Duty and Desire

Picking up her re-imagining of Pride and Prejudice where An Assembly Such as This left off, Pamela Aidan has crafted another winner in the category of Austen inspired fiction. Duty and Desire finds the indefatigable Mr Darcy stubborn as ever, and convinced that if he could only find a woman "of his own station as beautiful and blessed with wit as Elizabeth Bennet, whose charms would banish her from his mind and displace her in his heart."

Despite knowing where the story will eventually lead, it is a very pleasant and diverting journey watching Darcy's attempts to forget Elizabeth by immersing himself in Society (again people, that's society with a capital "S".) I fell easily back into the world of Regency Era England, and was show more immediately engrossed in the story. I find that I truly love peeking behind the curtains to see what was happening with Darcy when he was away in Town (that's town with a capital "T".)

It has been suggested by some reviewers that Pamela Aidan added some out-of-character-elements to Duty and Desire, that made it a less enjoyable read. Without giving away plot details, let me just say that there is an added focus on religion, which some readers seem to find questionable. Also, the author has included some Gothic details that Austen lovers take exception to. Being a bit of an Austen neophyte myself, I didn't have a problem with any liberties the author may have taken.

Easily as well-written and readable as An Assembly Such as This, Duty and Desire has only served to further ignite my interest - I must finish this series immediately to see where Pamela Aidan will take us next! show less

After rather unwillingly enjoying the first novel in Pamela Aidan's retelling of Pride & Prejudice, I cannot say I found the second quite so agreeable. In Duty and Desire, Aidan's writing seems to have improved from her first effort, but if the character wasn't named Fitzwilliam Darcy it would not have been evident that this was a part of his story. The plot events present such a radical departure from the norms of Austen's world, I am still at a loss what to think of it.

The story also struggles because Elizabeth is absent for most of its pages, present only in Darcy's thoughts and shoved entirely to the side by the lurid events at Norwycke Castle, whence Darcy repairs to find a suitable replacement for his fine-eyed fascination. The show more story quickly becomes more of a mystery than anything else, with Darcy and his highly competent valet Fletcher tracking down clues and trying to discover the author of the disturbances.

I do give Aidan full credit for the inventiveness of her plot. It is so far removed from anything I can imagine Austen penning. Some readers will like that; others, like me, will like it better if they think of it as its own tale, unrelated to Austen's characters or story. Duty and Desire would make an admirable historical novel in its own right, but it doesn't feel a plausible place for Austenian characters to live in. show less

This second book in the Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman trilogy is both very silly and rather horrible. Almost horrible enough to be fun, but not quite. Just standard horrible.

The premise seems interesting enough--it is set during one of the time periods when Darcy disappears from Pride and Prejudice and no one knows what he's doing. Turns out he realizes that Elizabeth Bennet does not like him, so he sets out to find someone to replace her in his affections. So far, so good.

Unfortunately, the first half of the book is Darcy sitting in church thinking, and then having boring conversations with his cousin Col. Fitzwilliam or speaking in platitudes with his sister Georgiana. In the later half, he goes off to Northanger Abbey and gets show more involved in a ridiculous Gothic plot in a creepy castle.

This Darcy is a cardboard hero who is boringly flawless, and the only likeable character in the novel is his valet, Fletcher.

Aiden uses a weirdly antiquey style of writing that I think is supposed to sound Austen-esque, but has none of Austen's flair or wit.

I praised the first book in the trilogy (An Assembly Such as This) as "not atrocious," but I'm sorry to say that part two is most definitely atrocious.

Recommended for: Many readers suggest skipping this part of the trilogy, and I heartily agree. show less

I believe this is the volume that completely diverts from the original story line, but which seems wholly plausible given that the original story doesn't even touch upon what Darcy was doing for part of the year; which is why I enjoy it the best out of all the three. Despite the fact that I know how it ends, I enjoyed reading how Darcy would get himself out certain situations.

I did enjoy this sequel a bit more than An Assembly Such As This. I'm not sure whether the prose actually got better or if I just noticed infelicities less often, but the things that bothered me about the first one were less bothersome this time. Though I will say that I could do with about a third fewer adjectives altogether and at least half as many attached to dialogue tags. Aidan follows Darcy through the biggish bit of P&P where he is absent, and at first I was a little unsure about a retelling of sorts that would stray so far from the original. But despite some minor problems I have with Aidan's interpretation of Darcy's character (I enjoy seeing his motivations and feelings on the page and for the most part I buy it, but show more sometimes he's just a little too wooby to believe), I liked her foray into a sort of creepy, gothic storyline while Darcy tried to escape his feelings about Elizabeth with a visit to some old college friends. show less

Couldn't resist it, and just had to get stuck into book 2. This volume is based on the gap between the dance at Netherfield and Darcy visiting his Aunt Catherine, and the result is rather Gothic.

Accompanied by his valet Fletcher, Darcy goes to the country to a rather strange house. There is a local curse, family secrets and women in search of husbands, all of which lead to a cracking plot. With so much going on, it would be easy for Darcy to forget all about the Bennetts, but luckily Fletcher is on hand to keep them in his mind.

The lost months of Darcy intrigue all readers and it is entertaining to see how Pamela Aidan filled in the dots, though this may shock Pride and Prejudice fans who are not familiar with Northanger Abbey. I look show more forward to book number 3. show less

The second book in the "Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman" series starts pretty much where the first one left off. The Bingleys are in London, and Darcy is on his way to Pemberley for Christmas, and to see Georgiana.

Since this is the time period in Pride and Prejudice where the Bennets are in Hertfordshire, Jane visits London, and not much is said of the Bingleys or Darcys, Aidan could more fully explore her character, his thoughts and actions, and his fashionable set. The result was a bit more mixed for me than the first book. I thought her character's actions and thoughts were completely believable. Georgiana, too, is excellently fleshed out in the beginning of the book; she is shy, but has left behind her depression as a result of her show more companion, Mrs. Annesley, and her new-found faith. Darcy sees this change in Georgiana, and must choose between this and a decidedly darker path, one that appears to me (and in all honesty, this may be my partly due to ignorance of the time period in which the book is set) far too black and white, good or evil. There is a mystery introduced about halfway into the story, but in all honesty I was never in doubt about the ultimate cause, only ignorant of the particulars. All this being said, I enjoyed the story thoroughly, read it quickly, and am looking forward to reading the next one. show less