Friday, January 15, 2010

Book Review: Darcy's Story by Janet Aylmer


Synopsis: (From the Publisher)

When Elizabeth Bennet first met Mr. Darcy, she found him proud, distant, and rude—despite the other ladies' admiration of his estate in Derbyshire and ten thousand pounds a year. But what was Mr. Darcy thinking?
Jane Austen's classic Pride and Prejudice has long stood among the most beloved novels of all time. The story of Elizabeth Bennet's blossoming romance with "haughty, reserved, and fastidious" Fitzwilliam Darcy has enchanted readers for nearly two centuries. Yet, Mr. Darcy has always remained an intriguing enigma—his thoughts, feelings, and motivations hidden behind a cold, impenetrable exterior . . . until now.
With the utmost respect for Austen's original masterwork, author Janet Aylmer loving retells Pride and Prejudice from a bold new perspective: seeing events as they transpire through the eyes of Darcy himself. One of world's great love stories takes on breathtaking new life, and one of fiction's greatest romantic heroes becomes even more sympathetic, compelling, attractive, and accessible, all through the imagination and artistry of a truly gifted storyteller.

My Review:
  
Mr. Darcy, a man who is believed to be arrogant and reserved at first appearance, becomes a complex and passionate being as he tells his side of the story.

The story begins just before the unfortunate event of Georgiana being deceived by the horrible Mr. Wickham. Holding true to the events of Miss Austen's breathtaking romance, we follow Darcy through the story seeing things from a new perspective. For instance, every time Miss Caroline Bingley is condescending toward Miss Elizabeth Bennett, Darcy is quite annoyed and toward the end wishes not to be in her company any longer. Though he does not vocalize this opinion, we have the benefit of knowing his thoughts since the story is about him. Darcy's character becomes more complex as the story unfolds, his struggle with himself and his character gives the reader a chance to develop a new feeling for Darcy.

This book was an easy and enjoyable read. I was surprised how closely this book followed Pride and Prejudice. There were may times, during conversations between Darcy and Elizabeth, that the wording was almost the same as the original. Since it followed the story so closely it was easy to like the book, and seeing a more personal side of Darcy was nice too. After reading it though, I think I should go read Pride and Prejudice again, it's been a long time since I have and I feel like I have just missed out on half the story!

Copyright © 2010 Svea Love. All Rights Reserved.

15 comments:

Joanne said...

One of the most wonderful benefits of book blogging, I think, has been renewing everyone's interest in dusting off our old classic novels and wanting to read them all over again! Speaking strictly for myself, it's been many a year since I read P&P in high school! (ha! ;)

Ellz said...

Great review. I enjoy a HF once in a while to mix things up. I may have to add this to my list.

Elie
Ellz Readz

Carrie at In the Hammock Blog said...

Great review! This one looks like one of the really good Pride and Prejudice spin offs!! I remember my mom reading it and liking it too :)

Unknown said...

Thanks for the review! Have you read Pamela Aidan's Darcy trilogy? That's my favorite Pride & Prejudice spinoff/retelling.

Kals said...

Lovely review! I'm a major Austen-fan and I'm sure I'll enjoy this version where it seems like the original has been respected :)

Tales of Whimsy said...

Great review. I'm with inthehammock. It sounds like a great spin off.

Dr J said...

Lovely review and beautifully written. I really love the classics and can't even count the times I have gone back to the Bronte and Austin works. Have read several "spin-offs" and while they are not always on a par with some of their counterparts, they are all enjoyable. Jane Austin wrote those kinds of books that one just wants to go on and on . . .

Staci said...

This sounds like one I could totally get into especially because it is coming from Darcy's POV...thanks for a great review!

Meredith said...

I agree with Ruth, you should definitely try Pamela Aiden's books, but be prepared to buy all three. She tells the story with so much insight and detail that it is three books long!

Lovely review! I also need to reread P&P again, it has been too long.

Liz @ Cleverly Inked said...

Very intriguing.

Megan said...

Might read that...sounds bril. I have always wondered what he thought of her.

Blodeuedd said...

This one does sound great, and I would love to read it. I do love Darcy

Jenny Girl said...

Very glad you enjoyed this one. I like how the author goes back to the incident with Wickham. I can never get enough of P&P, and you're right, a re-read is in order.

nicchic said...

I read this one and it was good but my favourite fan fiction is till Pamela Aiden's series.

Anonymous said...

Well, I was really disappointed by "Darcy's Story". This was my first time reading a kind of "extended Jane Austen story", and I certainly won't do so again if they're all like this. The original novel, which I really admire mostly because it's a brilliant work of social criticism, packaged within a romance story,was completely spoiled by the plain and shallow way Aylmer retells it. The writing style is wooden and clumsy, the story merely copies the surface of the original in a two-dimensional manner without giving any idea of its dephts, and the end is but a sentimental joke. The author sometimes even makes story mistkes, for example in the original, Mr. Gardiner is Mrs. Bennets brother, but in this version, he's Mrs. Bennets brother-in-law. And you can't but notice that Aylmer has no clue at all about the time the novel is set. It's true, the story follows the original very closely, but you don't learn much more than you could have anticipated even as a slightly imaganative reader. I absolutely regret I've wasted three hours of my weekend to read this.
As for the review, it was certainly written more than twice as well as this novel.
And I apologize to the fans of this bokk, please don't be too angry with me.