The Murder of Mr Wickham

“Perhaps there is no surer ground for the foundation of a friendship than a shared time of trouble.”

Take beloved Jane Austen characters, invite them all to a house party, and solve a murder mystery! What a perfect beginning to a new series. As a lover of all things Jane, I had high expectations going into this story. I’m happy to say I was not disappointed. While the timeline was tweaked a bit, this glimpse into what the future might have looked like after the happily ever after endings of Jane Austen’s couples was intriguing.

It’s 1820, and the Knightleys have a full house of guests who’ve come for a house party. The Darcys are there along with their eldest son Jonathan. Juliet Tilney, daughter of famed authoress Catherine show more Tilney and clergyman Henry, was invited by Emma as an opportunity to interact with more Society. Marianne and Colonel Brandon have arrived on the heels of their six month anniversary. The Wentworths and Betrams are also in attendance. What no one expects, is the uninvited appearance of George Wickham.

It seems everyone has a reason to hate Wickham. His latest scheme affected everyone in one way or another. When he winds up murdered, there are a slew of suspects and motives with the bumbling but affable Frank Churchill, now the magistrate, called in to investigate. It’s up to the next generation, Jonathan and Juliet to solve the mystery.

I loved Jonathan & Juliet! They’re both delightful characters whom I immediately liked. Jonathan would most likely be considered neurodivergent. He has difficultly reading people and is very literal. Sometimes his literalness is mistaken for humor. Juliet is curious, intelligent, and kind. She and Jonathan work well together. With her, Jonathan is able to be himself. I’m hoping the budding romance between them will continue in the next book.

I throughly enjoyed the witty writing style & the way the author tried to stay true to the characters. Each couple struggled not only with Wickham, but other issues in their marriages that the murder investigation brought to the surface. It was a realistic look at what these often clashing personalities may have come up against over time. I was glad to see each problem mostly resolved by the end.

It’s hard to see favorite characters accused of murder, but the author did a fantastic job laying out the case with several red herrings thrown in along the way. The mystery definitely kept me guessing up until the end.

Thoroughly enjoyed this Austenesque mystery and look forward to the next book! Highly recommend listening to the audiobook version. The narrator is fantastic and really made the book come alive. I received an advanced complimentary copy from the author. All opinions are completely my own and voluntarily given.

Spoiler: Mention of an off the page gay character whose existence is a potential motivation for murder. While I found the situation a bit implausible, it’s handled respectfully and in keeping with the times. show less

Oh my! For all of us Janeites out there, (we ardent lovers of Jane Austen novels), this book was such a delight, as a number of characters from at least six of Jane's novels, gathered at the Knightleys' Donwell Abbey, for a charming house party. There were even a few creatively imagined progeny of our beloved Austen couples, who were charmingly introduced in this story. Although intentionally not delivered in the voice of Jane Austen, (after all, there is only one Jane Austen), the dialogue was most apropos for the time and setting of the story.

It was the summer of 1820. Among the guests were Fitwilliam and Elizabeth Darcy and their son, Jonathan, a clergyman's daughter - Miss Juliet Tilney, Vicar Edmund and Fanny Bertram, Captain and show more Anne Wentworth and Colonel and Marianne Brandon. As everyone gathered at Donwell Abbey, there was the usual anxiety of a large gathering of a mixed group of friends and acquaintances. Will they be simpatico? Will the young people, Johnathan Darcy and Miss Juliet Tilney get on well, as there are so few others their age in attendance. And the Wentworths just had to be there, as their home, rented from George Knightley's brother, just had its staircase collapse and is in need of repair. So gradually over the course of their first few hours, everyone did the delicate dance around one another as they got acquainted. Things were moving along as planned until that cur of a man, George Wickham, rudely descended upon Donwell Abbey, uninvited, demanding his due. As a storm raged outside, the Knightleys could hardly throw him out into that wretched weather. So stay, Mr. Wickham must, much to the chagrin of most of the guests. A number of them were, unfortunately, well acquainted with George Wickham and rued the day they met him. This was definitely not the house party Emma Knightley imagined but they must all make the best of it and carry on. That is until George Wickham is discovered dead in the gallery in the wee early morning hours. The two youngest guests decide that it is up to them to do a bit of sleuthing. They each knew of the other's innocence of the crime. Jonathan had been at the stable with his favorite steed and was alibied by the stable boy. Juliet had never met George Wickham before in her life. So, what possible reason could she have for murdering him? And thus the murder mystery commences.

