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cg612's review
2.0
I'm giving this two stars based solely on the value of purchasing these three together and the interesting perspective of the 2nd book.
Book 1, "Mr Darcy Takes a Wife" is very long and extremely confusing with the way the plot often doubles back on itself as it switches between characters, sometimes by the length of a decade or more. Jane and Bingley are made out to be complete idiots. Georgiana is not even present enough during the first half of this overly long novel to be called background noise, yet her story is a main focus of the latter half of the book -- no part of which came as a surprise.
"Mr Darcy's Diary" is an interesting view of events from P&P. it is more a parallel novel than a sequel until the last few chapters. It's amazing, the length of conversations (including his own facial expressions!) which Darcy records in his journal, as well as how openly he records his feelings. For someone as private as he is, that is. Still, it's interesting enough if you want a light, quick read from Darcy's side. I'd recommend Pamela Aiden's "Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman" trilogy over this in a heartbeat.
#3... I can't even begin to express my level of hatred for this. The author begins by saying her first contact with P&P was via the most recent film adaptation starring Keira Knightley. And while a good adaptation, I think we can agree it did not always stay true-to-text. Which is fine. But please note that this novel is a sequel to the movie, not the book. The tone of the characters feels off to me, Darcy being incredibly off the mark. Change names and it would be unrecognizable as a spin-off.
Book 1, "Mr Darcy Takes a Wife" is very long and extremely confusing with the way the plot often doubles back on itself as it switches between characters, sometimes by the length of a decade or more. Jane and Bingley are made out to be complete idiots. Georgiana is not even present enough during the first half of this overly long novel to be called background noise, yet her story is a main focus of the latter half of the book -- no part of which came as a surprise.
"Mr Darcy's Diary" is an interesting view of events from P&P. it is more a parallel novel than a sequel until the last few chapters. It's amazing, the length of conversations (including his own facial expressions!) which Darcy records in his journal, as well as how openly he records his feelings. For someone as private as he is, that is. Still, it's interesting enough if you want a light, quick read from Darcy's side. I'd recommend Pamela Aiden's "Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman" trilogy over this in a heartbeat.
#3... I can't even begin to express my level of hatred for this. The author begins by saying her first contact with P&P was via the most recent film adaptation starring Keira Knightley. And while a good adaptation, I think we can agree it did not always stay true-to-text. Which is fine. But please note that this novel is a sequel to the movie, not the book. The tone of the characters feels off to me, Darcy being incredibly off the mark. Change names and it would be unrecognizable as a spin-off.
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