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SUMMARY: Time passes after Lydia’s departure, and eventually Kitty gets better. Lydia sends letters to her mother, saying that she is visiting libraries and is spending time with Mr and Mrs Forster with the officers, and sends letters to her sister Kitty, saying far more interesting things with a lot of hidden details. Elizabeth isn’t feeling amazing, and the thoughts of her northern tour with her aunt and uncle keep her morale above water. Her aunt however writes saying that her work is preventing them from coming at the expected time, and that their tour is also going to have to be cut short, meaning that they should only really be able to go as far north as Derbyshire… Eventually her family arrives, and they set off for the North with Elizabeth. When they get to Derbyshire, they explore the area where Mrs Gardiner used to live, Lambton, only 5 miles from Pemberly. Both of the Gardiners wish to visit the grounds and ask Elizabeth if she would go there. After asking the chambermaid if Darcy would be there and finding out he wouldn’t, she agrees to go.
SUMMARY: Gregor’s family start to leave his bedroom door open for him so that he can watch them. He sees his family start to break down as a result of his transformation and their poverty. Greta starts to clean his room less and less, and Gregor’s family fires the maid for a cheap cleaning lady who finds Gregor funny. As a goal to get more money, his family has also taken 3 renters and have been forced to put their extra furniture in Gregor’s room, causing Gregor to become very cramped. One evening, the cleaning lady leaves the door to Gregor’s room ajar, and he observes the boarders eat in the living room. From the kitchen he hears his sister play the violin, and the boarders invites his sister to play for them. Gregor sneaks out of his room to watch her play. The boarders see Gregor and demand not only say that they are leaving the house but refuse to pay for any of the time they have stayed there. The family is exhausted and fed up of Gregor and they decide that they need to find a way to get rid of him. Gregor wishes that his family could understand him and wishes that they would understand that he would leave by his own accord. He tries slowly to move back to his room with his parents watching him and the moment he moves beyond the threshold of his room, his sister slams and locks the door behind him where soon after, he dies…
SUMMARY: The last week of the regiment’s stay in Meryton has come, and everyone in the town is depressed with the exception of Lizzy and Jane. Kitty and Lydia are the most distraught of all. Mrs Bennet recommends that the family goes to Brighton to be by the sea, and close to the regiment’s new post. Lydia soon receives an invitation to join Mr and Mrs Forster in Brighton with them and the regiment, which rejuvenates her and vexes Kitty. Elizabeth is mortified by this invitation and goes to her father to advise him to not allow her to go. Mr Bennet deems that Lydia should go, that she should make an embarrassment of herself so that she can be put properly in her place. The final evening comes before the regiment should depart and Mr Wickham and Lizzy talk for one final time before she hopes to be rid of him forever. He asks her about her time in Rosings and Lizzy immediately tells him that she spent plenty of time with Colonel Fitzwilliam and Mr Darcy, mentioning that Mr Darcy’s demeanour improves over time; Wickham is shocked by everything Lizzy has to say.
SUMMARY: Jane and Elizabeth finally have time to talk, and Elizabeth tells Jane about Darcy’s proposal, and the whole Wickham Drama. At first Jane is shocked, and then she feels slightly sorry for Darcy for how brutally her sister rejected him. The two sisters then talk of Wickham’s behaviour, and Jane tries constantly to save both of the men, Elizabeth however tries to tell her that there is indeed one “Bad Guy”. Jane is really shocked by the whole situation and to save her from further shock, Elizabeth hides the parts about Mr Bennet from her. Mrs Bennet asks Elizabeth about the Collins’ and asks how they keep their house and how often they talk about one day owning Longborne house…
SUMMARY: Gregor wakes up and finds some milk and bread has been put in his room. He is initially really excited to have some food, but soon finds that his former favourite food disgusts him. He settles under the couch and listens to the apartment. The next morning, his sister comes in and finds that he has barely touched the milk and takes it away, coming back later with a spread of cheese, bones, rotting food, and water, which he happily eats. A routine starts where Greta brings Gregor food, and cleans up while he hides under the couch. His family discusses their financial situation now that Gregor can’t provide for them. Gregor starts to become more comfortable with his change, and he starts to climb the walls. After finding out about Gregor’s new fun, she decides to remove some of the furniture from Gregor’s room. The Furniture is too heavy for her to move by herself, and her mother lends her a hand to move out the room. Her mother soon sees Gregor and feints from shock. Greta goes to the kitchen to find something to revive her, and Gregor follows her to the kitchen. Soon her father comes home, and believes that Gregor attacked his mother. He then goes to attack Gregor, and only at his mother’s revival does he stop and lock Gregor away.
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SUMMARY: Elizabeth, and Jane finally make it back to Meryton, where they are joined by Mary and Lydia in the inn for luncheon. The Girls are just as superficial as ever, having spent all of their money on clothes and though “inviting” Elizabeth and Jane to lunch, asking them to pay because of their purchases. The girls also tell Elizabeth and Jane that the militia are leaving the area in two weeks to be stationed in Brighton. The girls wish to convince their parents to take them to Brighton for a holiday and their mother actually seems to like the idea. After lunch, they head back to Longborne where they are finally greeted by their parents for the first time in 6 weeks. They are glad to see their children, and Mrs Bennet is very pleased to see that Jane is still beautiful.
