A Man of Few Words [Kindle Edition]

Katherine Woodbury (Author), Eugene Woodbury (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Adaptations and explorations of Jane Austen's most beloved and well-known work have too often transformed Fitzwilliam Darcy into the stereotypical alpha male of Regency romances. In an effort to correct that popular misunderstanding, Darcy now offers within the pages of this novella a more "balanced" view of the relationship between himself and Elizabeth Bennet.

Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 238 KB
• Publisher: Peaks Island Press; second edition (July 7, 2011)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
• Language: English
• ASIN: B003X27P78
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #63,674 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

More About the Author

With interests in Star Trek, Columbo, and 18th/19th century literature, it was inevitable that Katherine Woodbury would try her hand at a Pride & Prejudice addendum. She also recently finished and published Mr. B Speaks! another look at Samuel Richardson's Pamela.

As well as novellas, Katherine (or Kate) has published science-fiction and fantasy stories in magazines, such as Andromeda Spaceways, Space & Time, Tales of the Talisman, and Tales of the Unanticipated.

Kate (or Katherine) can be reached at her blog--Votaries of Horror--or through her email: [e-mail].

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A glimpse of Darcy's inner mind, October 6, 2010

By 

M&M (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

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This review is from: A Man of Few Words (Kindle Edition)

I bought this book on a whim with I admit rather low expectations. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that it is a very cleverly written story. This is not a P&P alternate story -- in other words, it doesn't take the plot in a new direction but rather follows the original P&P with the difference that it's written primarily from Darcy's point of view. The authors call it "an Addendum to Pride and Prejudice as told by Fitzwilliam Darcy to Jane Austen and and Katherine Woodbury" and includes a foreward purporting to be written by Darcy himself in which he says that he would like to set the record straight because he is not comfortable with how he is portrayed in much of the Austen fan fiction. Darcy's quite adamant that he's not as "gregarious as Tom Jones" nor "as licentious as a Restoration rake" to reiterate just a few of the many misconceptions.

Some stories like this are not much more than a series of quotations directly from the original which gets old very quickly. In this case, the Woodbury's have found creative ways to paraphrase original text and also add some of what was left out of the original story. We get first hand information about what Darcy was thinking at the Meryton Assembly and why he hates meeting people, how much he enjoyed verbally jousting with Elizabeth at Netherfield, and how he's frustrated because he doesn't understand what motivates women (especially his sister and Elizabeth) to behave the way they do. In addition, there are new scenes -- Darcy and Georgiana talking about Wickham, Darcy discouraging Charles Bingley from pursuing Jane Bennett, and Darcy handling Wickham to convince him to marry Lydia. It seems that Austen left out some really great stuff!

Mostly, I found it quite interesting to watch Darcy struggle to understand his own feelings. From Meryton to Rosings to Pemberley and finally back to Meryton, we see a portrait of an intelligent young man who has no idea who he really is until he is rejected by the woman he thinks he loves. As he finds a way back into Elizabeth's life, he also finds himself.

Lots of fun, very enjoyable -- I recommend this for all Austen fans.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Darcy Talks Again, October 11, 2010

By 

Anne Wingate (Salt Lake City) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: A Man of Few Words (Kindle Edition)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003X27P78/ref=cm_cr_rev_prod_img

For a man of few words, Fitzwilliam Darcy seems very talkative lately, in several books that purport to show what happened in Pride and Prejudice from his point of view. This version is delightful. Like the other, related, books, the best way to read it is to read it, then to reread Pride and Prejudice (unless you just reread in connection with a different new book), then read it again.

Darcy seems more on the defensive and more self-analytical than he does in most books. He is willing to see himself as others see him, and he doesn't like what he sees. He eventually comes to realize that he and Elizabeth will complete each other, because each has talents and abilities the other lacks, as well as the similarities they have both noticed.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, will recommend it to all my Janeite (see Kipling's short story "The Janeites") daughters, stepdaughters, and daughters-in-law, which includes all of them. I found no errors of writing, of fact as compared with Austen's novel, or of grammar and mechanics, other than those clearly inserted deliberately. I strongly recommend it to all readers who are interested in knowing more aobut these characters we have all come to know and love.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A treat to P&P addicts!, November 15, 2010

By 

Jo - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Man of Few Words (Kindle Edition)

I'm a P&P addict and I enjoyed very much this book, easy to read, ironic, faithful to the story and to Jane Austen's style. I read it with a smile on my mouth, which usually appears only when I read P&P! I rated it four stars and not five, just because I deem it a little too hurried, and it contains here and there some imprecisions, talking about characters not introduced before, which may be puzzling to readers who don't know P&P by heart. Anyway, for P&P addicts is almost perfect. Maybe they will not enjoy the last few sentences, but thinking about them...yes, Darcy's nature has been caught perfectly!