Duty and Desire

I do love me some Pride and Prejudice retellings! Pamela Aiden's offerings introduce us to some charming new characters and broadens our knowledge of others...a fun, light read. The second book in the trilogy enters into a Gothic romance style which is a bit out of character for Darcy, but still enjoyable.

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

Pamela Aidan's second book in the 'Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman' series is extremely well done. Never have I read a continuation or addition to Pride and Prejudice that was so well written. In this second book Aidan gives Darcy some depth and a journey away from Elizabeth Bennet. I couldn't put this down!

This story went off in a direction that I wouldn't have expected but it was still enjoyable and well written. The relationship between Darcy and his valet was developed well and injected some dry humour into the novel. It was my least favourite of the trilogy but still great.

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

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