SUMMARY: Mr Collins and Elizabeth meet and breakfast together before saying the final farewells. Mr Collins, as usual, is over the top in his thanks, and Elizabeth is quite taken aback by his praise and doesn’t quite know what to say apart from reciprocating his thanks. Charlotte soon comes too to say goodbye to Elizabeth, and soon enough the carriage is called to take Mary and Elizabeth back to Meryton. In the carriage, Mary remarks on the wonderful time they had in the area, and what wonderful things they will have to tell their family and friends; Elizabeth agrees, and also adds, in her head, that she too has many things to conceal.
SUMMARY: Gregor Samsa wakes up one morning and finds himself turned into a "monstrous vermin," with an insectoid abdomen and legs. He originally believes that this is only a temporary delusion, and that he will become normal in a few minutes. He then realises that he is stuck on his back and tries to wriggle out of bed and reflects on his work as a traveling salesman. He describes it as being full of "temporary and constantly changing human relationships, which never come from the heart". He sees his boss as a dictator & admits that he would leave his job would it not jeopardize his family. While trying to get out of bed, the head clerk from his job comes to check on him as he was not at the train station earlier. Gergor tries to talk with his family and the clerk, but all they can hear is strange animal like noises. Gregor eventually opens the door. The clerk on seeing him, flees the apartment, and his family is terrified of him. His father grabs a cane and a newspaper, and hits and hisses at Gregor until he is shoved back into his room.
SUMMARY: The two Darcy men have leave Rosings, and Mr Collins goes to console Lady Catherine. On his return, he is however delighted to inform the girls that they have been invited to tea. While there, Lady Catherine explains that Mr Darcy seemed very sorry to leave the area. Lady Catherine then assumes that Elizabeth is sad to leave Rosings and tells her that she should stay longer in the area. Elizabeth says that she cannot stay, as her father needs her, and even though Lady Catherine presses Elizabeth to stay longer, she eventually resigns. Lady Catherine keeps asking questions to Elizabeth about her departure and occupies her mind instead of thoughts of Darcy and his letter.
SUMMARY: Elizabeth reflects on Darcy’s letter. Her emotions while reading are all over the place. She reads the letter in parts, first reading of Jane and Bingley. She disregards what Darcy initially states about their relationship and takes no time to take in the meaning behind Darcy’s words before starting on the next sentence. When she gets to the parts on Wickham she is at first shocked, exclaiming “This Can’t Be.” She closes the letter and leaves it unfinished while trying to walk away. She can’t resist however and rereads the part on Wickham. Her second read provides her with a lot more insight to Darcy’s story, and greatly opens her mind on the terrible character of Mr Wickham, beginning to think again about how Wickham presented himself to the society of Hertfordshire. Coming to the realisation that what Darcy had to say about Wickham must be true, she rereads the part of the letter on Jane. Slowly taking in every line and trying to understand their meaning, she thinks back on Jane’s actual behaviour towards Bingley, and remembering something that Charlotte said, comes to agree that Jane wasn’t as outwardly in Love with Bingley as she believed. Darcy’s comments about her family are like ice in her veins, and the thought that it was because of her family that Bingley could have been removed and not Jane hurts like nothing ever before. Elizabeth cries out that everything she has known about herself has been false, she has been blinded by her Pride and her Prejudice against him. After 2 hours Elizabeth thinks that she should head home and tries to set her face right so that none of the Collins’ can guess that she might not be fine. On her arrival, she is informed that both of the Darcy’s had been at the cottage to visit Elizabeth and give them their leave.
SUMMARY: Thurston finds a newspaper article from an Australian Newspaper that recounts the strange and seemingly unbelievable story of a ship called the Alert, of which the only survivor is second mate Gustaf Johansen. Johansen reports that the Emma, the ships he was originally on, was attacked by the original crew of the Alert. After the fight, he and his crew too the Alert to a seemingly New Island. With the exception of 2 men, Johansen and another man, all died on the island. Thurston needs to find out what happened and he heads to Australia to try and find the man. There, he is told that Johansen moved with his wife back to Norway, and he sets off again to meet them in the North. When he arrives he finds out that Johansen had passed away, but his wife informs him that Johansen wrote a manuscript that she can't read as her English isn't good. Heading to on a boat to London, Thurston reads the Manuscript and learns of the horror that happened on the island.
SUMMARY: After a terrible evening, Elizabeth feels that she needs to go on a walk in the grounds to calm herself but still avoids her usual path, hoping not to meet Darcy. Darcy however has been looking for her, and hands her a letter before leaving immediately. Elizabeth’s curiosity gets the better of her and she opens the letter. Darcy firstly states that he isn’t going to propose again in this letter, and secondly states that he is going to answer the accusations that she lay at his feet the previous night. He explains that he did split up Bingley and Jane and lays out his reasons for doing so; primarily believing that Jane did not reciprocate the feelings in the same way to Bingley. On coming to understand that the Bingley girls felt the same as he did, they resolved to keep Bingley apart from Jane, removing him from Netherfield and convincing him that Jane did not care for him the way he cared for her. On the matter of Mr Wickham, Darcy tells his side of the story. Mr Wickham was indeed a favourite of the Late Mr Darcy and was sent to school by him. Wickham was supposed to attend a seminary, and join the church, but Darcy knew Wickham better and knew that he wasn’t meant for the church. Wickham wants to study law, and after a while of silence, got back in touch with Darcy. Wickham was in dire straits and came to ask for Darcy to let him back into the church. On the refusal, Wickham left for several years. Darcy’s sister then moved to London with her governess and was put in contact with Wickham who wooed her for her money and tried to elope with her. Darcy found out at the last moment and put an end to it and protected his sister from a charlatan, Mr Wickham. Darcy ends his letter by telling Elizabeth that she can ask Colonel Fitzwilliam to confirm Darcy’s claims about Wickham.
