Pamela Aidan
Author of An Assembly Such as This
About the Author
Series
Works by Pamela Aidan
3 in 1: Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman (An Asssembly Such as This / Duty and Desire / These Three Remain) (2009) 35 copies, 1 review
Associated Works
Jane Austen Made Me Do It: Original Stories Inspired by Literature's Most Astute Observer of the Human Heart (2011) — Contributor — 285 copies, 31 reviews
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1953-10-18
- Gender
- female
- Education
- University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
- Occupations
- librarian
novelist - Short biography
- Pamela Aidan was born on 18 October 1953 in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, USA. She grew up in small towns outside of Philadelphia. She graduated from high school with the desire to be a history teacher, but changed her major to Library Science after her first year at college. Later, she earned a Masters in Library and Information Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She has been a librarian for over 30 years.
While Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice has been her favorite novel since high school, she credits the BBC mini-series of the story for inspiring her to write her first regency novel. An Assembly Such as This became the start of her Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman trilogy (former title was The Chronicles of Pemberley). Besides writing and operating Wytherngate Press, she is also the director of Liberty Lake Municipal Library in eastern Washington, a short distance from her home in Idaho.
Pamela and her husband Michael live in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho; they each have three grown children from previous marriages. - Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, USA
- Places of residence
- Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, USA
- Associated Place (for map)
- USA
Members
Reviews
Quite enjoyable, though what is wrong with the first two books of the trilogy is wrong here too. What makes this volume stand out from among the three, I think, is the way it provides reasons for and illustrates Darcy's change in character (where in P&P one might argue that he doesn't so much change as Elizabeth just comes to understand him), the dramatization of some of Darcy's actions that we only hear snippets about in P&P (such as his dealing with Wickham and Lydia), the inclusion of show more specific historical and political markers for the story (such as the assassination of the British prime minister in May of 1812), and Aidan's characterization of both characters only glimpsed in P&P (such as Anne de Bourgh and especially Georgiana Darcy) and those she has invented for the story (particularly Dy Brougham). show less
These Three Remain is the final novel in Pamela Aidan's retelling of Pride & Prejudice from Darcy's perspective, and probably the most enjoyable. Most of it has to do with the fact that we get to see Elizabeth again and everything that has been building finally reaches its conclusion.
To tell this story, Aidan had several obstacles to overcome, the foremost of which was how Darcy could have so misread Elizabeth's responses to actually think she was eager to receive his addresses and would show more reply in the affirmative when asked for her hand at Hunsford. Despite some overly dramatic moments in the writing style (throughout), I think she manages it rather well, staying within the confines of Austen's story.
It's also pleasing to see Darcy truly start to change. Some adaptations present him as perfectly virtuous from the start, just misunderstood, but in Austen's novel he really does have to examine his life and work to remove his faults. Despite his many good qualities, his pride was improper and his outlook on the world selfish. Through Elizabeth's reproofs he comes to realize these unpleasant facts and sets about changing them.
The most telling thing in favor of this novel is that it made me want more. Come on, this was published back in 2005 and the author said she wanted to write more books focusing on the Darcys and especially Georgiana — where are they? Why didn't Aidan continue writing?
I said this in my review of An Assembly Such as This as well: I feel like I've experienced Darcy's transformation in microcosm, going from an unwilling participant to avowed fan. Aidan's contribution to the Austenian world can never approach the level of the original works, but neither can any other retelling, reimagining, or fan fiction piece. That doesn't mean I can't enjoy it and recommend it to other Austen readers who yearn for just a little more about these beloved characters. show less
To tell this story, Aidan had several obstacles to overcome, the foremost of which was how Darcy could have so misread Elizabeth's responses to actually think she was eager to receive his addresses and would show more reply in the affirmative when asked for her hand at Hunsford. Despite some overly dramatic moments in the writing style (throughout), I think she manages it rather well, staying within the confines of Austen's story.
It's also pleasing to see Darcy truly start to change. Some adaptations present him as perfectly virtuous from the start, just misunderstood, but in Austen's novel he really does have to examine his life and work to remove his faults. Despite his many good qualities, his pride was improper and his outlook on the world selfish. Through Elizabeth's reproofs he comes to realize these unpleasant facts and sets about changing them.
The most telling thing in favor of this novel is that it made me want more. Come on, this was published back in 2005 and the author said she wanted to write more books focusing on the Darcys and especially Georgiana — where are they? Why didn't Aidan continue writing?
I said this in my review of An Assembly Such as This as well: I feel like I've experienced Darcy's transformation in microcosm, going from an unwilling participant to avowed fan. Aidan's contribution to the Austenian world can never approach the level of the original works, but neither can any other retelling, reimagining, or fan fiction piece. That doesn't mean I can't enjoy it and recommend it to other Austen readers who yearn for just a little more about these beloved characters. show less
This is the final book of the "Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman" trilogy, which is a parallel story to Pride and Prejudice from Darcy's point of view. As it says on the back cover, Darcy is an enigma, and many readers (including me) are very curious as to what he's up to when not on stage in P&P. This book covers the period from Darcy visiting Roslings to the end of the novel.
Aidan has a good understanding of Pride and Prejudice and the character's motivations. For the most part, I found this a show more lot of fun. One might note, however, that an average edition of P&P is around 350 pages, and this trilogy is almost 1,000. Which means there is a lot of unnecessary material. Blotted, pointless sentences and details, and a small tangent into the ridiculous and very non-P&P story line of the second book of the series. But overall it was a good read. I thought her treatment of Darcy's humiliation after the Hunsford proposal was particularly well done, and I enjoyed the scene where he drunkenly confessed all to his friend (who's name I've forgotten at the moment). Aidan may have different ideas about P&P than I do, but I don't think she performed violence to the original.
