Customer Reviews

Death Comes to Pemberley

5 star:		(46)
4 star:		(41)
3 star:		(45)
2 star:		(63)
1 star:		(58)

 

 

Death Comes to Pemberley begins six years after the close of Pride and Prejudice. Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet are happily married and living at Pemberley, Mr. Darcy's Derbyshire estate, with their two young sons and Mr. Darcy's sister, Georgiana. The new book begins with a short prologue reviewing the action of Pride and Prejudice and the six years before this novel's story begins. We then enter the great house at Pemberley on the night before the Darcys are to host their annual autumn ball. Elizabeth's sister, Jane, and Jane's husband, Charles Bingley, are already in residence, along with Darcy's cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam. A new character, Mr. Alveston, is also a guest.

The hosts and guests are ready to retire for the night when a carriage comes careening up the drive, the door bursts open and out hurtles Lydia, Jane and Elizabeth's drama queen of a younger sister, screaming like a banshee that her husband, Wickham, has been shot and killed in Pemberley's woodland. (When you heard there was a Pride and Prejudice sequel with a murder, didn't you just *know* that Lydia would take center stage in the hubbub?) Because a murder has taken place on Darcy's estate and affects his family--no matter how distant the Darcys have always tried to keep from Wickham and Lydia--Darcy is necessarily involved in the resolution of the case. And, of course, the personal connections make the case an emotional trial for Darcy, Elizabeth and their extended families.

Famed mystery author P. D. James hasn't merely dressed up a mystery in Austen style. Her book is very much an exploration of Elizabeth and Darcy's characters, emotional lives and their marriage. James presents a nuanced portrait of the two that is different from the pert Elizabeth and imperious Darcy of the screen versions of Pride and Prejudice. Elizabeth's new position as chatelaine of the vast estate of Pemberley and her duty to her husband, his family, their staff and the property have matured her and made her more conciliatory to troublesome characters, even the likes of Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Darcy is presented as a sometimes brooding and self-doubting man, but one who is determined to learn from his past errors and make a happy life for his family.

Unlike many authors of Austen sequels, James hasn't populated her story with a horde of new characters. Of course, there are some new characters, but James shows, through the course of the book, that she is well-acquainted with Pride and Prejudice and the other Austen novels, and she skillfully works events and characters from those books into this one. The way she does this is true to the characters and even throws new light on their behavior and circumstances in Pride and Prejudice. She does this so well that from now on I will always think of some of the Pride and Prejudice characters as having the back story that James gives them.

James's writing style captures the cadences of Austen and there are several passages that recall Austen's tart and ironic observations. Here is just one, about Charles Bingley's sister Caroline: "Miss Bingley was particularly anxious at this time not to leave the capital. Her pursuit of a widowed peer of great wealth was entering a most hopeful phase. Admittedly, without his peerage and his money he would have been regarded as the most boring man in London, but one cannot expect to be called 'your grace' without some inconvenience."

As a sequel to Pride and Prejudice, Death Comes to Pemberley is a satisfying effort. As a mystery, it is not conventional and probably not what most of us expected when we first heard about the book. Mr. Darcy doesn't suddenly put on a deerstalker hat and turn detective. But the way the story plays out is more true to the time and place, and to Austen's style, than it would have been if James had tried to bolt a detective story onto an Austen sequel. I should note, though, that this Austenworld authenticity and the lack of a detective story may mean that the book disappoints some mystery readers, including some P. D. James fans.

As a lover of Jane Austen, if not a complete Austen fanatic, I was happy to spend this time at Pemberley, revisiting the characters from Pride and Prejudice and seeing their later lives depicted in a way that is faithful to the depth and complexity that Austen gave them. I was disappointed that there wasn't more time spent with Darcy and Elizabeth together, but that's more of a quibble than a serious criticism.

What is most disappointing about this book is what it doesn't manage to accomplish. Not too surprisingly, like all the modern efforts to read sequels and other riffs on the characters in Austen novels (and Pride & Prejudice in particular), PD James fails to capture the unique tone and focus of the original, much less master the detailed character studies Austen provides her readers. More unexpected is the fact that although this pen is being wielded by PD James, author of the meticulously-crafted series of mysteries featuring Adam Dalgliesh, this doesn't succeed in being a a compelling mystery. Indeed the "whodunnit" -- who is responsible for the death of the man found in the woodlands surrounding Pemberley? -- feels almost perfunctory. PD James writes of her characters witnessing the eventual trial that is the climax of the book that they are all anxious and distraught. Unfortunately, she never managed to convey that to the reader, or create a corresponding sense of unease and tension in this particular reader.

