Joana Starnes has 12 audiobooks on Listento.it, narrated by 5 narrators, with an average listener rating of 4.6★ across 37 ratings. The most-rated is Mr. Bennet's Dutiful Daughter.
Miss Darcy's Companion
Summary
Miss Georgiana Darcy is need of a companion, and she would much rather not have Mrs. Younge. The recently bereaved Miss Elizabeth Bennet is in need of a position. When she accepts the one Mr. Darcy offers, she finds herself in his near-constant company and gets to know him at his best. Not as he would present himself to strangers in some remote corner of Hertfordshire, but as his nearest and dearest know him. An excellent brother, landlord, master. A wonderful man, noble, kind and impossibly handsome. So who falls in love first? What of Mr. Wickham and his dastardly ploys? And how is a lady's companion ever to have a future with one who could marry into the best houses in the land?
©2016 Joana Starnes (P)2017 Joana Starnes
Mr. Bennet's Dutiful Daughter
Summary
When Colonel Fitzwilliam's disclosures are interrupted by the bearer of distressing news from Longbourn, Miss Elizabeth Bennet is compelled to accept an offer she would have otherwise dismissed out of hand. An offer of marriage from the all-too-proud Mr. Darcy. Yet how is she to live with a husband she hardly knows and does not love? Will she continue to feel trapped in a marriage of convenience while events conspire to divide them? Or would love grow as, day by day and hour after hour, she learns to understand the man she married, before she loses his trust and his heart? (Given the "early marriage" premise, the issue of growing affection and intimacy is central to the story. The relevant scenes are not graphic, but the novel does address mature themes.)
©2016 Joana Starnes (P)2017 Joana Starnes
The Falmouth Connection
Summary
Just as Mr. Darcy finally decides to propose to the enticing Miss Elizabeth Bennet, she is summoned to Falmouth, to meet a relation she never knew she had. Thus, the ill-starred Hunsford proposal is avoided - but before he could even begin to understand his luck, adverse circumstances hasten to conspire against him, and Fitzwilliam Darcy is compelled to follow the woman he loves to the far reaches of Cornwall, into a world of deceit and peril, where few - if any - are what they seem to be...
©2017 Joana Starnes (P)2017 Joana Starnes
The Darcy Legacy: A Pride and Prejudice Variation
Summary
Pemberley’s ancient halls harbour many secrets. Which one will affect Fitzwilliam Darcy and the love of his life? How is Mr. Bennet to enjoy the comforts of a well-stocked library, when his wife’s premature demise had left him with the task of finding suitable matches for their daughters? And what of a misleading encounter on a muddy lane in Hertfordshire, that renders a country-town assembly rather more tolerable than some might have thought?
Shades of mystery, meddlesome relations - not least a drenched Adonis - raillery, old errors and a very recent union make for a challenging courtship when Fitzwilliam Darcy is not on his own ground. Yet when love is the reward, challenges make it more worth the earning.
“A fraught courtship? So, let it be fraught,” Colonel Fitzwilliam said with a nonchalant flourish of his hand. “A good challenge never hurt anyone.”
©2018 Joana Starnes (P)2018 Joana Starnes
The Subsequent Proposal: A Tale of Pride, Prejudice & Persuasion
Summary
A number of broken-hearted characters from Jane Austen's best novels are thrown together by the vagaries of fate, and all manner of unwise decisions are taken at this vulnerable time. But then their past creeps up upon them - and what is there to do but face it, and hope that their convoluted paths will finally lead them to their proper place? Friends, rivals, foes, wrong choices, and a duel - Fitzwilliam Darcy's life is never dull! The Subsequent Proposal - a story that is primarily about him - follows Mr. Darcy in his struggles to decipher the troubling enigma of Elizabeth Bennet's feelings - and to correct the worst misjudgment of his life....
