Becoming Lady Darcy

As a direct descendant of Fitzwilliam Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet, Lady Elizabeth Darcy grew up roaming the halls of Pemberley. Now a tourist attraction overseen by the ever-vigilant curator Joyce Hutchinson, every room still hums with the echoes of that famous love story.

Lizzy isn't looking for romance... which is unfortunate, because life has other plans. When Hollywood director Matthew Wickham - her ex, and father of her daughter Harriet - returns to Pemberley to film Pride and Prejudice, he brings with him an aloof, celebrated leading man. Benn Williams is captivating, complicated, and hiding more than one truth. As filming unfolds, Lizzy discovers that the past has a way of repeating itself, no matter how determined you are to avoid it.

Spanning centuries, Becoming Lady Darcy moves through the pivotal moments that shaped the women of Pemberley - five obstinate, headstrong girls whose choices altered the course of the Darcy line.

Sophia, the sharp-tongued Jacobean courtier who finds herself dangerously noticed by a king.
Elizabeth, the original mistress of Pemberley, learning that marriage - even to Fitzwilliam Darcy - is not the end of a story but the beginning of a very complicated one.
Mabel, their spirited daughter, who yearns for adventure far beyond Derbyshire's borders.
Millicent, navigating a changing world as the twentieth century dawns, fighting to protect Pemberley's future.
And Lizzy herself, who must reconcile her legacy with the life she longs to build - and uncover what love looks like when pride and prejudice are finally set aside.

Smallman threads familiar Austen figures through an ambitious, multi-timeline saga, reimagining the Darcy dynasty from its medieval roots to the present day. Not simply a continuation of Pride and Prejudice, this is an expansive, character-rich journey through the lives shaped - and sometimes unraveled - by Pemberley.

The story continues in the newly released sequel, The Darcy Inheritance, delving deeper into the Darcy family tree and the shadows of the past that refuse to stay buried.