Customer Reviews

Lydia Bennet's Story: A Sequel to Pride and Prejudice

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Although not quite up to Miss Austen's standard as far as language complexity and vocabulary usage is concerned, this sequel to Pride and Prejudice is nevertheless a fun period romp, and well worth reading. Ms. Odiwe expands on the story of Lydia Bennet, the daughter who ran off with a military officer. The novel is partially told through diary entries made by Lydia and partially through narrative, which gives us two perspectives on some of the events.

I'd recommend this book for people who enjoy Jane Austen's novels and especially for those who like the Masterpiece Theater adaptations of said novels.

"The true misfortune, which besets any young lady who believes herself destined for fortune and favour, is to find that she has been born into an unsuitable family." (pg. 9)

The opening line of Chapter 1 of Jane Odiwe's sequel to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice describes the character of Elizabeth Bennet's youngest sister Lydia to a tee. In Lydia Bennet's Story, Jane Odiwe brings to life Lydia's lively, high-spirited character as we gain insight to her side of the Wickham debacle through her eyes - and her heart.

Lydia Bennet's Story begins at the point where Lydia becomes increasingly involved with that dastardly rake, George Wickham. Lydia, who cares not to think beyond a new bonnet and how many suitors will ask her to dance at the next assembly, falls quickly under Wickham's spell. To Lydia, who is high spirited and wants nothing more than to be married to a wealthy, handsome soldier, Wickham seems to be the man of her dreams. But she finds out the hard way that Wickham's heart has never been hers and that he only wants her as a connection to Mr. Darcy and his money.

Odiwe weaves her fiction into Austen's story seamlessly, as we follow Lydia through the aftermath of her marriage to Wickham and the subsequent scandals she is subjected to because of him. We also watch Lydia transform from a selfish girl into a mature young woman who wants nothing more than to love and be loved - in style, of course.

I enjoyed Lydia Bennet's Story immensely. It was a fun story with everything I love about good Regency fiction - good writing, plenty of period descriptions and background information that lend authenticity, and romance that is exciting but not over the top. Odiwe did an excellent job of staying true to Austen's style while creating new characters and plots to make the story fresh and interesting. She also gave me a new appreciation for the character of Lydia. In an age of numerous Austen sequels, this one is definitely worth reading.

As I read attempted Pride and Prejudice sequels, I'm always hopeful that the latest one will be a delight. They rarely are, and this one is no exception. Lydia was never someone I really cared about as I read Pride and Prejudice. She's more the annoying gnat that keeps buzzing around your head: the one you keep slapping away. This book is simply a light peek into the life of Lydia Bennet, one of the silliest girls in all of England.

The story is told in a third-person narrative, with Lydia's first-person journal entries interspersed. The technique works here. Jane Odiwe has defined Lydia in such a way that we find out why she acts the way she does and we see some of her thought processes. Most of it is plausible. Her main issue is that she craves positive attention from her father, the man who openly favors Elizabeth, but all she ever receives is negative.

The story follows her adventure to Brighton and subsequent marriage to George Wickham. Their marriage is chronicled as is Lydia's embarrassment at her husbands infidelity, and her pleas to Elizabeth and Jane for help. Things wrap up a bit too neatly and Lydia never really suffers for her misbehavior or inappropriate antics.

A promising story that fell flat. I just wanted it to be finished.

This book is organized into two parts: the first part of the book is the retelling of P&P from Lydia's point of view, the second part is the "sequel".
Both parts dragged for me.

The first part dragged because I already know the plot from P&P, so no surprises. The best strength of the book is the author's descriptions through Lydia's eyes of her time in Brighton. The reader gets to "see" Lydia's experiences in Brighton and to follow the development of her relations with Wickham. Most interesting is comparing Lydia's first kiss and her feelings for her "Captain" suitor with her kisses and feelings for Wickham. This contrast helps to explain why she does what she does. Highlighted is Lydia's complete lack of insight and thus why she is so easy to seduce, and does not recognize when she has been duped. This also gives insight into why Lydia in unrepentant when Darcy discovers her with Wickham and also her attitude when she returns to Longborn as a married woman. While interesting, this could have been a brisk short story instead of a dragging half a novel.

