Customer Reviews

Remembrance of the Past

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

There are many reasons to recommend this 'what-if' story where our beloved "Pride and Prejudice" characters follow a little different path, but as equally interesting as in the original novel.

Mrs. Lilian really 'knows' her characters and provides amazing insights into their thoughts and especially their feelings. Those of us who have fallen in love with Mr. Darcy, either by reading the original book or by watching ANY of the adaptations on TV will not be disappointed by the way he is pictured here. We're more likely to fall even harder for him, as we watch him first as a desolate man, then as a decided betrothed and then as a tender, passionate and all-masculine lover.

As for Elizabeth Bennet, at last the independent intelligent woman finds a romantic heroine she can identify with! Elizabeth is strong as she is tender. She does not sit back and waits for the hero to sweep her off her feet (although she gives him opportunities to save her), she speaks her mind and she is Darcy's equal in everything.

The scenes between the two main characters are terrific, but there is also a new character who will charm everyone. Lady Cassandra arrives and affects everyone's lives as she brings with her the "remembrance of the past" - Darcy's past, as well as her own. And that remembrance will lead them all to the quest of true love, of healing, of forgiveness, of revenge (yes, because there are some pretty awful villains other than Wickham here)so that in the end they will be able to embrace Elizabeth Bennet's philosophy and "remember only what makes them happy".

"Pride and Prejudice" is my all-time favourite book and I can honestly say that this story does it credit. Respect to the original characters, imagination, intelligence, drama, a bit of agony, romance, intelligence and passion.

Really, what more can a reader ask?

About half-way through "Remembrance of the Past" I was convinced I was reading a 6-star (out of 5) Pride & Prejudice variation - the best of the pack - but the author's missteps in the second half cured me of that opinion.

The novel picks up the story two months after Darcy's disastrous proposal at Hunsford. He has completed much of his Austen-intended character arc and, along with Fitzwilliam and Georgiana, stumbles across Elizabeth and Mrs. Gardiner in Hyde Park. Elizabeth is visiting her aunt in London prior to them leaving for their tour of the Lake District, which, if I'm not mistaken, is a mismatch of boundary conditions with the original novel. But who cares? Given this change, the story and characters we love follow the path not taken, but this time with a wonderful new character in the mix, Lady Cassandra, an old friend of Darcy's called back from the continent by Georgiana to debug Darcy's post-Hunsford funk, after she has thrown her hands up in defeat.

The Good: Lady Cassandra is one of the best things about this novel, and Jane herself would have approved of the character. More than once I thought to myself that Darcy should throw Elizabeth over for Cassandra. You can think of Cassandra as a 25 year-old looker, a sort of Elizabeth on steroids, or perhaps a "nice" Lady Catharine. She's strong-willed, speaks her mind and (for example) is not afraid to grab Wickham by the gonads when the going gets tough. Good for her! Several times she saves Darcy's or Elizabeth's bacon.

The Bad: The sex started about half-way through, and surprisingly it's not between Darcy and Elizabeth, but that's not what I'm complaining about. The author has her characters talking about sex, which in itself is unlikely in Regency England, but what really got to me was her euphemism for sex, which went something like, "They did ... you know." It was cute the first couple of times but after it was repeated over, and over, and over ad nauseam, it became grating to the nerves. I really expect a professional writer to come up with a few alternatives, like maybe "sex" or "making love" or "interlude" or, well, you get the picture. This is a small thing, but it gets to you after awhile. However, the biggies, in my opinion, are that the author doesn't carry through with her villain (and surprise - it's not Wickham) to the extent necessary, nor does she "show" (rather than "tell") crucial scenes. The biggest of those was a duel fought by Darcy with the villain. How is it possible a scene like that is not presented in the novel? For shame!

So, 6-stars got reduced to 4. And at that I was generous.

There are many things I loved about this story : the love stories, the mistery, the wonderful "mix" of well known, classic plot line, "classic" characters with new plots and development, new characters with strenght and impact, the vivid writing style, the witty dialogs, the passionate, tasteful description of passionate scenes,( not too much, not too litle ), the author's talent and her deep understanding of Pride and Prejudice's characters ... and I could go on like this for quite some time....

In short, I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to read more about Pride and Prejudice characters; it is surely one of the best variations and a wonderful romance novel.

This book follows well in Miss Austen's theme of continued misunderstandings and the lack of communication that is significantly impacted by the sense of propriety of the age. I enjoyed the new character, after awhile, although I must admit to not liking her when thinking she could replace Elizabeth in Darcy's affections. Still, it was good to see and think of Darcy as having a past worth revisiting. And the characters are complex enough to be worthy of Miss Austen's works. A should read. A good read.

