Customer Reviews

Darcy & Elizabeth: Nights and Days at Pemberley (Pride & Prejudice Continues)

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(18)
2 star:		(13)
1 star:		(26)

 

 

I preordered this book even before it was released. It is a sequel to "Mr. Darcy Takes A Wife," which is a sequel to Austen's "Pride and Prejudice," one of my favorite books. Even though "Mr. Darcy Takes A Wife" could never measure up to "Pride and Prejudice," it was somewhat entertaining, and had its good parts. This book, on the other hand, was a complete waste of time.

The first hundred pages or so was dedicated to reciting in different ways what happened in "Mr Darcy Takes A Wife." I have read the other book!! Else, I would never have bought this one. What I was wondering though, was whether the author herself had reread her own book before writing this one, because there were differences in the details. If she didn't remember her own book as well as me, it was already off to a bad start. But that was not the worst part.

The whole book has no real plot. There are some small plots here and there, mostly after the 300th page. And even those are beyond predictable! How can it be interesting if I always know what is going to happen next? And why can I always tell? Well, first of all, the characters have no depth. They are not at all developed, and exclusively one dimensional. Darcy is always perfect and devoted, Elizabeth is always bold, even when it's stupid to be so, Wickham is always cheating, Lydia is always imprudent, Bingley is always weak, Jane is always nice, etc. Austen's characters and the changes in their thoughts throughout the original book were simply fascinating. There is a difference between being consistent in character personalities and being boring. Here, I couldn't even recognize a resemblance of those characters, except for, of course, their names.

But then, how could the characters be developed if there wasn't really anything HAPPENING?! I am not at all against the sex in the book, so long as it's not the only activity going on for Darcy and Elizabeth for most of the book. Well, it is very close to that. We hear about them having sex on the balcony, out in the garden, in their specially-ordered-double-size bath tub, in their carriage, on Lady Catherine's shelves, etc. I got the idea. Please, move on. It's perfectly fine to include the sex, so long as there are something else too for the main characters, whom the book is named after. In the beginning of the book, if they are not having sex, they are thinking about when they can have it. Fast forward to some small plots at the end. The whole plan of Lady Catherine took forever to unveil, and when it did, it turned out to be completely stupid. I thought it was going to be something interesting, but Good God, you even call THAT a plan?! She went through all these troubles to get her daughter pregnant. The plan was to ask Darcy and Elizabeth to let their new son marry this new baby to unite the wealth. Well, they said no. That was the end of it. So much for the plan. Or the whole story about how Elizabeth tried to deal with Wickham when he came back. Elizabeth couldn't seem to change her mind enough. We read pages of how she was going to go see Wickham, and solve it all, so her husband wouldn't have to. Then all of a sudden, she realized something that was obvious to everybody else long before, that it would be safer with her husband. So she hurried to look for him. Then she saw him WALKING with his former lover, walking for God's sake, and decided to abandon that plan too. Then she went back to Wickham alone, it was dangerous, but she got out. However, she basically solved absolutely nothing. Her husband then, on his own, came back and had to deal with Wickham anyway. I mean, is that really Lizzy?! What a shame...

And I haven't even mentioned the weirdest events either, such as the whole "whatever you call it" between Mrs. Bennet and the painter; or how Charlotte was still nursing her 5-year-old boy who was mentally retarded, or how her Elizabeth, after being Charlotte's good friend for so many years, left uncomfortably..

The best thing about this book, is that even if you buy it and finish reading it, you will probably forget it right away anyway. So it won't bother you that long. But the time you spent on the four hundred and something pages could be used in so much better ways.

I have to say, the first book in the series had me longing for something more than Boots & Lizzy in the sack, this book was more of the same. Though I'm glad that her sister finally achieves her first orgasm with Bingley, I'm not sure that's what I was hoping to read - yes, marriage can be a passionate thing and yes, the A&E/BBC Pride & Prejudice film was brilliantly done and yes, these books were largely based on this depiction BUT isn't there more to it? I suppose my biggest beef with these books is that there isn't more depicted in these books - more about Darcy and Lizzy and her transition from second daughter in the Bennett household to Mistress of Pemberly and everything that entails. I'm also not sure I needed 101 ways to say "they shagged" in Austen-speak.

I was hooked on the first novel, Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife (also published as The Bar Sinister) from the first page, and never wanted it to end. I looked forward to Days and Nights at Pemberly with anticipation.

I was dissapointed with the slow start this novel took. I was not engaged by the story or plot until at least 75 pages in. I loved the author's take on Mr. and Mrs. Darcy and how they lived at home in the first novel, but I do not think that part of the story was as strong in the sequel.

