Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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86 of 89 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Ladies, You'll Place This One In Your Keeper Hall Of Fame!, July 19, 2000
If you love the novel "Pride & Prejudice", plus love its A&E series on video with Colin Firth, you will simply adore this newest addition to that heavenly constellation by Fasman. She was inspired to write Darcy's diary after seeing Firth play him and, boy, does it show! Wow! Fasman gives us Darcy's side to the whole story plus includes his life prior to meeting Elizabeth and their life after they are married. I was so "into" this diary that I spaced out reading the final 60 pages over 2 days because I couldn't stand finishing it! I only do this when I am head-over-heels with a book; I can't even remember the last time that happened, it was so long ago. Darcy's physically passionate longings and fulfillment are also portrayed along with a fully developed rationale for Darcy's pride-of-behavior. Fasman was a screenwriter up until 1945. She stopped writing then and THIS was her first effort, in 1998, after that long absence. All creative people should be lucky enough to experience this kind of "comeback". It is a beautifully bound and printed trade edition paperback with lovely cut-out figures of Darcy and Elizabeth on front and back covers. I don't recognize its small publisher though and, be warned, it took me 6 weeks to obtain it. Why this is such a hard-to-find book defies my comprehension. This should be in much wider distribution though because every woman in love with Colin Firth's portrayal of Darcy will want her own copy of this book. I think the only way I will be able to recover from finishing this book is to watch yet again the whole video series of Firth playing Darcy. Too bad I'm only allowed to give a 5 here; I'd love to give it a 10!
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44 of 45 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Accessible Aristocrat, September 24, 2000
This is a lovely, modern-tinged sequel to Pride and Prejudice, with a commendable attempt at insight into Darcy's psyche. While not Miss Austen, Fasman has a warm, easily readable style, and a good grasp of character development. Her tone, as Darcy grows from small boy to adult male is never forced or cloying, and she has a knack for eliciting sympathy for her characters. This is definitely Darcy's book, but Fasman gives us some lovely additions to our pictures of Elizabeth, Mary Bennett, and Georgiana, as well as rounding Lady Catherine out as well, without detracting from the models drawn by Austen. I really liked this book, and will probably re-read it at a later date. I have read almost all of the Austen clones, and found this one to be a quick, charming read, with integrity and style. Ms. Fasman has made the aloof Darcy a much more accessible aristocrat.
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64 of 68 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Excitable schoolboy Darcy? I think not., August 3, 2001
I think I'm going to stop expecting anything from these P&P spinoffs because whenever I do, I'm inevitably disappointed. Alright, the concept is interesting enough: a semi-retelling of P&P through the eyes of Mr. Darcy. The problem with this book, at least to me, was not that it went beyond the scope of the original novel (I actually don't mind that at all). My problem was that its portrayal of these previously unexplored events was unconvincing. Like other reviewers, I found this book's depiction of Darcy's parents as cold and unfeeling people to be inconsistent with Darcy's regard for them (as evidenced by Darcy's willingness to honor his father's wishes for Wickham). I also had problems with the punctuation used throughout this book. Punctuation, you ask? Yes. Darcy writes repeatedly with the use of exclamation points, and comes off more like an excited schoolboy than the mature, reserved person we know him to be. Although this is to be expected early on (his first journal entry is when he is only 10), I'd expect his reserved character to come through at least in his later years. No such luck. The writing never progresses beyond the 10 year-old-boy level. Even as an adult, his journal entries continue to be repeatedly filled with statements like, "I love her! She's beautiful! How happy I am!" Enough already! :-) I expect Darcy's writing to be moving and elegant, not excitable and childish. The book also goes beyond the P&P timeframe by covering events past the wedding. Again, I don't have a problem with that per se. I like to see what happens to the Darcys afterwards. They are portrayed here as happy, passionate people, which is great. However, the repeated use of exclamation points continued to annoy me and I found myself rushing through this last part of the book just to finish up the darn thing. If you don't want to expand on the P&P timeframe, this might be another annoying thing about this book. If you do want to know what happens to Darcy and Lizzy afterwards, I suggest reading the Bar Sinister. It's risque to be sure, but it's also fun and amusing--definitely a much better continuation of the Darcys' love affair than this excitable schoolboy version. I've been told a much better version of Darcy's story exists. It is called "The Confession of Fitzwilliam Darcy" by Mary Street. Unfortunately, it's out of print and hard to get your hands on a copy. However, if you really want to read something that's actually good, I suggest holding out until you do find a copy. If however, you just can't get enough of P&P spinoffs, I'd suggest reading the Bar Sinister first (assuming you're not a purist--if you are, then read Letters from Pemberley). If you've read both and are desparate to get more (as I was), I suppose this will do (just don't expect anything). However, no matter how desperate you get, avoid at all costs anything by Emma Tennant, or you'll just end up being resentful (I think she's universally hated by P&P loyalists). Have fun reading, but consider yourself warned...
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