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Mr Darcy's Diary: The romantic hero of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE tells his own story by Maya Slater
frompemberleytomiltonblog's review
4.0
Review Published at:
https://frompemberleytomilton.wordpress.com/2022/08/12/mr-darcys-diary-by-maya-slater/
Mr. Darcy’s Diary is a retelling of Pride and Prejudice through Mr. Darcy’s eyes. The reader follows the story through diary entries that reveal not only Mr. Darcy’s perspective of events, but also scenes Jane Austen never wrote.
I always love to read stories told from Mr. Darcy’s perspective because in Pride and Prejudice we only get to see Elizabeth’s prejudiced point of view, and we are never privy to Mr. Darcy’s dealings when he is not with Miss Elizabeth Bennet, however I found it hard to get into this story in the initial chapters because Mr. Darcy’s entries in his diary were very factual and transpired little emotion. The absence of feeling was something that bothered me, but as the story progressed, I started to understand the tone of the book, it wasn’t exactly lacking in emotion, it was simply told from a male point of view and my female bias was preventing me from liking it. Once I realized this, I started enjoying the book much more.
Although I loved the portrayal of the manly relationships in this book, and Byron did give it a much-needed animation, I found it strange for a character such as Darcy to be friends with a someone whom he witnesses raping a girl in the beginning of the book. I understand I cannot judge a book that takes places in regency with 21rst century standards, but I really do not imagine Mr. Darcy, who is a man of honor, to be friends with Lord Byron who is prone to debauchery and ungentlemanly behaviors.
I never thought I would say this, but I loved not only Caroline Bingley’s character in this novel, but also her relationship with Mr. Darcy. We are privy to many conversations between them in this book, and they gave me a different perspective not only of her personality, which is harder to judge based on this diary, but also their relationship. Caroline Bingley is not the villain we sometimes imagine her to be, and in this book, we can see how badly she feels about deceiving Jane, we see a side of her that Elizabeth Bennet never even allowed to exist, and I found that very interesting. There is always two sides to a story isn’t it?
I also loved the way Bingley was described and how he was seen coping with the loss of his love. It felt natural and real, and once more something we never really saw in Pride and Prejudice.
The truth is that after several chapters, and once I’ve accepted the tone of the book, it became increasingly interesting in my perspective, and I felt the will to pick it up and see what Mr. Darcy was up to. The only quibbles I had with this book were the emotionless tone of the diary entries and Darcy’s relationship with Byron, but those did not prevent me from finding enjoyment in many of the other nuances of the book.
I would recommend this book to those who like to witness Pride and Prejudice from different perspectives, and who are open minded towards different angles.
https://frompemberleytomilton.wordpress.com/2022/08/12/mr-darcys-diary-by-maya-slater/
Mr. Darcy’s Diary is a retelling of Pride and Prejudice through Mr. Darcy’s eyes. The reader follows the story through diary entries that reveal not only Mr. Darcy’s perspective of events, but also scenes Jane Austen never wrote.
I always love to read stories told from Mr. Darcy’s perspective because in Pride and Prejudice we only get to see Elizabeth’s prejudiced point of view, and we are never privy to Mr. Darcy’s dealings when he is not with Miss Elizabeth Bennet, however I found it hard to get into this story in the initial chapters because Mr. Darcy’s entries in his diary were very factual and transpired little emotion. The absence of feeling was something that bothered me, but as the story progressed, I started to understand the tone of the book, it wasn’t exactly lacking in emotion, it was simply told from a male point of view and my female bias was preventing me from liking it. Once I realized this, I started enjoying the book much more.
Although I loved the portrayal of the manly relationships in this book, and Byron did give it a much-needed animation, I found it strange for a character such as Darcy to be friends with a someone whom he witnesses raping a girl in the beginning of the book. I understand I cannot judge a book that takes places in regency with 21rst century standards, but I really do not imagine Mr. Darcy, who is a man of honor, to be friends with Lord Byron who is prone to debauchery and ungentlemanly behaviors.
I never thought I would say this, but I loved not only Caroline Bingley’s character in this novel, but also her relationship with Mr. Darcy. We are privy to many conversations between them in this book, and they gave me a different perspective not only of her personality, which is harder to judge based on this diary, but also their relationship. Caroline Bingley is not the villain we sometimes imagine her to be, and in this book, we can see how badly she feels about deceiving Jane, we see a side of her that Elizabeth Bennet never even allowed to exist, and I found that very interesting. There is always two sides to a story isn’t it?
I also loved the way Bingley was described and how he was seen coping with the loss of his love. It felt natural and real, and once more something we never really saw in Pride and Prejudice.
The truth is that after several chapters, and once I’ve accepted the tone of the book, it became increasingly interesting in my perspective, and I felt the will to pick it up and see what Mr. Darcy was up to. The only quibbles I had with this book were the emotionless tone of the diary entries and Darcy’s relationship with Byron, but those did not prevent me from finding enjoyment in many of the other nuances of the book.
I would recommend this book to those who like to witness Pride and Prejudice from different perspectives, and who are open minded towards different angles.
eimalouise's review
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
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