Darcy's Voyage: A tale of uncharted love on the open seas (Pride & Prejudice Continues)

DARCY’S VOYAGE
by Kara Louise
Sourcebooks Landmark
9781402241024
Historical Fiction
September 2010
$14.99/$17.99/£7.99 UK
505 pages

Summary
Elizabeth Bennet is off to America to visit her aunt and uncle. Her father, is loathe for her to go, but after placing her in the care of the competent captain, he acquiesces and waves goodbye from the docks. Elizabeth is sailing in steerage on Pemberley’s Promise, and soon discovers that the dark and close quarters are undesirable. She walks on deck in the early morning to breathe the clean air. She gives up her bed to a woman with sick children, leaving her only place left to sleep on the floor. The handsome and aloof Mr. Darcy, sailing in one of the most elegant cabins, has taken notice of the show more unconventional and attractive Elizabeth. In true Pride and Prejudice style the characters of Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet banter back and forth as they stroll the boards of the ship. They met once before several years ago in a carriage ride. It was clear then as now their social circles were completely opposite, yet drawn to each other. This is the story of the marriage, between Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy that occurred while on board the ship. A marriage on paper only, for propriety’s sake, as they both agree to a future annulment upon Darcy’s return to London.

Review
With the countless retells of Pride and Prejudice on the shelves these days, I was not sure I wanted to sit down for another version. With welcomed delight, this one is full of life, honors the memory of the original and offers a scenario of happenstance that works. I did notice that this Elizabeth is a little more agreeable, with a little less of an edge to her colorful conversations. Her personality is softer in the beginning, than the original Elizabeth, but perhaps she is characterized this way on purpose. Traveling alone without the security of family surrounding her, she is more vulnerable. I fell in love with Mr. Darcy all over again and it is painful to read his despair upon losing Elizabeth in America. In fact their separation caused me frequent anxiety reading the story, hastening my pace to find out how it all works out. The love between the two is prideful and the prejudice still remains. As they once again appear to be star-crossed, these memorable lovers from historical literature are presented by Kara Louise with endearment. Darcy’s Voyage takes you beyond the continent and back, and with her responsible portrayal, you still feel the depth of their passion, their desire and their need for one another. Loved it! show less

I am an Austen snob and as addicted as I am to Austen sequels and inspired books, I can be very demanding with them. Taking on established and very beloved characters is a risky business for an author - - readers will inevitably ask "Would Jane Austen have allowed Lizzy to do that? Would Mr. Darcy have said such a thing?"

Kara Louise's Darcy's Voyage (previously published as Pemberley's Promise) is nothing short of a virtual love letter to not only Jane Austen but Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy. I absolutely loved each and every page and was enthralled with the story and with how Ms. Louise painted Elizabeth and Darcy.

I found the concept itself of Elizabeth and Darcy meeting on a carriage and then on board a ship headed to America show more rather than at a town dance fascinating and novel (no pun intended). While changing their initial meeting caused other aspects of the original story to be slightly altered, there were other features that remained true to Austen's original masterpiece and I had fun picking up on them. I enjoyed the variations that Darcy's Voyage set forth and believe them to be an inspired alternative to Pride and Prejudice.

Ms. Louise's writing style was engaging and yet still remained true to the Regency period. She was faithful to the characteristics Austen firstly penned for Elizabeth and Darcy while giving new insight into their actions and behaviors. So closely did she mirror Austen's vision that Darcy's Voyage could have been a colloboration between the two.

Original Pride and Prejudice characters, including the Bennet family, Aunt and Uncle Gardiner, Georgiana Darcy, Colonel Fitzwilliam, Lady Catherine de Bourgh and Wickham, provide solid support in Darcy's Voyage.

I would not hesitate to highly recommend Darcy's Voyage to any devoted reader of Jane Austen and historical fiction and romance readers. Out of the many Austen sequels and Austen inspired novels I have read, Darcy's Voyage easily ranks in the top few, based on writing style, story and interpretation. This was my first novel by Kara Louise but I am so in love with Darcy's Voyage that I will eagerly snap up her five other Pride and Prejudice inspired variations. show less

Darcy's Voyage was a great book that I loved reading. This was an entertaining retelling of Pride and Prejudice that was full of unexpected surprises that keep the reader guessing what will happen next and draws you into the books world with its lively characters. This was the second Pride and Prejudice Retelling I have read by this author and I loved both so I am definitely planning on reading more by this author.

