Monthly Archives: December 2011

2011 In Review

Posted on December 31, 2011 | 26 Comments

2011 was not the best year blogging wise. Looking back through my monthly archives I mostly see all the blanks that were caused by unexpected blogging breaks due to the stress caused by the approaching graduation as a Master of Arts from University. Now that I am graduated, I hope 2012 will find me in a place where I am more comfortable to blog & more able to find the time. I know I will hit some bumps along the way, I may need to formulate my thoughts on some of the issues I have had with blogging during 2011, but overall I am hopeful.

There is nothing left for me to do but to give you a list of books I enjoyed most in 2011. (Most of which, shamefully, remain unreviewed until this day – I truly hope to catch up on them in January). In no particular order:

The Ask and the Answer - Patrick Ness

Greenbanks – Dorothy Whipple: Whipple is the master of comfy reading that nonetheless offers a perspective on social issues from different perspectives. This multigenerational saga following the (women of the) Ashton family was wonderfully detailed about the social possibilities of women, and family life before and after the First World War.

The Knife of Never Letting Go – Patrick Ness: For everyone who still lives in the illusion that Young Adult literature cannot be incredibly clever. This books discusses key themes such as ideologies, stereotypes, the gender divide and the confusion of growing up. I loved it and will gladly push it on anyone.

The Ask and the Answer – Patrick Ness: The second book in the Chaos Walking trilogy, which I loved just as much as The Knife of Never Letting Go. This book may be a little more controversial, with its themes of “ethnic cleansing” and the moral confusion of wartime, but it’s portrayal is so humane at the same time that for once I really hope people will take me serious enough to listen to my book recommendations and give this series a try.

Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier

Stardust – Neil Gaiman: A wonderful magical tale about faerie that I just wanted to hug close and reread each winter.

Rebecca – Daphne Du Maurier: This clever and spooky tale, with a Brontë feel to it, and so many breathtaking, gasp-worthy moments, that I lost count of them is a book I wish I had read so much earlier, but that I wish I could have kept reading for the first time for ever and ever as well.

The Thing Around Your Neck – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: My first array into the land of Adichie’s fiction had me spinning lesson plans in my mind if I should ever have to teach a class on mission history. A lovely collection of insightful, clever, and beautiful short stories.

Tender Morsels - Margo Lanagan

Consequences – E.M Delafield: This portrayal of the bonds middle and upper class girls had to live with during the beginning of the twentieth century is heartbreaking, but incredibly beautiful. It also features one of those heroines that I’m sure many would love to hate, but I could only think of as who I might have been, had I lived during that time.

Tender Morsels – Margo Lanagan: The controversy surrounding this book made me shrink back from reviewing it right after I read it. I promise I will fill you in. This young adult novel deals with incredibly difficult themes, of rape and incest. Margo Lanagan managed to do so in an incredibly honest voice, sometimes confronting, but also very beautifully, somehow. I want to shower this book with praise and have every teenage girl read it for its discussion of the many gender-prejudices and difficulties in today’s society. Another book I want to hug and reread, next year if I can.

The Summer Book - Tove Jansson

The Summer Book – Tove Jansson: Oh, Tove Jansson. One of my severest author crushes. I first “met” you this year reading The Summer Books, and then I read one of your Moomin books. I just cannot stop telling everyone how much I love your work. This book, a collection of short vignettes about the life of a grandmother and granddaughter is so utterly heartwarming, gentle, and beautiful, that 11 months later, I am still at a loss for words.

The Pleasure Seekers – Tishani Doshi: A family saga with a couple’s love across borders at the middle. This book does not take the standard perspective of focusing on the difficulties of a family torn between India and Britain, but instead focuses on the strength of bonds of love within a family, across generations, and is happy to discuss life after falling in love.

Honourable Mentions: The Seas – Samantha Hunt, The Brontës Went to Woolworths – Rachel Ferguson, Being Emily – Anne Donovan, Ragnarok – A.S. Byatt, The House of the Mosque – Kader Abdolah, A Time to Keep Silence – Patrick Leigh Fermor, Next World Novella – Matthias Politycki.

