Longbourn to London Blog Tour - Guest Post and Giveaway!

Welcome to the ninth stop on the Longbourn to London Blog Tour, kindly brought to you by Jakki at Leatherbound Reviews. I have really enjoyed following this tour, especially the excerpts that Linda Beutler author of Longbourn to London has kindly shared. Today Linda stops by with an insightful guest post and a wonderful book giveaway, courtesy of Meryton Press!

Can you guess the subject of Linda's post!!!

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Tamara, Thanks so much for the kind opportunity to visit with your readers about Longbourn to London. —Linda B

Mr. Darcy’s Mother-in-law

By Linda Beutler

In The Red Chrysanthemum (Meryton Press, 2013), Mrs. Bennet’s role is limited and unremarkable. Mr. Bennet gets to write several diverting letters and interview Lizzy after Darcy requests permission for their betrothal, but Mrs. Bennet is not given much business.

     In my debuting book, Longbourn to London, (also published by Meryton Press), although not much happens except the development of Darcy and Elizabeth’s relationship from tentative courtship to married lovers, Mrs. Bennet is the squeaky hinge, the fingernails on a blackboard, the fly in the ointment. I’m still trying to figure out how I became so thoroughly satisfied with making her even more annoying than she is as Jane Austen wrote her in Pride and Prejudice.

     For one thing, Mr. Bennet gets to wax heroic in this story, and one of the people he protects Lizzy from is her own mother, on more than one occasion. Since the plot is rather uneventful, I can’t give too much away of what does happen, but generally, any father would look good—no matter how dilatory a specimen—compared to this Mrs. Bennet. It is almost as if she feels a touch betrayed for not knowing Lizzy and Darcy were courting (of course we know they really were not, at least not in any traditional sense). Given that Mrs. Bennet prefers Jane to Lizzy, she may have assumed the attitude that Jane deserved the more exalted suitor. In any case, this Mrs. Bennet simply cannot find it within herself to be genuinely happy for her second eldest daughter.   

     The back cover of Longbourn to London displays some of the love tokens Darcy sends to Lizzy before the wedding, and Mrs. Bennet takes a dislike to all of them, for various reasons (except the double strand of pearls, which is given on the wedding night and thus, she doesn’t see). Each pre-wedding offering is either too extravagant, or not sufficiently so, to suit Mrs. Bennet, and as you might expect, she does not withhold her opinions, nor does she dampen their volume. One gift causes a running battle in which all of the Bennet ladies side against her, to no avail.

     Is it any wonder that after only a very few months of marriage, Jane and Bingley are ready to move far, far away from Longbourn? Even Jane Austen included that detail. One can easily imagine Mrs. Bennet waltzing into Netherfield as if she owned the place, running roughshod over poor Mrs. Jane Bingley.

     Darcy takes over for Lizzy’s father as her protector—as any good husband should—but to a large degree he is unaware his heartfelt and hand-selected gifts create such havoc until Lizzy explains it all to him after the wedding. Perhaps that’s for the best. If reprimanding his mother-in-law, Darcy might show a marked preference for employing four-syllable words she would never comprehend!

Thanks again, Tamara, for participating in the Longbourn to London Blog Tour. 

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You are most welcome Linda, thank you for stopping by and sharing your thoughts, your post did make me chuckle. I always like to view Mrs Bennet in a favourable light, however your post has reminded me, that Mrs Bennet's favouritism of Jane over Elizabeth is something I very much dislike. Whatever your thoughts are on Mrs Bennet I hope you enjoyed Linda's post as much as I did. 
Good luck with the rest of the Blog Tour and with the success of your new book Linda!

Thank you Jakki and Meryton Press for another enjoyable blog tour!

Giveaway time!!!  This giveaway is open internationally and the winners will be announced on the 4th September. The winners will have 48hrs to contact me via my 'contact me' tab, located at the top of my blog.

One ebook copy and one paperback copy are up for grabs, equalling two lucky winners. To be in with a chance of winning Longbourn to London, just leave a comment below! Good luck Everyone!!!!

Longbourn to London Blog Tour Schedule

8/18: Author Interview & Giveaway at My Jane Austen Book Club 

8/19: Excerpt and Giveaway at More Agreeably Engaged

8/20: Guest Post at Laughing with Lizzie 

8/21: Review at Wings of Paper 

8/22: Author Interview at The Little Munchkin Reader 

8/23: Excerpt & Giveaway at The Calico Critic 

8/24: Review at Best Sellers & Best Stellars of Romance

8/25: Review at Diary of an Eccentric

8/26: Guest Post & Giveaway at My Kids Led Me Back to Pride and Prejudice 

8/27: Author Interview and Giveaway at The Darcy Obsession 

8/28: Review at Babblings of a Bookworm

8/29: Guest Post at My Love for Jane Austen

8/30: Review at Songs and Stories