Rating: For sheer enjoyment I would rate this a 4.5, but due to the faults I've noted, I'm knocking it down to 4 stars. In conclusion, the first book, An Assembly Such as This was "not atrocious," the second, Duty and Desire, was very much atrocious, and These Three Remain was fun. show less
Aidan has a good understanding of Pride and Prejudice and the character's motivations. For the most part, I found this a show more lot of fun. One might note, however, that an average edition of P&P is around 350 pages, and this trilogy is almost 1,000. Which means there is a lot of unnecessary material. Blotted, pointless sentences and details, and a small tangent into the ridiculous and very non-P&P story line of the second book of the series. But overall it was a good read. I thought her treatment of Darcy's humiliation after the Hunsford proposal was particularly well done, and I enjoyed the scene where he drunkenly confessed all to his friend (who's name I've forgotten at the moment). Aidan may have different ideas about P&P than I do, but I don't think she performed violence to the original.
Rating: For sheer enjoyment I would rate this a 4.5, but due to the faults I've noted, I'm knocking it down to 4 stars. In conclusion, the first book, An Assembly Such as This was "not atrocious," the second, Duty and Desire, was very much atrocious, and These Three Remain was fun. show less
I have a cautiously modest collection of Austen continuations that have remained untouched for many years. Of this collection, Pamela Aidan's An Assembly Such as This looked tolerable, but not diverting enough to tempt me. After venturing into another Austen continuation (Hodge's Mansfield Revisited) without my inner purist completely rebelling, I decided to give this one a try.
I'll be honest, early on I almost put it down. Fitzwilliam Darcy, from whose perspective this is told, overthinks show more everything to the point of the reader's exhaustion. So much is overdone. Occasionally the descriptions of his thoughts are just.... well, lame. Consider this example when Sir William is talking to Darcy about dancing:
Darcy's years of training enabled him to remain still while every nerve in his body screamed to be removed from participation in one of the most inane conversations of his experience. (69)
"Years of training," "remaining still," and "every nerve in his body" seem to imply that Darcy (Darcy!) was about to physically lose control and run yelling from the room, just because someone was boring him — at least, that's the picture this awkward sentence gives me. Aidan is clearly still finding her way in both writing and characterization. But then, as Miss Bingley observes to Darcy in the 1995 miniseries, "she seemed to grow on you." Indeed she did. Somehow I picked the book back up the next evening and found myself, like Darcy toward Elizabeth, a rather unwilling fan.
Aidan does a creditable job exploring the inner life of one of literature's most enigmatic heroes. I never considered it much, but there must have been quite a bit going on in Darcy's head as he interacted (and tried not to interact) with Elizabeth. This is no attempt at imitating Austen's literary style or her razor-sharp wit, which was probably a wise choice. Aidan, while never jarringly modern, has a pleasing way with descriptive phrases and her characters are compelling.
How unpleasant to near the end of this volume and discover that it was only the first of three novels that take Darcy through the events of Pride & Prejudice. How galling to request the next two at my library only to find that my library didn't have them and I would have to ILL them. How long the intervening ten days seemed before they arrived! Yes, I found myself certainly in Darcy's situation, an unwilling fan who nevertheless could not stay away from the desired object.
An Assembly Such as This is fan fiction, of course, but of the more elevated type. Do you know, despite the rocky start I think I would reread? I suppose the shades of Pemberley will have to lump it. show less
I'll be honest, early on I almost put it down. Fitzwilliam Darcy, from whose perspective this is told, overthinks show more everything to the point of the reader's exhaustion. So much is overdone. Occasionally the descriptions of his thoughts are just.... well, lame. Consider this example when Sir William is talking to Darcy about dancing:
Darcy's years of training enabled him to remain still while every nerve in his body screamed to be removed from participation in one of the most inane conversations of his experience. (69)
"Years of training," "remaining still," and "every nerve in his body" seem to imply that Darcy (Darcy!) was about to physically lose control and run yelling from the room, just because someone was boring him — at least, that's the picture this awkward sentence gives me. Aidan is clearly still finding her way in both writing and characterization. But then, as Miss Bingley observes to Darcy in the 1995 miniseries, "she seemed to grow on you." Indeed she did. Somehow I picked the book back up the next evening and found myself, like Darcy toward Elizabeth, a rather unwilling fan.
Aidan does a creditable job exploring the inner life of one of literature's most enigmatic heroes. I never considered it much, but there must have been quite a bit going on in Darcy's head as he interacted (and tried not to interact) with Elizabeth. This is no attempt at imitating Austen's literary style or her razor-sharp wit, which was probably a wise choice. Aidan, while never jarringly modern, has a pleasing way with descriptive phrases and her characters are compelling.
How unpleasant to near the end of this volume and discover that it was only the first of three novels that take Darcy through the events of Pride & Prejudice. How galling to request the next two at my library only to find that my library didn't have them and I would have to ILL them. How long the intervening ten days seemed before they arrived! Yes, I found myself certainly in Darcy's situation, an unwilling fan who nevertheless could not stay away from the desired object.
An Assembly Such as This is fan fiction, of course, but of the more elevated type. Do you know, despite the rocky start I think I would reread? I suppose the shades of Pemberley will have to lump it. show less
Lists
You May Also Like
Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 6
- Also by
- 1
- Members
- 3,782
- Popularity
- #6,699
- Rating
- 3.7
- Reviews
- 140
- ISBNs
- 33
- Languages
- 3
- Favorited
- 10