For nearly 200 years the Bennet family had lived in Longbourn. In 1758, George Bennet married Clara Rochester, who brought a dowry of £5,000 to the marriage. They were blessed with two sons, Thomas, born in 1760, and, two years later, John.
The brothers had different temperaments, but they had a good relationship. Thomas was not very social and did not like physical activities, while John enjoyed society and was very active. The only similarity they had was a love of books. They both received a very good gentleman's education and attended Cambridge University. John chose the clergy as his profession, and by chance, had been appointed to fill a vacancy in Derbyshire shortly after being ordained in 1786.
A month before John left for Derbyshire there was an assembly at Meryton. Although Thomas did not want to go, his brother convinced him to accompany him. At that fateful assembly, Thomas met Fanny Gardiner.
Fanny Gardiner was the youngest daughter of Meryton's solicitor. Her mother had died a few years ago, and her father paid little attention to her, as he was focused on raising his only son. She had recently turned 16 and was the prettiest girl in Meryton. Unfortunately, she was a shallow, uneducated young woman who liked to flirt with young men. Her older sister was being courted by their father's apprentice, and she went with them to the assembly that night.
When Thomas saw her, he was captivated by her unparalleled beauty; Miss Gardiner was undoubtedly the most beautiful young woman he had ever seen. He danced with her, and she continually smiled at him.
Fanny later danced with John Bennet and flirted with him, since John was more handsome than Thomas. Unlike Thomas, John found her to be one of the most vulgar young women he had ever met.
Given the lack of attention John paid her during the sets they danced, Fanny concentrated on smiling and flirting solely with Thomas Bennet the rest of the night.
Perhaps the reason for such an incompatible couple was Thomas's lack of experience with the female sex, perhaps it was because Fanny didn't understand half of what Thomas was saying and she just smiled coquettishly, perhaps it was the dress Fanny was wearing that accentuated her beautiful figure, or perhaps it was simply her beauty, but the truth is Thomas was enthralled that night.
During that same week, Thomas asked Mr. Gardiner's permission to court Fanny. When his parents and John found out, they tried to talk him out of making such a bad choice. Before returning to Derbyshire, John had a serious conversation with Thomas to try to persuade him to end the courtship, but unfortunately, the conversation was overheard by Fanny and her sister.
In the following weeks, Fanny, who intended to marry Thomas Bennet, began to be bolder in her displays of affection, but without actually consummating the union. Within a month and a half of meeting her, despite his parents' objections, Thomas proposed to her and she accepted.
A couple of months later, Thomas married Fanny Gardiner. Before their first year of marriage was over, Thomas realized he had made a serious mistake; his wife was ignorant and ill-educated. Mrs. Bennet tried to guide her at first, but Fanny, who knew Thomas's parents and brother had tried to dissuade him from marrying her, ignored the older woman's advice.
In 1789, the first daughter of Thomas and Fanny Bennet, Jane, was born. Some months later, Thomas's parents died in a carriage accident. In their will, they left Longbourn to Thomas Bennet and the money from Clara Bennet's dowry to John.
Since Fanny was a very irrational woman, she was angry when she found out her father-in-law's money was bequeathed to John and nothing had been left to her daughter Jane. Despite Thomas's best efforts, Fanny and John argued and said things impossible to forget. Following that incident, any good will between Fanny and John was destroyed.
When John went to his bank in London, he discovered that the account in his name had over £12,000. Although he could live on the interest of that money, he loved his profession, so he decided to invest the money in the four percent and continue living in the parsonage on his salary.
In 1790, John married Maria Thompson. Maria was the daughter of a gentleman who had an estate similar in size to Longbourn and she had a dowry of £10,000. She had only one brother John, who was two years older than her.
A few months after their wedding, Maria's brother died in a carriage accident. The family was devastated, but since the estate was not entailed, Maria was heir to Sandstone. At the request of Mr. Thompson, John Bennet changed his name to John Thompson. In 1791, John and Maria had their first and only daughter, whom they named Elizabeth Thompson. In 1792, second daughter was born to Thomas and Fanny Bennet, Mary Bennet, Kitty Bennet was born two years later, and in 1796, their fourth and last daughter, Lydia Bennet, was born.
