Anghraine

I reblogged this post and added:

Moving my notes to a separate reblog to match the Fitzwilliam post:

- The Howards were inspired by the nameless duke hanging out with Lord and Lady Ravenshaw in Mansfield Park. Since I made Lord Ravenshaw the same person as the Fitzwilliam earl in P&P, I thought it’d be fun to come up with a social connection between the duke and the Ravenshaws without making him a blood relative of them. I’m imagining that the duke in MP is actually Carrington, after the "present" (in 1796) duke dies.

- I named them “Howard” after the name Austen whimsically invented as a girl: Henry Frederick Howard Fitzwilliam. I’ve always thought the name’s ties to so many of her heroes was intriguing.

- Most of the particulars of the Howards are my own creation, and some have (sort of) come up in previous fics; Lady Georgiana, Lady Auckland, the Carringtons, and Miss Howard are all mentioned in The Letters of Elizabeth Darcy (1796-1798), and Lady Auckland is mentioned in passing in First Impressions. Lady Auckland also appears in person in a semi-crackfic, The Natural Daughter of Somebody.

- Lady Georgiana’s Carteret descendants are relatives of the late Lord Dalrymple referenced in Persuasion (i.e., the man whose widow is Lady Dalrymple and whose daughter is Miss Carteret). The Darcys themselves would also be related, more distantly, as Lady Georgiana herself is a Carteret relation. *waves at board* iT’S ALL CONNECTED

- Kympton is the living that was “supposed” to go to Wickham (…after he had already exchanged it for money). Thomas Stanley is the guy (in this ’verse) who got it instead. If you’re familiar with Austen quasi-canon, you might be able to guess at a little of his future.

- The junior branch of the Darcys are quasi-canon; Caroline Bingley mentions at one point that Darcy has a great-uncle who was or is a judge and whose portrait hangs at Pemberley. For the purposes of this ’verse, I assume the judge is dead, but was much younger than his brother Alexander (Lady Georgiana’s husband/Darcy’s grandfather), and also married quite late in life himself, resulting in children who are roughly contemporaries of Darcy and Georgiana.

*cough* … I think that’s all.

Following up from the Fitzwilliam family headcanons, headcanons for the living Darcys c. 1796 + some nearer (non-Fitzwilliam) connections. It’s … more involved, so a basic chart is here.

LADY GEORGIANA CARTERET, previously Lady Georgiana Darcy, née Lady Georgiana Howard—the daughter, sister, and aunt of impecunious dukes. Left with virtually no dowry by the extravagant Howards, the proud Lady Georgiana was married as a girl to Alexander Darcy, whose respectability and multiple estates satisfied her family. She later married her cousin, the Hon. Frederick Carteret. Now twice-widowed, Lady Georgiana enjoys both fortune and pride, joining them with a good deal of practical sense and family affection.

GEORGIANA HARCOURT, previously Georgiana Carteret—the daughter of Lady Georgiana and the Hon. Frederick Carteret. She had little immediate fortune beyond that granted by her affectionate half-brother, Christopher Darcy. Milder and more romantic than either her mother or sister, she was permitted to marry a younger son of the prestigious Harcourt family, but is not devoid of her family’s pride or spirits.

PHILADELPHIA, Lady Auckland, née Philadelphia Carteret—the daughter of Lady Georgiana and the Hon. Frederick Carteret. She dutifully married according to her family’s choice and unexpectedly found long years of companionship in doing so. She was close to her half-brother Christopher, and has always taken a great interest in his children, Fitzwilliam and Georgiana. Her pride is mostly contained to a strong sense of dignity and determination to have her way, and she is otherwise pragmatic, kind-hearted, and friendly.

JAMES STANLEY, Lord Auckland—the elder son of Lady Auckland (née Philadelphia Carteret). He is quieter than is usual for his family, though agreeable enough, and actively pleasant when he considers it in his or his family’s interests to be so. He is principally interested in his estate, which is not yet quite sufficient to the political career he longs for.

GEORGE HOWARD, Earl of Carrington—the great-nephew of Lady Georgiana. He is the first Howard in generations to have any sense of economy, and his arranged marriage to an heiress did not much alter his prudential habits. He has a sociable disposition with a liking for music and theatre, but lives quietly near Pemberley with his wife and a poor cousin, no longer dependent on Darcy and Carteret generosity, but grateful for having received it.

