Lady Catherine's Necklace

Kidnapping! Stolen diamonds! Suicide! Secret bastards! Secrets in attics! And yet, terribly dull. There is absolutely no point to this book, which supposedly continues the story of Catherine de Bourgh and her relations and hangers-on. I say supposedly because not only was this book dull, but *none* of the characters match their namesakes in [book: Pride and Prejudice]. Maria Lucas, who was last a shy girl overawed by Rosings, is now a sparkling wit akin to Elizabeth Bennet. Anne de Bourgh, latterly an ill, silent enigma, runs around befriending gay painters and doing heavy garden work with her illegitimate half-brother--wait, no, half-sister! Oh the unnecessary plot twists. The new characters are even worse, because they serve no show more purpose at all. Why does Aiken pay so much attention to the Delaval siblings (carbon copies of the Crawfords in [book: Mansfield Park]) if absolutely nothing happens due to them? Catherine's brother has Lady Catherine kidnapped so he can search Rosings' attic--and finds his old poems. Idiocy!
There is no emotional weight to this story. The various revelations and shocking events go by without any of the characters appearing in the least surprised, let alone affected. A frustrating novel. show less

I love Joan Aiken! Lady Catherine's Necklace starts off kinda sweet and slow as molasses in winter. Then folks start misbehaving (in the most classy way of course, this is not a trashy novel). Different characters begin popping up from other Jane Austen novels but the setting is Rosings, the lovely estate of Lady Catherine de Bourgh and the story centers mostly around her, her Weird daughter, Anne, nephew Fitzwilliam and the Collins, including the unmarried Maria Lucas, who really shines. There are a few clever twists and surprises but they never get ridiculous and spoil the story. I found myself grinning ear to ear at the wonderfully unexpected ending. I never saw THAT coming! This is the second Austen inspired work of Aiken's that show more I've read and I'm delighted to know that the minute I finish writing this review I have another one waiting for me on my iPad. (Thanks Sourcebooks for all the free Jane on her birthday! show less

As an Austen spin-off it does not come even close to the masterful writing and characterization of the original. Taken on it's own, it is an okay romantic mystery.

What happens to Jane Austen's minor characters after the events of Pride and Prejudice? What audacity. Lacking consistency of character and plausible plot but what a hoot.

Janeites are quite prone to rereading the six books she completed during her brief lifetime, and some of us can't be satisfied with that. Joan Aiken is one of several authors who have imagined either "what came next" or mysteries with the characters from Austen's books. In this one, the characters from [b:Pride and Prejudice|1885|Pride and Prejudice|Jane Austen|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1158963071s/1885.jpg|3060926] must deal with the disappearance of a necklace belonging to the obnoxious and snobbish Lady Catherine de Bourgh. A good effort and enjoyable, although not without anachronisms.

The plot is confusing and the characters are severly underdeveloped. The title is also a bit of a misnomer because the book has little to do with a necklace. The height of this novel is when Lady Catherine de Bourgh is kidnapped but even this fall short. There are also a number of subplots within the story (i.e. Anne's friendship with Joss, the two "Tom"s trying to keep their residence on Rosings, etc) but they are nonsensical and add nothing to the main plot.

Confusing story which didn't seem to know where it was going. It was good to see Anne come out of herself a little but overall an unlikely plot and not written in an "Austen" like manner.