The Darcys : Scenes from Married Life [Paperback]

Phyllis Furley (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Egerton House Publishing (March 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0954627571
• ISBN-13: 978-0954627577
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,608,358 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

147 of 148 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good, but not my favorite rendition, April 23, 2004

By 

Crystal Carley (Snellville, GA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Darcys : Scenes from Married Life (Paperback)

First, let me record the summary from the back of this book. I bought this book with no other knowledge except that it was a sequel to PnP, so here's some help for others:

"The Darcys' first two years of marriage come close to fulfilling Elizabeth's claim that they will be the 'happiest married couple in the world.' But not without some painful trials. At Pemberley Elizabeth is somewhat oppressed by the weight of centuries of tradition. Furthermore, she is scrutinised by formidable senior members of Darcy's family. Those amiable family members, sister Georgiana, and cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam, are ready for marriage. (To each other?) The greatest challenge is unforseen. A shadow from Darcy's bachelor past looks to darken the future."

This book is focused on the Darcy's, rather than other PnP characters, like some books, which I liked. Yet despite this, I felt like both Elizabeth and Darcy were somewhat off. Darcy was very stern and almost paranoid, which I didn't feel the author justified. Meanwhile, Elizabeth was just slightly too timid, afraid to rock the boat and bring up with Darcy things that were truly bothering her. I think my biggest shock, however, was something the author reveals about Bingley's past. I have no problem with Darcy and Bingley having had past 'flings,' but it didn't seem in line with Bingley's character that he would have one while he considered himself in love with Jane.

I found quite a few grammatical and punctuation mistakes through the book, which was definitely jarring. Overall, I don't regret buying the book, because Pride and Prejudice is my favorite book and I try to get all the sequels and reimaginings of it. Of the most recent attemps, I would recommend "An Assembly Such as This" by Pamela Aidan, or "Pride, Prejudice and Jasmin Field : A Novel" by Melissa Nathan.

62 of 66 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Accurate Interpretation, July 7, 2004

By 

Christy Munn "trisk174" (Gurnee, Illinois United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Darcys : Scenes from Married Life (Paperback)

I have read many of the Pride and Prejudice sequels, and this one is fairly interesting. "The Darcy's" is written in a very similiar style to the original as far as the tone and narration are concerned, which does credit to the author. Furley closely follows Austen's story-telling methods, jumping quickly from one thing to another, keeping the story moving. However, I did find this story to be slightly boring, as it seems to be an accurate description of how married life would be during this era, which is a little dull. The story seems to lack direction and a plot for most of the book, but again, as the title says, it is just describing how life would have been.

With that said, I was unable to put the book down and read it quickly in just a few hours despite the almost non-existent story line. The characters are very close to the originals, particularly Elizabeth and Darcy. Many new characters are also added, flowing together nicely with the originals.

A few of the situations are far fetched, particularly in the fact that Darcy and Bingley share their past indiscretions with their wives (really the only driving force behind the entire book). Additionally, the Darcy's are frequently traveling throughout the book, and I, having never been to England, found it slightly confusing geographically.

All and all, I would say this is a fairly good book to read if you have some free time and want to revisit the lives of some of Austen's most beloved characters. I, however, perfer the more exciting plots and storylines of other sequels such as Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife (The Bar Sinister) and Pride and Prescience regardless of what Austen purists say.

36 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars High Language, Annoying Plot, May 21, 2004

By 

netherfield "netherfield" (Philadelphia, PA United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Darcys : Scenes from Married Life (Paperback)

I got about 3/4 of the way through the book before I couldn't take it anymore. Te whole plot centers around Darcy and Bingley's premarital affairs. The author just kept on reiterating this in different ways; so many times, it was irritating. She glossed over births, romance, and Lizzie's personality.

There are other P&P sequels that are more worth the money.