An Assembly Such as This

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 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 show more 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

While parts of this re-telling were very enjoyable, the essential characterization of Darcy was at too great odds with the picture I got from Austen. I liked seeing Bingley more fully developed and especially liked that he found his sisters annoying. In Austen's version I often thought he must be oblivious, but Ms. Aidan suggests that Bingley is like most brothers who find sisters obnoxious - avoid whenever possible, but don't actually say anything derogatory out of family loyalty. Darcy, however, comes across as a lovelorn puppy - and that just didn't work for me. All the lingering glances and the maneuverings to see Elizabeth - I just didn't buy it. My reading of Austen was more along the lines of Darcy being forced to notice show more Elizabeth - not seeking her out. Darcy struck me as what a teen girl would like a boy to be like - all obsessed about her. Disappointing. show less

If you know Pride and Prejudice, you already know the "what" of this story and the sequels to follow. As this is the story from Darcy's point of view, however, you may not be acquainted with the "how." Instead of following the Bennets through their mother's machinations, dinner conversations, trips to dances and London, we follow Darcy and Bingley.

While this story may be retreading familiar ground, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Aidan clearly loves Austen, and her familiarity with Pride and Prejudice comes through strongly in her use of particular scenes and her reinterpretation of them. Sometimes the dialogue is straight from the original, and other times the conversation is subtly changed, as if each party had remembered the incident with a show more slightly different emphasis or wording. Her characters ring true to me, and I enjoyed her explanation of Darcy's thoughts behind some of his statements. As this is the first story in the trilogy, the book only goes as far as Darcy and Bingley's retreat to London, the section that I personally found to be the weakest. Even so, it was a delightful story and I look forward to reading the rest of the trilogy. show less

In An Assembly Such as This, Pamela Aidan re-tells the first part of Jane Austen masterpiece Pride and Prejudice through the eyes of Mr Fitzwilliam Darcy. This is the first of a trilogy of novels exploring the inner recesses of the mind of the iconic Mr Darcy, as he visits with his friend Charles Bingley at Netherfield.

I'm relatively new to the world of Jane Austen re-tellings, but I've found that I really am a sucker for anything Austenesque. I love entering the world of the characters of Jane Austen novels, delving into the motivations that may have been left mysterious by Miss Austen.

Pamela Aidan stays true to the Austen style and the basic character traits of our beloved Mr Darcy, while expanding on the details of Regency era show more England and the pleasures of its Society (that's society with a capital "S" you'll note.) An Assembly Such as This manages to stay very close to the original story, with few deviations.

Rigorous in his ideals of his duty to his sister as well as his friend Bingley and his sisters, Darcy is ever striving to to the right thing, whatever that may be. The reader comes away with the definite feeling that he is the same old Darcy that we know and love, with a bit more insight into what drives the man.

An Assembly Such as This is beautifully written, meticulously researched, and with a impeccable attention to detail. Pamela Aidan's work stands beside Austen's original and is not damaged by the comparison. This is a delicious and stunning introduction into the mind of Mr Darcy. It will be interesting to see where Pamela Aidan goes with the next two novels in the series. show less

The best P&P spinoff series I've read yet. Mostly because it's historically correct in language and events, and none of the characters attempt to brush their teeth, engage in "yeah, totally" type colloquialisms, or tie their own cravats.

{First of 3 ; stand-alone, Austen fan fiction. 2003}

I really should stop expecting that modern day novels continuing a Jane Austen story would live up to the author's style. I don't know why I should expect them to, but I do. I'm reviewing this assuming that readers have a tolerable acquaintance with Austen's Pride and Prejudice on the events of which this book is based so be wary of spoilers if you haven't read the original.

You probably could read this book without having read Pride and Prejudice first but I suspect you would not enjoy it as much; the depth in understanding it comes from knowing something of the source of the story. The story is told from Darcy's point of view, to explain his about face, and covers the events in Pride show more and Prejudice from the first assembly at Meryton up to the point when the Netherfield party suddenly decamps for London.

Descriptions of clothes and large quantities of food and drink appear, which are historical notes that Aidan gives us. Of course, Austen would not have had to since she was writing a contemporary novel (and, I suspect, it might have been considered vulgar to include such details at that time).

I do appreciate the addition of 'Nelson' and 'Trafalgar', supposedly Darcy‘s favourite horse and hound. Austen lived and wrote during the time of the Napoleonic wars - but I just like Aidan's depictions of the animals.

Of course some of this book is taken directly from Pride and Prejudice and generally it stays true to the spirit of the original - except for some occasional odd grammar (which then sticks out like a sore thumb in this quintessentially English period story, unfortunately) such as 'looked out the window' instead of 'looked out OF the window'. This story tries for the ambience of the Austen novel and succeeds better than most modern day interpretations although it still tends to lean more towards Georgette Heyer and even has a dash of PG Wodehouse splashed in to garnish it towards the end.

One of the better Austen adaptations I've read (although, to be honest, I tend to avoid them).

February 2021
3.5? stars show less

Lo ammetto ero molto restia a comprare questo romanzo... Alla fine me lo sono fatta prestare e, ammettiamolo, per fortuna!
Sono rimasta piacevolmente sorpresa al punto che, adesso, sono alla ricerca di una copia da acquistare.
Piacevole, ben scritto e piuttosto verosimile questa escursione nella mente di Mr Darcy. L'uomo che con ogni probabilità ha affascinato milioni di donne al mondo con il suo carattere burbero e apparentemente insensibile.

Forse in alcuni tratti la passeggiata fra i pensieri di Mr Darcy ci spinge a giudicarlo troppo "diverso" o "morbido" rispetto al Mr Darcy della Austen ma questo, oltre a che essere naturale (e pur sempre un punto di vista diverso, la Aidan NON è la Austen) è anche comprensibile. Almeno con il suo show more IO interiore, Mr Darcy, avrà il diritto ad essere più rilassato?

Bel libro, lo consiglio. Ma solamente a chi AMA, nel vero senso della parola, Orgoglio e Pregiudizio. Romando piuttosto difficile da consigliare, dipende tutto dal "genere" di rapporto che si ha con le opere "ispirate" ai grandi amori della letteratura. show less