Dangerous to Know: Jane Austen's Rakes & Gentlemen Rogues (The Quill Collective) - Softcover

I have always been drawn to characters that are not simply one dimensional. Through first person point-of-view, Philippa Gregory masterfully created empathy in her Plantagenet and Tudor novels: one novel I would find myself championing one queen and in the very next, she had become the villain! Even my own anthology, The Darcy Monologues, gave voice to the previously concealed wit and charm of the proud, brooding, and officious Mr. Darcy, allowing us some quality time in his handsome head. After publishing The Darcy Monologues in May 2017, murmurings began about another project. Maybe from Miss Elizabeth Bennet's point-of-view? With a surfeit of quality Jane Austen fanfiction recounting Lizzy's story, I thought it might be more titillating to expose the histories of Jane Austen's anti-heroes. How did they become the character she created? Are any of them redeemable? The challenge was just too delicious to not undertake.Once again, a Dream Team of authors was approached to join this project. Titles were bandied about: everything from "Consequently a Rogue" taken from the Jonathon Swift quote "He was a fiddler and consequently a rogue" to "Rakes and Rogues" to "Jane Austen's Gentlemen Rogues". "Mad, bad, and dangerous to know," the very phrase used by Lady Caroline Lamb to describe Lord Byron, married the previous suggestions and--voila! A title was born.As an editor, I have been extremely fortunate to work with some incomparable authors in the past. This project is a testament to my providence. It has been a pleasure to have several authors from The Darcy Monologues anthology including Karen M Cox, J. Marie Croft, Jenetta James, Beau North, Sophia Rose, and Joana Starnes join Amy D'Orazio, Lona Manning, Christina Morland, Katie Oliver, and Brooke West on creating this current collection of stories. The intent: create short stories, each told from Austen's male antagonists' eyes--a backstory and, or parallel story from off-stage of canon--all the while remaining steadfast to the characters we recognize in Austen's masterpieces. As in The Darcy Monologues, these authors certainly can turn up the heat with but the turn of a phrase! ~Christina Boyd, editor

MATURE CONTENT as per EDITOR 

1. Chaste:  possible kissing and affection
2. Mild: kissing
3. Moderate: some sexual references  but not explicit 
4. Mature: some nudity and some provocative sex

"Willoughby's Crossroads" (3)
"A Wicked Game" (4)
"Fitzwilliam's Folly" (2)
"The Address of a French Woman" (2)
"Last Letter from Mansfield" (4)
"An Honest Man" (3)
"One Fair Claim" (1)
"The Last Chapter in the Life of William Elliot" (3)
"As Much As He Can" (1)
"The Art of Sinking" (1)
"For Mischief's Sake" (1)