Jane Austen - Pride and Prejudice

Of course this is not the first time I read Pride and Prejudice. I cannot remember how often I have read this novel. Recently I re-read Mansfield Park and Persuasion to my great delight. This book was in my Apple Books library and the one I opened on a flight I took recently. I was captivated anew by Jane Austen and her amazing story telling skills.

Mrs. Bennet's ardent wish is to see her daughters married off.  Her eldest, Jane, is twenty-three which is borderline spinsterish. Jane is beautiful and sweet tempered. The lack of marriage can only be attributed to lack of deserving candidates. When Mr. Bingley takes up residence at neighbouring Netherfield, Mrs. Bennet rejoices. Her unerring maternal instincts tell her Mr. Bingley will surely choose Jane.

Mr. Bingley brings a friend Mr. Darcy, a haughty, tall, dark and a handsome man. Jane's younger sister, Elizabeth finds herself crossing swords with this prideful, forbidding, stiff man.  Darcy is used to everyone deferring to him and is intrigued by the bright eyed, pretty, witty Elizabeth. He is deterred by Lizzie's inferior relatives. Her father is a gentleman but her mother comes from trade and some of her relatives are quite coarse. Her mother is a silly woman, as are the three sisters younger than Elizabeth. In a time when family connections mattered a lot, it was a serious drawback for a woman to have such a liability.

As this is a romance you can be assured of a happy ending. Not too soon though. There are many hurdles to be surmounted, Darcy's pride, Elizabeth's prejudice, an amorous cousin, an elopement, nasty sisters doing their best to keep lovers apart, angry aunt encroaching upon the private affairs of nephews. In short a lot of delicious episodes to be savored before the lovers kiss. That is, I suppose the lovers do kiss once the wedding is over, I believe it was called saluting the bride.

What makes a piece of literature survive for more than 200 years? I got my answers when I read the book again. This novel was written in 1813. Yet it feels fresh off the press. The language is not the kind we would use now. But how wonderful the phrases sound. How on point are the descriptive powers of Jane Austen! She describes various residences and parks so beautifully that you can see them in your mind's eye. Her language is my most favorite thing about this novel. I can read and re-read and find something new to admire each time. Her characters are all standout. The silly Mrs. Bennet, indolent Mr. Bennet, capricious Lydia, insincere Wickham, proud Darcy, sweet Jane and Bingley and above all spirited, witty, lively Elizabeth.

All lovers of Pride and Prejudice admit that Elizabeth Bennet is a marvelous character. She livens up the book with the gamut of emotions she goes through. She is dismissive of Darcy at first, then hates him. As she gets to know him more and more, she begins to love him deeply. We can only sigh in envy at the love and fortune (not to mention the dishy Mr. Darcy) that awaits her at the end of the novel.

Even though P&P is merely a romance it is not merely a romance. It is a glimpse into the way of life of the middle class gentry in Georgian England. It is a small, narrow world. But so is a painting of Houses at Auvers by Van Gogh. All we get is a bit of a sky and a house, does the narrow view of the world mar its beauty?

No. I can look at the picture for hours, contemplating the warm blues, the pretty house, the little garden. I feel restful when I look at this painting. Likewise, the pretty picture Jane Austen paints of Elizabeth Bennet and her little world is worthy of contemplation and delight.

Anna Elliott - Georgiana Darcy's Diary

Georgiana Darcy's Diary: Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice Continued by Anna Elliott
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was just gifted a Kindle by my daughter. One of the first things I did was to see what I could get free off their stack. I was looking for Persuasion by Jane Austen, and this book was right there beside it.

The title sounded promising. I am not really fond of spin-offs of famous books. I had disliked "The Independence of Miss Mary Bennet" by Colleen McCullough. I did not really like "Scarlett" by Alexandra Ripley. Despite its nice sounding title, the book was likely to be a fluffy romance.

Why not read a fluffy romance first on a brand new Kindle? It has been a long time since I read an easy page turner. What clinched the deal was the prospect of meeting beloved old characters again.

The story starts a year after the momentous incidents at the end of "Pride and Prejudice", the wedding of Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam Darcy. Elizabeth is happy as the new mistress of Pemberley. Georgiana gets along beautifully with her. But Lady de Bourgh will not rest until she sees her niece wedded to a proper gentleman before the year is out.

To counter the stress of having suitors flung at her, Georgiana starts keeping a diary. Thus her story is recounted to us - as a series of diary entries. Lady Catherine de Bourgh has prevailed upon Darcy to organize a house party and called several eligible bachelors who may court Georgiana.

Georgiana has plans of her own. She has her heart set upon Col. Edward Fitzwilliam. But will Col. Fitzwilliam, a veteran of wars with Napolean, be interested in an ingenue like Georgiana? Surely he regards her as a chit of a girl- a ward of his- that he must look out for.

Right at the start of the book the author Anne Elliott makes it clear that she has no illusions of being anywhere even close to the great Jane Austen. She has merely imagined what her characters did after the novel ended.

