not a Tumblr crosspost

[anghraine]

ladytharen and I were talking about casting P&P the other day, and ... even without colour-blind casting, there is literally no reason that the extended Fitzwilliam clan in particular couldn't be people of colour. 

We know nothing about the previous Countess Fitzwilliam (er, Countess ____), but obviously she must have existed. She could have been a woman out of one of the colonies. There are multiple scenarios under which that could take place with reasonable probability. The same logic applies for Darcy's paternal grandmother (though that would affect less of the cast, so I give the preference to the countess).

Also, we know that Mrs Gardiner lived in Lambton, but it's implied that she was not originally from there. She could come from anywhere. And we know nothing about Mrs Bennet's/Mr Gardiner's mother, for that matter. 

There are virtually no descriptions of anyone in P&P beyond the most generic. It is 100% possible to racebend some or most of the cast without contradicting a word of the novel or historical possibility.