Chapter 1, At Such an Assembly as This Summary

"An Assembly Such As This" by Pamela Aidan is the first part of a trilogy retelling Jane Austen's class, "Pride and Prejudice". Darcy, an upper-class gentleman, tries to fight his attraction for Elizabeth Bennet, a young lady with unacceptable relations; simultaneously, Darcy tries to dissuade his friend, Charles Bingley, from pursuing Jane Bennet, Elizabet's sister. "An Assembly Such As This" brilliantly retells one-third of the renowned tale about Fitzwilliam Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet from Darcy's point of view.

Fitzwilliam George Alexander Darcy enters the assembly hall with a grimace, noticing that his friend's sisters are equally unexcited. Darcy contemplates the relation between Bingley and his sisters as they are so different. Bingley's innocence caused him to be the object of several cruel jokes by the young men in town, but Darcy...