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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Oh happy day! Bebris' best yet!,
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This review is from: The Matters at Mansfield: Or, The Crawford Affair (Mr. & Mrs. Darcy Mysteries) (Hardcover)
Wow, wow, wow! This is Carrie Bebris' best yet! Truly. Her writing and stories just get better and better; top shelf mystery that had me turning pages into the wee hours of the morning. I felt torn between speed reading to find out whodunnit, but wanted to prolong my delight and suspense in this delicious read.
To avoid giving anything away (because that would be a failing indeed on my part as a reviewer!) I'll simply state that her plot development is strong and supportive of much of JA's canon characters. Her writing of Darcy and Elizabeth's private conversations are all that is light, witty and sparkling. I loved the interaction with the Mansfield Park characters, as well as the new personas sprinkled throughout. One such new character, Meg, provided me with several LOL moments, as she unwittingly trifled with Lady Catherine regarding her advancing age and diminishing wits... Too fun! And of course I loved all the regency details Bebris provided (some examples: the betting and strategy of quadrille; proper etiquette for a gentleman's duel; marriage law, divorce court and Gretna Green, etc., etc., etc.) to give flavor and color. A suspenseful mystery with the Darcy's -- what could be more enchanting?! Terrific read. A must buy!
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
More wit and humour from Bebris. Bravo!,
By
This review is from: The Matters at Mansfield: Or, The Crawford Affair (Mr. & Mrs. Darcy Mysteries) (Hardcover)
"More accurately, Lady Catherine conversed. Anne listened silently, her attention straying to other parts of the busy room as her mother soliloquied unchecked. Wandering concentration, however, was endemic to participants in Lady Catherine's conversations. It was how one survived them." Chapter 2
Austenesque author Carrie Bebris ventures into her fourth excursion in the Mr. and Mrs. Darcy mysteries series with the recently released, THE MATTERS AT MANSFIELD: OR THE CRAWFORD AFFAIR continuing the story of Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam Darcy after their marriage in Jane Austen's novel PRIDE AND PREJUDICE. Once again we join the famous couple as they investigate crime and murder among the gentry of Regency England involving many familiar characters from Jane Austen's novels. It has been two summers since the Darcy's marriage in 1803 and the story opens at Riverton Hall in Buckinghamshire, the ancestral home of Mr. Darcy's mother Anne Fitzwilliam. The present Earl is giving a ball in honor of his new fiancé and the Darcy's are house guests along with other family members; sister Georgiana Darcy, cousins Colonel Fitzwilliam and Anne de Bourgh, and her mother the officious and overbearing Lady Catherine de Bourgh still giving unsolicited advice and talking a blue streak. Lady Catherine's hen pecked and sickly daughter Anne is now 28 years old and being micro-managed by her mother to within an inch of her life. Lady Catherine is determined to secure a prominent match for her daughter since the mate chosen for her since birth, Fitzwilliam Darcy, defied her wishes and married that `gentleman's daughter', Elizabeth Bennet. Unbeknownst to Anne, her mother brokers a marriage to the son of a family friend and neighbor Lord Sennex, of Hawthorn Manor. This is purely a match of convenience as the future husband is a hot tempered Caliban, about as suitable a love match for fragile and retiring Anne as the odious Rev. Mr. Collins was for Elizabeth Bennet in the original novel. Certain that her mother will chain her to an abysmal marriage, Anne makes an uncharacteristically bold move and elopes with a man unknown to her family or friends, Henry Crawford of Everingham in Norfolk. Darcy and Colonel Fitzwilliam pursue the couple to Gretna Green, Scotland only to discover that they are too late. The irregular marriage has already taken place and duly consummated. At Lady Catherine's biding, they escort the couple back to Riverton Hall for an audience with her Ladyship. Along the road they are detained in a country village quite familiar to Henry Crawford, Mansfield Park, the last village in England where we would like to be stranded. Unavoidably he must deal with the village locals and many of the characters in Jane Austen's novel Mansfield Park such as Sir Thomas Bertram, Mrs. Norris and his former paramour, the spiteful Maria Rushworth. While there, a murder is discovered. Who, I will not reveal, but suffice it to say, if you ever felt the desire to kill off one of Jane Austen's most undeserving cads, you will not be disappointed. Ms Berbris is truly fond of a good Austen quote skillfully applying them as a epigraph to open each of the chapters. In that spirit, I shall paraphrase a quote by Lady Catherine de Bourgh from Pride and Prejudice and exclaim that with THE MATTERS AT MANSFIELD Bebris "has given us a treasure." I was continually charmed by her imaginings of Mr. and Mrs. Darcy as the Nick and Nora Charles of the Regency set, exhibiting all the sensibilities that any Janeite would appreciate in an Austen pastiche; respect for the original author's style, observance of period detail, reverence to the characters, and interjection of circuitous humour and lighthearted banter, all combined in a well thought out and absorbing whodunit that keeps us guessing and engaged to the last. My only disappointment was that it ended all too quickly, and I hope that the next novel currently being penned about Austen's novel Emma will suspend our pleasure for a bit longer. Laurel Ann, Austenprose
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
WOW!,
By
This review is from: The Matters at Mansfield: Or, The Crawford Affair (Mr. & Mrs. Darcy Mysteries) (Hardcover)
The Matters at Mansfield: Carrie Bebris Whomever would have thought that the esteemed (and so controlled )Mr and Mrs Darcy would take up a path to ensure true love for their good friend Anne de Bourgh?Carrie Bebris did. The resulting "Matters At Mansfield" is an excellent novel that is just what you would expect, and what you would not at the same time., "Pride and Prejudice" dealt with the difficult path of true love in a society well guarded by social graces and etiquette, and Anne (Lady De Bourghs daughter) finds herself in a similar position when the meddling Lady Catherine de Bourgh begins to play match maker. It's off to Mansfield in pursuit of Anne and her new husband Mr Crawford following their elopement. A murder complicates the matter, and as society dictates, and the murder solved before the potential scandal erupts. What is fascinating about this series is the continuation of the story began in "Pride and Prejudice." The supporting cast of Lady Catherine De Bourgh, Georgiana, Elizabeth Darcy, Fitzwilliam Darcy, Mr and Mrs Collins, and Roger Fitzwilliam recreate the mystique and romance of the era. Pemberly, and the great house at Mansfield are home once again to proper `society' and incidents that reflect a public fascination with Victorian society. Packed with humor, romance, light intrigue, and situations readers of Jane Austin revel in, the Darcy Mysteries are a sparkling addition to the growing Victorian/historical mystery sections. If I were to describe this book in a single sentence, it would be "a charming romp through Victorian romance and the complex machinations of arranged marriages and social correctness." Be prepared for episode four, the Darcy Mysteries. It's a great ride! www.tor-forge.com Tim Lasiuta
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