Scan barcode
A review by aartireadsalot
The Private Diary of Mr. Darcy by Maya Slater
2.0
Mr. Darcy has always seemed to be a brooding and mysterious man who, very much against his will, falls in love with a bright and lovely young woman who is his social inferior. He is not boring. He certainly is not the sort of person who would be friends with Lord Byron. He is not unfashionable, and he certainly doesn't spend his days cataloging his library. However, that is who he is to Maya Slater, which is unfortunate.
A major issue I had with this book was Darcy's relationship with Lord Byron. It seems very forced and I just do not understand how Mr. Darcy (and to an even greater extent, Mr. Bingley) could have possibly been friends with someone like Lord Byron. They spend a great deal of time together in the book, and it just does not work, chemistry-wise. I feel that Slater introduced Byron to the novel so that she could share some of the more risque aspects of Regency life. However, I don't think Darcy was really the sort who would do such things. He is, after all, very proud of how proper he is. I am not saying he went to his wedding night a sainted virgin, but I can't imagine that he was nearly as dissolute as Slater makes him out to be in this novel.
My biggest complaint, though, is that Darcy in Slater's novel is just boring. He is not a three-dimensional character at all. In the novel, he barely even interacts with Elizabeth Bennet, so it is very hard to see how he falls in love with her. He spends a lot of time mulling things over (which, granted, goes well with his brooding character). Most of his diary entries, in my opinion, are quite dull. He talks about going shooting, cataloging books, feeling guilty about Charles Bingley, and remembering Elizabeth Bennet's eyes. It is interesting insofar as we get a glimpse of his relationship with his sister, with Lady de Burgh and with Caroline Bingley, but we do not really get to know Darcy himself. Even in his diary, he seems to hold himself just aloof enough to withhold any information we really want to know. And since the plot, really, follows the same timeline as Pride & Prejudice, and we know, generally, what will happen... this book didn't really add much to my experience of Jane Austen's novel. If you want to read Pride & Prejudice, then read the original. If you want to read it from Darcy's point of view, I have it on good authority that Pamela Aidan's series is the best. And if you want to see a fantastically brooding Darcy... then go find Colin Firth!
A major issue I had with this book was Darcy's relationship with Lord Byron. It seems very forced and I just do not understand how Mr. Darcy (and to an even greater extent, Mr. Bingley) could have possibly been friends with someone like Lord Byron. They spend a great deal of time together in the book, and it just does not work, chemistry-wise. I feel that Slater introduced Byron to the novel so that she could share some of the more risque aspects of Regency life. However, I don't think Darcy was really the sort who would do such things. He is, after all, very proud of how proper he is. I am not saying he went to his wedding night a sainted virgin, but I can't imagine that he was nearly as dissolute as Slater makes him out to be in this novel.
My biggest complaint, though, is that Darcy in Slater's novel is just boring. He is not a three-dimensional character at all. In the novel, he barely even interacts with Elizabeth Bennet, so it is very hard to see how he falls in love with her. He spends a lot of time mulling things over (which, granted, goes well with his brooding character). Most of his diary entries, in my opinion, are quite dull. He talks about going shooting, cataloging books, feeling guilty about Charles Bingley, and remembering Elizabeth Bennet's eyes. It is interesting insofar as we get a glimpse of his relationship with his sister, with Lady de Burgh and with Caroline Bingley, but we do not really get to know Darcy himself. Even in his diary, he seems to hold himself just aloof enough to withhold any information we really want to know. And since the plot, really, follows the same timeline as Pride & Prejudice, and we know, generally, what will happen... this book didn't really add much to my experience of Jane Austen's novel. If you want to read Pride & Prejudice, then read the original. If you want to read it from Darcy's point of view, I have it on good authority that Pamela Aidan's series is the best. And if you want to see a fantastically brooding Darcy... then go find Colin Firth!