Previously on Pemberley: What Happened in the First Two Christmas at Pemberley Plays?
You know Elizabeth and Darcy. You know Jane and Bingley. But what about Mary, Kitty, Lydia and Georgiana?
This November, Theatre Huntsville returns to Pemberley for Georgiana & Kitty: Christmas at Pemberley, the third and final play in Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon's Christmas at Pemberley series.
If you saw The Wickhams when Theatre Huntsville brought it to the stage, welcome back! If you missed it—or if you've never seen either of the first two plays—don't worry.
You don't need to reread Pride and Prejudice, create a complicated family tree, or brush up on your Regency-era gossip.
We've got you.
Here is everything you need to know before Christmas comes back to Pemberley.
Warning: Major spoilers ahead for the first two plays.
First, a Little Pemberley 101
The Christmas at Pemberley plays pick up after Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.
Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy are married and living at Pemberley. Jane Bennet is married to Charles Bingley.
And the younger members of the Bennet and Darcy families are beginning to realize that just because their older siblings got the famous Austen romances doesn't mean they're destined to spend the rest of their lives standing in the background.
Each play shifts the spotlight to characters who didn't get quite as much attention in Austen's original novel.
And, naturally, they have their own romantic complications.
Because apparently the Bennet family has never heard of a quiet Christmas.
Play One: Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley
Mary Bennet gets her moment.
You probably remember Mary Bennet as the serious, bookish middle sister in Pride and Prejudice.
She's intelligent. She's scholarly. She plays the piano.
She also tends to deliver unsolicited moral observations while everyone else is trying to have fun.
In Miss Bennet, Mary is tired of being the overlooked sister while everyone else gets romance, adventure and attention. When the Bennet family gathers at Pemberley for Christmas, she meets someone who might actually understand her.
Enter Arthur de Bourgh.
Yes, that de Bourgh family.
Arthur is Fitzwilliam Darcy's cousin and the nephew of the formidable Lady Catherine de Bourgh. He's intelligent, reserved and much more interested in books and ideas than in being the perfect Regency gentleman.
Basically, Mary has finally met her intellectual equal.
There is just one problem.
Arthur is expected to marry Anne de Bourgh.
Because this is an Austen-inspired Christmas story, things cannot simply be easy.
What happens?
Mary and Arthur fall for each other, despite the expectations surrounding Arthur's future.
Arthur eventually chooses Mary over the expected marriage to Anne.
And Mary gets something she has wanted all along: the chance to choose her own future.
Meanwhile, Anne realizes that she doesn't have to simply accept the future everyone else has planned for her, either.
So by the end of Miss Bennet:
Mary and Arthur are engaged.
Arthur chooses love over an expected marriage to Anne.
Anne begins to imagine a life of her own.
Elizabeth and Darcy are still happily married.
Jane and Bingley are happily married.
And the Bennet family has survived Christmas once again.
Mostly intact.
Play Two: The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley
Meanwhile… downstairs.
While Miss Bennet focuses on the family gathering upstairs at Pemberley, The Wickhams takes us downstairs to the servants' quarters during that same Christmas.
And things are about to get messy.
Very messy.
The Pemberley staff—housekeeper Mrs. Reynolds, maid Cassie, and footman Brian—are busy preparing for Christmas when an unexpected guest arrives.
Actually, "unexpected" might be putting it mildly.
George Wickham shows up.
If you remember Pride and Prejudice, you'll remember Wickham as the charming rogue who ran off with Lydia Bennet and caused approximately 900% of the family's problems.
Mr. Darcy is not a fan.
In fact, Darcy has specifically forbidden Wickham from coming to Pemberley.
So naturally, Wickham arrives in the middle of the night.
Because apparently being banned from an estate is more of a suggestion to George Wickham.
Things get complicated.
Wickham is desperate, and the servants hide him from the family upstairs.
Meanwhile, Lydia is at Pemberley without her husband.
And she's not exactly thrilled about it.
She still loves Wickham and doesn't understand why everyone is so determined to keep him away.
But eventually, the truth comes out.
Wickham has been unfaithful, and Lydia realizes that her marriage isn’t the future she wants.
