The Pemberley Chronicles

While the author does say in the preface that she makes no attempt to mimic Austen's inimitable style, the complete and total shift, especially in dialogue, makes this almost unrecognizable as Pride & Prejudice. And the actual plot isn't interesting enough to make up for it; Collins can't bear to hurt Elizabeth, so her marriage is blissful, all the original characters love her (she even redeems Charlotte Collins), and I fell asleep. The political plot in the middle is tacked on and ill-integrated, the next generation has virtually no distinguishing characteristics, and basically, this is not worth the paper it's printed on. ( )

review Pemberley Chronicles: A Companion Volume to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice is a "What happens next?" sort of novel by Rebecca Collins. Now, Rebecca Collins is a pen name, chosen from one of her characters, a "scribbling" child of Charlotte Collins. I found my Kindle copy of this book on Sourcebooks.com on Jane Austen's birthday. They were handing out free Jane Austen sequels and I, as I sometimes do, was feeling a sort of longing for something romantic, pretty and well,...morePemberley Chronicles: A Companion Volume to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice is a "What happens next?" sort of novel by Rebecca Collins. Now, Rebecca Collins is a pen name, chosen from one of her characters, a "scribbling" child of Charlotte Collins. I found my Kindle copy of this book on Sourcebooks.com on Jane Austen's birthday. They were handing out free Jane Austen sequels and I, as I sometimes do, was feeling a sort of longing for something romantic, pretty and well, Regency inspired. I didn't expect to love any of the books because my respect and admiration for Jane Austen could never be felt again by another mere mortal. But then, I picked up Pemberley Chronicles and found myself carried off on a pleasing wind and carried out of my doldrums. The story begins shortly after the double wedding of Lizzie and Jane Bennet and at once the reader is coated in a sweet syrup that almost becomes unbearable. Then the author inserts, not exactly seamlessly, a few passages of some of the politics in England of the time. There's some local discontent too that makes its way onto the grounds at Pemberley! They daydream quality of the book mainly comes from the way every lady is so perfect and sweet and marries, with everyone's approval, a perfect young man whom every one loves and would have indeed handpicked for her. Everyone is beautiful or handsome, sweet and charming. Any skills such as piano playing, hunting,shooting or drawing that any of these characters have are referred to in the superlative. Just when everything was too perfect and felt more like reading a list of who all got married and the names of all their pretty and perfect children, the author would insert of another bit of the history or politics of the time. They were almost revolutionary times, so I appreciated the "inserts" however unskillfully they may have been inserted. Then, as if someone had mentioned to the reader that perhaps this book was so perfectly sweet as to become boring, she kills off people, one after the other, some expectedly from old age, others randomly and without adding anything important to the story. Having said, that, I think what we have here is someone who does have potential for writing and lacked editorship. It was bizarre how many times a character was reintroduced in case a reader hadn't read Pride and Predjudice before. It was weird how often these little filler moments came up to remind the reader again and again that Lizzie and Darcy didn't like each other at first. They should have been cut. Another odd thing I noticed was how sometimes a baby was born and never mentioned again till it became engaged to be married, more often than not to a well-loved cousin. Now before anyone begins think this is not at all a pleasant book, I should say that I did enjoy it afterall. One always likes to think about what if's and what happens next to favorite characters. I did read it to the exclusion of all else, even the perfectly written world classic of Charles Dickens, Bleak House. I think because during the holidays, with a noisy house, Pemberly Chronicles was easy to read even with every tv and video game in the house all going at once in a sort of cacaphonous roar that doesn't allow for reading that requires concentration. I hope this lady writes more books and just has more time to polish. I liked her rendition of Regency speech and manners very much. I liked how her characters had similar values to me and how there was no need, for indeed, there really isn't, for explicit behind the bedroom door scenes. This is the kind of novel one can hand to a teenage daughter without worry. Then, if she hasn't already, she will finish it and begin rummaging through your books for Jane Austen's Pride and Predjudice to find out what happened first

Thanks to Sandy (sjmccreary for point me in the direction of the P&P sequels.)

