Customer Reviews

Mr. Darcy Presents His Bride: A Sequel to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I've read every P&P sequel I can get my hands on - the good, the bad, and the really atrocious. This is almost my favorite. (My favorite was Pamela Aidan's trilogy). This one gets a little harlequin-romancy sometimes, with un-Astenesque emphasis on what color gown was being worn, what look the characters were exchanging, Darcy's fingers in Elizabeth's hair, etc, but overall, it was a good story. I loved the character development of all involved - the characters were actually DEVELOPED, without straying beyond belief. Too many sequels out there do personality transplants on Elizabeth et. al., but in this story, we watch the newlyweds grow as a couple, we watch Elizabeth take on higher society, and we care about what happens to the main characters, other familiar favorites, and some new ones. A truly enjoyable read. Well done!

I, too, am a lover off all things Pride and Prejudice. Waited almost 4 months for this book to arrive. Elizabeth is everything we know her to be - witty, charming and nearly fearless. This is one of the best sequels I have ever read in its conveyance of her wit. You have real understanding of how she could be well received in spite of her lack of fortune. And unlike some others that would have her repeatedly make poor choices, this Lizzy does not. That pleased me tremendously. I think some authors want to give Lizzy modern sensibilities in the Regency period.

Still, there's something wrong with the ending. It's as if the author ran out of paper and had to wrap it up quickly. And the one sadness seemed unnecessary to the plot to me. I do love Wickham's outcome in this novel. I also want to thank one reviewer for saving me $40 in buying this book under another name. I've done that once with Linda Berdoll's novel.

This was well worth the read and I'd give it a 4+ but not perfection.

Author Helen Halstead gets quite a bit right in this novel. Lady Catherine was properly narcissistic, Elizabeth was properly witty, and others were true to the portrayal first made by Austen. Other characters were off-course, for example Kitty. A few ill-placed coughs in Pride and Prejudice turns into a weak constitution in this novel. There were quite a few new characters, and sometimes keeping them separate was hard, and these characters at times had to drive too much of the plot. Still, the author captured the class judgments from the time period quite well. Overall, a fun book and rates three 1/2 stars.

Hmmm...I thought it was pretty good. It was entertaining enough for my taste. Possibly one of the best sequels I've read. Repeatedly appearing returning characters include, Jane, Kitty, Mr. Bennett, Lady Catherine, Colonel Fitzwilliam, Anne, some others. It's an interesting story line with an introduction to new characters. Elizabeth finds herself learning and adapting to the new lifestyle she will have when it comes to being a Darcy. She is challenged by Lady Catherine's deceptiveness. All the characters stay true to their personalities which allowed me to enjoy the book much more than any other sequel. There weren't any outrageous personality changes or anything of that sort. I recommend reading this book.

I've read this book twice. The first time I was disappointed and appalled, and the 2nd time I still felt the same way. The author does not devote much to developing the relationship between Darcy and Elizabeth. Darcy, surprisingly, is portrayed as sensitive and very much in love. In fact, a few times, he openly professes his love to Elizabeth and waits for her to reciprocate in words. But, every time he does this, the Elizabeth portrayed in this book would become coquettish, teases him, and refused to re-affirm her love for him. When she is introduced to London society, she flirts with almost every man and does it openly in front of Darcy. In fact, she seems to prefer London society and her "new found friends" to Darcy and Pemberley, which is not the impression I had of the Elizabethe portrayed by Jane Austen. There's one scene where she is approached by another man at Pemberley. Darcy catches them and escorts her away. Instead of being apologetic, she becomes indignant and says to him "I'm not your servant." Darcy reminds her that she is his wife. I agree with another reviewer that the Elizabeth in this book is mean, disrespectful; I'll add that she is impetulant, immature, and sometimes I think she's a reincarnation of Lydia! When I read the book for 2nd time, I ended up not liking Elizabeth at all and thought she was silly and always wanting to bicker. The Elizabeth portrayed by Jane Austen would not have behaved this way; afterall, she was the 2nd eldest sister!