For perhaps the first time in her life, Lydia makes a decision entirely for herself.
She leaves Wickham.
That's a pretty big deal for the youngest Bennet sister who once ran away to Gretna Green with him.
And downstairs?
There are some happy developments there, too.
Cassie and Brian discover that their feelings for each other might be more than friendship.
Mrs. Reynolds sees potential in Cassie and begins preparing her for a bigger future at Pemberley.
And Brian gets an opportunity to pursue his interests and ambitions beyond his job as a footman.
So by the end of The Wickhams:
Lydia is free from her marriage to Wickham.
Wickham is very much not welcome at Pemberley.
Cassie and Brian have found their way toward each other.
Cassie has a promising future at Pemberley.
Brian has a chance to pursue his ambitions.
Mary is engaged to Arthur.
And everyone is, presumably, hoping that next Christmas will be significantly less dramatic.
Narrator: It will not be.
So Where Does That Leave Us?
It's Christmas again.
And this time, the spotlight moves to Georgiana Darcy and Kitty Bennet.
Georgiana is Fitzwilliam Darcy's younger sister. She's an accomplished pianist, intelligent, thoughtful and somewhat wary when it comes to romance.
Kitty Bennet is the fourth Bennet sister.
For much of her life, Kitty has been overshadowed by her louder, more dramatic younger sister, Lydia. But after everything that's happened, Kitty is ready to figure out who she is, not just someone else's shadow.
And Georgiana and Kitty have become close friends.
Very close friends.
Now they're ready for their own adventures.
Enter Henry Grey
Georgiana has been secretly corresponding with a gentleman named Henry Grey.
And this Christmas, he arrives at Pemberley.
Which means Georgiana has to deal with something potentially terrifying: romance.
Of course, she isn't the only person with opinions about her romantic life.
Her family has opinions.
Lots of opinions.
And Kitty, being the excellent friend she is, is determined to help Georgiana navigate all of it.
Meanwhile, Kitty is beginning to realize that she deserves a story of her own, too.
The third play isn't simply about finding a husband. It's about finding your voice, figuring out what you want, and deciding that your future doesn't have to look like everyone else's.
Which feels particularly appropriate for two young women who have spent most of their lives being known primarily as someone's little sister.
The Pemberley Family Status Report
Still confused?
Here's your family cheat sheet.
Elizabeth Darcy: Married to Darcy. Still fabulous.
Fitzwilliam Darcy: Married to Elizabeth. Still Darcy.
Jane Bingley: Married to Charles Bingley and expecting a baby.
Mary Bennet: Engaged to Arthur de Bourgh.
Kitty Bennet: Growing up, finding her independence and serving as Georgiana's best friend.
Lydia Bennet: Newly free from her disastrous marriage to Wickham and figuring out what comes next.
Georgiana Darcy: Talented pianist, Darcy's younger sister and reluctant romantic.
Arthur de Bourgh: Mary's fiancé.
George Wickham: Definitely not invited to Christmas.
Henry Grey: Georgiana's secret correspondent and apparently, a Christmas guest.
And Now… It's Georgiana & Kitty's Turn
That's where we pick up in Georgiana & Kitty: Christmas at Pemberley.
The first play let Mary step out of the shadows.
The second gave Lydia and the Pemberley servants a chance to rewrite their futures.
Now it's Georgiana and Kitty's turn.
The third and final play brings these two often-overlooked young women to center stage as they navigate romance, family expectations, friendship and the question every Bennet seems to eventually face:
What do I actually want for my life?
There will be music.
There will be romance.
There will be family meddling.
There will probably be tea.
And, because this is Pemberley, there will almost certainly be some sort of emotional chaos before everyone gets their Christmas happy ending.
Georgiana & Kitty: Christmas at Pemberley in Huntsville
Georgiana & Kitty is designed to be enjoyed as its own story. The previous plays add some fun context, but you don't need to pass an Austen exam at the door.
November 13–22, 2026
Von Braun Center Playhouse
Return to Pemberley for the final chapter of this festive Austen-inspired trilogy and see what happens when the sisters who usually stay in the background finally get the spotlight.
Because Christmas at Pemberley is about to get interesting. Again.
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