©2013 Joana Starnes (P)2018 Joana Starnes
The Journey Home to Pemberley
Summary
A chance encounter in the wilds of the North brings more joy to Elizabeth and Mr Darcy than either of them dared hope for. But her world is rocked by blow after blow - and the truth would only cause him pain. ‘I must be cruel only to be kind’ is Elizabeth’s guiding precept, and she chooses her path. Yet time, circumstances and new acquaintances teach her she had made a terrible mistake. How can she regain what she had lost and rebuild a future with the only man she will ever love, but for whom disguise of every sort is his abhorrence?
©2019 Joana Starnes (P)2019 Joana Starnes
A Timely Elopement
Summary
What if Mr Darcy’s first proposal was interrupted by a bearer of ill tidings? The worst tidings: An elopement! Ah, but whose elopement would allow Elizabeth and Mr Darcy to spend quite so much time together and overcome their prejudices and his stubborn pride?
©2020 Joana Starnes (P)2020 Joana Starnes
The Unthinkable Triangle
Summary
All is fair in love and war - or is it? What if Mr. Darcy's rival for Elizabeth Bennet's hand and heart is not some inconsequential stranger, but his dearest, closest friend? How is he to reconcile the claims of loyalty and kinship with the urge to pursue his heart's desire? "Eyes tightly shut against the horrifying future, Darcy dug his fingers in his hair. Lost to him forever. Not merely lost, but promised to his cousin - firmly in his life, but never his! How in God's name was he to bear it and not become unhinged? How was he to have her at his table as Richard's affianced, and not betray himself? How was he to see her, time and again, and give no sign that he wanted her more than he had ever wanted any woman? How was he to keep up the pretence, day after excruciating day?"
©2015 Joana Starnes (P)2017 Joana Starnes
Yuletide: A Jane Austen-Inspired Collection of Stories
Summary
“I went up to the Great House between three and four, and dawdled away an hour very comfortably....” (Jane Austen) A holiday short story anthology with some favorite Austenesque authors, Yuletide is inspired by Jane Austen, Pride & Prejudice and the spirit of the season. Regency and contemporary alike, each romance was dreamt to spark love, humor, and wonder while you dawdle over a hot cup of tea this Christmas. Chapter 1: Opening Credits Chapter 2: “The Forfeit” by Caitlin Williams Chapter 3: “And Evermore Be Merry” by Joana Starnes Chapter 4: “The Wishing Ball” by Amy D’Orazio Chapter 5: “By a Lady” by Lona Manning Chapter 6: “Homespun for the Holidays” by J. Marie Croft Chapter 7: “The Season for Friendly Meetings” by Anngela Schroeder Chapter 8: “Mistletoe Management” by Elizabeth Adams Chapter 9: Closing Credits
©2019 Christina Boyd (P)2019 Christina Boyd dba The Quill Ink, LLC
Dangerous to Know: Jane Austen's Rakes & Gentlemen Rogues
Summary
"One has all the goodness, and the other all the appearance of it." (Jane Austen) Jane Austen's masterpieces are littered with unsuitable gentlemen - Willoughby, Wickham, Churchill, Crawford, Tilney, Elliot, et al. - adding color and depth to her plots but often barely sketched. Have you never wondered about the pasts of her rakes, rattles, and gentlemen rogues? Surely, there's more than one side to their stories. It is a universal truth, we are captivated by smoldering looks, daring charms...a happy-go-lucky, cool confidence. All the while, our loyal confidants are shouting on deaf ears: "He is a cad - a brute - all wrong!" But is that not how tender hearts are broken...by loving the undeserving? How did they become the men Jane Austen created? In this romance anthology, 11 Austenesque authors expose the histories of Austen's anti-heroes. Dangerous to Know: Jane Austen's Rakes & Gentlemen Rogues is a titillating collection of Georgian era short stories - a backstory or parallel tale off-stage of canon - whilst remaining steadfast to the characters we recognize in Austen's great works. What say you? Everyone may be attracted to a bad boy...even temporarily...but heaven help us if we marry one. The full list of authors includes: Karen M Cox, J. Marie Croft, Amy D'Orazio, Jenetta James, Lona Manning, Christina Morland, Beau North, Katie Oliver, Sophia Rose, Joana Starnes, and Brooke West.