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Bookish Stats:

I managed to read 100 books this year, which is a personal record but I know it isn’t much compared to most book bloggers. As a rule, I do not count my academic reading towards my books read this year, which should explain the lack of non-fiction in the following:

  • 30/100 review copies
  • 16/100 Young Adult
  • 8/100 Children
  • 8/100 Non-Fiction
  • 92/100 Fiction
  • 34/100 Classics/Modern Classics
  • 56/100 European
  • 36/100 North American
  • 7/100 African/Middle Eastern
  • 3/100 Asian
  • 1/100 Australian
  • 73/99 Female Author
  • 26/99 Male Author

I was shocked by the large amount of review copies read (30%) and I want to rethink my review policy for next year. I stuck with quite a few copies that I wouldn’t otherwise have finished and I know I request way too much from Netgalley. However, I do love that feeling of receiving a review copy in the mail, especially when it is from the likes of Persephone Books or Peirene.

I read much more female authors than male, but I am not uncomfortable with that. What I am uncomfortable with is the seriously skewed balance between European/North-American authors and authors from different parts of the world. I really wish to make more of an effort to read more diversely next year.

Happy 2012 everyone!

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Plans for 2012

Posted on December 29, 2011 | 20 Comments

Actually, I do not have that many. Plans, that is. I want to keep my reading a little open. And we all know that I find it hard to stick to reading plans anyway. I have some personal projects listed on the blog, which I want to focus on, and apart from that I have three things I want to focus on in 2012.

I do intend to join Amy in her “Roommate Challenge“. When I saw her going through her list of older acquired books, I thought it would be interesting to see which books had been on my shelves longest. It appears I haven’t really updated my LibraryThing for TBR books before 2008, so I decided to focus on anything listed as TBR up to the end of 2008, which are 32 fiction books. There are also 11 non-fiction books listed, but I have decided to focus on the fiction this time. I love how Teresa tries to read books she has acquired a couple of years ago, and I wanted to take the opportunity if joining Amy in her project. Not sure if I will be able to try all 32 books. I just find it interesting to look into my “older” books, since they often lie around forgotten, instead of only turning to the more recently acquired ones. This is the list:

  • Cause Celeb – Helen Fielding
  • White Teeth – Zadie Smith
  • This is My Life – Meg Wolitzer
  • Leaves from the Valley – Joanna Trollope
  • The Evening Wolves – Joan Chase
  • The Education of Little Tree – Forrest Carter
  • Madam Mao – Anchee Min
  • In the Name of God – Yasmina Khadra
  • Zorro – Isabel Allende
  • The Scarlet Letter – Nathaniel Hawthorne
  • The Secret Garden – Frances Hodgson Burnett
  • Open House – Elizabeth Berg
  • The Other Boleyn Girl – Philippa Gregory
  • Palace of Desire – N. Mahfoez
  • Paint it Black – Janet Finch
  • The Right Attitude to Rain – Alexander McCall Smith
  • Darwin, His Daughter & Human Evolution – Randal Keynes
  • Sofie – Marianna Frederiksson
  • Vanity Fair – William Makepeace Thackeray
  • The Canterbury Tales (A Selection) – Geoffrey Chaucer
  • The Virgin Blue – Tracy Chevalier
  • Wu – John Clements
  • The Name of the Rose – Umberto Eco
  • The Other Side of the Story – Marian Keyes
  • Siegfried – Harry Mulisch
  • An Island in Time: The Biography of a Village – Geert Mak
  • Sugar Street – Naguib Mahfoez
  • To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee
  • Tess of the D’Ubervilles – Thomas Hardy
  • The Mayor of Casterbridge – Thomas Hardy
  • Pooh and the Millenium – John A Williams
  • Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell – Susanna Clarke

Pre-2009 Iris has a slightly different taste in books than I do now. Also, there are some books about which I question my sanity in ever buying them. But there are also titles in the list that I cannot wait to get to, so we’ll see how it goes.

