Austen Diaries

Title and Author: Darcy's Tale: The Way Home,     Stanley Michael Hurd Type: P&P Parallel (true to the original plot, told from a different perspective) Perspective: Darcy Romance Level: Austen-esque Recommend: Yes, 4 stars Darcy's Tale is a three volume series. The third, The Way Home, the events from Darcy's return to London from Rosings Park, the suprize meeting at Pemberley, the findind of Wickham and return to Longborne. It fills in the blanks and elaborates what would have happened to Darcy. We hear just how embarassed he is over the proposal gone wrong. He takes a side trip to the home of Colonel Fitzwilliam and his parents with Darcy's aunt helping him see the flaws in his proposal. As he returts to Pemberley, he meets Elizabeth and attempts to redeem himself from his past flaws. He schemes to force Wickham to marry Lydia and then returns to Netherfield to reunite Bingley with Jane.  I Liked:  * Darcy's relationship with his aunt, Lady Andove

Title and Author: Darcy's Tale: Into Kent ,   Stanley Michael Hurd Type: P&P Parallel (true to the original plot, told from a different perspective) Perspective: Darcy Romance Level: Austen-esque Recommend: Yes, 3 stars Darcy's Tale is broken into three parts like the original Pride and Prejudice. The second volume, Into Kent, covers the return from Netherfield to London, through the winter in London and the spring visit to Rosings Park with Lady Catherine, then the return journey to London. In addition to the events of the original, Darcy meets a new aquaintance who shows Elizabeth's true worth and visits an old professor to talk over his woes. This is enjoyable, but my least favorite of the trilogy.  I liked: * Colonel Fitzwilliam is a wise, kind friend. * The description of his confusion over his feelings for her. It makes the proposal so much more unders tandable.  * Pender, Darcy's old tutor, helps to show Darcy's thoughts in a very logical di

Title and Author: Darcy's Tale: Into Hertfordshire , Stanley Michael Hurd Type: P&P Parallel (true to the original plot, told from a different perspective) Perspective: Darcy Romance Level: Austen-esque Recommend: Yes, 4 stars Darcy's Tale is broken into three parts (much like the original Pride and Prejudice). The First book, Into Hertfordshire , covers the time from just before Darcy and Bingley travel to Netherfield to when Darcy follows Bingley back to London (so he can persuade Bingley not to pursue Jane Bennett). It follows the original story closely, adding Darcy's reactions and thoughts as well as letters to his sister. Things I liked: * Darcy is such a minor character in the original story that it was fun to get his background. As a charcter, he makemore sense in the context of his losses and the society he inhabits (where he has not met a suitable wife in 9 seasons). * Georginana is a fun addition to the story. The letters and her reaction to them

Title and Author: Mr. Darcy's Diary , Amanda Grange Type: P&P Parallel (true to the original plot, told from a different perspective) Perspective: Darcy Romance Level: Austen-esque Recommend: Yes, 3.5 stars This book is true to the orginal P&P storyline, but is told from Darcy's perspective. It does start before Darcy meets Elizabeth, but still covers events well known from the story.  The main parts of their story are covered, meeting in Hertfordshire, time at Netherfield, time at Rosings/Hunsford, at Pemberley and then back in Hertfordshire. It also extends several months into their marriage. I enjoyed this book, but not as much as some other Darcy retellings. Things I liked: * The diary format gave us Darcy's inner thoughts about the people in the novel. I did enjoy seeing how he is drawn to Elizabeth because she is unlike the other ladies of his acquaintance. * I enjoyed getting to know some of the lesser characters more (especailly Colonel Fitzwill

I have always loved Jane Austen and have enjoyed many retellings of the Austen books. This year however, I read a ridiculous amount of these books and what better thing to do than start a blog?! (It was a tough year and I will get back to reading useful things, but for now I hoping to make my pleasure reading useful for others.) As a background to my tastes, my fav Austen is by far Pride and Prejudice with Emma as second. I prefer the Colin Firth version of Darcy as well as the Gwyneth Paltrow version of Emma and freely admit that I actually laughed out loud when Matthew Macfadyen said, "You have bewitched me, body and soul." Romantic? Yes. The Darcy of Jane Austen? Not so much. (That version has grown on me, but feel free to hate me and leave now.) I prefer an Austen retelling to a sequel or a modern retelling and I prefer the characters more Austen-esque in dialogue and romance. Whenever I encounter a new title, I have trouble determining whether it is for me or not,