That's not to say that this is a bad book, if the reader is able to forget its illustrious parentage. It's entertaining and well-written; James has managed to avoid some of the silliest missteps of many Austen imitators, such as using the word "chuse" for "choose", or having her characters do things that are utterly out of the spirit of the times about which she is writing. And there are some interesting or intriguing glimpses back at P&P (although those familiar with the plot may find the first dozen or so pages, in which James revisits the events of that iconic novel, a bit tiring), and at Austen characters from other novels, such as Persuasion. Above all, it's a fun novel aimed at those more familiar with P&P in the BBC series featuring Colin Firth as Darcy, rather than those who re-read Austen herself obsessively. For sheer entertainment, I'd round this up to 4 stars from the 3.5 stars I'm giving it.

The problem is that this is intended to be a mystery -- or rather, a single big mystery revolving around the culprit in the murder, that is supposed to be surrounded by several smaller and more domestic mysteries, such as which suitor Georgiana Darcy will prefer; why did Colonel Fitzwilliam embark on a late night ride on the night in question; what secrets are some of Pemberley's servitors concealing? But none of these is ever explored in enough depth in this novel to really grab my curiosity or hold my attention. We don't see into Georgiana's view of events -- although that would have been an interesting way indeed to explore the story. Indeed, the point of view skips from Darcy to Elizabeth, and back, and over to a background narrator, but without really revealing enough insight into any of the characters to make them spring to life on the page.

I'm not sorry I read this novel, and it's certainly a vast improvement on the many efforts to churn out Austen sequels in the publishing world today. (I'm waiting for the local book superstore to devote an entire row of shelves to this genre...) But while I was expecting an intelligent mystery, if not a book penned by a reincarnation of Austen, I got fluff. To some extent, it's a victim of my own high expectations -- but then, why not have high expectations when one of your favorite authors, who has been reliably delivering richly-detailed character portrayals in her well-written and complex mysteries, decides to revisit Pemberley and the Darcys? There will be insatiable Austenmaniacs who will adore this, I'm sure, but I think I may spend my own Christmas revisiting the original Pride & Prejudice and reminding myself how intriguing these characters were in reality. Maybe it's a mistake to mess with perfection?

P.D. James must know the admonition to "show not tell." However, her novel is one of telling and retelling the same details about the crime until the end, when finally someone shows up to tell it differently. That Elizabeth and Darcy are in the novel is a fact that fades to the background as their personalities become as bland as milquetoast and the novel becomes more about the movement of characters than the revelation of character. Save your reading time for something more worthy.

If you're a fan of Jane Austen and P.D. James, Death Comes to Pemberly will disappoint. It has neither Jane Austen's wit nor P.D. James's suspense or character development. There is too much rehashing of the Pride and Prejudice plot, which is surely not needed for those who would be drawn to this book, and, in general, too much "reader feeder." Parts of the book read like a treatise on 19th century legal procedure. Too much narrative and uninteresting detail and too little action. Dialog is sparse and wooden and our favorite characters - Darcy and Elizabeth - hardly have any scenes together and none of the chemistry or electricity of Austen's original.

Jane Austen wrote only six novels; far too few for readers who love her work. An Austen story ends with a wedding (or two), and readers can't help but speculate about how the couples' married life might have played out. No surprise, then, that so many authors have written, and are still writing, sequels to and reworkings of Austen's novels. We even have "mash-ups" like Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, and Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters. Now, famed mystery writer P. D. James has joined in with a sequel that is also a murder mystery.

Death Comes to Pemberley begins six years after the close of Pride and Prejudice. Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet are happily married and living at Pemberley, Mr. Darcy's Derbyshire estate, with their two young sons and Mr. Darcy's sister, Georgiana. The new book begins with a short prologue reviewing the action of Pride and Prejudice and the six years before this novel's story begins. We then enter the great house at Pemberley on the night before the Darcys are to host their annual autumn ball. Elizabeth's sister, Jane, and Jane's husband, Charles Bingley, are already in residence, along with Darcy's cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam. A new character, Mr. Alveston, is also a guest.