Ms. Gray has done a fabulous job of renewing our affection for these Austen characters. She writes exquisitely and in perfect form for the period represented. The character development is steady throughout and we slowly learn of each character's thoughts, concerns and motivations. As is ever with a good mystery, there was a fair number of red herrings over the course of the story. Wickham was such a despicable soul, that almost all of the guests had reason to detest him. One might even say that it was justifiable homicide. The tension increases gradually throughout the story drawing to a peak and then relaxes to a satisfying conclusion. The budding friendship between Jonathan and Juliet is sweet and chaste. This reader is ever hopeful that a sequel is forthcoming where that relationship can be further developed. If a Jane Austen style mystery is your jam then this may well be the perfect book for you.

I am grateful to author Claudia Gray and her publisher, Vintage Books, for having provided a complimentary uncorrected proof of this book. Their generosity, however, did not influence this review - the words of which are mine alone. show less

Jane Austen's characters are unmistakable. Just how these characters would get along together has always been a fascinating thing to consider. It goes without saying that Mr. Wickham would be no one's favorite (not even Lydia's, as we aready know long before the end of Pride and Prejudice) but would any reader imagine that one of Austen's other characters would murder him? That is exactly the premise here. Emma and George Knightley throw a house party for a who's who of Jane Austen's characters in this excessively diverting mystery where, good news (and spoiler alert!) Mr. Wickham, more odious than ever, is murdered.

The Knightleys, having determined to host a month long house party, have invited a rather disparate collection of people show more to Donwell Abbey. There is Emma Knightley's cousin Colonel Brandon and his new bride Marianne; George Knightley's old school chum Mr. Darcy with his wife Elizabeth and son Jonathan; Juliet Tilney, the teenaged daughter of novelist Catherine Tilney and her husband Henry; Knightley's relations Edmund and Fanny Bertram; and Captain and Anne Wentworth, who are letting Hartfield from the Knightleys but who have had to move out because of a collapsed staircase. What starts as a slightly awkward party promises to smooth out over the month, at least until Mr. Wickham arrives uninvited and unwelcome. A terrible storm ensures that he must stay in the Abbey despite his being reviled by almost everyone at the party. The Darcys have long had reason to dislike him but he has caused even further grief and destruction in their family. As for the others, he had unsavory or ruinous financial or personal dealings with almost all of them so they found him no more welcome than the Darcys do. But they all endured him until the morning that Juliet Tilney stumbled over him quite dead.




Jonathan Darcy, who has been making a hash of the party, and specifically of his interactions with Juliet Tilney (he's very definitely neurodivergent), ends up teaming up with Juliet, to try and solve the murder. Their investigating has to stay within the acceptable bounds of interactions between unmarried young men and women of the time but in and amongst the eavesdropping, conjecture, and otherwise creative ways to be a part of magistrate Frank Churchill's questioning, there is also a blush of courtship. Jonathan and Juliet are the only two members of the house party who can be ruled out as suspects as each of the other characters' histories with Wickham and fibs about their movements the night of the murder start to come to light. The murder also exposes the state of the marriages of Austen's beloved characters, who did not all go off to have completely untroubled happily ever afters as it turns out. From misunderstandings to doubts, anger to shame, these marriages are not perfect and the underlying tensions complicate the search to uncover the murderer. The novel is full of secrets and misdirections and as the reader turns the pages, they wonder just who killed Wickham, changing their mind several times as the story progresses. The characters retain their personalities from Austen's stories and it is interesting to see how those personalities interact, how they sometimes judge each other by the standards of their time, and how they might possibly have been able to commit murder. One of the storylines was just a bit too anachronistic but it served its purpose in creating a reason for one of the characters to fear Wickham's presence. The mystery as a whole was a delight and the resolution was thoroughly satisfying. Wickham deserved what he got and the reader gets to enjoy this tale of Wickham's richly justified demise. show less