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At Kympton, just a mile from Sandstone, lived Madeleine Thompson and her father, the local pastor. Madeleine's father was the younger brother of Maria's father, and her mother had died when she was very young. She also had a brother four years older than herself who had been living in London for the past two years with a rich merchant uncle.
Madeleine was two years younger than Maria, and from a young age, they had a beautiful friendship that would last throughout their lives. Madeline was very active in the church's charities, and Maria helped in many of them. It was common to see them together at the weekly sewing meetings for the poor, at the orphanage, visiting Sandstone's tenants, or simply playing duets together.
Sadly, in August 1791, a month before Elizabeth's birth, Madeline's father died. Maria and John invited her to live with them at Sandstone since Madeleine's brother -Frank Thompson - was just setting up his own business in London.
The baby girl was a balm to Madeleine's sadness. Unsurprisingly, Madeleine was Elizabeth's godmother, and to John's surprise, his brother Thomas traveled to meet Elizabeth and be her godfather.
As soon as Thomas saw little Elizabeth, he was moved, as she was a replica of his dear mother, whom he missed so much.
After the disagreement between John and Fanny over the money from his parents' will, John tried to make amends, but Thomas' wife refused to accept reality and continued to blame him for imagined damages. Maria had sent Fanny a letter, and even a beautiful present for Jane's birthday. But Fanny didn't answer the letter, and she had a big fight with Thomas because she didn't want to invite John and his family to Longbourn.
Thomas knew he had to correct his wife's behavior, but he tried to avoid her as much as possible. What he had thought was love, was just passion and desire that quickly died away, giving way to indifference and regret that he had married her.
During the weeks Thomas was in Derbyshire, he realized the difference between a marriage based on love and respect - like the one between Maria and John - and his with Fanny. The contrast between Maria's role in the community and that of his wife was also very clear. Maria was a very active person, and she visited the tenants of Sandstone every week. She genuinely cared for their welfare as she knew the Thompsons' prosperity depended on them, while Fanny never visited a tenant's house or became involved with them.
John admired his wife and encouraged her to get involved in the parish, asking for her opinion and doing his best to spend as much time as possible with her, while Thomas tried to avoid being with his wife; he limited himself to visiting her two or three times a week in her room and he slept alone.
In late 1792 there were two very sad events, the first of which was that Maria lost a pregnancy and was on the verge of death. Fortunately, thanks to the care of Madeleine and John who did not leave her side, she survived. The doctor recommended that they take precautions for a year or two to prevent Maria from becoming pregnant again. Barely three months later, Maria insisted on sharing a bedroom again and resuming marital activities. John did not agree at first, he was afraid that something would happen to Maria, but at her insistence, he finally agreed. While taking all possible precautions, everything returned to normal. Sadly, a month later Mr. Thompson died in his sleep. John inherited the estate, and with the help of the steward and Maria, he managed to keep it prosperous. Maria's mother, at the request of the couple, stayed at Sandstone. Mrs. Thompson was a very sweet woman, a very good mother and grandmother who adored her family.
In the summer of 1794, the Thompsons and Madeleine traveled to London for the wedding of Frank, Madeleine's brother. Old Mrs. Thompson and Elizabeth stayed at Sandstone as the journey was too long for a child of 3 years, and the older lady was still in mourning.
The Thompsons leased a three-bedroom house in London, which was relatively close to Hyde Park. It was not luxurious, but it was adequate for the needs of the family. During the month they were in London, they met Mr. Gardiner, who was Frank Thompson's partner and ironically, Fanny Bennet's brother.
John knew Edward Gardiner superficially and was very impressed with what he knew of the gentleman. He was the opposite in temperament and character of his sisters, and the big difference was that he had lived a good part of his life in London with his childless uncle and aunt and had had a good education. He had an income of £1,000 a year and hoped his business would continue to prosper.
As soon as he met Madeleine Thompson, Edward Gardiner was very taken with her, and during the month she was in London, he got to know her better and fell in love with her.
