Jan Hahn

Do you know what Pride & Prejudice has been missing all these years? Austen said: a serious and definitive essay about the Napoleonic wars, but ah, what did she know.

What it needs, really, truly, is highwaymen.

Also ~
a ransom plot,
some easily duped conmen,
and a sprinkling of mentions of Almacks.

Hahn has generously improved the second half of P&P by adding all of this and more, in a prose style chockfull of awkward "archaic" grammar and slightly ajar vocabulary.

Lizzie Bennet loses her show more gumption and intelligence, is buffetted by outside elements while stupid misunderstandings contrive to set up a love triangle so that Darcy can Brood Moar.

She loses Lizzie's social acuity, her ability to analyse conversations - or remember them clearly. This 1st person pov summarises meetings Austen might have done in reported speech if only for cameos of the bystanders. I miss all the minor characters you'd expect in an Austen novel. This book is only interested in its romantic leads. Consequently it loses Austen!Lizzie's interest in other people's feelings.

It also sheds Austen!Lizzie's rigorous self control of her face and speech. She acquires Jane Bennett's near dimness and adds to it a self absorption Jane never had.

Because everything is subordinated to the happy ever after of romance Hahn!Lizzie skips the emotional and rational journey of being told Wickham's sins - disbelieving it, unable to dismiss it, re-evaluating, re-assessing, judging and deciding. What a timesaver, in this story, for her to believe Darcy the minute he tells the truth without any thinking about it. This Lizzie is all nerves and no brain, her mother's daughter but not Austen's.

Jane Bennet stops making heroic efforts to think the best of everyone and dwindles into a generic confidante sister. Darcy has dimples and a snowball fight in a public London park. (To quote Princess Bride: in-con-CIEV-able.)

Which were my favourite bits.. hmm, let me think. Perhaps the scene where Lizzie got doorstopped by hanoverian papparazi, or no - then there was a 48 hour sequence when the couple's only meal was a lapful of blackberries at the end of which Lizzie wanted Darcy to stagger into a storm and comb the district for medical help.

I'm trying to forget the highwayman's plot arc. At some stages his risk of being hanged is an important plot point which we should care about, but then people are mean to our heroine at the opera and that means blond scarred hunk is forgotten again.

The excitingly dramatic geography of the home counties, swamp, cave, jungle-forest and thousands of miles of solitude, all disposed as best suited the story, was a pleasure.

Mostly, I loved the subtlety of the courtship. The following quote takes place in front of Lizzie's mother.

How skillfully he struggled to repress his emotions, the only clues being his sudden intake of breath and consequent heaving chest.
"Goodnight Fitzwilliam," I whispered, and climbed into the cab. show less

In this Pride and Prejudice variation Elizabeth Bennet is secretly betrothed to Wickham!. I was not sure before I read the book whether I would find this action believable but the writing propelled me through the story.
Can Darcy win the hand of Lizzy as they meet at Rosings and Brighton?
I do not give any book on the first read 5 stars, but I believe this is one of the books that once I have read again I will change to 5.

Un trepidante viaje de amor
The Journey por Jan Hahn

La trama de la historia es muy interesante y te atrapa desde la primera línea con un ritmo de lectura ágil, rápido, trepidante y muy ameno, los personajes bien construidos y unos más profundos que otros.
Como siempre el tema central es la relación de Darcy y Elizabeth y cómo situaciones externas los expone y actúan en consecuencia. La autora conserva el carácter de ambos y los pone a prueba con la incorporación de nuevos personajes show more con características muy particulares (como peligrosos asaltantes e incluso asesinos).
El tema secundario pero no menos interesante son las situaciones adversas que vive un ser humano para llegar a convertirse en un bandolero y cómo el carácter generoso y compasivo de Elizabeth que lucha por creer en él y defenderlo hasta el punto de permitirle una segunda oportunidad y empezar de cero.
Hay un alto nivel de acción con mucha química entre los personajes. Llena de momentos muy románticos y tiernos que unida a la acción borda muy bien la trama.
Con un final abierto que traspasa la siguiente generación Darcy. Y te deja con esa sensación de querer un segundo libro de la historia. Una variación que deja muchas sensaciones de fascinación por la pareja que perdurará en nuestra memoria.
La autora es muy hábil en la narración de la aventura y el romance. Jugando con estos dos estilos.
Recomiendo esta historia si busca un momento de relax y entretenimiento, se lee con mucha fluidez, con grandes dosis de suspenso, emoción y calidez.

http://warmisunquausten.blogspot.com.es/2013/06/un-trepidante-viaje-de-amor.html show less

An Arranged Marriage by Jan Hahn is a 'Pride and Prejudice Alternate Path' book. It is based on the original Pride and Prejudice but picks up after Mr. Darcy purposes for the first time. Mr. Bennett dies unexpectedly and Elizabeth is forced to return home immediately. I was sad about this fact because he is one of my favorite characters in Pride and Prejudice. However his untimely death has some foreseen consequences. For example, the house is entailed to Mr. Collins and the Bennetts will show more have to not only find a place to live but also live on a very moderate income. Mr. Darcy comes to the rescue and lays an arrangement on the table that is hard to refuse. If Lizzy agrees to marry Darcy then he will provide for her family. At first Lizzy refuses but after consideration she agrees to sacrifice her happiness for the sake of her family. Thus the story begins.
I was a little taken aback by Lizzy's character in this book. She is not her usually charming, witty self, instead she's angry and leery at Mr. Darcy. I could understand her feeling though. She recently lost her beloved father and she is married to a man she doesn't really know or like. After all he did ruin the happiness of her sister, Jane. Mr. Darcy's character is a bit hard and unrelenting as well. He's used to having his will be done all the time and without question. He's not used to showing emotion or talking about his feelings. These two characters interact like oil and vinegar.
The story line to this book is good. I enjoyed reading every bit of it. Both Lizzy and Darcy's characters transform over each page. They both have a lot to learn about each other as being a married couple. I love that Hahn included most of the characters from the original book, especially Lady Catherine and Caroline Bingley. They are great characters that add adversity to Elizabeth and Darcy's happiness. Jan Hahn did a great job with the beloved characters of Pride and Prejudice. Fans of Jane Austen will love this book. show less