SARAH, Countess of Carrington—Lord Carrington’s wife. She was the daughter of an extremely wealthy American tradesman, cheerfully accepted her arranged marriage, and was relieved to find her aristocratic husband equally sanguine. She also shares his sense of prudence and is careful to avoid the appearance of presumption or ambition, though she certainly possesses the latter. She generally likes other people and has a distaste for confrontation.

BEATRICE HOWARD—a granddaughter of one of Lady Georgiana’s younger brothers. She is devoutly religious, has never married, and was left near-penniless by her parents’ deaths, which took place shortly after Lord and Lady Carrington’s marriage. They insisted on bringing her into their household and she has lived as a dependent on them ever since, treated kindly by them and the Darcys, but conscious of her precarious situation in the world.

THE HONOURABLE REVEREND THOMAS STANLEY—the younger son of Lady Auckland. More authentically pleasant than his brother, he combines an easy-going nature with a dutiful and honest one, which has always endeared him to his mother’s nephew, Fitzwilliam Darcy. When a living near Pemberley fell open, Darcy offered it to Stanley, who has now spent several years at Kympton.

FITZWILLIAM DARCY—the son of the charming, benevolent Christopher Darcy and his elegant wife, Lady Anne (née Fitzwilliam). Darcy resembles his mother’s family physically and temperamentally, and as a consequence, has often been perceived as more of a Fitzwilliam than a Darcy, especially as he is somewhat closer to his mother’s family. But he is by no means estranged from his father’s, and the strict principle and easy generosity of his conduct towards them have left them proud to claim him for their own.

THE HONOURABLE CLARISSA STANLEY—the only daughter of Lady Auckland. She is handsome enough to still avoid the title of “old maid,” but well into her twenties. Although too polite to show the exasperation she often feels, she is very much more interested in “knowing things,” whether news, books, or the goings-on of relatives, than society. And although she has never been concerned with her personal advancement, she cares deeply about her family’s.

CASSANDRA DARCY—the eldest child of a late-married judge, who was himself the much-younger brother of Alexander Darcy (father of Christopher). Her father’s success in his profession left his children with comfortable fortunes, but his and his wife’s deaths also left the children nominal wards of their mother’s family. In practice, the children would have been largely neglected if not for the interest taken by their cousin Christopher, despite his advanced age and poor health. Cassandra, now twenty-three, retains a strong sense of responsibility for her siblings and both duty and affection towards the wider Darcy family.

LAVINIA DARCY—Cassandra’s younger sister. Lavinia is a lively, good-natured, but obstinate girl of twenty-one. She somewhat shares Cassandra’s sense of duty towards the Darcys and responsibility for their young brother, though to a lesser degree. The handsomer of the sisters, she has little interest in marriage, but very much enjoys dancing, conversation, and music. Despite very great differences in character, she is deeply fond of her late cousin’s children, Fitzwilliam and Georgiana, readily turning to the elder for advice and the younger for a ready ear.

GEORGIANA DARCY—the sixteen-year-old daughter of Christopher Darcy and Lady Anne Fitzwilliam. Her extreme shyness makes it difficult for others to understand her, even many of her own relations, who often do not know what to make of her beyond finding her sweet and accomplished. Georgiana is both, though less interested in accomplishments for accomplishments’ sake than as simply a lover of music and art. She has a great deal of patience, little opinion of her own merits, and is both very close to and awed by her clever brother.

ALEXANDER DARCY—Cassandra and Lavinia’s ten-year-old brother, the heir to the bulk of their father’s wealth. He is not a difficult child in the usual sense, but rather, gentle, mild, and in delicate health. He tends to be overwhelmed by the charismatic Darcys who surround him. Although he loves his sisters and admires his always-assured elder cousin, Fitzwilliam Darcy, he is particularly fond of his unassuming cousin Georgiana.

Tagged: #yes this is more out there and i know but... also i'm really fond of them so /shrug #also i sort of entertained myself with the idea that the fitzwilliams give normal names and it's the darcys et al who are pretentious af #not solely bc of the howards either. they're just Like That