This is a review of Miss Bennet’s Dragon by M Verant, a Pride and Prejudice inspired fantasy. 

The full title is Miss Bennet’s Dragon: A Pride and Prejudice Retelling (Jane Austen Fantasy Book 1). Personally, I disagree with the author calling it a retelling. I think it’s a variation as are all Pride and Prejudice inspired fantasy stories.

This fantasy novel is about dragons, so I was interested to see how it compared to Maria Grace’s Pride and Prejudice inspired dragon series – Jane Austen’s Dragons.

One thing I noticed straight off was that this novel is written in the first person. This is unusual. I don’t remember having read any other Pride and Prejudice inspired novels that are in the first person. Normally, they’re written in the third person. I thought it made for a more immersive experience. It’s written from the viewpoint of Elizabeth Bennet.

Setting

The set-up is quite different in this novel from Maria Grace’s novels. The gentry hold their estates through inheritance and/or bonding with a dragon when they first marry and consummate the marriage. They also need “marriage gold” to bond a dragon. If the husband dies, the family will lose their estate unless the son and his wife bond with a dragon. If there is no male heir then unless a daughter has married and the couple have bonded, the estate will be lost. Lady Catherine de Bourgh is a major exception to this societal rule. 

Oh, and dragons are called “draca” in this novel.

I loved the different types of dragons (or draca) in the novel. None of them seem to be that big unlike Maria Grace’s. They have great names such as tunnelworm, roseworm and lindworm, etc. 

Plot

This novel is quite dark, a fair few characters die. I wouldn’t describe it as a light and fluffy Pride and Prejudice inspired novel.

The plot involves draca and French spies. I don’t want to say more and give the plot away.

One change to the original plot is that Jane becomes ill at Netherfield through being bitten by a foul crawler rather than catching cold on the way there. This is potentially fatal until Elizabeth is guided by a Scottish laundry maid to get Jane to drink a few drops of draca blood. And then Jane falls sick with binding sickness because she is in love with Bingley who has gone away to America so, she’s in danger of dying unless Elizabeth can find a way to save her. This is the reason Elizabeth visits Pemberley in order to find a cure for Jane. I liked how the author adapted the original plot.

Another change to the plot is that Mr Collins and Charlotte don’t bind a draca so he loses the claim to Longbourn. However, the Bennets are still at risk unless a Bennet daughter and her husband can bind a draca. Enter Lydia. It seems Wickham had an ulterior motive in seducing her. 

Characters

Elizabeth is a very strong character; she holds the family together. She’s basically running the estate for her father. Elizabeth has a telepathic bond with dragons. They will all obey her.

I did like the version of Mr Darcy in this novel. He’s the strong, silent but passionate type. He certainly goes above and beyond for Elizabeth.

I wasn’t sure about Jane in this novel. She seemed a bit of an air head to me once or twice in this novel. And as the eldest, wouldn’t she have had some involvement/training in the estate? She does play a very passive role.

Mary Bennet in this novel reminded me of the heroine of The Independence of Miss Mary Bennet by Colleen McCullough. She’s much more interesting than the original Mary in Pride and Prejudice. She’s a feminist and would be social reformer, even a bit of a goth. She and Lizzie are very close in the novel.

Lydia is probably the most evil that I’ve seen her character be in any of the Pride and Prejudice inspired novels that I’ve read so far. And Wickham is pretty evil too. 

Summary

Miss Bennet’s Dragon was an enjoyable and gripping read if darker than most Pride and Prejudice inspired fantasy novels.