Customer Reviews

Darcy's Diary

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I loved this book. It was exactly what I wanted to read, a retelling of Pride and Prejudice from Darcy's point of view.The style and characters are true to Jane Austen, and it was written by an English author, so there are no Americanisms.

I had a lot of trouble getting hold of the book as I kept being told it was unavailable, but then I found out that it was only unavailable because it was reprinting, so I just kept ordering it until I got it. I'm glad to say it was well worth the trouble.
I read the book in one sitting and then I read it again. The style is so direct that I felt Darcy was talking to me, telling me his thoughts and feelings as events unfolded.

Favourite moments for me were the scene after the first proposal, when Darcy had to go back to Rosings and pretend that nothing was wrong, but really he was in turmoil over Elizabeth's rejection. I loved the second proposal, and how nervous Darcy was when he went back to Longbourne to see Elizabeth, not knowing if her feelings had changed towards him. I really felt for him, and I loved it when Elizabeth said yes. You could really feel his joy.

I also really enjoyed the scenes that Jane Austen didn't put in the book, which Amanda Grange has added, for example the scenes in London with Wickham, which were very well realised and rang entirely true, with Darcy tracking down Wickham and then making him marry Lydia. I absolutely loved the scenes after the marriage, when Darcy and Elizabeth held a house party at Pemberley. Mrs Bennet was hilarious, in fact all the characters were true to form, and it was like a present to find out that there was more to read after the wedding. I should say here that there are no sex scenes, as there are in some of the other Pride and Prejudice spin-offs. The wedding and after-marriage scenes were like they would have been if Jane Austen had written them.

Another thing that I really liked was the way Amanda Grange filled in Anne de Bourgh's background. I won't say any more here because I don't want to spoil it but it was another bonus to this book.

All in all, I loved Darcy's Diary. There are a lot of unexpected bonuses, but the main focus is on Darcy and Elizabeth. If you can't get enough of Pride and Prejudice, then Darcy's Diary is for you.

I started reading this book expecting to be disappointed. Although I very much enjoyed Pamela Aidan's trilogy of books in the Fitzwilliam Darcy: Gentleman series, I am well aware there is a huge tract of dreadful material out there which is a follow-up or a retelling of Jane Austen's story, and I thought it quite likely this would be one of those.

How wrong I was! I was relieved to discover very quickly that Amanda Grange knows her subject, knows how to write in a lighthearted and enjoyable way, and I ended up reading the entire book in one sitting. It's short enough and light enough to do that - the story moves on with more pace than Austen's book and Elizabeth features in most of the scenes in it, unlike the original. We get more of an insight into their life after their marriage - how the reconciliation with Lady Catherine takes place, and even an engagement between Colonel Fitzwilliam and Anne De Bourgh.

I have mentioned Pamela Aidan's three books, also written from Darcy's perspective. It's been interesting to read these two works only a few weeks apart as they couldn't be more different. Aidan's books are detailed, things move slowly, most of the action is taking place inside Darcy's head as we follow his thought processes as he falls in love with Elizabeth. Although in this book, written in the form of Darcy's diary, we do get some of his thoughts these are not particularly detailed. In some ways it read almost childlike - easy sentences, minimal description, fast-paced. But it worked really well for this book and made it a fun read.

The plot device of this being Darcy's private journal worked reasonably in some ways (it could be written in the first person) but had drawbacks - can anyone seriously imagine a gentleman writing for an hour each evening a diary with verbatim reporting of long conversations? But it was a useful tool upon which to hang the story and worked fairly well.

Probably 95% of the dialogue is lifted directly from Jane Austen's work but Amanda Grange certainly knows how to write in the style of the period as any other dialogue that she inserted worked really well. This was a seamless work which fitted in well and was true to the original.

Finally, it has to be said it was a relief to read a book written by an Englishwoman which was therefore bereft of the so-common American mistakes. Such a delight to read a book without a single "gotten", "fall" (for autumn) and "inquire". Very picky of me, but I think some of the other books I've read have shown a lack of decent editing and research.

I certainly recommend this book. I understand Amanda Grange has written at least nine other books. I shall be on the lookout for them now.

I've read a few Pride and Prejudice spin-offs but this is the best so far. IT's true to the story but at the same time it gives a lot of new insights into the original characters. It['s a good read even if you don't love Pride and Prejudu
ccie and a must read if you do.

I read many spin-offs of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice and this one is the GREATEST by far and I can hardly tell that its not Jane herself who wrote this. It is so Mr.Darcy!!! It took me 3 months to get this book ordered (its always out of stock, dunno why) but its worth every penny I spent!!!

Based on the other really glowing reviews this book got, I was expecting much better. I would say it's worth about 30 dollars and no more. Because I couldn't get it and had to wait, I finally bought it used for three times what it was worth. I found it to be good, but not worth what I paid for it in my impatience.

