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Loading... Letters from Pemberley: The First Year (1999)by Jane Dawkins
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. One of the best Pride and Prejucice continuations that I have read, and I have read quite a few continuation books. Did this is one sitting. Loved it. ( ) I usually steer clear of Austen sequels since I often find they distort the characters in a way that is unforgivable. However, this was a tolerable pastiche of Austen's work. Focusing on the first few months after Elizabeth's arrival at Pemberley, the novel follows her letters to Jane, describing how she is settling into her new role as Mrs Darcy. Not only does Dawkins draw on the characters from Pride and Prejudice, she also uses characters from other Austen novels, disguising their names (e.g Mr Knightey as Mr Dayley). I have to confess I found some of this a little contrived. Imagine Mr Darcy being an intimate friend of Mr Eliot and Kitty Bennet being best friends with Anne? Some of the character placing in my opinion therefore didn't quite hit the mark. However, on the whole the novel was entertaining and didn't do anything too horrendous with the P & P characters. Dawkins style is not Austen's and I feel like often the tone of Lizzy Bennet was overly serious, yet a nice easy read for Austen fans. I couldn’t help but wish Letters From Pemberley allowed me to be privy to Jane Bingley’s, nee Bennet, letters to Elizabeth rather than just Elizabeth to Jane. Throughout the novel, Elizabeth responses to her sister’s letters but often times, I had wished that I could see exactly what Elizabeth was responding to. The letters, I have to say, are well written and true to the novel. But somethings missing. Overall, they lack the excitement of Austen’s original. Definitely, they are not as exciting as some other sequels out there. I would have to say that this is your “safe sequel.” If you’re looking for one where the Darcys, uh, other excursions are not splashed about the pages, than this is the one for you. no reviews | add a review
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In this continuation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, one of the best-loved novels in the English language, Elizabeth Bennet finds herself in a very different league of wealth and privilege, now as Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy and mistress of Pemberley. Writing to her sister, Jane, she confides her uncertainty and anxieties, and describes the everyday of her new life. Her first year at Pemberley is sometimes bewildering, but Lizzy's spirited sense of humor and satirical eye never desert her. Incorporating Jane Austen's own words and characters from her other works, the book is a literary patchwork quilt piecing together the story of Lizzy's first eventful year as Mrs. Darcy. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.54Literature English (North America) American fiction 20th Century 1945-1999LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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