Customer Reviews

More Letters from Pemberley (Pride & Prejudice Continues)

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I thoroughly enjoyed the original Letters from Pemberley about Darcy and Elizabeth's first year of marriage and eagerly read through this continuation of that story. Overall I enjoyed the book very much, although I do have a few bits of criticism. First would be that this book was not as detailed (the first book only covered a year while this the second book covered five years yet was not significantly longer than the first). That and the last year in the book having so much drama - while yes, Elizabeth and Darcy would have experienced their share of disappointments and sorrows in life (no life, if attempting to be realistic, is completely free from sorrow). The last year seemed a bit soap opera like, but with a sit-com (we fix all life's problems in 30 minutes) ending. Make no mistake though, I did like the book and should Ms. Dawkins decide to continue the series I will definitely read the next one.

While I enjoy devouring sequels to P & R, this one was basically a good read, but lacking in the more intimate details of the lives of Elizabeth and Darcy. It mostly showed them as the patriarchs of the Pemberly Estate, and Darcy as the flawless do-gooder whose personality was a bit too good to be true. Their proposed idealism amid the setting of trying historic events seemed to me to be at odds with how people of the actual time period would have responded. I do not disapprove of idealism in any way, and it is a novel, but I would have preferred to see more development and intimacy with Elizabeth and Darcy.

A book has to be very, very bad for me to put it down without finishing it. And this one was. I know the author is not Jane Austen, but this book was completely missing the Austen feel for me. Elizabeth's intelligence and clever wit is missing and in fact I thought she came across as a bit smug. I found the writing tedious and the characters annoying. The final straw for me was that characters from other Austen books were sprinkled in as acquaintances that crossed paths with the Pride and Prejudice characters. I left this book at a beach house we were visiting and never looked back.

This book imagines the continuation of the Darcy/Bennett story from Letters from Pemberly. Elizabeth writes letters to Jane about the people she meets in the neighborhood as well as the events that go on after the wedding. The events are plausible and in keeping with the original story, but for the most part, not very interesting. The author places other Austen characters in the neighborhood under other names. This felt contrived (and who would imagine Emma Woodhouse friends with Elizabeth Bennett). I think I should stick with the original (and the BBC).