SUMMARY: The First Proposal. Elizabeth goes through all of the letters that Jane wrote to her, and she finds a want of cheerfulness that used to be ever-present in her. Her anger at Darcy ever increases and she delights in him soon leaving Rosings but is slightly saddened at his cousin leaving with him. The doorbell rings and she hurries to open it, hoping it to be colonel Fitzwilliam checking in on her. It is sadly Darcy, and he immediately asks about her health with genuine concern. He frets about the room a little and then finally starts. He claims that he has loved her for some time, and says that everything in his body tells him that Elizabeth is an undesirable match for him. That her family is not of the same rank, and that she has no prospects that should entice him and that in spite of this, he loves her and wishes to marry her. Elizabeth is taken aback and is at first flattered before remembering all that he did to Bingley and Jane and Mr Wickham. She refuses him and calls him out on all that he has done and she tells him what she truly thinks of him, that she hates him more than anyone in the entire world and that he would be the last person she could ever be prevailed upon to marry. Darcy tries and fails to remain calm and seems to realise that he has been awful to her and to her family, and leaves the house where Elizabeth starts to cry before Mr and Mrs Collins come home.
SUMMARY: While going through more notes, the Narrator, Francis Wayland Thurston, tells the story of a 1908 meeting of an Archeological group in New Orleans. At this meeting, Inspector Legrasse asks the attendees to help him identify a strange stone statue found at a cult meeting that they broke up. None of the men have any idea what the stone could be made from and they ask Legrasse to tell how he came upon it. Legrasse then tells the whole group about how he and his men went into the swamp nearby where there had been rumours of people disappearing and strange shouting's. They broke up the meeting and arrested 47 members who informed him that they worshiped the "Great Old Ones" and await the return of a Monstrous Priest called "Cthulhu." After this story is told, a Princeton Professor pipes up saying that he came across a group of Esquimaux in the north who had a very similar belief and fetish.
SUMMARY: Elizabeth is on her daily walk through the countryside near Rosings, and though she has tried to avoid Mr Darcy and even told him that she is fine just walking by herself, he insists on walking with her, and is actually asking her questions about herself. On a subsequent day, while again on her daily walk, she instead runs into colonel Fitzwilliam. They walk together back to the Parsonage and talk about he and Darcy’s departure on the coming Saturday. Colonel Fitzwilliam lets slip that Darcy mentioned a relationship that he helped end. Elizabeth is sure that he must have meant Bingley and Jane, and she pressures Fitzwilliam to divulge more. He says a little of this and a little of that but says that he doesn't have all of the details. At the Parsonage, Elizabeth is in a quiet fury at Mr Darcy, and this erupts in giving her a headache so bad that she cannot go to Rosings for tea, not that she would have gone anyway as Darcy would have been there.
SUMMARY: Elizabeth is interrupted from writing to her sister by a ring at the door. When she opens it, she is shocked to see Mr Darcy waiting for her. He says that he expected everyone to be there and asks for forgiveness, but nonetheless comes in. Elizabeth takes it upon herself to ask Darcy about the departure of Mr Bingley and all from Netherfield, and the rumour that he shall never return. On this Darcy says little but that he hasn’t heard of the rumour and adds that if someone were to offer to but it he probably would sell. After a long silence, Darcy remarks on the quality of the house, and that Mr Collins is lucky in his choice of a wife. Lizzy agrees but says that she isn’t certain that it was the wisest of her friend’s decisions. The two continue to talk a little, and Elizabeth can’t help to notice the smile on Darcy’s face. Charlotte and her sister come home and are shocked to see Darcy. After a few minutes he leaves, and Charlotte is still shocked at his being at her home. She is certain that Darcy must be in love with her and sets herself to finding out if it is true.
SUMMARY: The Call of Cthulhu by H. P. Lovecraft is a short story that recounts the discovery of strange notes that the narrator was left by his late Grand-uncle. Among the notes is a bas-relief that depicts a octopus-dragon creature. Going through the notes, the narrator, Francis Wayland Thurston finds out that the sculptor based the word on a series of delirious dreams that he had been having. His dreams depict "Great Cyclopean cities of titan blocks and sky-flung monoliths" with frequent references to Cthulhu and R'lyeh. In the papers, Thurston also finds reports from his uncle of mass hysteria around the world and writings that his uncle is thankful that no one else cross referenced the chaos.