At first, reading about the two new Darcy babies was kind of cute, but after the first 20 pages of that, I became rather bored. Mr. Darcy "longs" for his wife, but she is indisposed after bearing children. This seems to create a much larger problem than I thought was needed. I know the two had engaged in "oral" adventures before, what was so different now? Or for pittys sake, if Mr. Darcy was THAT deperate, he could deal with the "problem" himself.

Besides that, the book did manage to put together some semblence of a storyline. Georgianna, Darcy's younger sister is to be married to Col. Fitzwilliam, which Darcy deeply dissaproves of, Lady Catherine schemes to somehow bring the DeBurgh line and the Darcy Line together in a VERY twisted way, and of course, WICKAHAM lives. Wickham's story becomes MUCH more intriguing than the Darcy story for a while, at least until Mr. and Mrs. Darcy begin to "share a bed" once more.

Do not misunderstand my evalutation of the book. I enjoyed reading it, but had to struggle through the first chunk of the book before I found it very interesting. This is not in the tradition of Jane Austen, more like Austen plus erotic literature, but minus the dirty details. I found her characters to be enjoyable and entertaining, but the plot lacked intrigue and interest, unlike her first novel.

If you enjoyed the first novel as much as I did, you might want to consider reading this one, but give it a chance before judgement.

Linda Berdoll's first Pemberley book, "Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife", was a hilariously funny account of Darcy and Elizabeth's first year of marriage. Berdoll continues the story in "Darcy and Elizabeth" and throws in several other story lines as well. The problem with the second book is that the other story lines don't add up to a cohesive whole.

The central plot in "Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife" was Darcy and Elizabeth's frustrating, heartbreaking and ultimately successful attempt to continue the Darcy line. Double or nothing; after a miscarriage and a stillbirth, they end up having twins. But in the second book, all the different plot lines go rambling off in different directions, and while each is interesting, the whole book seems to lack a center.

This time around, the Napoleonic wars interfere in everybody's lives; Bingley's business income is seriously disrupted to the point that his family faces bankruptcy; Colonel Fitzwilliam is off to the battlefields, the abominable Wickham doesn't have sense enough to stay dead and pops up very much alive at the most inconvenient times; Lady Catherine deBourgh manages to marry off her homely daughter Lady Anne to a fortune hunter from the West Indies, and Lydia Bennet Wickham manages to hook an army officer who is too good for her by any standard. Some of the story lines are so over-the-top as to be positively ludicrous, such as Georgiana running off to Belgium to serve as a war nurse and arranging for her own shotgun marriage to Colonel Fitzwilliam. No way.

Of course Darcy and Elizabeth live happily ever after, and maybe that's the problem with this book; happy marriages make for some boring reading. Next time around, Berdoll should concentrate on some people whom she's neglected in the first two books: we'd like to know more about Kitty's marriage, if Mary stayed an old maid or managed to attract some pseudo-intellectual like herself, and if poor Charlotte Lucas manages to find delayed happiness after finally being rid of Mr Collins. Berdoll writes well and her style is engaging, but she's taken the story of Darcy and Elizabeth about as far as it can go. It's time to bring some of Austen's other characters to center stage.

I have never picked up a worse book in my life. My wife and i enjoyed the first book, "Mr. Darcy Takes A Wife," so we bought this one. DON'T MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE WE DID!!! There is a very weak plot, after she spent half of the book repeating the first book. She couldn't even make up her mind if Darcy's mother's name was Elinor, as in the last book, or Ann, as in this one. Whatever fits into the story goes. I don't mind sex, but I do require some sort of plot or at least one interesting character. I read one of the reviewers saying it was one dimensional, but I think they were being nice, I can't find any dimension at all. I wouldn't buy this book, nor recommend it. I have no idea why anybody would write or publish this. Did literature become Hollywood, where nonsense sequel can get away just because of the succesful original?

I loved the first sequal to P&P, Mr Darcy Takes a Wife, and I was so excited to read the new installment of the continuing adventures of D&E! It begins from exactly the end of the last book, and continued in the same way to enthrall me! I couldn't put it down , I was up until 2 or 3 am at night! It took me a 3 nights to read, and I was sad to see it end, I really hope Mrs. Berdoll has another book coming to continue the story!
It made me feel as if I really knew D&E and was privy to everthing important in their lives! Their love is still as passionate as ever all be it a bit slowed down for Lizzys post birth health, but do not fear because before you know it, they are as right as rain. You meet many new people whom all share a part in the drama that is D&E's lives, and for some you are glad to see them go, but all in all, I believe it is definately left open in the end for another installment! People who are fans of Jane Austin, and can seperate themselves from what Jane A. wrote and realize that this is not a Jane A. book, or an author trying to write as her, but a book about two characters we have met through Jane, and are married adults, whom share a passionate love for one another, will enjoy this book. However if you are an ardent "Janite" and think married people should remain chaste after marriage but only to reproduce, this book will definately not be for you. Don't forget that Jane A. never married, and would never know of the passion that could be between husband and wife, as she herself wrote of the importance of celibacy until marriage, she most likely remained a virgin. So who knows what her characters would've been doing behind closed doors had she ever been knowledgable about such things, but as it is we will never know! If you loved the 1st sequal, you should definately peruse this book!

