After capturing the heart of the most eligible bachelor in England, Elizabeth Bennet believes her happiness is complete--until the day she unearths a stash of anonymous, passionate love letters that may be Darcy's, and she realizes just how little she knows about the guarded, mysterious man she married...
In this Pride and Prejudice sequel, we find ourselves back at Longbourne, witnessing Mrs. Bennet extol on her two eldest daughters' fortunes of landing respectable and well-to-do husbands.
Whilst the repartee between the Mr. and Mrs. Bennet occurs, the new Mrs. Darcy is well on her way to Pemberley. Greetings ensue from Lambton and the estate itself. All is going well with the newlyweds although they have a constant slew of well-wishers and dinners to attend. One neighbor in particular, hints at a secret involving Mr. Darcy's past and his mother's lady's maid.
When Michaelmas comes around, the rest of the Bennet family, the Bingleys, the Gardiners, Mrs. Bulter and her son, and neighbors attend a traditional ball held at Pemberley. Mrs. Butler is a friend of Mrs. Gardiner whom Lizzy met while Mrs. Gardiner was visiting Lambton.
It is at this point where Georgianna's story quickly dominates the reader's attention--not that the secret surrounding Mr. Darcy's past isn't intriguing. But Georgianna's story more bittersweet in that it represents what her brother had gone through with Lizzy, though she was less free in her decisions considering her gender status. Her romance with the Mr. Tom Butler is sweet and revolves around their mutual love for painting and drawing. However, Mr. Darcy is of course, against his sister's involvement with someone lower in social position. He thus betroths her to a Mr. Hugh Calladine, who is supposedly in love with another girl.
While Darcy's secret is slightly intertwined through the middle of the book, it comes back into play in the last quarter (or eighth), pulling the reader's attention back to the original plot. Questions that arose in the beginning when Lizzy finds the supposed letters between two lovers come back to mind. Does Mr. Darcy have a bastard? Who was the mother/girl he was once intimate with?
In the end, Georgianna and Tom come back and are later married; and we find out the truth about Mr. Darcy's past.
I felt that Odiwe stayed fairly true to the voices of most characters, though reusing past dialogue from Austen's original work (in the form of recollections) does help with that. I liked how Georgianna's character developed in this story. It was an enjoyable read throughout, though the story did "skip" around a lot between character point of view. I thought it most humorous that Caroline Bingley was in lurve with a utopian artist, by the name of Lord Dalton. Of course, he is titled and rich, which still makes him desirable, but he is an artist and poet nonetheless, and we see the rustic and artistic side of Caroline emerge in light of that.
I am a fan of Pride and Prejudice fan-fictions and sequels, and this one definitely did not disappoint!
Until next time!
- J
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