Before I gush about how much I loved this book and how fun it is, I will talk about a few frustrating things. I was unhappy with how long it took to get to Wickham’s murder. Not only does the story drag on at the beginning, but I also hate Wickham so much that I want him dead as soon as possible. If I remember correctly, Juliet finds Wickham’s body between pages 70-80. When reading murder mysteries, there’s an understanding that the murder or dead body happens in the first few chapters/pages (depending on how long your chapters are). With this kind of mystery (based on a classic novel of already established characters), there needs to be some information on how they all come together and what’s happened since the closing of show more their books. I found that part enjoyable to see the characters interact with each other and what’s happened since, but there could’ve been some edits at the beginning.

While the conclusion was interesting, it felt like it could be more satisfying. I was a bit disappointed by who had done it and the why, not that it wasn’t believable, it definitely was, but I wanted something a bit meatier if that makes sense.

Now, on to how much fun this book was. I loved it! It was fun and exciting to see all the characters interact with each other and see how they are as married couples. I especially love seeing Elizabeth and Darcy’s marriage and how their tension during the novel plays out. Losing a child is one of the worst traumas someone could go through, and it’s going to cause issues.

Speaking of the Darcys, I have to bring up Jonathan! Oh, my sweet summer child, I love my little bean, who’s so adorable. A few days before I started reading the book, a book club I’m in talked about how Darcy is an autistic coded character, so it was hilarious when I started reading and finding out that Jonathan is autistic. He’s my favorite, along with Juliet Tilney! I love how Juliet acts like a typical Regency woman but departs from that role by standing up for herself and having her own mind. She was a thoroughly fascinating character. I also absolutely love the interactions between Juliet and Jonathan. They are both adorable little beans and have my entire heart. It’s nice to see Juliet judge Jonathan at first but later realize he has quirks but is still worth being friends with (or something more). She doesn’t degrade or look down on him for his autism, even though that wouldn’t have been a diagnosis back then.

The other characters were all great, and Gray did a fantastic job honoring the source material by Jane Austen and making them her own. Gray’s extension of their stories was fun to see how they navigate the ups and downs of marriage with their respective spouses. Another compelling aspect of the novel is the side story of Fanny Bertram and her brother William’s secret, which is that he’s a homosexual. When Fanny tells her husband, Edward, his response is the typical, expected response for this period. But I was so happy to see Fanny stand up for her values and brother. Seeing Edward struggle to understand his wife’s reactions and reasons was also enjoyable. Fanny’s letter at the end was beautiful, too. The line where she says she doesn’t understand and still loves him is absolutely perfect. It’s the whole point of the LGBTQ movement; people don’t need to understand or like it, but give us our space. But that’s asking too much.

I’m definitely interested in reading the next novel in the series and seeing how Juliet and Jonathan’s friendship (or relationship) grows! show less

Mr and Mrs Knightley's goal was to host a genial house party of relatives and friends—including several faces familiar to anyone who's read the novels of Jane Austen—with nothing occurring more stressful than avoiding the odious Mrs Elton and perhaps some light matchmaking. But soon there's an unexpected guest in the form of Mr Wickham, who even more unexpectedly turns up quite dead in the middle of the night. There is a killer among them, but who? Jonathan Darcy, son of Darcy and Lizzy, and Juliet Tilney, daughter of Catherine Morland and Henry Tilney, endeavour to find out.