I enjoyed this version of a "road not taken" plot twist, picking up after the first diasterous marriage proposal. The first part of the book was a bit slow, but enjoyable. The marriage finally occurs, but 3/4 into the book, and then the end wraps up somewhat quickly. Poor Caroline Bingley leaves for a tour and does not make a re-appearance until the end, in quite a dramatic fashion. It is almost as if the author had so many plot and story lines that she needed to tie up quickly, but did not have time to fully develop in the begining. I enjoyed how the relationship between Darcy and Elizabeth progressed, but agree with a prior review about the sex scenes. Really, you can refer to "it" in numerous ways but sticking with the same euphemisms gets a bit old.
I really liked the character of Lady Cassandra. It brought a new element to the fan fiction.

I have read many sequels for "Pride and Prejudice" and this one ranks up there with the best. The stories about "Darcy and Elizabeth" and "Colonel Fitzwilliam and Lady Cassandra" are so romantic. I read and told the story to my husband at the same time. He'll probably read it too but he'll know it's well worth the effort.

This book is absolutely terrible. Austen canon it is not! I bought it off the reviews and off a suggestion via Amazon about P&P-style books, hoping to have a nice read. Boy was I wrong! The author devotes half the book to racy, pornographic scenes between Darcy and Elizabeth. It is not mentioned in the profile that this is an erotic book.

Setting that aside, the dialogue is laughable, and the characters stilted, with no papable spark between them. Elizabeth is reduced to a secondary character with no wit and little beauty and Lady Cassandra is the author's version of a 19th century Mary Sue.

Save your money and buy Pamela Aiden's books instead. GAH!!

I very much enjoyed this book (and I don't enjoy all P&P fan fiction)! The main main negatives are minor: Punctuation and grammar that the editor should've easily caught, too much repetition of phrases used by Austen (such as, "fixed engagements"). I realize that we don't speak like that anymore, but I think she could've done a better job at not using the same phrases repeatedly.

The last problem I had with it was that it was just a tad too much for me: The Wickham and Caroline Bingley characters were exaggerated a bit too much, and I don't think Darcy would've breached propriety quite as much as he did (Plus, I don't think people would've called him "Darcy" that much - Mr. Darcy, William, or Fitzwilliam is more likely).

There were far more positives to this book, however! I LOVED the relationship portrayal of Darcy & Elizabeth! Yes, I know it's never this good in real life, but that's the point of a book, is it not? SO romantic! Another thing I can't stress enough about how much I loved it was that they didn't have sex before they got married - I HATE it when authors have them sleeping together before they're married! Sure, they would've been passionate about each other, but they just WOULD NOT have done that. To me it shows even more how much Mr. Darcy loves and respects Elizabeth, that he insists on waiting. I also love how the author did the love scenes. She was very skilled at bringing you into the tension they were feeling (especially before marriage when they weren't having sex) - it was very sensual, but not trashy.

Loved it! I'd read more from her!

This is another of Ms. Lilian's stories I read on line. When it was published, I was thrilled when a friend once again sent me the book, along with Rainy Days. When I read it again, I felt like an old friend had come for a most welcome visit. In this story, she introduced a new character, Cassandra, who is a long time friend of the Darcys and the Fitzwilliams. Frankly, when I read the story on line, I didn't like this character. She seemed far too bossy, judgemental, and just all around unlikable. Plus, she had a romance going with Colonel Fitzwilliams, who I've never been particularily fond of. When I read the book, however, I found my opinion of her and even the colonel had changed. Perhaps it was reading the book at my own pace instead of one chapter at a time, and then having to wait until the next chapter appeared. Whatever, I found myself enjoying Cassandra this time around.

One thing I especially like about Ms. Lilian's stories is that while there is angst, she resolves it fairly quickly. She never lets angst take over her story, leading the reader on an emotional roller coaster ride. When that has happened in other books I've read, then the angst becomes a substitute for the plot and I lose interest.

I love the romance between Darcy and Elizabeth. They don't live a picture perfect life, but they do work toward a solution for their problems. There is sex and passion, but it's tastefully written and never slides down into porn.

I would dearly love to read a new story by Ms. Lilian. Perhaps if I bug her long enough?

It was a tolerable read, but not very exciting. I've read much, much worse books. The characters and their emotions did not really capture me. Also, there was too much focus on the secondary characters. Elizabeth and Darcy's love did not really shine through - and THEY should be the stars of the book. I prefer the authoress' other work "Rainy Days" which is a truly wonderful book with some great D&E scenes.