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The Matters at Mansfield
(Or, The Crawford Affair)
A Mr. & Mrs. Darcy Mystery
Book #4 in the Mr. & Mrs. Darcy Mystery series
Forge Books, 2008
Hardcover ISBN-13: 978-0-7653-1847-3
Trade paperback ISBN-13: 978-0-7653-2383-5
Mass market paperback ISBN-13: 978-0-7653-5803-5
Also available in e-reader formats
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Synopsis
"There is not one in a hundred of either sex, who is not taken in when they marry . . . it is, of all transactions, the one in which people expect the most from others, and are least honest themselves."
—Mary Crawford, Mansfield Park
Mr. Darcy's aunt, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, is eager to arrange a lucrative and socially advantageous match for her daughter, Anne. Of course, her ladyship has not taken into account such frivolous matters as love or romance, let alone the wishes of her daughter.
Needless to say, there is much turmoil when the bride-to-be elopes.
Their pursuit of the headstrong couple leads the Darcys to the village of Mansfield, where the usually intricate game of marriage machinations becomes still more convoluted by lies and deception. There, the Darcys discover that love and marriage can be a complex and dangerous business — one that can even lead to murder.
Other books in the series:
Pride and Prescience (#1), Suspense and Sensibility (#2), North by Northanger (#3),
The Intrigue at Highbury (#5), The Deception at Lyme (#6), The Suspicion at Sanditon (#7).
Praise for The Matters at Mansfield
"Bebris has a great feel for both the period and Austen's witty style, making the pages fly by in this absorbing, charming mystery."
—Booklist
"Lively plot, engaging characters, and a surprising finale."
—Publisher's Weekly
"A charming rogue, the kind of tongue-in-cheek humor that is perfectly at home in formal Regency language and a nearly perfect murder hit the right note and will captivate readers."
—Romantic Times BOOKreviews (4 stars)
"Combines Regency romance, gothic elements, and a mix of Austen characters in a pleasantly lightweight tale."
—Kirkus Reviews
"The best of the Mr. and Mrs. Darcy mysteries ... entertaining as well as realistic. Not only does she do a superb job with the science behind the crime, she does an excellent job developing her cast of characters ... Pride and Prejudice fans will greatly enjoy seeing their favorite husband and wife duo in action again."
—The Bluestocking Guide
More on The Matters at Mansfield
He is an enigmatic character, Mr. Henry Crawford—so utterly charming, yet so utterly callous. Readers have been debating for two centuries whether this favorite Austen rogue is capable of redemption.
I decided to find out.
If you have read Jane Austen's Mansfield Park, you have met Mr. Crawford, the charismatic cad who embarks on a series of calculated flirtations that leave more than one casualty in his wake. By the end of Austen's novel, he is a man with numerous enemies: the disgraced Maria Rushworth, her humiliated husband, her scandalized father, her reprehensible Aunt Norris . . . to name a few.
And that was before he crossed Lady Catherine de Bourgh.
It seems that while Lady Catherine was busy minding the Darcys' business at Pemberley in North by Northanger, she should have kept a closer eye on her own affairs. Or at least, on her own daughter.
She now finds herself forced to solicit the Darcys' assistance in resolving a certain matter requiring the utmost discretion. It is one of many matters that challenge Elizabeth and Darcy as they navigate a web of deception to determine which denizen of Mansfield Park harbors the strongest malice toward Henry Crawford.