Currently Browsing: Pride and Prejudice Sequels
Apr 28, 2010
Posted by admin on Apr 28, 2010 in Judith Brocklehurst, Pride and Prejudice Sequels, Regency Jane Austen Sequels | 0 comments
A sequel to Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, A Letter From Lady Catherine, is Judith Brocklehurst’s first published novel. Brocklehurst sticks to an Austenesque style writing while expanding the characterization of one of Pride and Prejudice’s most overlooked characters, Anne de Bourgh.
The sickly Anne is dragged by her mother to Pemberley estate where the Darcy’s a charged with the task of securing a husband for her. Of course the would-be suitor must be of the proper social standing, or Lady Catherine will not give her blessing to the union.
On the way to Pemberley, however, a series of events occur which forces the once sickly Anne to fend for herself. Through a well written plot, Ms. Brocklehurst provides an interesting catalyst for the main character to develop and grow. A Letter From Lady Catherine is a romantic story woven using Austen’s much-loved characters, as well as the familiar settings and style of writing.
As well as being a story of romance, this is also the story of a young heiress coming into her own. The story winds its way from Rosings Park at the beginning of the book, through Anne’s personal growth, and on towards the direction her life will eventually take.
Brocklehurst uses a combination of wit and superb writing skills to make A Letter from Lady Catherine a memorable read.
Judith Brocklehurst is the author of two Jane Austen sequels: A Letter from Lady Catherine (retitiled Darcy and Anne) and Maria of Birkthwiate.
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Apr 24, 2010
Posted by admin on Apr 24, 2010 in Aimee Avery, Pride and Prejudice Sequels, Regency Jane Austen Sequels | 0 comments
Any modern version of the Jane Austen’s classic Pride and Prejudice, a much loved and still widely read book today, should be hugely anticipated. This modern day sequel from Aimee Avery takes the classically endearing characters of Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet from the original book and thrusts them into a new modern world to embark on their familiar battle of love and wit.
The two main characters are given aptly modernized versions of their own names – Will and Lizzy respectively – and have both slightly adapted characters, with Lizzy lacking somewhat the intelligent demeanor and wit of her Austen counterpart. Will also differs slightly, perhaps not quite fitting into the rugged and stubborn boots of the Mr. Darcy so many female readers fell in love with.
Both are given modern day equivalents of their old existences, Lizzy is a student while Will works in the tabloid newspapers.
The biggest difference in this Jane Austen sequel is contained in the main protagonist Lizzy, who unlike Elizabeth, is convinced that her psychic powers confirm that she and Will are meant to be together despite their conflicts and differences. This in some way detracts from the unpredictable merry-war that Elizabeth and Darcy perform in Austen’s novel, as the reader essentially expects the unexpected. The secondary characters in this novel are also not as well defined or explored as the original, which is to be expected from such a relatively short book.
In this freshman attempt by Aimee Avery, A Little Bit Psychic, unfortunately lacks the charm of the original, and does not quite take the reader on the angsty journey of obstacles Austen’s original Pride and Prejudice did. That said, however, most Jane Austen sequels have many of the same issues. Avery’s book is an enjoyable read as long as you are not an Austen purist, and I found it engaging and entertaining for a modern P & P sequel. I, however, admit a strong bias for Regency era sequels and do tend to judge modern adaptations a bit to harsh side. All-in-all a very good effort and worth your time, especially if you enjoy the modern sequels over period adaptations.
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Apr 1, 2010
Posted by admin on Apr 1, 2010 in Pride and Prejudice Sequels, Regency Jane Austen Sequels, Susan Adriani | 0 comments
The novel Affinity and Affection, by Susan Adriani asks what would happen had Elizabeth Bennet been smitten by Mr. Darcy sooner in their lives together? If Mr. Darcy hadn’t left Elizabeth Bennet to the dealings of Mr. Wickham at Meryton, but instead displayed his virtuous character with straight talk to Ms. Bennet about his experience with Mr. Wickham, would she have come to see past his haughty exterior sooner? What events would have come to pass if she had? How would their lives and those around them be changed if they had?
In Affinity & Affection, Ms. Adriani spins this very thread. We follow the anguish of Mr. Darcy as he struggles with his longings for Elizabeth Bennet; and the encounter with Wickam that fateful day in Meryton turns out quite differently. The display of character by Mr. Darcy in warning the captivating Elizabeth Bennet of the untrustworthy Wickham has a profound effect on their relationship. With no question of his integrity, their love blossoms quickly.
While Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet grow fonder of each other by the day, Wickham’s dislike of Darcy is now intensified. The story progresses on this premise, and at one point Darcy even falls ill while at the Bennet’s residence at Longbourn.
For a published Jane Austen sequel, this book does well at creating an exciting possibility. There are some graphic scenes in this adaptation, which some may find out of place; however, the overall spin on the original events in the story of Pride & Prejudice makes for great fun. If you like your Mr. darcy a little more on the outspoken side, this is the sequel for you. He is still a great match for Elizabeth’s liveliness, and there is less angst than in most Pride and Prejudice fan fic stories or sequels. I loved Susan Adriani’s interpretation of this side of Darcy, there is simply more for Elizabeth to work with as she tries to sketch his character.