There was an extreme amount of dialogue-lifting from the original, and while it was not unbearably awkward or forced, I was hoping for a little more invented dialogue. I also think some of the characters said things they would not have, disclosed information they would not have, etc. Most of the non-original Darcy/Elizabeth conversations are very well done and keep faithful to those characters. I was hoping for more "inner thoughts" though--like when Darcy was contemplating whether or not he should propose--and after he is rejected--but it just mentioned the event and moved on. Also, occasionally the characters found out information that I'm not sure they would have known--like why Ms. Bingley finds out the gossip of Hertfordshire when she's in London I have no idea.

I did very much enjoy the fact that it continued a couple months past the wedding. It had a good balance of "sense and sensibility" for Darcy's character and did not include trashy graphic details about their relationship. It was also neat to see all the characters together at Christmas in the end, although I'm just not so sure that all of those people would have been together at Pemberley so soon after their wedding. I will definitely compliment Ms. Grange for researching the dates and chronology of the events very well. The dates were very true to the original and the chronology was precise.

I would say this book is good, but not superb. For a superb book, read the Pamela Aidan series, Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman. They are out of this world. And if you've read those, get "The Diary of Henry Fitzwilliam Darcy" by Marjorie Fasman. It includes more of Darcy's inner thoughts and more invented scenes. It also continues about a year after the wedding. I would rate Fasman's book slightly above this one, on account of creativity.

What an insidious book this is! It just grabs you and sucks you right into it, so that you can't--or don't even want to--put it down for even one second. You just want to keep reading and reading and reading. Oh, my.

It is so easy to picture the Darcy and Elizabeth of the marvelous BBC/A&E production of ten years ago as you read Darcy's words. You wonder how this pompous stuffy prig ever managed to have even one friend, let alone the darling Charles Bingley. Darcy is the most disagreeable character imaginable until Lizzie takes him down several notches. Good for her!

When you first start reading this book, you tend to think, `oh, this is so simple,' but then before you quite know what's happened, you're part of the story, and it just won't let go. You ride along, sort of on Darcy's shoulder, watching as the action unfolds with the Bennet family and Wickham, the Lucases and Mr. Collins, Lady Catherine de Bourgh and her household, and Darcy's sister Georgiana and cousin FitzWilliam, plus of course, Bingley and his sisters. It's amazing! In the other versions (including the wonderful original) you see everything as it happens from your standpoint as an observer. First person is so very different, creating almost a `you are there!' situation.

You won't soon forget this Mr. Darcy. Of course, I've not yet forgotten the other one - Colin Firth as the premier Mr. Darcy of all time. It was amazing to hear that voice in my mind as I read his words and felt his inner pain when he tumbled from his lofty perch to join the rest of us mortals in his quest for the love of his life. Eventually, he's even willing to put up with Mrs. Bennet if only he can have his Lizzie.

Of course, true love wins out in the end. Hooray! Brava to Ms. Grange. This is a masterful concept, masterfully executed. I wouldn't mind a sequel, either.

After seeing so many P&P sequels, prequels, and retellings, I chose Darcy's Diary because the bit I read here let me know that the original Jane Austin character would be respected. I was right! This book describes P&P from Darcy's point of view in a way that just illuminates Austin's description without adding too much. Very well done!

I have read and re-read "Pride and Prejudice" many times, but getting the perspective from Mr Darcy's point of view was wonderful. It is definately a must read and must have for anyone who loves "Pride and Prejudice". The author, Amanda Grange, has a remarkable insight into Jane Austen's mind, it as if the two have written the book together. I will highly recommend it to anyone. If Mr Darcy wasn't one of my favorite heros already, he would be now. I have yet to read any other of the follow-up books to "Pride and Prejudice", but am glad I started with "Darcy's Diary". Ms Grange has become a new favorite writer of mine and I look forward to reading other material writen by her.

I THROUGHLY ENJOYED THIS BOOK...IF YOU LIKE PRIDE AND PREDJUDICE YOU'LL LOVE THIS BOOK...IT'S HARD TO FIND SO BUY IT UP WHEN YOU FIND IT. I LOVED HEARING MR DARCY'S VIEW ON THINGS...YOU GET MORE OF A BACKGROUND OF WICKHAM AND HIS RELATIONSHIP...HIS VIEW ON THE PROPOSAL...ECT...

This book is a really great addition to Pride and Prejudice, it's fun to see the whole thing the other way round. You can see what Darcy's thinking and feeling all the way through, how he's not really interested in Lizzy to begin with and then because she stands up to him he begins to take notice and before he knows where he is, he's in love with her. A bit like this book really, before you know what's happening, you can't put it down. You think, I'll just read a bit more, and then I'll just read a bot more. It's hard to get hold of it in hardback for some reason but now there's a paperback, only they've called it Mr Darcy's Diary, but you can find it if yuo click on Amanda Grange at the top of the page because it takes you to a list of all her books. I hope she writes a sequel, I'd like to know what happens next.