of fluff and lots of sweet moments for the Bennet family. We are given a glimpse into the happy marriage of Jane and Charles Bingley, and how their family dynamic has changed since their marriage, between Elizabeth residing at Netherfield, the subsequent change in dynamic of the younger Bennet sisters, and the continued snobbery of Bingley’s awful sisters. Caroline and Mrs. Hurst are both especially nasty, from questioning Jane’s decisions as Mrs. Bingley, mistress of Netherfield, to Caroline playing a role in the misunderstanding that has kept Elizabeth and Darcy apart.
The Bennets, however, are especially delightful. Even Mrs. Bennet, who is initially distrustful of Miss Austen, has some surprisingly sweet moments, even defending her least favorite daughter Elizabeth and developing an affection for Mr. Darcy. Mrs. Bennet’s reaction to Lady Catherine de Bourgh is one of my favorite moments!
Even Collins is rendered agreeable, for though he is true to canon, his wife advises him that Mr. Darcy might be a more advantageous friend than Lady Catherine, and it's a lovely moment when Miss Austen learns how happy the Collinses are in their marriage.
Georgiana Darcy blends seamlessly into the extended Bennet clan, forming a sweet friendship with Mary Bennet, and even killing Lydia with kindness. All the young ladies have a unique bond with Miss Austen during the time she spends amongst them with “amnesia.” Miss Austen cleverly and subtly solves problems and dispenses advice, and is cherished by all of her characters. When she ultimately visits Pemberley, it is bittersweet and beautifully done.
The idea of an author interacting in the world of her characters was well-written and unique, the dialogue provided great banter between beloved characters, and the story was engaging throughout. Once again, a great read from Caroline Cartier!
Synopsis:
On the morning of her 37th birthday, Jane Austen suffers an unexpected fall during a solitary walk. When she awakens, disoriented and aching, she finds herself on the path to Oakham Mount, being tended by none other than Elizabeth Bennet. To her astonishment, Jane discovers she has somehow entered the world of Pride and Prejudice…a world she thought existed only within the pages of her novel…only to discover that the story she so carefully crafted has gone awry.
When she is escorted to Netherfield Park, Jane quickly learns that while Jane Bennet and Mr. Bingley have married and are living happily at Netherfield, Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy remain estranged. Determined to restore the love story she once imagined, Jane feigns amnesia from her accident, giving her the excuse to remain among the Bennets and Bingleys while she devises a plan to repair the fractured path of Elizabeth and Darcy’s romance.
But as Jane Austen meddles in her characters’ lives, she discovers that their hearts and choices are more complex than even she could have foreseen. With wit and wisdom, she must navigate misunderstandings, pride, and prejudice to guide Elizabeth and Darcy toward their happily ever after…while grappling with the extraordinary reality of living in the world she created.
Written in celebration of Jane Austen’s 250th birthday, A Lady’s Birthday Wish is a delightful and heartfelt variation that blends humor, insight, and the timeless magic of love, proving that even a great author may need a second chance to perfect her tale.
Excerpt:
Jane woke again several hours later, when the light had faded in the sky outside the window. There was a maid sitting by the bed. Jane cleared her throat, and the maid hurried to help her sit up by putting two more pillows behind her back.
“How do ye feel, miss?” the maid asked kindly, reaching up behind the bed to ring the bell.
“I am not certain, yet.” Jane allowed the maid to assist her to the chamber pot, though, on the way back, she felt much stronger and less sore than she had that morning. Her head still ached, but she required no assistance as she returned to her bedchamber.
It was a charming room; the walls featured ivory wainscoting and similarly colored paper with a lovely sage, soft pink, and fawn floral pattern. The furniture was light and feminine, and of rich quality. The room looked as if it had been recently refreshed. Jane assumed Mrs Bingley must have married recently, and had already begun her work upon her new home, for the Miss Caroline Bingley of her story would never have designed a lovely room such as this. Jane hoped that she would have an opportunity to meet Miss Bingley. Indeed, she recalled Miss Bennet speaking of an upcoming visit from Mr and Mrs Collins! How amusing it would be to meet Miss Bennet’s cousin!
An older woman entered in a neat black gown suited to senior staff. “Good evening, Miss Jane. I am Mrs Nicholls, the housekeeper at Netherfield. Have you rested well?”
“I have, thank you.” Instead of returning to her bed, Jane had taken a seat on a comfortable chair near the cheerful fire. “You and Mrs Bingley must run an excellent house, Mrs Nicholls. I am exceedingly comfortable in this lovely room. Has Miss Bennet returned to her home? I was never able to thank her.”
“This was the second suite of rooms in the family wing that Mrs Bingley decorated after her wedding. You were placed here for your proximity to Miss Bennet, with whom you share a parlour, so that she might easily look in on you. The guest rooms are all nearly done as well, in record time thanks to Mr Bingley’s generosity with the workers; and a very good thing too, with guests arriving for the festive season and a ball later this month. She is an excellent mistress; the staff has known Mrs Bingley all of her life. We are all so pleased to see her so well settled, and to have the privilege of working for her and Mr Bingley.” Mrs Nicholls smiled fondly about the room as a footman entered with a trolley. “It was understood that Miss Lizz- I beg your pardon, Miss Bennet, was to move to Netherfield permanent to stay with Mrs Bingley after the guests went home in the new year. But seeing as how you are here, and Mrs Bingley is preparing for a house party, Miss Bennet made her move today, so as to be a help to her sister. She is downstairs at dinner with the family now.”
“Miss Bennet and Mrs Bingley sound devoted to one another,” Jane said.