SUMMARY: The Collins’ and Elizabeth scarcely see Lady Catherine and Mr Darcy while he is in town, but Colonel Fitzwilliam Darcy visits them often. On Easter day, the family and Elizabeth are invited to dine with the family at Rosings, but when they arrive, they find that she is fully engrossed in her nephews instead of her guests. Fitzwilliam Darcy seems to have taken an eye to Elizabeth and he converses with her throughout the whole evening which catches the attention of Mr Darcy and Lady Catherine. They talk for a little about music with Lady Catherine and she boasts that had her daughter’s health been better, she would have played beautifully. After a while, Elizabeth moves over to the Piano with the colonel, and Mr Darcy soon follows to be near her. Elizabeth then goes on to tell Fitzwilliam how rude Darcy was when they first met, and she recounts the horror story of the first ball. Darcy defends himself, claiming that he is ill at ease with people he doesn’t know. Elizabeth pokes at him a little, but they are soon again interrupted by Lady Catherine talking praise of her daughter. Elizabeth gets the feeling that Darcy doesn’t love his cousin at all…
SUMMARY: Sir William soon departs leaving Elizabeth with Charlotte and Mr Collins. She feared at first that this would leave her to pass more time with her cousin, but thankfully learns that he goes back to his own business without Sir William to entertain. Lady Catherine visits every now and again and corrects Charlotte on her housekeeping and says that the maid needs to work harder. While Charlotte and Mr Collins work and briefly visit Rosings in the days, Elizabeth goes to walk in the gardens around the Parsonage. As Easter approaches, word that Mr Darcy is to come to visit his aunt and soon arrives with Mr Collins running to Rosings to pay his respects. On his way back, he is joined by both Mr Darcy, and a new person, Colonel Fitzwilliam Darcy.
SUMMARY: Prendick floats adrift for 3 days before he is rescued by a passing ship. No one however believes his tale, as at the risk of being put in an asylum, he shares his story with only 1 person, another doctor who also knew Moreau. Prendick feels the city too intense for him, and his constant alertness is tiring and terrifying. Every city sound seems, to him, to be a Beast creature coming for him. He thus decides to quit London for the country side where he lives quietly, reading great books of science and studying the stars, hoping to find some sense of meaning in them...
SUMMARY: The Group goes to meet and Dine with Lady Catherine de Bourgh and her daughter. Before the visit, Mr Collins goes fussing over his Guests’ dress. When the arrive, the majority of the group is stressing over the grandeur of Rosings and its owner, Elizabeth however is the opposite of the group, and feels equal to the scene of the house and people in it. Lady Catherine is exactly what she expected, a large, pompous woman, who loves nothing more that people praising her and her home. The young Miss de Bourgh is very small and very sickly looking, and she talks to no one over the dinner while Mrs Jenkinson, her mistress, fusses over her. Lady Catherine talks throughout the supper and leaves scarcely an opening for Elizabeth to talk. In the drawing room, Lady Catherine talks more and more about anything and everything, and gives familial advice to Mrs Collins. She eventually asks Elizabeth about her family, education, and state. She is upset that the family home of Longborne is to be taken away form her sisters, but that she is glad it will go to Mr Collins. She then asks of Elizabeth’s skills, piano, drawing, etc. and is upset that she has few of these, and astounded that she didn’t have a governess with 4 sisters, saying that she must have been neglected. When she enquires as to her sisters’ outings, she is shocked that her sisters go out before the elders are married, and Elizabeth states openly her opinion that they should be permitted to do as they please…
SUMMARY: Elizabeth finally arrives at Charlotte and Mr Collins’ home in Huntsford. When she arrives, both Charlotte and her cousin are waiting for her carriage and are greeted politely by Charlotte, and all too much by Mr Collins. Mr Collins then gives his new guests a tour of the house and the garden, in which he gives them a first glimpse of Rosings, the huge estate that the Collins’ live next to. The following day, a commotion downstairs causes Charlotte’s sister to call for Elizabeth to descend the stairs where she very unimpressedly claims that it is only the De Bourgh Family and isn’t anything to make a fuss about. Elizabeth notes that Miss de Bourgh looks sickly and smiles at what Mr Darcy shall be married to. Charlotte and Mr Collins soon enter and inform the group that they have all been invited to supper at Rosings.
The Island of Dr Moreau by H. G. Wells chapter 21 "The Reversion of the Beast Folk," narrated by Isaac Birchall Subscribe on YT or Join the Book Club on Patreon and support me as an independent creator :D https://www.patreon.com/theessentialreads https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfOFfvo05ElM96CmfsGsu3g/join
SUMMARY: When Prendick awakes, he finds that one of the Dog-like Beast Folk has found where he hid and is laying on his legs, acting more like a dog than a man. The Dog-man calls him "Master" and swears his fealty to him. The two, as Prendick knows he needs an ally, make their way towards the sound of other Beast Folk outside. Prendick asserts the power of Moreau again, and manages to convince some of them that "the Law" and "The House of Pain" live on. 10 months go by during which nothing, he says, happens. He says that he is constantly on watch for the Hyena-Swine and is grateful for his Dog-man's protection. After 7 months, the Beast Folk, as warned by Dr Moreau, gradually lose their ability to speak and walk on the hind legs. It happens as a slow but steady rate, and Moreau hardly notices the change in the man at his side to the dog at his feet. Prendick's hair grows long and his clothes fall to ruins, and he starts to become more alert, aware of the animal-ness of the creatures. He realises that the Beast Folk will forget his authority and overpower him and he decides that he needs to escape, and find a boat...