This is a very silly "re-imagining" of Pride & Prejudice that bears very little resemblance to the original source. Darcy and Elizabeth meet cute and part, then meet again on a ship bound for America and enter into a marriage of convenience. When the voyage is over, will their marriage be annulled or will they admit they have come to love each other? Might have worked as a romance novel featuring hero and heroine with different names, but fails completely anytime the plot attempts to mirror P&P, despite the author's occasional use of dialogue taken straight from Austen. Darcy especially is a weak copy of the source material and walks around like a lovesick fool. When he gives his famous proposal speech to what turns out to be an empty show more cabin, the book hit the wall with a bang. I'm not sure why I keep reading these P&P sequels and adaptations; very few of them are any less than awful. show less

Orgullo y prejuicio en un estimulante viaje
Darcy's Voyage por Kara Louise

Las descripciones de Kara son muy vivaces, chispeantes y desde la primera página te atrapa en la historia y mantiene esa curiosidad viva a través de cada página. Se podría categorizar como una variación, pero en realidad lo veo más como una re-imaginación a partir de un previo conocimiento de la pareja, sin perder la esencia de sus personajes. Kara sabe captar el carácter de los protagonistas y llevarnos por un viaje divertido y emocionante. La narrativa de Louise es una constante aventura sobre todo en la interacción entre Darcy y Elizabeth y la descripción de sus pensamientos íntimos.
Louise ajusta algunos diálogos al original pero sobre todo hay una show more narrativa que sigue el propio estilo de la autora, son entretenidos, muy bien desarrollados, originales.
Los momentos de amor entre Darcy y Elizabeth son tiernos siguiendo la trama con facilidad sin ser momentos forzados.
Hay una facilidad y comodidad para seguir la historia, siempre con un estilo vivificante como su título lo sugiere, un placentero viaje.

http://warmisunquausten.blogspot.com.es/2013/06/orgullo-y-prejuicio-en-un-estimu... show less

Las descripciones de Kara son muy vivaces, chispeantes y desde la primera página te atrapa en la historia y mantiene esa curiosidad viva a través de cada página. Se podría categorizar como una variación, pero en realidad lo veo más como una re-imaginación a partir de un previo conocimiento de la pareja, sin perder la esencia de sus personajes. Kara sabe captar el carácter de los protagonistas y llevarnos por un viaje divertido y emocionante. La narrativa de Louise es una constante aventura sobre todo en la interacción entre Darcy y Elizabeth y la descripción de sus pensamientos íntimos.
Louise ajusta algunos diálogos al original pero sobre todo hay una narrativa que sigue el propio estilo de la autora, son entretenidos, muy show more bien desarrollados, originales.
Los momentos de amor entre Darcy y Elizabeth son tiernos siguiendo la trama con facilidad sin ser momentos forzados.
Hay una facilidad y comodidad para seguir la historia, siempre con un estilo vivificante como su título lo sugiere, un placentero viaje.

http://warmisunquausten.blogspot.com.es/2013/06/orgullo-y-prejuicio-en-un-estimu... show less

I'll admit: the cover was so pretty I moved it to the top of my reading list!

The bad news is that the beginning of the novel felt a little stilted, with too much information thrown into sentences.

The good news? Once you get past the first couple of chapters this disappears, and the end result is an enjoyable read.

In an alternate-universe, Elizabeth is journeying to the Americas - by sea - to visit her Aunt and Uncle Gardiner. The ship is "Pemberley's Promise" - owned by Mr. Darcy who is also on his way to America - but to fetch his sister, Georgiana. They enter into a marriage of convenience - Mr Darcy won't be bothered by would-be suitors, and Elizabeth will have a bed and a place to recover from a near-death(?) cold.

As normally show more happens, our two protagonists fall in love somewhere along the way. They've promised to anull the marriage on their return to England, and both are too stubborn to realise that they both have feelings for the other.

Cue Darcy's search for Elizabeth Bennet, with the trials and tribulations of the original novel thrown in for good measure. But with feelings acknowledged, it's interesting to see how the characters react to the same situation in a different manner.

A thoroughly enjoyable read, and one I'm glad to add to my collection. show less