Death Comes to Pemberley [Hardcover]

P. D. James (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2011

The year is 1803, and Darcy and Elizabeth have been married for six years. There are now two handsome and healthy sons in the nursery, Elizabeth's beloved sister Jane and her husband Bingley live nearby and the orderly world of Pemberley seems unassailable. But all this is threatened when, on the eve of the annual autumn ball, the guests are preparing to retire for the night when a chaise appears, rocking down the path from Pemberley's wild woodland. As it pulls up, Lydia Wickham - Elizabeth's younger, unreliable sister - stumbles out screaming that her husband has been murdered. Inspired by a lifelong passion for the work of Jane Austen, PD James masterfully recreates the world of Pride and Prejudice, and combines it with the excitement and suspense of a brilliantly-crafted crime story. Death Comes to Pemberley is a distinguished work of fiction, from one of the best-loved, most- read writers of our time.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Really, gentle reader, there are limits. When mystery grande dame P. D. James felt the mantle of Jane Austen fall on her shoulders, why didn’t she simply shrug it off? Instead, she has produced a straight-faced mystery—no zombies—in which a murdered body is found on the grounds of Darcy and Elizabeth’s stately home, Pemberley. James places a template of Austen characters and Austen-like language over a traditional mystery plot and even takes on the role of the omniscient Austen narrator herself. The mystery is set in 1803, six years after the wedding of Elizabeth and Darcy, with ample space given to catching us up on the recent doings of the Bennet family. On the mystery side, there’s plenty of action, from the discovery of Captain Denny’s body, through a trial, assorted deceptions and mix-ups, and love affairs. Unfortunately, though, if this is meant as an homage, it’s a pretty weak cup of tea, starting with a greatly diluted version of Austen’s famous “truth universally acknowledged” opening. James’ many fans will be pleased to see any kind of new book from the 91-year-old author, but discriminating Austen devotees are unlikely to appreciate the move from social comedy to murder. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: This late addition to Knopf’s winter list will require some last-minute marketing, but it has two very bankable Englishwomen on its side: Austen and James. --Connie Fletcher --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Review

#1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER

"A sparkling curio that will appeal to both Janeites and Jamesites."
--"Daily Telegraph"
" "
"Jane Austen herself would have applauded."
--"The Spectator"

"A great joint achievement, and a joyous read."
--"The Independent"
" "
"Death Comes to Pemberley is as good as anything P. D. James has written and that is very high praise indeed."
--"Sunday Express"

"A delight. It reads happily and, as ever in P. D. James's novels, the settings are beautifully and thoroughly imagined, the descriptions and exact. I can't think that it could be better done."
--"The Scotsman"
" "
"Brimming with astute appreciation, inventiveness and narrative zest, Death Comes to Pemberley is an elegantly gauged homage to Austen and an exhilarating tribute to the inexhaustible vitality of James's imagination."
--"The Sunday Times"

"Of all the other pens to take up where Austen left off, P. D. James's is head and shoulders above the rest."
--"Evening Standard"

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Faber & Faber; First Edition edition (November 1, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0571283578
• ISBN-13: 978-0571283576
• Product Dimensions: 6.3 x 1.1 x 9.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (623 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #960,115 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

P. D. James is the author of twenty previous books, most of which have been filmed and broadcast on television in the United States and other countries. She spent thirty years in various departments of the British Civil Service, including the Police and Criminal Law Departments of Great Britain's Home Office. She has served as a magistrate and as a governor of the BBC. In 2000 she celebrated her eightieth birthday and published her autobiography, Time to Be in Earnest. The recipient of many prizes and honors, she was created Baroness James of Holland Park in 1991 and was inducted into the International Crime Writing Hall of Fame in 2008. She lives in London and Oxford.

Photo credit Ulla Montan

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#9 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Police Procedurals

#10 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Mystery & Thrillers > Police Procedurals

#38 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Mystery & Thrillers > Mystery

#41 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Mystery

#78 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Mystery & Thrillers > Thrillers

#9 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Police Procedurals

#10 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Mystery & Thrillers > Police Procedurals

#38 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Mystery & Thrillers > Mystery

#41 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Mystery

#78 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Mystery & Thrillers > Thrillers

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

503 of 531 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A man in possession of a good fortune and a wife must be in want of a murder December 6, 2011

By Maine Colonial TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

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.

309 of 327 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Not for purist Austen fans or demanding readers of PD James: 3.5 stars December 6, 2011

By S. McGee TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

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?

117 of 123 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Lacks wit and suspense December 27, 2011

By Marsha Bailey

Format:Hardcover

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.