SUMMARY: January and February pass away slowly with the wet weather, and Elizabeth starts to look more and more forward to seeing Charlotte and cannot wait to see Jane. She heads to London with Sir William Lucas and Charlotte’s sister Maria where she will stay with her aunt and Jane before heading to Huntsford. In London, Elizabeth and her family spend the day in town shopping and at the theatre, where she discusses Jane’s health with her aunt, and the topic of Mr Wickham. Her aunt says that it is very good that he has moved on, but it is a shame how he did it, leaving Elizabeth for a new girl because she has access to 10 thousand pound of inheritance. Before the play finishes, Elizabeth is invited by her aunt and uncle to join them on their summer tour of the north, near the lakes.
SUMMARY: Elizabeth’s aunt warns her against Mr Wickham and says that if fortune is what she wants then she should reconsider his affection. Elizabeth says that he is very agreeable but if she really warns her against him, then she will do her best to push Wickham away. Her aunt and uncle soon leave and their departure is taken over by the arrival of Mr Collins for his wedding to Charlotte. After the wedding, Charlotte, before she leaves, invites Elizabeth to join her in Mr Collins’ home with her for a few weeks in March. When Charlotte leaves, she and Elizabeth write letters again to each other, but Elizabeth feels that it is because she promised to as opposed to wanting to. Elizabeth then receives a letter from Jane, and it seems that the Bingley girls are really not wishing to keep a correspondence with her sister and after a few weeks this is confirmed. Jane writes again and tells of her visit from Caroline Bingley. She says that it really seems that Caroline has fully changed into a nasty creature who seems not to care for her at all. Jane has been truly and deeply hurt.
SUMMARY: Prendick, gathering his courage speaks to the Beast Folk that have come to see the bodies on the beach. He claims that Montgomery and the others broke the law and were thus punished. He commands the beast folk to take the bodies into the sea. The Hyena-swine makes a run at Prendick, but when he fires his gun at it, it runs away before he can get a clear shot. This run in with the hyena makes his realise how vulnerable he is by himself. He also realises how tired he is after the previous day and night and decides that he needs to make shelter in the caves where he can be safe.
SUMMARY: Mrs Bennet’s sister’s family has come to visit. Mrs Bennet’s sister, Mrs Gardiner gets bored to by her sister’s complaining about the sorry states of her daughters love lives. When she gets a moment alone with Elizabeth, she and her niece discuss Jane and her relationship to Mr Bingley. Elizabeth mentions how she believes that Miss Bingley and Mr Darcy are whole heartedly to blame for the removal of Bingley from Netherfield Hall, and that there is a greater scheme at play to intermarry the two families. Mrs Gardiner isn’t too certain of this but listens to Elizabeth with attention. She then invites Jane to go to town with her and her husband. As their stay goes on, Mrs Bennet has left no time for boredom to her family and constantly has dinners at Longborne with the girls and the soldiers. At these events Mr Wickham is present and Mrs Gardiner seems to know of him and the Darcy affair…
SUMMARY: Miss Bingley sends another letter to Jane, this one talking about the beauty, grace, and charm of Ms Darcy. The letter also claims that Bingley and his sisters will remain in London throughout the winter, killing all hope that he would return to Netherfield any time soon. Elizabeth is very upset by this news and she complains to Jane that people lack “merit or sense,” Bingley abandoned Jane, and Charlotte is to marry Mr Collins.
SUMMARY: The Night of Moreau's death Montgomery falls into a depression. While in this state he decided to share his brandy with M'ling and the other beast folk. Prendick refuses to join them and is against the idea of sharing alcohol with the beast folk. This frustrates Montgomery and when Prendick says that he is going to try and leave the island on the dingy he leaves in a huff to drink. As Prendick searches for supplies, he hears a bunch of noise from the beach and then a gunshot. At this he rushes out of the house and breaks some glass on the way. He finds that the party of Beast Folk and Montgomery have been attacked and have been left for dead. Montgomery is only just alive, and soon breaths his last breath. Prendick finds a bunch of broken wood on the beach and knows it to be the dingy and to add the cherry on top, he finds that the glass he broke was the lantern, which has now set fire to the Houses and lab of Moreau.
SUMMARY: Sir William Lucas comes to visit the Bennet family and inform them of the happiness that has been bestowed on his family by the proposal between his daughter and Mr Collins. Mrs Bennet is livid! At first, she decides to disbelieve it, and hopes that the match will be broken off. Lady Lucas calls at Longborne more often than usual to proclaim her happiness and the relationship between Charlotte and Lizzy becomes strained. A letter from Mr Collins comes to thank the family for their hospitality and says that he will be down the following Monday to settle a date for the marriage with Charlotte. Lizzy and Jane start to fear a bit more as they are yet to receive news from the Bingley girls about London, or about Mr Bingley. Lizzy is furious at Darcy and the Bingley girls. She believes it entirely their fault that Jane has been made so upset.
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen chapter 22, narrated by Isaac Birchall Subscribe on YT or Join the Book Club on Patreon and support me as an independent creator :D https://www.patreon.com/theessentialreads https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfOFfvo05ElM96CmfsGsu3g/join
SUMMARY: The Bennets go to find with the Lucas family. Throughout the whole evening, Mr Collins is enraptured by miss Lucas and as soon as the evening is over Mr Collins has decided that he should also propose to Charlotte. The next morning, before anyone wakes up, Mr Collins sneaks out of the house and declares his love for Charlotte. She readily accepts his proposal, and asks him only to not tell the Bennets, and to allow her the pleasure of telling her friends. When Mr Collins returns, all of the Bennet family ask where he was during the day but he guards his word and tells them nothing. He then says goodbye to the family, and Mrs Bennet invites him back soon.