Hence, I read the novel in the same spirit. I could see right at the start that this was a light romance, a page turner.

Anna Elliott keeps the reader engrossed in the story. There is plenty happening here. Balls, dresses, gossip, romance. Anne de Bourgh is still a sickly woman doomed to be a spinster. But Georgiana steps in to befriend her and teach her to be more outgoing.

Caroline Bingley is also present at the house party and she is still the same haughty, overdressed woman. She is still bitter at having lost Darcy.

Modern authors tend to color history by attributing more modern characteristics in their characters. Hence, Georgiana becomes a bit of a feminist. She tries to be egalitarian. She even hears a friend admit he is gay without fainting. Please, dear Anna Elliott, we know Jane Austen was not politically correct. She was a creature of her own times and we love her for it. Do not try to change that.

All in all, a fun, quick and an entertaining read.

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Colleen McCullough The Independence of Miss Mary Bennet

This is not the first time we have encountered an Austen derivative.  I loved  the movie Clueless which is a modern re-telling of Emma.  Gurinder Chadha's movie Bride and Prejudice was colourful and interesting, if not a favorite.  A couple of book sites on my bloglist regularly come up with reviews of books on some aspect of life of Mr. Darcy or some other Austen character.  At one time I looked high and low for a book called 'The Jane Austen Book Club', to be sorely disappointed by it.

This book came highly recommended by a book site I subscribe to, and it is written by Colleen McCullough, the author of Thorn Birds which is supposed to be the Australian Gone with the Wind. I have read the Thorn Birds and loved it, not as much as GWTW, but well enough.

The book begins with the death of Mrs. Bennet.  Mr. Bennet died a couple of years after Pride and Prejudice ended. Elizabeth and Jane are safely ensconced in their homes as Mrs Darcy and Mrs Bingley.  Kitty is a rich and merry widow thanks to an advantageous marriage.  Lydia is in shambles, Wickham is at war and she is an alcoholic and sex crazed.  Mary has spent the past 17 years (since the big wedding between Darcy and Lizzie) caring for her mother and keeping her away from causing any further embarrassment to her daughters. Mary is no longer the ugly duckling, but rivals Elizabeth in handsomeness.  She has spent her exile reading books and developing a mind, and now, with her mother gone, she is looking forward to doing something with her life.  All this information is stuffed into the first chapter, just like Jane used to do.

The first time I picked up the novel, I dropped it in disgust because Mr Darcy was addressed as Fitz.  I am not sure if even Elizabeth would have deemed it proper to address her husband as anything but Mr. Darcy, let alone his sister-in-law.  If I remember correctly, even Elizabeth's father referred to his sons-in-law by their surname, Wickham, Bingley, Darcy.

Anyhow, the novel gathered dust for nearly a year. A week back I picked it up again and this time, expecting the worst, read it through.  Jane is still her sweet (cloying?) self and popping babies.  Elizabeth and Darcy (no Fitz for me) have troubles.  He is back to being the stiff and starchy one, she is disappointed in him because among other things, ahem .. he is a beast in bed.  Wooo, I say, bring him on.  On top of this, their firstborn, a son, is allegedly effeminate.  Kitty and Lydia are marginalized in this novel too.  Mary gets the center stage here, sort of.  (Even now, Elizabeth and Darcy cannot be shoved into a corner.  At times it seems as if the novel is more about them). Mary is on a mission to write a book about the British poor. Cough. She has some hair raising adventures, the rest of the family also gets pulled into it.

The story is interesting enough on its own but there is nothing Austenian about it except the characters, that's for sure.  People use four letter words and foul language as if they lived in nastier times.  There is even ess ee ex .. phew !   It messes with the kind of an image you have of the characters and the times.  What I like best about Austen's books is its faithful rendition of life in her times.  The leisurely walks, the formal way of addressing each other, the dresses, the balls, the MEN.  The way the ladies and the gentlemen spent their times.  Even though the books are really romances, they are also a mirror of their times.  I hate this book for shattering that beautiful image.

Even Jane's worst critics admit that she had a faultless style.  I am amazed to say this of the author of Thorn Birds, but I found that lacking woefully.  There were many repetitions of phrases and words, which rankled.  Did Ms. McCullough have a bad editor this time round?  No, as an Austen sequel the novel failed badly.  Not surprising really, which sequel has worked?  The sequel to Gone With The Wind, Scarlett by Alexandra Ripley  was awful. Mrs De Winter by Susan Hall was a terrible sequel to Rebecca. While one can understand the itch writers get to try to imagine 'what happened afterwards', one wishes they desist, if this is all they have to offer.

Spoiler Spoiler dirty Spoiler :  In case you don't want to read this novel and are wondering what really happens to Mary, she does not write that book, but settles down with a rich Scottish newspaper owner in the vicinity of Pemberley. Spoiler Ends.


As if you expected a Bennet girl to do anything different - now that is so Austenian 


Super Spoiler: She has sex with him before marriage - GASP! Super Spoiler ends.