I will also organise another Dutch Literature Month in 2012. It may be a whole month, but since I am hosting on my own I may limit it to two weeks of dedicated reading of Dutch literature. I am planning to make more of an effort in contacting publishers about the project (as stolen from the succesful German Literature Month in November). I just need to decide if June is really the best month to organise this. I could plan it a little earlier (the National Book Week is in March in the Netherlands, for example). Do any of you have a preference?

Furthermore, I want to continue reading for the Year of Feminist Classics project, which Amy, Ana and Emily Jane aim to continue in 2012, although we may start a little later due to all sorts of personal issues interfering with planning these past months.

There are some very interesting challenges around, and I do want to sign up, I just haven’t ultimately decided yet.

Also, I will again venture into the land of not buying too many books this year, and reading my own. But let’s keep that quiet for now, seeing as how I always fail anyway.

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Rereading Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Posted on December 24, 2011 | 8 Comments

My last post for Advent with Austen. After this, I will be silent about Jane Austen for a little while, I promise. I had lots of fun during Advent, even though I was only able to join in with one joint movie night and only posted regularly during the last week. I hope those of you who participated enjoyed themselves too.

Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen

My tattered copy of Pride and Prejudice (Penguin Classics 1985). I bought it years ago at a book fair, second-hand, and then continued to read it until it was in its current state: pages on the verge of falling out when you open it.

I have posted before about how I fell in love with Jane Austen through Pride and Prejudice. I was obsessively passionate about the story. Rereading it, rewatching the 1995 TV adaptation a million times (ask my sister, she still has nightmares about me wanting to watch it). I read it so often that I now know large parts of the story by heart. I can fill in the blanks in many a sentence. I couldn’t stop rereading it, until the passion of the story dulled a little, knowing it by heart so well that I couldn’t feel the same butterflies in those scenes that used to make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. (I know this may sounds ridiculous, but it’s honestly how I felt about the book). My quest to rediscover those feelings are part of the reason why I can never give up on sequels, prequels and rewrites of the works by Austen. It is why I am on an everlasting search for literature that will make me feel the same. Not only passionate about the story, but something that truly lights up your life. I found it in a few books, two of those being Persuasion by Austen (which I may even love better, actually, I think I do) and Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë. Two books that I haven’t indulged in too often, so I can still feel when I read.

Rereading Pride and Prejudice now, three years since I last read it, was different. I had not read it for years on purpose, knowing I could never feel like I did that first time, but hoping that perhaps I could reread it in a fresh but different manner. And I think I succeeded. I vowed to not skip any parts of the story, which I usually do, as I find the Wickham and Mrs. Bennet scenes quite difficult to deal with (especially since I picture Mrs. Bennet as in the 1995 adaptations, so perfectly cast that I cannot look at the scenes that feature her). I loved reading Pride and Prejudice again, and other elements of the story started to jump out at me.

  • The economics of the story: I rather enjoyed reading the first 10 chapters in particular, and signalling how often Austen used economic terms when she talked about relationships. The most famous one being, of course, the first sentence of the book. But really, it is hard to read the whole first chapter without noticing it, it is everywhere, in almost every one or two sentences there is something that will alert you to the economic mechanisms at play here.
  • The ways in which the story can be read as one condoning class differences, but also as challenging the assumptions of class and social levels. Elizabeth’s speech to lady Catherine De Bourg is particularly inspiring, but there are other examples throughout the book in which the social status quo is assumed, but also slightly challenged.
  • Austen’s style is truly superb. After reading Why Jane Austen earlier this year, I couldn’t help but notice some of the strategies talked about in the book: how the author as narrator and Elizabeth’s opinions often subtly intertwine in the story, but also how half of what we know about the several characters is revealed in their speeches. Mrs. Bennet’s sentences often contradict each other, casting her in a role of a somewhat silly mother. And Elizabeth’s prejudice shows directly in her first conversation with Wickham, whom she trusts on his word alone, while she later rejects the opinion of Bingley, his sisters and Mr. Darcy about Wickham, because they’ve all been influenced by Darcy, and so have no objective view of the matter. I wonder if I signalled this because I knew Wickham was no good, having read the story before, and if we all do this because the story is so universally known that it is hard to read it without any prior impressions. Did Austen mean for the reader to suspect, all along, that Elizabeth was predetermined to dislike Darcy and all to eager to believe Wickham? I have a feeling she did. And so again, character traits of Wickham and Eliza, that haven’t been officially revealed, are there, in Austen’s language. I have to say, I was impressed by the quality of the story all over again.