SUMMARY: Montgomery has had 3 brandys before Prendick thinks to stop him go to find Moreau. When in the jungle they come across several beast folk discussing Moreau's body while others are in disbelief of it, for Moreau Can't Die. Realising that Moreau's death could mean the same fate for them, Prendick pipes up and claims that Moreau is not dead, that he just left his body behind as he no longer had need of it to enforce the Law. Montgomery seems to understand what Prendick is doing and plays into the lie and most of the Beast Folk seem convinced. They are lead to the body where with the help of M'ling and a few others, they carry him back to the enclosure, where they burn and destroy the rest of his experiments, afraid of what else could come.
SUMMARY: Mr Collins has taken the decision to ignore Elizabeth since his failed proposal, and as Miss Lucas has come to visit, he is giving all of his attention to her. As the next day comes, no tempers at the Bennet house have cooled off, so the girls head to town. The meet Mr Wickham and he joins them at their aunts, and he tells Elizabeth that he didn’t come to the ball at Netherfield because he didn’t want a cause a scene between he and Darcy. Jane receives a letter from Netherfield from the Bingley Girls. It seems that the whole family is quitting the area and shall not be back for a very long time, if not at all. The letter also contains the information that the young miss Darcy is supposed to be the girl to marry Bingley. Jane is distraught by this information, but Lizzy totes it down to scheming between Darcy and the Bingley girls. Saying that if Caroline got half of the attention from Darcy that Jane got from Bingley, should have bought her wedding dress…
SUMMARY: Mrs Bennet sees Elizabeth leave the dining room and saunters happily in to congratulate Mr Collins. Mr Collins relates the events of the proposal and Mrs Bennet is shocked at the manner in which her daughter refused him. Mrs Bennet goes ahead to tell Mr Collins that she will force her daughter to accept, and heads right away to Mr Bennet is his library to force him to tell Lizzy to marry Mr Collins. Mr Bennet calls Lizzy down the stairs and asks her about the situation. After Lizzy tells him about it, he then goes ahead to say that Lizzy has a difficult choice ahead; that she needs to become a stranger to one of her parents. Mrs Bennet will not see her again if she refuses, and Mr Bennet will not see her again if she does… As the days go on, Mrs Bennet doesn’t let up on her daughter, and constantly makes little comments about how Lizzy has disrespected her, but Elizabeth just tries to ignore her.
SUMMARY: After some time has passed on the island, Prendick has started to feel numb to the torment of the animals, and starts to even perceive himself as being weird, and not the Beast Folk. While contemplating outside of the enclosure, he hears a loud noise and is suddenly knocked to the ground by something running. The fall breaks his arm and before he lays down fully from pain, he sees Dr Moreau run after whatever escaped from him. Montgomery soon comes out and, seeing prendick, asks him what happened and then noticing his arm, takes him inside. Montgomery makes Prendick a sling for his arm and then too goes off into the jungle, to find the doctor. Montgomery doesn't come back for some time, but eventually, after several gun shots are fired, M'ling and Montgomery come back to Prendick, where he is told that the Beast Folk have gone mad...
SUMMARY: The day after the ball at Netherfield Mr Collins finds Mrs. Bennet at the breakfast table with Kitty and Elizabeth. He Immediately asks Mrs bennet for an audience with Elizabeth, and before Elizabeth can object, she ushers kitty out of the room and leave Collins and Lizzy alone. Mr Collins proceeds to explain all of the reasons that he and Elizabeth would be a good match and then asks for her hand in marriage. Elizabeth, so shocked cannot speak before Mr Collins goes on to explain all of the reasons that it would be advantageous for her to accept. Elizabeth finally has a chance to refuse his proposal, but Mr Collins only takes it as flattery as “Women always refuse a first proposal hoping to increase the infatuation of the person asking.” (He Is SOO Disgusting) Elizabeth goes on to call him out on his misogyny but as he isn’t listening, she gets up and leaves the room to head to her father, hoping that he may settle the matter for her.
SUMMARY: The day has finally come for the ball at Netherfield and all of the Bennet girls are very excited. Elizabeth has been hoping to dance the night away with Mr Wickham, but on her arrival she is informed that he is not there. Disappointed, she tries to not let it ruin her evening. She sadly has her first dance with Mr Collins and as soon as it it over she rushes back to her friend Charlotte. While talking to her, she is invited to dance by a tall gentleman, and before she realises who it is, she has said yes to dancing with Darcy. While they dance, she tries to spark some conversation and though he is reluctant to talk, the topic of Mr Wickham comes up. Darcy denies having done him any wrong, and advises Jane to stay away from him, as he knows Wickham a lot better than she does. They have 2 dances together and afterwards Elizabeth is certain that Darcy is just as pompous as she thought. As the dancing finishes and Dinner is served, Mrs Bennet is talking loudly and Drunkenly to Lady Lucas about the expected wedding between Mr Bingley and her daughter Jane, and despite all of Elizabeth's will to have her be quiet, she just talks on and on, much to the shock of both Elizabeth and Darcy, who is sitting across from them. As the night goes on, the younger Bennet girls and Mrs Bennet continue to embarrass the family, and Mr Collins though long speeches tries to make an acquaintance of Darcy. As the night comes to an end, Elizabeth is very vexed, and her family has done a very good job of embarrassing her and the Bennet household.
