I love modern Pride & Prejudice spinoffs and continuations, but I also love Regency stories in which our romantic partners are forced to trust one another with secrets and it blossoms into something more.

Julie Cooper’s book, The Perfect Gentleman, fits the bill. Check out the book below and stay for the guest post and giveaway, too.

About the Book:

’Tis no secret that Lizzy Bennet has dreams. The uniquely talented daughter of a woman with a dubious reputation, Lizzy knows she must make her own way in a world that shuns her. Fitzwilliam Darcy carries the stains of his family’s disgrace upon his soul and only by holding himself to the strictest standards has he reclaimed his place in society.

Now Georgiana Darcy has gone missing. If his fifteen-year-old sister cannot be found quickly, the scandal could destroy Darcy’s years of perfect behaviour. Lizzy Bennet know just what to do to find Georgiana. She is willing to join the pursuit to get what she wants but will Darcy be willing to trust her with his secrets? And what will they do when the search for Georgiana reveals what neither expected to find?

The Perfect Gentleman is a romantic adventure so big it needs two volumes in one book. Follow the adventure in A Not-So-Merry Chase and discover the surprises and temptations that await at Pemberley in Love Wisely But Well.

Doesn’t this sound exciting? I love when Darcy and Elizabeth have adventures together. What better way is there to build trust when you have to trust the person you’re with on an adventure?

Check out how Cooper balanced this great societal gap and more below and please enter the giveaway.

In The Perfect Gentleman, our heroine begins life as the daughter of Fanny Bennet, a demimondaine supported by wealthy lovers. My original idea for this story was actually a challenge—to make the social gap between Lizzy and Darcy as wide as possible while not hopelessly stretching the bounds of believability. In order to do this, I had to create circumstances in Darcy’s past giving some leeway to support a gap the size of the Grand Canyon.

Of course, there are contributing factors to Mrs Bennet’s membership in The Real Regency Housewives of Ramsgate. Like canon, she is not clever—and an early, brief affair with a baron leaves her with a child, Jane, before she ever meets Mr Bennet. It is a fact of Regency life that a man might have mistresses, and any number of affairs, while a woman could be ostracized for a broken engagement. Fanny’s lies, and the baron’s unwillingness to stay out of Jane’s life, essentially doom Our Dear Girl Lizzy to social poverty and a fatherless existence. Nevertheless, she goes on to develop her talents with the goal of never being forced to repeat her mother’s choices. Through hard work, resourcefulness and determination, she is a fair way down the path of artistic competency before ever meeting Mr Darcy.

Early on in our novel, Lizzy is given a chance to write a letter to the father who abandoned her, and she experiments with different wording. However, due to space limitations, these letters were cut from the final version of The Perfect Gentleman. I believe that reading them, however, will give insight into her wit, the force of her personality, and her devotion to her dreams.

Excerpts from The Perfect Gentleman:

Dearest Papa,
It was kind of you to remember the bothersome fact of my existence. I hear it took a deathbed prompt, but I suppose fear of meeting your Maker with a possible daughter—for whom you never troubled to take any notice or make any provision—weighs on your conscience. By the by, if you supposed your baby’s mother to be a vile sinner, why would you leave an innocent child in her care?
Doubtfully,
Lizzy.

“Hmm. Too hostile?” she mused aloud. “I am not bitter. He is nothing to me.” Mentally she revised it.

Dear Sir,
It was kind of you to send an emissary. I hear you have been ill, and I hope you are on the mend. Unless, of course, I would now be an heiress if you had gone to meet your reward.

Possibly not that either. But why should she pretend an interest in the father who rejected her? She had shocked Mr Darcy, but truthfully, her only aim was to avoid her mother’s fate and lead a life she could control. Safety and peace. For that end, money was a requirement. A man such as he, spoilt with excess, could never understand. Even if he was unreasonably handsome.

Now, where had that thought come from?

Just a simple observation, she assured herself. One would have to be blind not to notice. I may be wicked enough to wonder what he looks like without his cravat, artistically speaking, but that does not mean I am dashing down the Path of Repeating Fanny’s Choices!

End excerpt.

As you can probably tell, Lizzy understands that small decisions can
have big consequences, and she stays true to her dreams and sense of
self throughout. It was probably my favourite part of writing The Perfect Gentleman—penning a heroine who truly believes in herself.

No matter the expectations of a rigid, unforgiving society, there is a
stubbornness about Lizzy Bennet that never can bear to be frightened at
the will of others. At its heart, The Perfect Gentleman is a story of her courage.

About the Author:

Julie Cooper, a California native, lives with her Mr Darcy (without the arrogance or the Pemberley) of nearly forty years, two dogs (one intelligent, one goofball), and Kevin the Cat (smarter than all of them.) They have four children and three grandchildren, all of whom are brilliant and adorable, with the pictures to prove it. She works as an executive at a gift basket company and her tombstone will read, “Have your Christmas gifts delivered at least four days before the 25th.” Her hobbies are reading, giving other people good advice, and wondering why no one follows it.

Giveaway:

You can win a $50 Amazon gift card from Quills & Quartos Publishing! The contest ends on November 13.

To be eligible, just comment on any of the blog tour stops and Quills & Quartos will select a random winner from the comments. You need not visit all the stops (one point per stop and comment), however, it does increase your chances of winning by earning more entries.

Please check the Quills & Quartos Facebook to find out about winners.