I hope to set aside Pride and Prejudice for at least a few more years now and I cannot wait to discover what I will find next time I get around to it.

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The Secret Fanny Price Fanclub

Posted on December 23, 2011 | 11 Comments

It appears there is no Austen heroine as universally disliked as Fanny Price from Mansfield Park is. It always surprises me a little, the way people are annoyed with her silent observations, her inactiveness, or the way she strictly keeps to her own moral guidelines. Most consider Mary Crawford the true heroine of the story, wishing she would have ended up with Edmund. You see, the thing is, I never really looked at Mansfield Park in this light, but then again, I have secretly always considered myself a member of the Fanny Price Fanclub.

Oh, I can see the appeal of Mary Crawford. Her easy manner, her liveliness. She, in many ways, is more like Elizabeth Bennet, and thus the expected Jane Austen heroine, than any other of Austen’s characters. Mary Crawford is much easier to fall in love with than Fanny is, as Austen herself expresses:

“A young woman, pretty, lively, with a harp as elegant as herself, and both placed near a window, cut down to the ground, and opening on a little lawn, surrounded by shrubs in the rich foliage of summer, was enough to catch any man’s heart.”

But is not that all the warning we need from Austen? Although it is usually the man who the heroine first falls in love with that is eventually unmasked as immoral, here it is the woman who first wins Edmund’s affections who is later illustrated to lack morals.

Here, again, I can see why Mary Crawford appeals. At times, she expresses such “modern” opinions that readers (and I suspect especially us 21st century readers) cannot help but respect the sentiments expressed. Everybody wants to rebel, occasionally. It is as if she is the very example of reading texts against the grain, and so, to some extent, we want Austen to have considered her the heroine, want to think of Austen as condoning women taking on initiative, making the most of the restricted position they have in society. In many ways, Austen does approve of this. And I am sure she must have enjoyed having Mary Crawford express modern and slightly rebellious opinions about religion, marriage and affairs. But, at the same time, Austen undermines Crawford’s opinions, Crawford’s very appeal as a heroine, by contrasting Mary’s liveliness with her being so focused on her own gains, her own opinions and views, that she does not take Edmund’s into account, that, in the end, in her stating that the affair of Maria Bertram and Henry Crawford is merely a “folly”, she shows how careless she is of everything the family at Crawford, and I think society at large, considered the most important at that time. To me, it is not Mary’s “lack of morals” that makes me dislike her, it is her inability to consider the feelings of those around her, the ones she claims to love. Surely, had she truly loved Edmund, she would not have expressed her own opinions so unfeelingly? I am all for her having her own points of view despite feeling an attachment to a man (and I think that is the appeal of Mary, there’s something feminist in her storyline), but there is a line between having your own opinions and holding to them, and shrugging your shoulders in the face of issues that are of the utmost importance to your close friends.

