Customer Reviews

Old Friends and New Fancies: An Imaginary Sequel to the Novels of Jane Austen

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is only worth reading if you are a Jane Austen fanatic like myself. If you just have to get more of your favorite characters you might enjoy this. It has charcters from all of Jane Austen's completed novels except Lady Susan. It is primarily concerned with the love lives of Georgianna Darcy, Col. Fitzwilliam and Kitty Bennett so it is mainly a Pride and Predjudice sequel. What I did not like about the book was that it tried too hard to include too many characters from too many novels. There are so many characters in the book that many of them have become rather bland. If you love Jane Austen and can never get enough you may enjoy this book. If you're not a die hard fan this probably isn't for you. There are several better written sequels than this one.

After reading Pride and Prejudice, and watching the BBC miniseries, I was simply hooked on the story and wanted more, so I ordered this book. I must say I was somewhat disappointed.While the author certainly did keep the style and tone of Jane Austen's writing, the portrayal of some of the characters seemed awkward, especially Lady Catherine. Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy do not have any of the witty "repartee" that I was so looking forward to, and there was none of the gentle humor seen in Pride and Prejudice. And there are simply TOO many characters introduced from other Austen novels, with not near enough details given about the characters I loved so much from P & P. This book concerns Georgiana, Kitty and also Col. Fitzwilliam, and those characters, while fairly interesting, are not the ones that had captured my heart and imagination and left me wanting more. I have not read any other Austen "sequels", so I can't compare this one to any of them, I only know that this book didn't satisfy my urge for more Lizzy and Darcy!! Perhaps I was expecting too much!!

I recently read Old Friends and New Fancies and was delighted with it. The author, Brinton, cleverly used characters from Jane Austen's six finished novels in her story, easily creating acquaintances, friendships, and even romances. Most of our old favorites are included and a good number of characters who remained unattached at the end of their novels play large roles. Brinton focused mainly on Colonel Fitzwilliam, Kitty Bennet, and Georgiana Darcy from Pride and Prejudice; Tom Bertram, Mary Crawford, and William Price from Mansfield Park; and James Morland from Northanger Abbey. Mr. and Mrs. Darcy, Mr. and Mrs. Bingley, Captain and Mrs. Wentworth, Mr. and Mrs. Edward Ferrars, Mr. and Mrs. Knightley, and numerous other characters make large and small appearances. The setting is mainly Bath, Pemberley, and the Bingleys' estate. Who wouldn't want to go back to Pemberley?

I quite enjoyed reading Old Friends and New Fancies, not least because I was able to meet some of my favorite characters again and visit beloved places such as the Darcys' estate. In the past, I have been wary of reading Jane Austen sequels for fear that the author has taken liberties with the characters and made them behave as they would not. Rest assured, Brinton did no such thing. Her writing style is rather similar to Jane's and I was always delighted to read lines that sounded so like the great Jane's own. For instance, this exchange between Mr. and Mrs. Darcy seems right in line with what Jane might have written:

Mr. Darcy: ". . . we have got into shocking ways since my wife married into the family."
Mrs. Darcy: "On the contrary, I think I have educated you all admirably."

Or this exchange between the irasible Lady Catherine de Bourgh and Elizabeth Darcy:

Elizabeth: "We have all been enjoying your piece so much. It must be delightful to be able to play like that. My aunt is such a lover of music that she cannot hide her enthusiasm."
"And why should I hide it, may I ask?" demanded Lady Catherine. "My judgment has often been of great service to young amateurs, among whom you might include yourself, Elizabeth."
"Yes, I know," replied Elizabeth, good-humouredly . . ."

That is just how I imagine Elizabeth would get along with Lady Catherine, once Elizabeth had established herself as Mr. Darcy's wife and mistress of Pemberley, and made it clear to Lady Catherine that she would not be trifled with.

Old Friends and New Fancies is full of delightful little moments that remind the reader of Jane's beloved novels. It is amusing to try to figure out who will end up with whom!

I am glad to have read Old Friends and New Fancies and would recommend it to any Jane Austen fan.

This book focuses on the love lives of Georgiana Darcy, Colonel Fitzwilliam, Kitty Bennett, William Price, and Mary Crawford, but includes characters from all of Jane Austen's novels. While it is interesting to see characters from different novels meeting and interacting, I feel that Ms. Brinton tries to incorporate too many characters, to the point that very few have much depth. At times I even had trouble telling some of the characters apart, something which would never happen with an Austen novel. The plot also seems overly complex: there are three main couples in the book, and while Austen might have been able to successfully combine so many different romances, Brinton cannot, especially since her book is much shorter than any of Austen's.