This was a solid three-star read for me, partly due to some personal preferences, partly due to some issues I had with the book itself. With regards to the show more former, I was hoping that The Murder of Mr Wickham, if not quite a romp, would at least have some wit and fun to it. Having read some work by Claudia Gray before, I was sure that she could match the entertainment value of Jenny Crusie at her best. But this is actually a fairly sombre book, with many of the characters we're familiar with spending a lot of time angry or upset with one another. This is often for good reason, but it was honestly a bit stressful for me to read.

Equally, I can give Gray a pass on not trying to recreate Austen's dialogue or prose too closely, but there were some anachronisms and Americanisms that made me sigh. (Balls were "given" or "held", not "thrown"; the Regency aristocracy weren't sitting down to strawberry scones for breakfast and they certainly weren't dipping them in cream, etc.) Other readers may not get hung up on these things as much as I do, but I also thought that there were pacing issues, too many POV characters, and a couple of character actions that just seemed implausible/caricatured to me.

All that said, I definitely did find myself turning the pages wanting to know whodunnit, and I appreciated Gray's attempts to broaden the scope of Austen's world. (One of the new characters introduced, Jonathan, is clearly written as neurodivergent.) If not quite the escapism that I wanted, it is still an entertaining read. show less

Cheers to Claudia Gray and their incredibly creative brain!

I love how Gray takes characters known from Jane Austen's world and expands upon them so well, giving them more depth and personality. I'm not an all-knowing Austen fan by any means, but I do know my way around the characters from Pride and Prejudice, and that was plenty to enjoy some nuances found here.

Get in the English mindset for a house party of epic proportions. (Who knew house parties were set for weeks at a time back then!) Guests did not even get a chance to know each other before the murder is committed, placing the very proper English society rules in a precarious position.

Keeping the characters straight in my brain took a few chapters (should've made myself a cheat show more sheet...). I especially adored the unique personality traits given to Jonathan Darcy, keeping things spicy. In my personal musings, it theoretically explains much about his father's personality traits displayed in P&P. What a spitfire Juliet is - she keeps surprising the guests with her thinking brain and just a slight disdain for social rigidity. I would enjoy another mystery with these two characters at the helm (hint hint).

I do love a good mystery and usually find myself knowing the perpetrator long before the end of a story. HOWEVER, Gray kept the twists and turns coming, only releasing minuscule clues here and there. I was guessing until the big reveal! So. Much. Respect.

I received this copy at Penguin Random House booth at San Diego Comic-con in July and was able to meet Gray for a signing. I wish I had known how much then that I needed to extend my gratitude for this excellent read! I look forward to reading more books authored by Gray. show less

For Jane Austen fans, The Murder of Mr. Wickham by Claudia Gray is a must read. Not only because one of the most odious of all literary characters meets his end, but because Gray gives the reader a credible look at what might have happened to Austen’s main characters after the curtain is drawn on their stories. Gray explores the what-ifs of Darcy and Elizabeth, Fanny and Edmund, Emma and Knightley, Marianne and Colonel Brandon, Anne and Captain Wentworth, as well as two original characters in Juliet Tilney and Jonathan Darcy. While the murder mystery is interesting with sufficient twists, turns, and surprises, the beyond-the-wedding stuff is great. However, the most interesting character of all is Jonathan Darcy, eldest son of show more Fitzwilliam and Elizabeth Darcy. I won’t disclose too much, but he decidedly does not fit into the standards of Regency England. His characterization is fascinating, especially through a Regency lens. Gray keeps her writing style true to Austen’s too. You will feel you are right back in Highbury with all your favorites.

Clever imagining of the later lives of the Austen characters all with Mr. Wickham’s murder — what more could a Janeite want? 😉 The Murder of Mr. Wickham is a recommended read.

Recommended.

Audience: Adults.

(Thanks to AustenProse for a complimentary copy. All opinions expressed are mine alone.) show less