“Oh, they are, Miss Jane, they are.” Mrs Nicholls dismissed the footman, then set about pouring tea for Jane and arranging her tray. “Are you certain you will not return to the bed? No? Very well then, but you must tell someone if you feel the least bit poorly. But back to Mrs Bingley and Miss Bennet, I have never seen a pair of sisters closer. Why, once Mrs Bingley, Miss Bennet as she was then, stayed here after falling ill. Miss Lizzy walked here after such a storm, through three miles of mud to care for her. Hardly left her side for the duration. No, it was only a matter of time afore Mrs Bingley asked her sister to come and reside with her.”
“I hope that I will not be in the way if Mrs Bingley is hosting a house party.” Jane accepted a cup of tea. “I fear that I have met with misfortune somehow, and though I know not where else I should go until I find where I belong, I would not wish to inconvenience my hosts.”
“Oh, not to worry, Miss Jane.” The housekeeper removed a cover from the boiled eggs, toast, and fruit upon the tray. “There are ample guest rooms, and the ones on the third floor will not even be touched. You are in nobody’s way, I assure you. How are your injuries? Does your head still ache? Have you remembered anything?”
“I am not as sore as I was when I woke this morning. The feather bed is marvellous. I fear my head still aches, but no, I have not remembered anything new since this morning.” Jane nodded to the candles. “I find the soft light of these candles much easier to tolerate than the light from the windows earlier today.”
“Well there is a powder here by your plate.” Mrs Nicholls said kindly. “Mr Jones said you ought to eat before you take it. A meal will make it easier to stomach. I must return downstairs in case I am needed, but please, if you need anything, ask Daisy to ring the bell.”
***
An hour later, Jane had consumed her meal, used the pitcher and basin in the dressing room to wash, and changed her nightgown. The nightclothes were made of incredibly high quality linen, and Daisy informed her that they had been loaned to her by Mrs Bingley, from the unused portion of her trousseau.
No, I suppose Mrs Bingley has had no call for such a plain nightgown so early in her marriage, Jane thought to herself. She returned to her bed as Daisy left for her supper, taking the trolley and tray with her. The maid promised that Miss Bennet intended to look in before she retired, and that Daisy herself would return and sleep on the sofa in her room later, in case she needed something.
Jane lay in her soft bed with the candle burning low and thought about her situation as the evening began to turn late. She wished she felt well enough to join Miss Bennet downstairs and meet whatever other characters of her story were present in this delusion of hers.
Will other new characters besides servants turn up? Ones that I did not even write? she wondered. I suppose some must, at some point or another, if I remain very long. I did not create Daisy, for example, not consciously, at any rate.
She turned her thoughts to what had happened to bring her here.
I would think that I have just been knocked quite senseless by falling, but considering that I have gone back in time by more than a fortnight, I wonder if this is not some strange well magic, giving me something more for December. What a whimsical notion.
Would she be here for an entire month? It was an exciting thought, but she certainly hoped not. She did not consider herself an accomplished deceiver, and the thought of missing the festivities at Godmersham saddened her. For all of the excitement that she felt to be in such a wondrous predicament, she could not be parted from her dear sister and family for so long.
I fear that unless a miracle occurs overnight, I shall likely be stuck in this room tomorrow too.
Jane lifted her head from the pillow and winced. Her head pained her terribly, and the powder had not begun to help.
I wish I could read, but I could never see the lines in this state, nor even listen to the softest voice read to me. I wish Cassandra were here.
At length, Jane struggled from the bed and rang the bell. When a footman arrived, she asked him to see if Mrs Nicholls had anything stronger for her headache and soreness. Now that she had been awake a little while, her head was getting worse, her bruises and injuries ached more, and though she felt fatigued, she ached too much to sleep.
Mrs Nicholls arrived with Miss Bennet and the two determined that she was not coming down with a fever, and that she merely needed something to ease her pain so she could rest. She took a cup of tea with a few drops of laudanum, and fell deeply asleep.
Author Bio:
Caroline Cartier is an anglophile in her early forties, living out her happily ever after in New England with her very own Darcy. She is mom to an extraordinary young woman who is an English major, two cats, and a spaniel (co-author) named Belle.
Having cut her teeth on the Tudors and Mary Queen of Scots with the historical fiction of Jean Plaidy and Victoria Holt at sixteen, Caroline read her way through the histories of the Monarchs of England and France, settling into an abiding love for Regency fiction in her twenties.
Her first Jane Austen Variation was Mr Darcy's Diary by Amanda Grange. Several years later, a free trial of Kindle Unlimited opened a whole new world of Austenesque fiction. After reading what feels like hundreds of variations, Caroline began her first writing project in 2021, The Victorian Vagaries, a Victorian Pride and Prejudice Quartet that was published in 2024.
Having been a gushing member of many fandoms in her time, Caroline takes great enjoyment in historical fiction, fantasy, and YA fiction, and enjoys the works of Rick Riordan, Angie Sage, James Patterson (the Max Ride series), Stephanie Meyers, Suzanne Collins, L M Montgomery, Louisa May Alcott, and of course the father of fantasy, J R R Tolkien.
She takes her inspiration for writing from the wonderful authors of Austenesque literature and the romance series of Stephanie Laurens, Julia Quinn, and Lisa Kleypas, in addition to other historical romances and television period dramas.
Amazon: Amazon.com: Caroline Cartier: books, biography, latest update
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100092622895777&mibextid=ZbWKwL
Website: https://carolinecartier.wixsite.com/ccwrites
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