Compared to Mary, Fanny may be dull. She observes, but often remains silent. And I can imagine that her morality makes many roll their eyes. But to me it is her practicality and her morality that makes her strong. She stands up for her own opinions, despite knowing that everyone disagrees with her. In a way, she has the same feminist streak we see in Mary: sticking with her own opinions despite what everyone around her thinks is best. Except where Mary’s opinions are unfeeling and affect those around her, Fanny’s concern her own future (and moral propriety, in her eyes) more than those of her family and friends. Fanny’s opinions may be conservative in our eyes, while Mary’s are more rebellious and thus easier to love, perhaps?, but I like Fanny exactly because she chooses her own path in live, not by following every opportunity open to her, not by wishing for the grandest despite all that occurs, but exactly because she retains her sense of self, is willing to sacrifice her own stable future (in marriage to a man of means, that she is nonetheless convinced is immoral), because she wants to keep to the principles she believes are just. Perhaps I like Fanny because I identify with that shy, observant, nature. I recognise in Fanny the feeling that because you do not stand up for what you want, does not mean you do not have an opinion. I admire her for proclaiming against that which she feels is wrong, and keeping to it, never submitting to peer pressure. There is, simply, an integrity to Fanny, that I do not find boring at all, although I do understand now, having heard it often enough, that others think it is.

I had to think of this, when I read Murder at Mansfield Park this year.  As the Good Reads description for this novel reads:

“Nobody, I believe, has ever found it possible to like the heroine of Mansfield Park.” –Lionel Trilling

In this ingenious new twist on Mansfield Park, the famously meek Fanny Price–whom Jane Austen’s own mother called “insipid”–has been utterly transformed; she is now a rich heiress who is spoiled, condescending, and generally hated throughout the county. Mary Crawford, on the other hand, is now as good as Fanny is bad, and suffers great indignities at the hands of her vindictive neighbor.

Murder at Mansfield Park - Lynn Shepherd

Murder at Mansfield Park - Lynn Shepherd // Beautiful Books, 2010

What I found interesting about this reworking of the characters of Mansfield Park, is that Fanny becomes more like her cousins Maria and Lydia Bertram, spoiled and arrogant in the face of people they consider “below them”. In contrast, in an effort to cast Mary Crawford in the role of heroine, she is not rewritten with much of Fanny’s original integrity. Murder at Mansfield Park is an interesting rewrite, because it is very original in its take on Jane Austen’s novel. It is also very well written. However, at times I found it hard to like the book, because it seemed to underline the stereotypes that so often get associated with Fanny and Mary: Mary as the true heroine, Fanny as the shy and moral one, which is translated to arrogance. But in the end, this is exactly what makes the novel interesting as well. When I came to the discussion questions at the end of the novel, my eye fell on this one:

“Fanny Price in Mansfield Park is very unlike a typical Austen heroine – in fact it’s Mary Crawford who is much closer to Elizabeth Bennet or Emma Woodhouse. What do you think about the role and idea of the heroine, both in Austen’s novel(s) and in this one?”

The above made me question my initial dislike of recasting the story’s characters as Shepherd had done, because in a way, she undermines the idea of Mary Crawford as the should-be heroine in the original Mansfield Park, since in order to make her the lead character in her own story, she gave her so many of Fanny’s admirable character traits.

How do you feel about Mansfield Park? Is it one of Austen’s novels you love most or one of your least favourites? What is your take on Fanny vs. Mary? Are there any others, who, like me, actually feel sympathetic towards Fanny Price?

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In Which I Venture Once More Into the Land of Austenesque Lit (Part 2)

Posted on December 21, 2011 | 12 Comments

Part 2 of my opinions about the five Austenesque books that I (attempted to) read during the past week. Up today: Mr. Darcy Take a Wife, Darcy and Fitzwilliam, and Mr. and Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy: Two Shall Become One. For a review of the two modern retellings of Pride and Prejudice that I read on my Austenesque binge, Fitzwilliam Darcy, Rock Star and The Trials of the Honorable F. Darcy, see yesterday’s post.

General opinion on the three books of today: Perhaps sequels of Pride and Prejudice really aren’t for me.

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Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife - Linda BerdollMr. Darcy Takes a Wife – Linda Berdoll
Landmark, 2004

Oh yes, the title is meant to imply all sorts of things. And Darcy really takes a wife.

Ugh. I can’t believe I just said that out loud. But unfortunately it’s true. This was a DNF from me, for two, or perhaps three, reasons.