The second part of the book also would have made a better short story. New characters are introduced that I did not become interested in, and quickly I began skimming to see what was going to happen to the plot because the narrative did not capture me. Because I was skimming, I may not have given the new characters a full chance.

This book reflects very well the character of Lydia Bennett, both are shallow, annoying and overly-verbose. This book just did not draw me in and hold my attention. I skimmed most of it and wondered why I had bothered.

Was I ever surprised and pleased with this book. Lydia Bennet is usually my least favorite character, but I was curious to see what this writer did with her. I would have given it five stars but, in my opinion, the author didn't always stay true to Regency times. The language was modern in places (using, for example, words like "don't" instead of "do not." Also, characters used first names too freely. Other than that, I found the story an interesting and enjoyable read. I especially liked the ending, but I'll let the readers find out for themselves what happened.

Yes, Lydia Bennet is not a terribly likable character. Nor does she improve much in this spin off. However, I did enjoy this book and found that in comparison to some other P&P "sequels", this one was much better with it's language and setting. I would really like to see the author something similar like this with Jane, Lizzie, Kitty and Mary. Some of the other P&P spin-offs have been really dreadful, but I think this author could really tackle other characters and do them very well.

As a long time fan of Jane Austen, I enjoyed this book. It was like a visit to old friends. I have read a few sequels and have always been disappointed to find characters acting in ways that were wholely inconsistent with their original portrayals. This book does not fall into that trap. Lydia matures, to be sure. But it is not to a point beyond reason. One thing though---this book has been written for modern audiences. There are detailed discussions of lovemaking and pregnancy that would have never been included in Austen.

After reading many of the Austen "fan fiction" novels out there, I have to say this was one of my favorites! This author not only provided a fun story about P&Ps "most ridiculous flirt" but I enjoyed how the character grew and changed and it actually inspired some reflection in me (as did the Austen originals). Don't miss this one!

I found this book to be enjoyable and thought-provoking! It is nice to see Lydia's side of things! I always felt bad for her, because her youth and immaturity led her astray. Glad to see her get a better ending!

Jane Austen has become quite a valuable commodity within the last decade or so, both in the literary and movie worlds, and reading about a new (or relatively new) Austen sequel has become par for the course.

I found Lydia Bennet's Story interesting and original precisely because Jane Odiwe took a secondary character from Pride and Prejudice and elaborated on her own very twisted and dramatic plot. If you are familiar with Pride and Prejudice, you know that Lydia is Lizzy's youngest sister, and a very spoiled one at that. Due to her recklessness in running away with Wickham, she seriously jeopardizes the potential future marriages of her sisters and very nearly sullies her family's good name.

As she was a secondary character in Pride and Prejudice, we heard briefly about her exploits but not from her point of view; nor did we know what Wickham said to her to cause her to throw caution to the wind with a foolhardy elopement or exactly what happened with the couple during those weeks in London before their hastily arranged marriage or, outside of their return to Longbourne, of their lives as a newlywed couple.

Lydia Bennet's Story alternates between Lydia's diary and a third person accounting, showing Lydia as flirty, flighty, immature and petulent. Ms. Odiwe stays faithful to Jane Austen, both in her portrayal of Lydia as well as Wickham, who naturally reveals himself to be as spoiled and flighty as Lydia.

I enjoyed hearing a portion of Pride and Prejudice from Lydia's viewpoint, as well as having the gaps filled in for portions of the story we were not privy to in Ms. Austen's rendition. Ms. Odiwe's descriptions of the period, the dress, the language, is spot on and a true compliment to both Jane Austen and Pride and Prejudice. The introduction of new characters move the story along fluidly and seem as natural as Lydia ogling a new bonnet.

In a market saturated with Austen sequels (not that I'm complaining, mind you, because the more the merrier, in this Austen-obsessed reader's opinion), Lydia Bennet's Story stands out and makes an excellent reading choice.