Another thing that bothers me in this book is how Brinton changes some of the characters. Of course, the characters would have developed somewhat over time as this book takes place around five years after Austen's books, but Brinton justifies radical changes with one-sentence explanations, such as "Georgiana had got over being shy" or "Mary Crawford had been so affected by what happened at Mansfield Park that she had reformed her principles" (these are not direct quotes). In the case of William Price, she doesn't even provide one sentence to explain his transformation from a simple and unsophisticated, though frank and warm-hearted sailor, to the refined and cultured gentleman who appears in her sequel.

On the positive side, Brinton's use of language is more similar to Austen's than many modern writers are able to achieve. This is probably due to the fact that she lived part of her life during the nineteenth century (she published this book in 1913). The introduction to the book mentions that it is possibly the earliest Austen sequel ever published.

I can't really compare this book with other Austen sequels, since I haven't read many, but I found it moderately enjoyable despite its flaws. If you are the kind of person who loves Jane Austen and Jane Austen sequels, this one might be worth reading. It probably would not interest anyone else.

The book was wonderful. The story continued with the romances among the younger characters from P&P. The author has a real knack for story-telling and the book was impossible to put down once I got into the story.

If you are a Jane Austen fan, then you will cherish the innocense of this book. It is a little obvious that the author, Sybil Brinton did not have the research capabilities that we have now, but being that it was written in the early 1900's it is exceptionally done. Brinton captures Elizabeth and her good sense and judgement. Mr. Darcy is precisely the same. Brinton creates various stories about some of our beloved characters from Pride and Prejudice. Yes, it is predictable, but we love hearing the stories of love and romance. Kitty Bennett is portrayed as a very pretty and lively young woman who is a bit flighty, dreamy and flirtatious. Georgiana though is portrayed as beautiful, unlike the original Pride and Prejudice description of her. However, she also is a bit older, two years, and still the quiet and shy girl we all want to protect. Elizabeth and Pemberly are still her safe haven. I also loved the story line of Colonal Fitzwilliam. Each story is very well done and complete, and flows wonderfully throughout the book. Each of these characters encounter new and old friends and we get to share in their romantic experiences. There is some vain repitition almost to a point of aggrivation, but it stops fairly quick. I LOVED how Brinton included characters from Austen's other books. Mr. Knightly was given a different personality, but Emma was the same! Characters from Mansfield Park, Sense and Sensibility, Persuasion, and Northanger Abbey were so marvelously mixed in to the stories as well. What a concept!! You do not need to be familiar with any of the books to be able to enjoy this one, but if you are, you'll be even more pleased. My four stars, instead of five, is for the repetitious parts. Other than that, this is a fun book. I would recommend it to anyone, even young teens.

As a Jane Austen fan with "Pride and Prejudice" and "Sense and Sensibility" being among my very favorites; I was truly looking forward to reading this imaginary sequel to a favorite author. The other Austen volumes, such as Emma and Mansfield Park were okay, but for me none would ever compare to P&P and S&S. Attempting to bring together the many beloved characters of all of Ms. Austen's six novels, Ms. Brinton did manage to accomplish this in an impressive novel. While this sequel was written and released in 1912, the author was able to keep the quality and tone of Austen's style, but what I feared it lacked was the gaiety, as well as the witty dialogs that graced Austen's pages.

Naturally, with P&P as one of the books I never wanted to see end, I was eager to discover how Lizzy and Darcy got on, as well as her sister Jane and Mr. Bingley. Alas, I was somewhat disappointed as the author managed to insert Mr. and Mrs. Darcy and their acquaintances throughout the book, but glossed over the fact that the Darcy's had two children in which I don't recall even hearing the children's names, but mostly that I feared Darcy still seemed a bit pompous and not at all softened overly much by the spontaneity and joy of wife Elizabeth's personality.

Their were numerous romances going on, that were threaded throughout the book featuring Darcy's cousin Fitzwilliam; Darcy's sister Georgiana; Elizabeth's sister Kitty; William Price, Mary Crawford from Mansfield Park; and the Reverend Mr. Morland whom the Darcy's met in Bath. Only you will have to read this book to find out which ones gets matched up together, as I'll never tell.

However, along with the above, there were a plethora of acquaintances and friends that were mentioned from virtually all of the Austen books. Mrs. Knightly (Emma) was still trying to play matchmaker and through her misbegotten efforts, managed to mess up one couples romance; the Collins' from P&P right along with the indomitable Lady Catherine De Bourgh who still played the Grande Dame to perfection. My one complaint is as this did focus on the Darcy's, the plot did become quite complicated with so many individual acquaintances zipping in and out throughout the book.

Bottom line is I did find enjoyment in this book. Would I recommend it? The answer is yes, although I must say that it is something that only a devoted Austen fan would enjoy, as others might find the pace too slow and not understand where all these characters had come from. On the other hand, those who had never read or heard of Austen (don't know how that could ever happen) might be pleasantly entertained.

Marilyn Rondeau, RIO - Reviewers International Organization, for [...]