This is the first of the series by Rebecca Ann Collins which takes the Jane Austen characters from Pride & Prejudice (P&P) and continues their story in her own particular way.

In Pemberley Chronicles, the reader not only sees how Elizabeth and Darcy's lives advance, we are also shown the lesser characters of P&P and are introduced to the next generation of Darcys, Gardiners, and Bingleys. We see their joys and heartbreaks, successes and failures. This book also tries to include some historical accuracy of the issues in Great Britain of the time.

Reading several of the P&P sequels and comparing the writing styles and to an extent the story content, I have to admit that even though I liked this book for what it told and I'll go on in the series, I prefer the Sharon Lathan series more - at this point. ( )

I was really hoping to enjoy this one. Seeing that it had four sequels and was marketed as being more true to the original novel, it certainly seemed promising. However, I found that I had a difficult time staying interested in this one.

I almost gave up at the beginning - most of the other reviews I've read have said they enjoyed the beginning, but I thought that was almost the worst part. It seemed like the first 50 pages were nothing but illustrations (and explanations) of how p...more I was really hoping to enjoy this one. Seeing that it had four sequels and was marketed as being more true to the original novel, it certainly seemed promising. However, I found that I had a difficult time staying interested in this one.

I almost gave up at the beginning - most of the other reviews I've read have said they enjoyed the beginning, but I thought that was almost the worst part. It seemed like the first 50 pages were nothing but illustrations (and explanations) of how perfectly happy they were, how much "respect and admiration" they had for the Gardiners, and how much respect and admiration Darcy had for Mr. Bennet, and that they respected and admired each other and how happy all of this made them...and it just kept going on with nothing really happening. At first it was cute, but then it just became irritating.

The rest of the book was a bit more entertaining, but I found it hard to keep track of which children were whose (especially since they liked to name them after each other). Collins also skips huge chunks of time without much explanation (although I'm sure we can trust they were supremely happy and had respect and admiration for each other the whole time). I also found it strange that through the middle of the book, we hear more about the children of other characters - I found myself realizing that Elizabeth and Darcy's children would be in their teens and I knew absolutely nothing about them. They came into play near the end, but for most of the book I wouldn't have known they had children at all if I hadn't read the pages telling of their births.

If you're desperate for a P&P fix or want to try something with less unlikely drama and situations than other sequels have, you might want to give this a try, maybe you'll like it more than I did. Overall though, I found it pretty forgettable. Let's just say I have no inclination to read the other four books. ( )

I purchased The Pemberley Chronicles yesterday with high hopes for enjoyment, especially since there were five other books in the series sitting next to it one the shelf. While Collins does state in the preface she makes no attempt to mimic Austen’s style, I felt she tried. For me, a “sequel” that does not try to be Jane is much better than one that is.

But it’s the actual plot that makes The Pemberley Chronicles unbearable to read. Collins can't bear to hurt Elizabeth, or even allow Darcy and Elizabeth to bicker and banter, so the Darcys marriage is perfect. Absolutely, positively perfect. Therefore, I fell asleep.

The time jumps made the novel even more frustrating and I was completely lost with the second half of the book. While the first half only spans five years, the second spans 15 to 20 years and often times the seven year time jump from chapter would be filled in with Kitty gave birth to an anticipated son, Charlotte Collins had another little girl, and Lydia was once again pregnant. And because of the time jumps, a character the reader just meet would be married to another of the Darcys’ cousin/sister/friend in the next chapter.

In the beginning, I appreciated the integration of the government and issues of the time as it provided insight into why some things happens and why the characters acted the way they did. But as the novel continued one, the political plot began to take priority, the novel read more like a history and the progression of the characters’ lives, the reason why I purchased The Pemberley Chronicles, took a back seat.