Lady Catherine Takes Charge: A Pride & Prejudice Variation (Take Charge Series)

The great lady is very much like she is in canon until there is a horrific accident in 1804 where both her husband Lewis and her daughter Anne die. For a lady who believed she could control all by force of will and desire, the deaths of her family rock her world down to the foundations. She revaluates all of her priorities, changes direction, and becomes a surrogate mother to both surviving Darcys.

In his will Sir Lewis leaves his estate and all of his holdings to Richard Fitzwilliam as he is the only one of his three nephews to have to shift for himself. Sir Lewis and Anne were the last alive in the de Bourgh line.

Jane Bennet, after losing more than one suitor to her mother’s vulgar and inappropriate behaviour has had the blinders removed. Elizabeth is no longer in awe of her father as she has had her eyes opened to his indolence and abrogation of his parental responsibility. Rather than laugh with him at his treatment of his wife and younger daughters, she understands the inappropriateness of how her father behaves.

The story is close to canon with regards to the interactions between the Netherfield and Longbourn residents with the dastardly George Wickham pouring poison on our Lizzy’s ear up to a point. We see a lot of that interaction through the eyes of William Collins who is very different from his portrayal in canon. Wickham is exposed, but not by Darcy.

Bingley is his spineless self and allows his sister Caroline to rule his life and manipulate him while at the same time he looks to Darcy to make decisions for him. The Netherfield Party escapes to Town and Bingley deserts Jane without a word except for Miss Bingley’s fiction she sends in her note and single reply to a Jane's three letters.

Up to a point, Lady Catherine has taken a back seat. Unlike the lady we are used to, she does not want to insert herself into her relative’s lives unless absolutely needed. When she sees too much happening which needs correcting, she decides to take charge. She leads her family in berating Darcy for his behaviour in Hertfordshire, his hauteur, and in not taking care of the scourge that is George Wickham.

This story looks at how this iteration of Lady Catherine changes the trajectory of a number of character we all love, and some we dislike intensely.