Despite a few dragging parts and several typos, I enjoyed this book emensly over some of the other P&P sequels I've suffered of late.

This was written in 1913 by one of Jane's first die-hard fans. It uses and intermingles characters from all six Jane Austen novels, P&P most of all, and Northanger Abbey least of all, which suited me just fine, if I do say so.
I never saw Mary Crawford from Mansfield Park with a sympathetic eye before, she was stealing Edward away from Fanny after all, but I like her from this POV as the social victim of her brother's indiscretions. There are other characters you will be glad to see again, and some that you wish would have a more prominent part in the story. (Col. Brandon is dead, which really upsets me.)
It has all the romantic twists and turns of Jane Austen's work ... Who will end up with whom? Everyone finds their soul mate and lives happily ever after in the end. All it truly lacks is some good Austen tongue -in-check sarcasm and it would be perfect.

I loved the interplay between my favorite characters from Austen's six books. I have read many sequels and always found the supposition that Georgiana and Col. Fitzwilliam would end up together rather tedious. Much better that they both find their separate loves in this wonderful sequel. As usual, Darcy and Elizabeth, though figuring much less prominently, are delightful to visit once again.

In the last dozen years or so, a trend that I've noticed is the amazing revival of Jane Austen's novels into the mainstream of modern culture. Long considered the best of England's early novelists, Jane Austen had a short life (she died at the age of thirty-seven) but her six novels, detailing the courtship rituals of the gentry in the countryside and London, have been read and sighed over for nearly two centuries now.

But along with the revival, there have been some strange detours along the way. One trend that fills me with dismay are the never-ending stream of so-called 'sequels' to the original six that are usually nothing more limp shadows, trying to tell the stories of minor characters, children of the courting couples, and so forth. Other novels are a bit better, usually those with modern heroines who suddenly find themselves living a life very close to an Austen novels. But nearly all of them left me with some dissatisfaction as many of them just could not catch the language and poetry of Miss Austen's original works.

Until now.

Written in 1913, and published the year after that, Sybil G's Brinton's Old Friends and New Fancies was the only novel that she published. And not only does she take on just one of the novels, but all six.

As the story opens, Mr. Darcy and his Elizabeth has started a family in his grand home of Pemberley. His younger sister Georgiana has a tentative engagement to their cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam, but it seems that neither of them are very happy about their forthcoming union. It is agreed that a forthcoming holiday to the popular resort of Bath would help to resolve the situation, and both parties will be able to part as friends.

Which is exactly what happens. Colonel Fitzwilliam finds himself drawn to the enchanting Mary Crawford, and Georgiana is watching the Steele sisters working their wiles on her aunt, Lady Catherine de Bourgh. In the meantime, the reader discovers that the Ferrars have moved nearer to the two married Bennet sisters, and that another Bennet sister, Kitty, is looking to enter society, and already has a pair of men interested in her -- a naval officer by the name of Mr. Price, and a young clergyman, Mr. Morland. And just when it seems that Colonel Fitzwilliam is about to ask Mary Crawford to be his wife, it seems that she is already engaged to someone else -- to none other than the shallow Sir Walter Elliot.

Georgiana Darcy is more of an observer of these events, but it seems that young men everywhere are falling for her and over time, she is being crushed by the burdens of the men falling for her instead of her friends. She is witty, and innately kind, and it hurts her to watch her friends be disappointed in their own affairs. And when she does find someone that she can respect and love, that very same kindness will prove to be her undoing...

Yes, there are quite a few romantic entanglements going on. At times it was getting tricky to keep everyone straight, but the author has thoughtfully provided a scorecard, as it were, in the front of the book, listing all of the characters, and from which of the original novels they are from.

The best part of the book, however, is the language. Miss Brinton lived in a time where there rules to courtship, and how to behave in public, at least if you were to be thought a gentleman or lady. In our very modern world, such a way of behaving would seem very stilted and contrived, but back then, it was a way of figuring out who could be a suitable partner, and more importantly -- who could not.

Along the way, there are vivid descriptions of balls, assemblies, an evening of tableux and charades, plenty of whispered confidences, and the like. What I really enjoyed was how the author managed to take relatively minor characters from Miss Austen's books, and give them a life and vitality all their own. Mary Crawford is musical and reserved, Kitty Bennett longs to fall in love and be swept off her feet, and Georgiana Darcy is serious and a bit shy.

This is one sequel that I can happily recommend. True, there are parts of it that I didn't like at all -- the omission of Marianne and Colonel Brandon from Sense and Sensibility is one of them -- but others had me chuckling in a quiet way, such as the ever-enthusiastic Mrs. Jennings, and that Lydia Wickham is now cooling her heels in the West Indies.

For those who have loved the original novels, here is a sequel that manages to catch the right tone and feel of the originals, without any over the top behavior, modern foibles, or anachronisms to clutter things up.

Five stars, and happily recommended.