©2017 Christina Boyd dba The Quill Ink, LLC (P)2018 Christina Boyd dba The Quill Ink, LLC
Elizabeth: Obstinate Headstrong Girl
Summary
“Obstinate, headstrong girl!” For over 200 years, the heroine of Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth Bennet has enchanted and inspired readers by being that “obstinate, headstrong girl” willing to stand up to the arrogance and snobbery of her so-called betters. Described by Austen as having a “lively, playful disposition,” Elizabeth embodies the perfect imperfections of strong-willed women everywhere: she is spirited, witty, clever, and loyal. In this romance anthology, 10 Austenesque authors sketch Elizabeth’s character through a collection of re-imaginings, set in the Regency through contemporary times. In Elizabeth: Obstinate, Headstrong Girl, she bares her most intimate thoughts, all the while offering biting social commentary about life’s absurdities. Elizabeth overcomes the obstacles of others’ opinions, not to mention her own flaws, to find a love truly worthy of her - her Mr. Darcy - all with humor and her sparkling charm. “I think her as delightful a character as ever appeared in print...” wrote Jane Austen in a letter to her sister Cassandra, in January 1813, and we think so too! Foreword by New York Times and USA Today best-selling author Tessa Dare. Stories by: Elizabeth Adams, Christina Boyd, Karen M Cox, J. Marie Croft, Amy D'Orazio, Leigh Dreyer, Jenetta James, Christina Morland, Beau North, and Joana Starnes. Each anthology in the Quill Collective series is a standalone book.
©2020 Christina Boyd dba The Quill Ink, LLC (P)2020 Christina Boyd dba The Quill Ink LLC
Rational Creatures: Stirrings of Feminism in the Hearts of Jane Austen's Fine Ladies
Summary
“But I hate to hear you talking so, like a fine gentleman, and as if women were all fine ladies, instead of rational creatures. We none of us expect to be in smooth water all our days.” (Persuasion, Jane Austen) Jane Austen: True romantic or rational creature? Her novels transport us back to the Regency, a time when well-mannered gentlemen and finely-bred ladies fell in love as they danced at balls and rode in carriages. Yet her heroines, such as Elizabeth Bennet, Anne Elliot, and Elinor Dashwood, were no swooning, fainthearted damsels in distress. Austen’s novels are timeless classics because of their biting wit, honest social commentary - because she wrote of strong women who were ahead of their day. True to their principles and beliefs, they fought through hypocrisy and broke social boundaries to find their happily-ever-after. In the third romance anthology of The Quill Collective series, 16 celebrated Austenesque authors write the untold histories of Austen’s heroines, brave adventuresses, shy maidens, talkative spinsters, and naughty matrons. Peek around the curtain and discover what made Lady Susan so wicked, Mary Crawford so capricious, and Hettie Bates so in need of Emma Woodhouse’s pity. Rational Creatures is a collection of humorous, poignant, and engaging short stories set in Georgian England that complement and pay homage to Austen’s great works and great ladies who were, perhaps, the first feminists in an era that was not quite ready for feminism. “Make women rational creatures, and free citizens, and they will become good wives; - that is, if men do not neglect the duties of husbands and fathers.” (Mary Wollstonecraft) Stories by: Elizabeth Adams, Nicole Clarkston, Karen M Cox, J. Marie Croft, Amy D’Orazio, Jenetta James, Jessie Lewis, KaraLynne Mackrory, Lona Manning, Christina Morland, Beau North, Sophia Rose, Anngela Schroeder, Joana Starnes, Brooke West, and Caitlin Williams Edited by Christina Boyd Foreword by Devoney Looser Full list of authors includes Brooke West.
©2018 Christina Boyd (P)2019 Christina Boyd