The Clergyman's Wife: A Pride & Prejudice Novel

Written by Molly Greeley

Narrated by Susie Riddell

For everyone who loved Pride and Prejudice—and legions of historical fiction lovers—an inspired debut novel set in Austen’s world.

Charlotte Collins, nee Lucas, is the respectable wife of Hunsford’s vicar, and sees to her duties by rote: keeping house, caring for their adorable daughter, visiting parishioners, and patiently tolerating the lectures of her awkward husband and his condescending patroness, Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Intelligent, pragmatic, and anxious to escape the shame of spinsterhood, Charlotte chose this life, an inevitable one so socially acceptable that its quietness threatens to overwhelm her. Then she makes the acquaintance of Mr. Travis, a local farmer and tenant of Lady Catherine.

In Mr. Travis’ company, Charlotte feels appreciated, heard, and seen. For the first time in her life, Charlotte begins to understand emotional intimacy and its effect on the heart—and how breakable that heart can be. With her sensible nature confronted, and her own future about to take a turn, Charlotte must now question the role of love and passion in a woman’s life, and whether they truly matter for a clergyman’s wife.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperAudio
• Release date: Dec 3, 2019
• ISBN: 9780062942920

Molly Greeley

Molly Greeley is the author of the acclaimed historical novels The Heiress and The Clergyman’s Wife. A graduate of Michigan State University, she lives with her husband and three children in Traverse City, Michigan.

Reviews for The Clergyman's Wife

[humouress · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

{follow on from Jane Austen's [Pride and Prejudice], historical fiction}*** WARNING: There are spoilers ahead for Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, on which this book is based. ***This is a continuation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice focussing on Charlotte Lucas - Lizzie's best friend, who married Mr. Collins - after her marriage. Though not exactly blissful she does live in domestic harmony. I enjoyed being back in Jane Austen’s world and the environs of Rosings Park. I would recommend reading Pride and Prejudice, if you haven't already, to give context to this story although I think it would be possible to read it without having done so.I always approach an Austen continuation with a healthy dose of scepticism since modern writers can’t capture the essence of what, to Austen, were contemporary times and events. Greeley writes well and maintains the ambiance of Pride and Prejudice without intruding modern sensibilities on the story. For the most part. About a third of the way through I suddenly thought that the author had done well in sticking to Austen’s style of writing and just then, of course, a phrase jumped out and hit me. (If you want to know, it used the word ‘visit’ which always throws me in the way it is used it differently). But once I was back in stride it was fine, though I did wonder about some instances of propriety, or rather impropriety, and some less than happy circumstances. I don’t remember Austen having any other than lack of fortune. Or manners. However, the story itself; I was disappointed with the ending which Greeley (who states Charlotte is one of her favourite Austen characters) envisions for the character. Charlotte in Pride and Prejudice made an eminently practical decision at 27 that she knew she could live with but in this story she struggles with it at 30. On reflection, Greeley's Charlotte is less mature, less self confident and less pragmatic than Austen's Charlotte. There were glimpses of something more hopeful for her but they hadn’t materialised by the end of the story - though I suppose it was left open enough that it could happen further down the road.It's an interesting enough story and Greeley gets the feel of Austen's world quite well and adds some period detail but Charlotte's and Mr. Collins's characters were not, quite, as I pictured them. And, unfortunately, it's missing Jane Austen's trademark humour.July 20224 stars (on the strength of the writing which maintains Austen’s gentle ambiance)

[foggidawn · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Charlotte Lucas knew what she was getting into when she put herself in the path of Mr. Collins, Elizabeth Bennett's pompous cousin. Now, as a clergyman's wife with a lovely little daughter, Charlotte Collins' life, while beset with minor irritations, is generally pleasant. When her path crosses that of Mr. Travis, a local farmer, Charlotte starts to consider what she might have been missing by choosing security rather than love in her marriage.This Pride and Prejudice spin-off does a good job of holding true to the characters as Austen wrote them, while expanding their circumstances and imagining what might have happened in the years following the original novel. This book stays very much in Charlotte's head, making for a gentle, quiet story for the most part. Recommended to readers who have wondered what life might be like for Charlotte after marrying Mr. Collins.

[vesper1931 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A Pride & Prejudice continuation but of the story of Charlotte Collins nee Lucas, and her practical acceptance of a marriage to Mr. Collins.
Where we hear Charlottle’s thoughts of her present sitation but also of her past which brought her to the acceptance.
Collins is as he always was in canon but we learn a little of his life, becoming more human and maybe feel some sorrow for him.
A story of friendship discovered, and leading towards rethinking what is happiness in your life.
Delightful, well-written, and with well-drawn characters especially as you would expect of Charlotte.
I found the book a joy to read.
Recieved an ARC from the publisher