I knew by the second paragraph when I was grinning silently at the words, that I was in for a long night. An avid fan of all things Darcy and Elizabeth, I find myself often up all night with a good read. And I could surmise this was definitely going to be just the case. However, by 4 a.m., I must confess that I gave myself up to sleep rather than sacrifice the last 60 pages to drowsy eyes. Better yet be able to savor the ending on at least a few hours sleep! The phrasing is well-intended; not a word carelessly written. I can only imagine Austen herself would be proud to have inspired such a writing. The characters are utterly believable; Darcy, as proud and protective as ever, and Elizabeth, brave fun... although some of their misunderstandings are frustrating, they unfortunately are understandable. And often I found myself laughing out loud in the dead of night! This story was captivating to the last! I have read much fanfiction and purchased many sequels; I declare you will not be disappointment with this purchase.

I have been on a Pride and Prejudice kick for the last few months, and so when I saw this book, I had to read it. Well, I read the first few pages and realized that this would be a somewhat painful experiance, but I sat down and read it anyway because I live for painful moments because they just make the great ones so much the sweeter. Well, it was horrible as a Austen spin-off, but as a once-in-a-great-while read, it wasn't as bad as it could have been as long as you don't really think of the characters as Elizabeth and Darcy. Some parts are even smile worthy. All-in-all, what this author really needed was an editor because she had a lot of confusing bits and some things just did not add up. Why was Kitty so delicate? I don't remember Jane Austen giving such a problem in the original. I won't go into each individual thing because there just isn't enough time. I recommended reading it once, but not buying it unless you just got to have every P&P spin-off there ever has been. If you want a great read that is true to the spirit of the original, I suggest getting Pamela Aiden's Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman trilogy. They are really full of great stuff.

Although no one can totally reproduce Austen's witty prose, Halstead does an admirable job while avoiding the any affectation in her tone or awkwardness in her composition, which is a common pitfall for modern writers attempting to write in the older language style. This sequel to Pride and Prejudice does lack some of Austen's subtlety as some subjects that would have been eluded to indirectly in Austen's work are broached in direct terms such as the mention of love and sex but it is still done well and believably. The plot and characterizations are solid and any slight difference from the book is easily accepted due to the solid writing. The only problem is that in the denouement, much like with Pride and Prejudice, seems to summarize and I had wished the ending was elaborated on. But since this was also my complaint with Austen's original, it is simply that I wanted more. I recommend this to anyone wishing to read about Austen's world. In conclusion, although nothing can take the place of Austen's classic, Halstead writes in her very spirit.

Because I'm a P&P fan... I purchased this book. It is an quick read. I found I wanted to skip ahead to find out what happens in different relationships that Mrs. Halstead had protrayed. This book fed my hunger for P&P, but left me wanting more. The tension that Darcy and Lizzie has in thier marriage, after she is launched into the snobby London soceity, has you wondering if they will make it through. For every man falls in love with our beloved Lizzie. Lizzie is truly herself in this book. The more she pushes men away, the more attached they become to her. I did enjoy knowing the thoughts of some chacters, but wished to know a little more background on others. The last six chapters.... don't blink.... you'll not want to put the book down. The reason I gave this book 3 stars because, I feel it needed more context. In some areas you wished the author would of made the dialog more through.

PS. I have read almost every spin-off of P&P. I couln't belive I had missed the book "A Private Performance" also written by Halstead. I did some reseach just to find out these two books are one in the same! This book was released in May of 2007 and "A Private Performance" was released in 2005, just with a different cover, GO FIGURE!!! I almost bought it off Amazon for $40.00.

I think all of us who are true Austen fans have dreamed of a sequel to P & P...if nothing else just so we know that Mr. Darcy and Miss Bennett lived happily ever after and that we might be privy to some romantic interludes that are so discretly inferred. I have read another sequel, and by far this book more accurately reflects what I believe Austen would have written should she feel a sequel necessary. In fact, shouldn't we rely on Austen's own desire to allow us to decide how Mr. Darcy and Miss Bennett spend their lives at Pemberly. I was pleased that this book does maintain the wholesome splendor of Austen's original work. The other sequel (Mr. Darcy Take a Wife: P & P continues) does not and therefore is nothing more than a Harlequin romance novel that discredits the very nature of the goodness and justice of these families. If you are looking for an easy, quick read that continues our love affair with Mr. Darcy and Miss Bennett than this sequel is for you. Leave the others on the shelf.