SUMMARY: Montgomery and Prendick head across the island, to give Prendick a proper tour since his arrival. They come across a Satyr looking beast and the Ape man, who question Montgomery about Prendick; the animals believed him to be like them. They move off and come to find a mangled rabbit, and run immediately to inform Moreau of the issue. Moreau decides that they need to make an example of the one who broke the law. They make their way to the jungle, where in a clearing Moreau uses a ram's horn to call the beast folk to them. All bar 4 arrive, and start immediately chanting "The Law" in front of the three. After looking around, and seeing who is missing, Moreau blows the horn again prompting the remaining few to show themselves. He looks for the leopard man, and Prendick is startled by the look of guilt and fear in it's face. Coming to what Prendick believes to be a last resort, the Leopard man attacks Moreau and tries to flee from them into the jungle. A chase ensues, with the entirety of the Beast Folk and 3 men in pursuit leading to Prendick finding the beast. A wave of compassion washes over him, and realising that the beast would be better off no being tormented by Moreau, puts it out of its misery.
SUMMARY: Elizabeth finally has the time to tell Jane all about Mr Wickham’s history with Mr Darcy. Jane as usual tries to see both sides and seems to believe that some foreign parties may have interfered with and influenced their opinions of each other. Jane further goes to say that she doesn’t believe that everyone else at Netherfield house could be fooled by Darcy if he is indeed so cruel. During this conversation Mr Bingley and his sisters come to Longborne to give an invitation to the ball which is to take place on the coming Tuesday. Everyone is incredibly excited for the ball, and Elizabeth can’t help but to think of dancing the evening away with Mr. Wickham. Mr Collins apparently intends to dance as well and has the audacity to ask Elizabeth for the first two dances. At first she doesn’t see the significance of this but she soon realises that he intends that Elizabeth can caught his eye, and that he may propose…
SUMMARY: The girls and Mr Collins head to Meryton to have dinner with their aunt and uncle, and the officers. Mr Collins is full of flattery for Mrs Philips’ decorating skills, leaving the girls incredibly bored while waiting for the arrival of the soldiers. They finally arrive with the much-anticipated Mr Wickham. Wickham sits with Jane as the card table are taken out and immediately starts up conversation. She really wants to hear about the strange look between Mr Darcy and himself, and soon enough Wickham opens up the subject himself. He claims that he has known Darcy since he was a small child, and readily divulges all. He believes Darcy to be a jealous man and really believes that Darcy’s father cared for him more than his own son. The late Mr. Darcy was to leave a large sum to Mr. Wickham, and he tells Elizabeth that the younger Mr. Darcy seemed to change the confines of his father will to cut Wickham out of it. The two talk until supper, where Mr Collins continues to talk about himself. In this, he brings up his Patroness, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, which peaks Mr Wickham’s ears. He questions Elizabeth about their relationship to Lady de Bourgh and informs her that the Lady is Mr. Darcy’s aunt, and that it is assumed that Darcy will marry her Daughter... As the evening end, Lizzy wishes to tell all, but Lidia and Mr Collins talk too much on the way home for her to reveal anything.
SUMMARY: The next morning, Montgomery tells prendick more about the beast folk's way of life. Montgomery explains that the beast folk do not rebel against Moreau because of the Law. Moreau drove "The Law" into their minds through hypnosis, and their constant recitation of it reassures it in their minds, and keeps their animalistic traits at bay. Prendick, after this conversation describes the 60 or so Beast Folk he has seen during his time on the island. He also reflects on his initial disgust of them, and how it has now faded to the point that he began to see himself as the odd one.
Summary: Mr Collins is even more pompous than originally assumed. He is not terribly intelligent and makes up for his short comings with flattery and it seems that his way of making amends for his father’s falling out with the Bennet family, he intends to marry one of the Bennet daughters. He has his eyes first set on Jane, but on Mrs Bennet believing that Bingley will soon propose to her, says that Jane will not be possible. As soon as he finds this out, he moves right from Jane to Elizabeth without another thought. After breakfast, all of the girls, bar Mary, head to town and Mr. Bennet suggests that Collins chaperones the girls. In town the girls come across a new handsome man walking with a British officer. The girls cross the road, and the two gentleman open a dialogue with them. The stranger is called Mr Wickam, and he has been brought to the local military corps as a lieutenant. Mr Bingley and Mr Darcy ride into town and are headed in the directly of Longborne to check in on Jane. They exchange a few happy words in town but Elizabeth notices that Mr Wickam and Mr Darcy share a strange look, a strange recognition of each other that she cannot place. After Darcy and Bingley leave, the girls head into their aunt’s house, where they are invited to supper for the following day with the officers.