[whitreidtan · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I don't remember how old I was when I first read Pride and Prejudice. It seems as if it has always been a part of my reading history, claiming a piece of my young, voracious reader's romantic heart forever ago. It is one of the few books I've read multiple times and just claiming a passing resemblance to it will have me eagerly reading any book. A book that delves deeper into any of the characters from this beloved book will automatically hit my must read pile. The Bennet sisters are usually the focus of these stories because Austen gives us very little about their lives after the events of her novel. Greeley doesn't give us a Bennet sister though, concentrating on Charlotte Lucas and the life she lives as Mrs. Collins, the life she chose, a life in direct contrast to the life that Lizzie Bennet would have, and she gives it to us beautifully."Sensible [and] intelligent" Charlotte famously opted for security and a conviction that happiness in marriage is not simply a result of love but of "chance" when she accepted Mr. Collins' proposal. She knew that her options were limited, from an age and beauty perspective as well as a class perspective, and she judged that Mr. Collins was a decent man with whom she could build a life. And she has done just that. Three years into their marriage, Charlotte's life is not a bad one but it is a lonely one. She spends much of her time with her tiny daughter, never having gotten too involved in the village near Rosings Park. Lady Catherine would disapprove heartily of too much involvement and Charlotte herself has no confidence in herself as the wife of the vicar, to offer friendship and caring to those under her husband's purview. Only when Lady Catherine determines that there should be roses planted in front of the parsonage and compels a local farmer, Mr. Travis, the son of her former gardener, to plant them, does Charlotte venture into a cautious friendship with anyone in the area. As she comes to know Mr. Travis, she contrasts him with her own husband and finds that her choice three years ago might well have been the pragmatic one but it also means that she might have missed out on something quite special and indefinable indeed.Greeley's Charlotte is quiet, accepting the life she chose with her eyes wide open. If she experiences any rebellions, they happen silently and she often reflects on the ungenerosity of wishing Mr. Collins was different, reminding herself that he is, in fact, a good man. As so much of the novel is internal, Charlotte is a first person narrator, heightening the feeling of wistfulness and melancholy throughout the pages. The story, and Charlotte's slow dawning realization of what her life will always look like, what she has missed out on, is a sensitive and light handed look at the options available to women of the time. It is heartbreaking to hear Charlotte wishing that her baby daughter Louisa will be beautiful as she herself is not. And it is hard not to sympathize with Charlotte and the stultifying daily existence she lives, her only company a husband she doesn't love, a daughter too young to talk, and a young mother's helper. It is both hard and beautiful to see her opening her heart to the people of the parish, a poor, older widow, the elderly former gardener at Rosings, and Mr. Travis. This is a gentle tale that stays true to the characters that Austen created but that adds to the original story in Pride and Prejudice, offering a contrast to the exultant happily ever after of that novel, not of a grand tragedy but of a quiet and a little bit sad acceptance of a regular life. Well done, Molly Greeley.

[lauigl · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

In The Clergyman’s Wife we find ourselves intruding upon the lives of William and Charlotte Collins. This Pride and Prejudice-inspired novel begins a few years after Charlotte Lucas, Elizabeth Bennett’s cherished friend, marries awkward, harried Mr. Collins and settles down in the quaintly comfortable Hunsford parsonage in Kent. Charlotte, having hastily recommended herself for marriage to Mr. Collins when Elizabeth adamantly rejected him, has resigned herself to her melancholy existence as his wife. She’d perceived her marital prospects as slim given her lack of natural beauty and inconvenient social standing, which elevated her above the neighboring hopefuls thanks to her father’s favoring vanity over economic prudence, and now she recognizes the gravity of her impetuous decision. If this weren't enough, their benefactress, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, of whom William Collins is ridiculously solicitous, diligently oversees nearly every aspect of their living arrangement, to Charlotte’s dismay. So when Charlotte witnesses her sister, Maria’s, excitement over her betrothal to the man she actually loves, irrespective of how their family or acquaintances view his humble profession of Apothecary, her own decision to settle for security over love leaves her with a degree of regret and sadness. Can anyone restore her initial grateful countenance?Mr. Travis, a tenant farmer, has been commissioned by Lady Catherine de Bourgh, to beautify the Hunsford garden with roses. No botanist or gardener himself, but the son of one who painstakingly tended to the gardens of Rosing’s Park, Lady Catherine's estate, Mr. Travis sets out to accomplish the task for which he’s been assigned. His work in the Hunsford garden necessitates regular visits to the Collins' home of which Charlotte has grown accustomed. She is consciously aware of her anticipation of Mr. Travis’s visits and tries her utmost to appease herself with excuses for her imprudent feelings towards the man. Mr. Travis awakens her sensibilities in a way that her husband never has, and she is at once delighted by her thoughts and distressed by the impropriety associated with them. Charlotte is torn between loyalty to her well-meaning but emotionally distant husband and the anticipatory exhilaration in keeping congenial company with Mr. Travis. His apparent interest in her daughter, Louisa, her love of novels and sketching has enlivened Charlotte’s mundane existence, and has subsequently broadened her activities as a parson’s wife, impelling her to make visits upon the widows and elderly—bringing them gifts and conversing on a regular basis. Charlotte’s disposition has improved on account of Mr. Travis, and owing to this fact, her feeling of mortification and shame both chides her and spurs her on. What's a loyal, morally upright woman to do?If you loved Pride & Prejudice, or enjoy historical novels, you won't want to miss The Clergyman’s Wife. Ms. Greeley’s melodious prose is descriptive and atmospheric; I could smell the damp leaves on the forest floor and hear the rustle of the dry leaves in the trees as the wind kicked up before a menacing downpour. I could see the Hunsford garden’s vibrant flowers swaying in the breeze while toddler, Louisa, squealed while frolicking. Events in the book evoked feelings of poignancy and mirth, and there was a nice balance between the two. The Mr. Collins and Lady Catherine de Bourgh characters so accurately embodied their familiar personalities from Pride and Prejudice that I found myself chuckling at their mannerisms and dialog, which was a real treat.The Clergyman’s Wife is an even-paced, gentle read that elicits a feeling of longing to transport oneself back to the Regency era where gentility and propriety were the norm.