Collins Takes Charge: A Pride & Prejudice Variation (Take Charge Series)

What happens when William Collins is no longer the dependent clergyman readers expect? In Collins Takes Charge, Shana Granderson presents a new interpretation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, changing the circumstances surrounding the Collins family and the Bennets. In this variation, the Collins family belongs to the landed gentry, has two sons, and enjoys financial independence. William does not need the Longbourn inheritance to secure his future. His older brother is positioned to inherit the family estate, leaving William with a different path from the one readers may recognize from Austen's original novel. After studying at Oxford and completing his religious training, William receives an opportunity to serve in Hunsford. Lady Catherine de Bourgh appoints him, expecting a familiar kind of clergyman, but soon discovers that he is not the unquestioning sycophant she anticipated. His decisions begin influencing the parish and the people connected to it. William also reaches out to Thomas Bennet, creating an opportunity for relationships and events to develop differently. His arrival in Hertfordshire brings together familiar figures, including the residents of Netherfield Park and the militia in Meryton. Recognizable elements of the original story remain, but William's intervention changes how events unfold. Readers can expect an Austen-inspired historical romance variation featuring altered family relationships, inheritance questions, social expectations, character development, and a more decisive William Collins. This novel is suitable for readers who enjoy Jane Austen-inspired fiction, Pride and Prejudice variations, Regency-era settings, and stories that explore familiar characters through alternative circumstances.