It is often said that movie makers expect each sequel to make only 60% of its predecessor and that the audience would be lucky if the storyline were 60% as good. This sequel to Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife, which is of course a sequel itself, does not even come close to that mark. Where Ms. Berdoll's 1st effort covered 6 years or so in Darcy and Elizabeth's lives, this book, which is just as long, only covers about a year.

It almost seems as though someone gave the author a list of complaints about her 1st sequel - too much sex, debauchery, and easy-going married life - and she took every one of those to heart, writing this story without any of the light-heartedness of the first (that made it a fun read) and instead attempted to make it much more dramatic, full of schemes and intrigues that simply don't work.

Many of you of will say, "Oh well, I have to know what happens next, so I'll get it anyway and see for myself." I promise I won't say "I told you so", but you will probably hear that ringing in your ears as you finish reading.

I've read plenty of unofficial sequels or "continuations" to Pride and Prejudice. Since many of them are pseudo-literary drivel or glorified fanfic, I am a bit embarrassed to be admitting to my passion for them.

But I thought "Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife" by Linda Berdoll was actually quite good. The plot was a bit outlandish, but entertaining enough that I was willing to suspend my disbelief. Berdoll did an admirable job of developing the characters' personalities, and her attempts at Austen-esque prose were respectable enough. Plus, there were some very satisfying (ahem) romantic scenes between Lizzy and Darcy. All in all, it was an enjoyable read.

So imagine my excitement when I found out Berdoll had written a sequel to her sequel. I ordered "Darcy and Elizabeth: Nights and Days at Pemberley" two days after it was published, and eagerly opened it up to start reading it the moment it arrived. Never again did I feel the same amount of anticipation in taking this book in hand. The first 150 pages were incredibly repetitive--reviewing not only what happened in the previous book but also in "P&P" itself, and worst of all repeating the same "current" plot developments over and over again from slightly varied perspectives. I mean really, how many times do we need to hear about the great strain that abstinence is putting on Lizzy and Darcy? By the third or fourth repetition of these sentiments I started skimming several pages ahead. The pacing stayed very slow through page 200, and it was only around page 300 (of about 430) that "Darcy and Elizabeth" became a page-turner.

Although by the end of the book I was eager to finish it and find out what happens to my beloved literary friends, I was distracted throughout by the highly-apparent incompetency of its editor. Putting aside the issues of repetition and plot pacing, I've also found multiple and irritating typos, and an inconsistency within the text (a character referred to as someone's cousin once but later on as her sister).

Berdoll's just lucky that as far as this genre goes, I grade on a curve.

I love PRIDE AND PREJUDICE. I enjoyed Ms. Berdoll's book MR. DARCY TAKES A WIFE.
It was for the most part interresting and I enjoyed the spicy romance between Darcy and Elizabeth. That said, this book was a huge disappointment. The first 3/4 of the book were only a rehash of her first book and the rest was just unsatisfying. The business with Wickham didn't even make much sense. I can recommend the earlier book but this was a big letdown. Spend your time watching Colin Firth on the DVD instead.

Before even starting this review, I feel honor-bound to say that I am a deep and abiding and worshipful fan of Jane Austen--and this book has NOTHING to do with Jane Austen other than the characters taken to extremes by an author with a wild imagination. Therefore, I do not, and did not, feel that I was shaming Ms. Austen's genius or her memory in any way by having a heck of a lot of fun reading this book, which had me laughing aloud more than once.

Other reviewers have complained that this book is simply a rehash of the first, but I had not read that one, so I was not bothered by that complaint. What I read was, first, an oh-so-sexy marriage between Darcy and Elizabeth, VERY modern in its...um...imaginative doings. AND, to my great amusement, updates on Mrs. Bennet, Jane and Bingley, Lady Catherine (as horrible as ever) and her poor beleagured daughter Anne, and so forth. The plot, if one can call it that, is really a loosely strung together series of vignettes involving each character, glued together by Darcy and Elizabeth's frequent and imaginative coupling.

What can I say. This is not literature, it is not deep and thoughtful, I had no business reading it, and I absolutely loved every lowbrow page of it. So I am not going to go the snob route and advise any lover of Jane Austen to stay far away from this book. I managed to read it, love it, and keep my reverence for Ms. Austen intact, and I think other readers will do the same. Not only that, I'm looking forward to the next in the series!