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Apr 6, 2010
Posted by admin on Apr 6, 2010 in Pamela Aidan, Pride and Prejudice Sequels, Regency Jane Austen Sequels | 0 comments
An Assembly Such as This is a novel by Pamela Aidan that tells the classic story of Pride and Prejudice from the perspective of Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy of Pemberley, Derbyshire. As a landed gentleman of a large estate, he is exceptionally wealthy, powerful, and expected to marry a titled lady of great wealth form the upper levels of society. To do less would be utterly insupportable.
Did you ever wonder what Fitzwilliam Darcy thought and felt during this time, when he was searching for his place in life, a respectable woman as his wife with all the restrictions that his status brought? Pamela Aidan did and proceeded to share her visions of this process with us. Her wonderful talents for insight and language are clear in the first of this trilogy set, Pride and Prejudice sequels.
Mr. Darcy visits his friend, Charles Bingley at Charles’s estate, Netherfield, near Meryton in Hertfordshire. He expects to find the whole visit quiet, boring and not to his taste at all. While never one for the whirl of the London season, Darcy has a few standards he considers to be absolutely necessary to maintain. Savage country society so far beneath him in status is not one of them.
Instead, Mr. Darcy is hit over the head with the opportunity for personal growth and understanding of human nature and social standing. He meets Elizabeth Bennet and makes an unkind comment which she overhears. The plot continues to move from there.
Of course, Elizabeth’s sister Jane becomes ill and must recover at Netherfield, thereby keeping all main characters front and center as they are thrust together for several unexpected days while she recovers.
The novel follows Mr. Darcy’s hurt and dismay as he deals with false tales about himself and the reaction from Lizzy Bennet and Meryton. These challenges help shape the character of Mr. Darcy as he deals with his continued feelings for Elizabeth Bennet, the feelings of his dear friend Charles Bingley towards Jane Bennet, and the searching for his own home. While the original version of Pride and Prejudice kept Darcy’s thoughts to himself and cast him as a somewhat distant, disagreeable sort, we are privy to his mind’s most inner workings and his deepest hidden desires in Aidan’s retelling of the original.
This first of three novels of Pride and Prejudice sequels is a wonderful look at this time in history through the eyes of a young nobleman struggling with his feelings and society’s expectations. Aidan does a good job of illustrating the strictness of society’s expectations, while showing the inner struggles of one of literature’s most beloved leading men.
If you enjoyed An Assembly Such as This, the second and third installments are just as well done as the first. Duty and Desire and These Three Remain are also must reads for any Pride and Prejudice fan.
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Apr 7, 2010
Posted by admin on Apr 7, 2010 in Pride and Prejudice Sequels, Regency Jane Austen Sequels, Skylar Hamilton Burris | 0 comments
Gentle Reader, if only our dear Jane Austen could know of the homage and horrors that her simple tome, Pride and Prejudice have brought upon the literary world. Our demure author would never have imagined that her depictions of the stately, elegant and yes, stilted world of the regency period would begat so very many and widely varied depictions of not only Elizabeth and Darcy, but Mr. Collins, Charlotte, and the Lady Catherine de Bourgh.
An Unlikely Missionary chooses the road far less written in the cottage industry that has sprung from modern day reader’s fascination with all things Austen and the Regency period in general. Novels and short stories far too numerous to mention have taken the Bennet-Darcy romance and stretched it as thin, and far less delicately than a strand of angel hair pasta. While many center on the imagined future of our favorite couple, there are a host of sequels that opt to continue the literary lives of other characters such as Georgina Darcy and even various offspring credited to Elizabeth and Darcy.
As an author Skylar Hamilton Burris takes a large risk for even the staunchest of Pride and Prejudice fanatics as she opts to center her sequel on Charlotte Lucas, now Mrs. Charlotte Collins. For fans it is redundant to mention that Charlotte was the reliable, sensible, 27 year old spinster of Austen’s tale. She had almost slavish, yet endearing devotion to the people in her life. Nowhere is the more evident than in the disappointing announcement of her marriage to the insufferable Mr. Collins, a man of few redeeming characteristics.
Hamilton Burris’ story takes Mrs. Charlotte Collins on a ship full of characters headed for the mysterious and very foreign land that is India. From the first, poor Charlotte’s lot in life is again revealed as she spends her time shipboard nursing the ailing Mr. Collins. Modern day women readers are hard-pressed not to cheer on behalf of Charlotte tossing him overboard, but remember dear reader; this was a kinder and gentler time.
The experience that was missionary travel to India serves as the backdrop to a wonderful tale that includes accurate religious and historical perspectives, but yet is never dry. For those who adore the Regency period with its manners and language of great complexity, Burris succeeds in creating a Charlotte who is never condescending like the Lady Catherine de Bourgh, even when she richly deserves to be. The Charlotte Collins who emerges from this narrative is a woman of great strength and patience and willingness to serve in a role that is not easy to understand for the modern woman, yet at the end of the story, we end admiring her far more than we realize.
If you enjoyed this second novel of Skylar Hamilton Burris’ creation, her first novel Conviction: A Sequels to Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice reads just as well. While the center of the story is the ever kind an gentle Georgiana Darcy rather than Charlotte Collins. Both are good reads that keep the pages turning chapter after chapter. These two books are a cut above the volumes of published Jane Austen sequels, although there many other enjoyable novels for the JA fan from which to choose.