First: Nothing but sex, sex, and sex. Seriously, right after the engagement, all Elizabeth contemplates is sex, and apparently all Darcy ever did since he was 14 was having sex. Starting with one of his maids. I only made it to the first sex scene between Darcy and Elizabeth, where Darcy just pushes on, because well, pain for the lady is surely part of having sex for the first time, and then afterwards, has to “have her again”, despite being sure she is still hurt, as if she has no choice. Which is possibly true given the time period? But surely not something that a reader could feel comfortable with? Especially considering that it is presented as if this is the most sexy thing in the world.

The preface of the book cites Charlotte Brontë’s opinion on Austen:

“..she ruffles her reader by nothing vehement, disturbs him by nothing profound: the Passions are perfectly unknown to her.. what throbs fast and full, though hidden, what the blood rushes through, what is  the unseen seat of Life and the sentient target of death – this Miss Austen ignores.”

And so I guess now Linda Berdoll has taken it upon herself to “right” this “wrong” in Austen’s fiction. Which I believe she does in a way that Charlotte Brontë surely wouldn’t have enjoyed.

Reason 2: The language. Oh my, the language. I am sure Berdoll meant to somehow mirror Austen’s style, but what you get is a weird almost alien English variant in which lots of “betwixt” and “bethink” and “be-whatever” -’s are used. This is not regency style language. Not even near it. And while I am okay with authors using modern language for Austen sequels, I am not okay with someone using this semi-language that almost seems to ridicule Austen’s style.

Reason 3: Characterisations. Darcy is back to being a pompous ass and really the most unlovable person ever. Meanwhile, Elizabeth is all uncertainty.

I persevered, until it was implied that Darcy had an illegitimate child with his first affair, one of his father’s maids. I just.. couldn’t read that and not fear my love for Pride and Prejudice might just have died. Luckily, Berdoll’s sequel is so far from doing honour to the original that I am quite confident I can forget about it if I reread Pride and Prejudice in the future.

Verdict: Do not even contemplate reading this. Unless, of course, you want to torture yourself. Or, you know, you do not like Austen anyway.

Other Opinions: Beth Fish Reads, Tillabooks, Melanie’s Musings, Seductive Musings.
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Mr. & Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy: Two Shall Become One - Sharon LathanMr. & Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy: Two Shall Become One – Sharon Lathan
Sourcebooks Landmark, 2009 

Basic plot summary: Sugary-sweet story of Darcy and Elizabeth that begins right after their engagement.

The Goodreads summary states that:

“A fascinating portrait of a timeless, consuming love – and the sweetest, most romantic Jane Austen sequel”

And I’d have to agree. It is so sweet that it made me cringe. Where I had problems with Darcy being depicted as a man who had sex from age 14 on in Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife, here the point is that both Darcy and Elizabeth are virgins, extremely nervous for their first night together. That’s about all the plot I got to when I stopped reading around page 50.

Sharon Lathan explains that she became fascinated with Pride and Prejudice when she first saw the 2005 movie adaptation. She subsequently watched other adaptations and read the book, but loves the movie best. Now I could get all snarky about that, but I think it’s okay to fall in love with a story because of a movie adaptation. What I did have difficulty with is that the characterisations, as well as the scenery, seem to fit the movie much better than the book. Longbourn is a functioning farm, and Elizabeth isn’t afraid of male genitalia because she’s seen them on the house pig (??) Also, the relationship between Jane and Elizabeth, and their characters compared to one another, seem a little untrue. What kept me from finishing this book though was the overtly romantic feel and the lines that make you want to yell to “stop the sugar sweet love bird talk already!” Yep, that’s right, Iris, romantic of the first hour, wanted it to stop. Because, honestly, as much as Elizabeth and Darcy are in love in Pride and Prejudice, I never imagined them having to express it every 5 minutes, or Darcy lavishing a million gifts on Elizabeth.

