Helpful Score: 16
If you've read Pride and Prejudice you will be pleased with Mr. Darcy's Daughters. Elizabeth Aston has done a great job of being true to the original tale. Though it's written in a contemporary style, it is a worthy sequel.
I found it to be one of those books I hated to see end. The main character, Camilla Darcy, became like an old friend. She is such a likeable character that you get angry when other plot against her.
The story is very enjoyable. What a wonderful book!
I found it to be one of those books I hated to see end. The main character, Camilla Darcy, became like an old friend. She is such a likeable character that you get angry when other plot against her.
The story is very enjoyable. What a wonderful book!
Helpful Score: 12
As the title indicates, this book is about the daughters of "Pride and Prejudice" characters Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett. Of all the sequels attempted of that wonderful Jane Austen story, this one is the best I've read. However, if you are expected to read about the lives of Mr. and Mrs. Darcy, you will be disappointed because they do not appear in this book. It is purely about their daughters as they stay with Colonel Fitzwilliam and his family and mingle in London society for a summer season. The plot and characters very closely mirror that of P & P, which I found to be disappointing. The eldest daughter Letitia is very similar to Jane Bennett. The second daughter, Camilla, is levelheaded and independent, very much like Elizabeth Bennett. There is a love story fraught with troubles for Camilla and a possible love-lost scenario for Letitia, just like the P & P plots for Elizabeth and Jane. Although I was disappointed in these aspects, I still found this to be an entertaining read. It was entertaining to read about the P & P characters that do show up in the book as their older selves... these include Lydia, the Gardiners, and Caroline Bingley. As I said before, this book is a respectable sequel as opposed to some others that have Darcy and Elizabeth having sex like bunnies... Yuck!
Helpful Score: 5
I picked up this book while I was on a Pride and Prejudice reading marathon.
Immediately you begin to root for his second daughter, Camilla, and towards the second half of the book, Aston surprises you with twists and turns you never dreamed of. I will confess on more than one occasion I was laughing out loud and got dirty looks from the people around me. It was a pleasure to indulge in.
Immediately you begin to root for his second daughter, Camilla, and towards the second half of the book, Aston surprises you with twists and turns you never dreamed of. I will confess on more than one occasion I was laughing out loud and got dirty looks from the people around me. It was a pleasure to indulge in.
Helpful Score: 2
From Publishers Weekly: This sequel to Pride and Prejudice from first-time novelist Aston reads more like a beach book for historical fiction fans than a literary homage to Austen's masterpiece. The novel is set in 1818, when Mr. and Mrs. Darcy (nee Elizabeth Bennett) have gone on a diplomatic mission to Constantinople and left their five daughters in London with Darcy's cousin Colonel Fitzwilliam and his wife. Bossy Letitia and rebellious Camilla, the two eldest girls at 21 and 19, look forward to London's social whirl; the youngest, 16-year-old Althea, has an opportunity to study voice with an Italian master musician; and 17-year-old twins Georgina and Belle can't wait to flirt and break hearts. But the young country ladies "need to keep their wits well about them" in the city; pitfalls abound, suitors come calling and soon the Darcy girls-especially the mischievous Camilla, who "had too much of a sense of humour, too witty a tongue and too clever a mind"-are raising eyebrows and incurring the censure of some powerful Londoners. Aston attempts to imitate Austen's style, with little success-the prose is stilted and anachronistic ("it would be very fortunate if we were to find a suitable young man for Letitia. To help her get over Tom's loss, you know, and give her thoughts a new direction"). The daughters' personalities are drawn in broad, predictable strokes, and the romantic plot feels contrived and overly drawn out. Despite the curiosity factor, even Austen fans will likely give this a miss, perhaps turning instead to Emma Tennant's superior Austen sequels (Pemberley, etc.).
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The book is OK. There's nothing really wrong with it, but there's nothing particularly right about it either. It lacks the charm of the original Pride and Prejudice and none of the characters have much development, but it's an interesting curiousity for fans of Austen's work.
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The book is OK. There's nothing really wrong with it, but there's nothing particularly right about it either. It lacks the charm of the original Pride and Prejudice and none of the characters have much development, but it's an interesting curiousity for fans of Austen's work.
Helpful Score: 2
Picking up 20 years after Pride and Prejudice left off, Elizabeth and Darcy have gone to Constantinople, and have left their five daughters in the care of the Fitzwilliams. While the eldest, Letitia, frets and the youngest, Alethea, practices her music, twins Georgina and Belle flirt and frolic their way through parties and balls and Camilla - levelheaded and independent - discovers what joys and sorrows the city has to offer an intelligent young woman.
A fun read for any Austen fan. Many Austen characters make a comeback, such as Caroline Bingley, the Gardiners and Lydia. Although the author has removed Elizabeth and Darcy and the time period is much later, it's hard to believe that their children would turn out that way.
A fun read for any Austen fan. Many Austen characters make a comeback, such as Caroline Bingley, the Gardiners and Lydia. Although the author has removed Elizabeth and Darcy and the time period is much later, it's hard to believe that their children would turn out that way.