The hosts and guests are ready to retire for the night when a carriage comes careening up the drive, the door bursts open and out hurdles Lydia, Jane and Elizabeth's drama queen of a younger sister, screaming like a banshee that her husband, Wickham, has been shot and killed in Pemberley's woodland. (When you heard there was a Pride and Prejudice sequel with a murder, didn't you just *know* that Lydia would take center stage in the hubbub?) Because a murder has taken place on Darcy's estate and affects his family-no matter how distant the Darcys have always tried to keep from Wickham and Lydia-Darcy is necessarily involved in the resolution of the case. And, of course, the personal connections make the case an emotional trial for Darcy, Elizabeth and their extended families.

Author James hasn't merely dressed up a mystery in Austen style. Her book is very much an exploration of Elizabeth and Darcy's characters, emotional lives and their marriage. James presents a nuanced portrait of the two that is different from the pert Elizabeth and imperious Darcy of the screen. Elizabeth's new position as chatelaine of the vast estate of Pemberley and her duty to her husband, his family, their staff and the property have matured her and made her more conciliatory to troublesome characters, even the likes of Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Darcy is presented as a sometimes brooding and self-doubting man, but one who is determined to learn from his past errors and make a happy life for his family.

Unlike many authors of Austen sequels, James hasn't populated her story with a horde of new characters. Of course, there are some new characters, but James shows, through the course of the book, that she is well-acquainted with Pride and Prejudice and the other Austen novels, and she skillfully works events and characters from those books into this one. The way she does this is true to the characters and even throws new light on their behavior and circumstances in Pride and Prejudice. She does this so well that from now on I will always think of some of the Pride and Prejudice characters as having the back story that James gives them.

James's writing style captures the cadences of Austen and there are several passages that recall Austen's tart and ironic observations. Here is just one, about Charles Bingley's sister Caroline: "Miss Bingley was particularly anxious at this time not to leave the capital. Her pursuit of a widowed peer of great wealth was entering a most hopeful phase. Admittedly, without his peerage and his money he would have been regarded as the most boring man in London, but one cannot expect to be called 'your grace' without some inconvenience."

As a sequel to Pride and Prejudice, Death Comes to Pemberley is a satisfying effort. As a mystery, it is not conventional and probably not what most of us expected when we first heard about the book. Mr. Darcy doesn't suddenly turn detective; in fact, nobody does. But the way the story plays out is more true to the time and place, and to Austen's style, than it would have been if James had tried to bolt a detective story onto an Austen sequel. I should note, though, that this Austenworld authenticity and the lack of a detective story may mean that the book disappoints some mystery readers, including some P. D. James fans.

As a lover of Jane Austen, if not a complete Austen fanatic, I was happy to spend this time at Pemberley, revisiting the characters from Pride and Prejudice and seeing their later lives depicted in a way that is faithful to the depth and complexity that Austen gave them. I was disappointed that there wasn't more time spent with Darcy and Elizabeth, but that's more of a quibble than a serious criticism.

I've been a reader and re-reader of Jane Austen all my life, purely for pleasure. In recent years I've angrily avoided all novelists who appropriate her characters and settings for their own gain. But in the case of P.D. James, I decided to make an exception. She's too famous in her own right to need Austen's fame. She's too fine a writer to murder Austen's style or degrade her characters with anachronistic behavior.

And I was right. P.D. James has committed a thoroughly genteel theft of people and places in this mystery, and her masterful plot more than justifies the enactment of a homicide on the grounds of Pemberley. Happily the murder has none of the sadistic, psychotic qualities seen in contemporary crime fiction. It's only mildly bloody - and suitably staged on a stormy night in a haunted forest.

James alternates between dignified narration and a delicately wry tone, without overdoing the Austen cadence. Only occasionally and when appropriate do we get a pithy turn of phrase that feels quite a bit like Austen. This is somehow more convincing than an all-out attempt at channeling Jane.

As for the plot, it's full of surprises that make perfect sense in the end. Events unfold at a pace that's gripping without endangering the reader's blood pressure. Mr. and Mrs. Darcy behave just as they should, as do all the characters, and before we know it, we're inextricably caught up. As is P.D. James. Her pleasure in writing this book is palpable.

Yes, I would recommend the book to sophisticated readers and even to Austen purists. I found it well done and consistently enjoyable. P.D. James has very kindly satisfied our craving for more Austen ambiance, without doing violence to the great writer's memory.