In September 1794 - a month after Madeline returned to Sandstone - Mr. Gardiner traveled to Derbyshire where, in addition to attending Elizabeth's birthday party, he proposed to his Mady with the prior consent of her brother Frank.
Mr. Gardiner stayed for six weeks at Sandstone, as the Thompsons insisted, he stay in the small house attached to the main mansion. Thus, at the end of October, Madeleine Thompson married Edward Gardiner and they left for London. Madeleine's original dowry was £2,000, but over her protests, Maria and John added £2,000.
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The Darcys had lived in Derbyshire for several centuries and possessed many riches. Generation after generation continued to increase their wealth and prestige in England. In 1777, despite not having a noble title, George Darcy married Lady Anne Fitzwilliam in an arranged marriage. The marriage was like almost all of the first social circle; the gentleman visited his wife's bedchamber frequently to produce the desired heirs, they occasionally participated in social events, and the rest of the time they lived separate lives.
During the first years of marriage, Lady Anne suffered several miscarriages, which gradually turned her into a sad and bitter woman. Because of a serious infection from her last miscarriage, the doctor suggested waiting at least six months or a year to try again.
With that terrible news, the marriage's fragile relationship deteriorated even more. A very unhappy and disillusioned George Darcy sought out the woman who had been his mistress for five years prior to his marriage - Mrs. Wickham.
Carrie Wickham, formerly Smith, was the daughter of a tenant from Pemberley, and a couple of years younger than Darcy. Since they were very young, there had always been a great attraction between them, but because of the difference in social status, both knew that they could not marry. Carrie was married at a young age to a soldier, but unfortunately, within two years, she was widowed. She was living precariously on a very small pension, and doing sewing work for the Lambton dressmaker. One afternoon when Carrie was going to deliver some clothes, she ran into George Darcy. They chatted for several minutes and both returned to their respective homes. Days later, and after much thought, George – who had been in love with her for years -proposed that she be his mistress. At first, Carrie did not accept the proposal, since he had asked her to be his mistress until he married. But eventually, she did accept and Carrie's life improved substantially. George opened an account in her name, and in the five years that their relationship lasted, he gave her a total of £3,000 so that she could have a comfortable life when their relationship ended. They were always very careful, and there were no children from that relationship.
A year after George was married, Carrie met Mr. Wickham - an honest man, who was several years her senior - and they were married. Carrie and George mutually agreed to avoid seeing each other out of respect for their respective partners, so as not to fall into temptation.
One afternoon, when George Darcy knew that Mr. Wickham was going to be away from Pemberley for a week, he arranged a meeting with Carrie. They started a clandestine romance. They were very careful that no one found out. The sad reality was that they were in love despite their social differences. They knew what they were doing was wrong, but it was very difficult to deny themselves those moments of happiness.
A few months into the romance, Carrie became pregnant. Unfortunately, it was impossible to guess if the baby was Wickham's or Darcy's. The baby was born healthy and strong, but due to complications in childbirth, Carrie Wickham died. George Darcy was devastated, and the worst thing was that he couldn't even say goodbye to his great love. Darcy was appointed godfather to the baby, who was named George Wickham.
A couple of months later, he started visiting his wife's bedchamber at her insistence. A year later, in 1784, their first child was born and he was named Fitzwilliam Darcy.
Years passed, and Fitzwilliam and George Wickham, only a year and a half apart, used to play together. It was not uncommon to see George Wickham at Pemberley, and Mr. Darcy spending even more of his time with him than with his son. Lady Anne did not understand her husband's favoritism for the steward's son and more than once, annoyed, she reproached him for the lack of attention he paid to their son.
In 1793, nine years after Fitzwilliam's birth, Georgiana Darcy was born. Due to complications from childbirth, a few days later, Lady Anne died.
The news of Lady Anne's death saddened the Thompsons. Although they did not have a very close relationship with the Darcys, despite Sandstone being close to Pemberley, they met several times a year with Mr. Darcy to discuss matters relating to their respective estates.