Summary: During dinner Mr Bennet hardly speaks but as it finished, he decides that it is time to find out what sort of person Mr Collins is. Collins speaks at length in praise of Lady Catherine and states that though deemed proud by many, he has only seen her amiable. Mrs Bennet proclaims that more People of her class should be like her and follows to ask if she has any children. Colins informs the Bennets that she has only 1 child, a girl, though beautiful, is of a sickly constitution. He goes on giving further praise about Lady Catherine, and eventually Mr Bennet is left very content in knowing that that his cousin is indeed as absurd as he had hoped. They then go to the other room, and Mr Bennet invites Mr Collins to read allowed to the family and it comes out that Collins never reads novels. After looking a little more, he finds some sermons. After 3 pages read in a monotonous voice, Lydia interrupts him to talk about he soldiers. Ending the lecture for the evening.
SUMMARY: After food and drink Dr Moreau finally explains to Prendick what has been happening on the Island, and what he and Montgomery have been doing here for the past 10 years. It seems that he has been using all of his knowledge of science and physiology to change the shape of animals into humanoids. Then through a course of horrific mental harm to these creatures, he has forced them to talk. What he finds to be his largest problem is that there is an innate bestial quality in these creatures that slowly creeps back in, leaving the creatures eventually nothing but animals in human form. His goal is to remove this factor, and create "New Men."
Summary: Mr Bennet has spent the past few weeks carefully studying over a letter that he replied to from a Mr Collins. Mr Collins is set to inherit the Longborn estate and is also to come to supper this evening with the goal to bury the hatchet between Mr Bennet and Mr Collins’ deceased father. Mrs Bennet though first against this man’s visit, seems less sceptical after Mr Bennet reads his letter aloud. The girls are curious about the man, most of all Elizabeth, and she asks her father what he thinks of the man. Mr Bennet is unsure, but very curious. At 4pm, Mr Collins arrives, and Mrs bennet sets immediately to accosting him about his inheritance. After this, he goes around the house and looks at everything with an air of already owning it. At dinner, he complements the cooking, and on being told that the Longborn estate can indeed keep a cook, he apologises profusely for having thought the opposite.
Summary: Elizabeth writes to her mother asking for for the carriage to take them home. Mrs Bennet write back saying that it won’t be possible as she wishes Jane to stay longer to get closer to Bingley. Elizabeth however asks Bingley for his carriage, and though he says that he would have liked them to stay longer, he understands, and says that they could leave on the following day. Darcy is glad for this as Elizabeth has stayed far too long for his liking. He cannot let her know his feeling for her yet. The following day, the Bennet girls head home to their mother’s disapproval.
Summary: Prendick decides that he will be safest on the beach and makes his way to the water's edge. His feet lead him in the direction of the huts where he hopes to find some form of weapon that he could use to overthrow Dr Moreau and Montgomery but before he can get there, they emerge from the jungle in front of him. With nowhere else to go, Prendick walks into the ocean while his pursuers advance on him. Moreau and Montgomery entreaty him to stop acting stupid, and provide good reasons to him why his death is not what they plan on. Prendick is still cautious however and only agrees to come ashore and talk if both his pursuers drop their weapons and walk away. They do so, and the three of them head to the cabin to talk.
Summary: Jane is out of bed but still fragile. Next to the fire, the bennet girls, miss Bingley, and Mrs Hurst talk with surprising humour and good spirits. When the men enter, all attention is diverted to them with Mr Bingley making his way directly to Jane. Darcy takes up a book, and miss Bingley feigns to read next to him while plaguing him with questions that he ignores. Bored, Miss Bingley tells her brother that he should reconsider holding a ball at Netherfield, as certain people would prefer that it didn’t happen. Bingley says that all is settled. Miss Bennet stands up to walk around the room and show off her figure but fails to get the attention of Mr Darcy. She then asks Elizabeth to walk with her, and on her ascension, Darcy looks away from his book. Miss Bennet asks him to join them but he refuses, saying that he knows what game she is playing. Elizabeth and Miss Bennet have a conversation where it comes about that Darcy isn’t to be laughed at. Elizabeth is shocked at this as she loves to laugh which causes Mr Darcy to interject, stating the Miss Bennet has misinformed her. Darcy claims that he has tried to move away from anything that could be considered ridiculous but claims still that he has flaws and he goes on to list them. This conversation goes on for a while and Miss Bennet, bored at not being included tells her sister to play some music instead, which Darcy is thankful for. Elizabeth is too dangerous for him.
Summary: Miss Bingley is pestering Darcy while he is writing a long letter to his sister. She is constantly interrupting him with “compliments” about his writing. Her flattery falls flat however as Darcy is too involved with his text to care. She then tells him that Mr Bingley’s writing is horrid, which then causes Bingley to join the conversation. Darcy and Bingley then have a brief argument about writing which then turns into a slight against Bingley’s general haphazard style of living Minute to Minute. Elizabeth comes to defend Bingley a little, but this then turns into a hypothetical debate between her and Darcy. Things get out of hand, and Bingley end it by saying that they can continue if they please, but only once he is out of the room. Bingley leaves but Elizabeth recommends that Darcy goes back to his letter. When he is done, Miss Bingley, and Mrs Hurst go to the piano, and start playing some tunes. During this, Elizabeth can’t help to notice that Darcy is watching her. She doesn’t understand why as she still thinks that he doesn’t like her. After a couple of songs however, he asks her to dance, but Elizabeth, being herself, refuses as it is more fun to go against the grain. The looks and interactions between Elizabeth and Darcy sparks some jealousy from Miss Bingley…