Lover of P.D. James books - Lover of Jane Austen - High expectations for this book. I was certain the negative reviews couldn't possibly be right. But they are. I did not spend $ on this one, so I am extra grateful for the public library. I was on the Hold list for a couple of months waiting expectantly for this fresh new book. I had to utilize my speed reading skills to abbreviate the suffering of reading through this very wooden account. Did I ask anyone - did anyone ever ask?! - to have Austen characters try to tie up loose ends or explain themselves? I hardly think so. If you are like me and also love P.D. James as well as Jane Austen do yourself a favor and get the book from the library as it is not a keeper and will disappoint. I am saddened.

I'm no deconstructionist; what Jane Austen says, goes. From that point of view, this book is replete with errors of "fact," or of "fict," if you will. To give only one example, Mr. Collins is called Mr. Bennet's nephew; in fact, he is Mr. Bennet's cousin. I found three such errors in as many pages.

These irritants to a Janeite would not be fatal in a rollicking good read. Unfortunately, we don't have a rollicking good read here. The mystery angle is in some ways incredibly obvious; the reader guesses parts of it immediately. Other parts come into the "had-I-but-known" category. No clever reader can figure them out, as can a really clever reader of Agatha Christie. With Christie you generally kick yourself for having missed the obvious. But, in this book, at least, James cheats.

The comedy-of-manners angle is a terrible disappointment. James presents two suitors for Georgiana Darcy's hand, but there is virtually no conflict. No pride. No prejudice. No mixed feelings. Georgiana likes the obviously likable young man best, and there are no red herrings that seem to point to him as the murderer, and no stains on his character. The other suitor is wholly uninteresting except that he does some seemingly inexplicable things after the murder. But he's not guilty either, and, anyway, Georgiana likes the other guy. No surprises. There is no witty dialog, there are no obervations on the human condition, no noshing, no dancing, no hidden agenda. It's as dry as sawdust. Darcy and Elizabeth have been married six years, but their relationship has not evolved since the day of their engagement.

I have no ax to grind. I really am sorry to say this. I thought James would write a great P&P sequel and I took the trouble to order this book from England so I wouldn't have to wait for American publication. I can't recommend it.

As a longtime "Jane-ite", I have always considered Jane Austen's work to be sacrosanct and not to be touched by other, lesser writers. I've stayed away from modern attempts to bring Austen's characters and stories - particularly those of "Pride and Prejudice" - to life in sequels. No one, I thought, had the literary "chops" to take Austen's characters and write a competent sequel. Then I heard that PD James, a mystery writer I had long admired, had taken a stab at writing a sequel.

The resulting novel - "Death Comes to Pemberly" - is an awkward combination of mystery and comedy-of-manners and doesn't quite come off. The two genres don't quite come together, even in Ms James' deft hands. Maybe it was the choice of centering the story on George Wickham and a murder he is being tried for having committed. Wickham has never been a particularly interesting character in the original novel; he was the center around which events took place, but I never wanted to know more about what happened to him after the novel ended. And, in fact, that raises a particular question in my mind. Who ARE the characters in "P&P" I would want to read about? I can't think of a single one, actually.

Maybe that's because I figured a long time ago that "Pride and Prejudice" was a completed story. There's a reason an author doesn't write sequels; maybe everything that can be said about a cast of characters has already been said. That's what Margaret Mitchell always felt about "Gone With The Wind". And Jane Austen certainly didn't return to any of her older books when writing new ones. (In this book, James writes a little about the "Eliot family").

So what about PD James' book? It seemed like an "adequate" mystery and an "adequate" comedy-of-manners. I've read most of James' back list and I wouldn't put this book near the top of the list. But, on the other hand, sometimes "adequate" can be a good read, which this book is. I'm not sure anyone who isn't familiar with Jane Austen would bother reading it, but for Austen fans, it's a suitable read for a rainy day.

This book, by an author whom I very much admire, is a great disappointment. It failed to satisfy me as a PD James fan and it failed to satisfy me as a Jane Austen fan. By coincidence, I happen to have reread "Pride and Prejudice" recently so James' failure to live up to Austen's style and flavor was all too apparent to me. But, even more disappointingly, James fails to live up to her own style and flavor, which are themselves so elegant and delicious but so different from Austen's.
So this book is neither fish nor fowl - it's not an Austen novel and it's not what one expects of a PD James' novel. If it hadn't been written by PD James, I would never have bought it. I cannot recommend this book to her fans but perhaps those hungry for anything that takes them back into Jane Austen's world will find enough to satisfy them.