Another thing? Lathan emphasises the religious feelings of Darcy and Elizabeth every opportunity she gets. It is almost as if Lathan was trying to emphasise the importance of religion in her life. Because, really? I do believe religion would have been important to any Austen character, but the thing is, it being a “natural” part of their life, they wouldn’t have felt the need to express sentiments like this:

In truth, Darcy had always imagined marrying in the chapel at Pemberley and was mildly saddened initially at the natural choice to marry where both Bennet daughters had grown up. However, he quickly realized that he honestly did not care as long as they were married with the sanction of the Church, religion being a vital part of his life.

Now, I’m no expert in early nineteenth-century English church history, but I wonder if it was even possible to get married without the sanction of the church?

Verdict: Suited for those who want to read about Darcy and Elizabeth perfect life and do not mind overt religious language and overtly sugary sweet romance with lots of sprinkles of sex. However, I did not enjoy it very much.

Other Opinions: One Literature Nut, Books Like Breathing, The Book Zombie, The Good, The Bad and the Unread, Truth, Beatuty, Freedom and Books, Becky’s Book Reviews, Book Review By Bobbie, Allison’s Attic, Austenprose.
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Darcy and Fitzwilliam: A tale of a gentleman and an officer - Karen V. WasylowskiDarcy and Fitzwilliam: A tale of a gentleman and an officer - Karen V. Wasylowski
Sourcebook Landmark, 2011

Basic plot summary: This book traces the friendship between Darcy and Colonel Fitzwilliam  over the years after the wedding of Darcy and Elizabeth.

In Darcy and Fitzwilliam, Elizabeth and Darcy are happily married (of course, having lots of sex, because apparently that’s the only thing these two ever do in sequels), until Elizabeth finds out that Darcy had a brief affair with Caroline Bingley. She becomes so angry that she starts throwing things and screaming, and etcetera. Meanwhile, Caroline, being a mean, petty, and conniving woman, lures Darcy to Netherfield while Charles and Jane are away, and while Darcy rejects her advances, he still stays the night and so DRAMA, DRAMA, DRAMA.

First, Darcy having an affair with Caroline? What kind of story is this? WHat got to me most is that Caroline is set up as someone who slept with every rich young man in the country, and when that information is provided to the reader, it is often linked to the fact that she will always have a background in trade. Um, way to go with the class prejudices. I do believe Caroline would have done a lot to get Darcy to love her, but sleep around with him and many others before marriage? A little hard to imagine for someone as proud as her. Also, Darcy would never have fallen for the “trap” set by Caroline. As if he wouldn’t have recognised a difference in handwriting, as if Elizabeth would ever leave Jane’s letter unopened.. I understand you need some story line in a sequel to Pride and Prejudice, but this whole thing just seemed so absurd.

Second, when Elizabeth finds out about Darcy and Caroline, she is portrayed as hysteric. In such a way that it is implied that Elizabeth is at fault for reacting like she did. Which I could only shake my head at and tried to ignore before giving up on the story altogether after the Caroline sleep-over incident.

Third, the relationship between Darcy and Fitzwilliam, which is presented as at the core of the story, also seemed a little farfetched. Fitzwilliam, having fought in the war against Napoleon returns home unable to deal with his past, drinking himself into a stupor, and (implied), sleeping with every women he can get his hands on. Meanwhile, Darcy, the man who cast of Wickham because of his degrading sexual behaviour and gambling habits before Wickham tried to seduce his sister in Pride and Prejudice, finds little fault with Fitzwilliam. Also, they call each other names. Fitzwilliam for Darcy uses “brat”, while Darcy calls Fitzwilliam “Old Bastard”. Brat and Old Bastard? Used and accepted by the proud Mr. Darcy? In the 1920′s, perhaps, but around 1815? Surely, this would not have happened.

Verdict: I am sorry to say that this story has so much mischaracterization that, despite the efforts the author undoubtedly made, I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone who enjoyed Pride and Prejudice.

Other Opinions: Austenprose, My Little Corner of the World, Trees and Ink.
Did I miss yours? Let me know and I will add your review to the list. 

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I think I have tried my hand at enough sequels and retelling to ignore them again for a little while. You know how it goes, I am sure to try some more in the future. I am sure there must be good ones out there.

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