Jane Austen Sequels- Mrs. Darcy’s Dilemma, by Diana Birchall
Mrs. Darcy’s Dilemma is one of the Regency era Pride and Prejudice sequels written by Diana Birchall. The novel is set during a time of change in Britain in 1837 when Queen Victoria is just coming to the throne. Mr. and Mrs. Darcy are now a middle-aged couple and still managing Pemberly estate. They have their innate charm, wittiness, and good fortune from the previous Pride and Prejudice novel. The story turns when they invite two daughters from Mrs. Darcy’s profligate sister Lydia to come visit them one they are at home. The Darcy’s sons fall in love with the daughters and they’re oldest son Fitzwilliam Darcy runs off to London with Bettina, one of the daughters.
At the same time the younger son Henry is falling in love with the other daughter Chloe and he eventually proposes to her but she is so horrified with her other sister’s actions that she instead attempts to seek a position as a governess rather than shame the rest of the family.
Many of the other famous characters from the Pride and Prejudice are also present such as Mr. Collins and Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Mr. and Mrs. Darcy are still deeply in love with each other throughout this book, and much of the concerns of Mrs. Darcy originate from worrying about the paths their children will choose. Neither of the Darcy’s would have expected such a turn of events to unfold when they invited Lydia’s daughters over for a protracted visit to their estate. They initially decided to take the girls in after receiving a letter from Lydia Wickham in which she describes the hardships she had been going through. Everybody is also shocked when after running off together, Fitzwilliam and Bettina decide not to marry.
Birchall has crafted a witty, funny sequel in which the lessons of the past seem to resurface to challenge both the new generation and their parents who should have learned much from their own experiences.
Diana Birchall is the author of a second hilariously funny Jane Austen sequel, The Complete Mrs. Elton, which is a Regency sequel to Emma.
