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The Firstborn by Margareth C. Sullivan (PG)

Jun. 10th, 2008 at 6:08 PM

slytherin-gypsy.livejournal.com

Title: The Firstborn.
Fandom: Northanger Abbey/Pride and Prejudice.
Pairing: Henry Tilney/Catherine Morland, Elizabeth Bennet/Fitzwilliam Darcy
Categories: Crossover, Established Relationship, Romance.
Length: Epic.
Warnings: None.

Author on LJ: n/a
Author Website: http://www.tilneysandtrapdoors.com/index.php

Review:
The basis for this story is that Mrs. Bennet is Mr. Bennet’s second wife. His first wife, Elizabeth, died broken hearted after their firstborn son was kidnapped (a ploy hatched by Mr Collins’ father so his son would inherit Longbourn). Twenty six years later Henry Tilney is engaged to Catherine Morland, but unable to marry her because of his father’s disapproval. He accepts an invitation from his friend, Charles Bingley, to spend some time at his newly leased property, Netherfield Park. There Henry strikes a friendship with Elizabeth Bennet and realizes that his friend Darcy is slowly, and much to his chagrin, falling in love with her. After discovering by accident that General Tilney and his wife are not his birth parents, Henry is surprised to find that he is Mr. Bennet’s son.

The main premise is a bit wild (the author later rather pokes fun at that, comparing it to a “Gothic romance”), but the author does a wonderful job of mixing two of Austen’s novels in a very natural way (I particularly liked the background of Henry’s friendship with Darcy and Bingley). Like many Jane Austen fanfics, it quotes large parts the original source, though much of it receives an interesting twist with the addition of extra characters and circumstances.

The Firstborn. (Prologue) (pt. 1) (pt. 2) (pt. 3) (pt. 4) (pt. 5) (pt. 6) (pt. 7) (pt. 8) (pt. 9) (pt. 10) (pt. 11) (pt. 12) (pt. 13) (pt. 14) (pt. 15) (pt. 16) (pt. 17) (pt. 18) (pt. 19) (pt. 20) (pt. 21) (pt. 22) (pt. 23) (pt. 24) (Epilogue)