March 4th, 2010 — 3 Stars, A-C, Book Review, Comedy of Manners, Estranged, Gambling, Gentry, Gothic, Great Britain, Jane Austen, Regency
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Duty and Desire takes places during the majority of the silent period. It is the second book in the Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy Gentleman Trilogy. The first is An Assembly Such as This which ended in London at the beginning to the silent period of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.
Darcy is in quite a pickle. He's managed to successfully divert his friend from near disaster, but his mind won't stop resting on the delights of Elizabeth Bennet. Thinking Pemberley will help orient his mind, Darcy finishes his business in London and hies home. There he meets his sister, Georgiana much changed from her misfortunes of last summer. Bright sunny and remarkably mature, Darcy can hardly believe his eyes. He's worried that one wrong move on his part will ruin all of Georgiana's progress.
Christmas comes to Pemberley and Darcy is caught more than once daydreaming about Elizabeth's fine eyes. He knows he must do something about his wandering imagination and fast. Determined to erase her presence from his thoughts, Darcy decides to enter into the hunt for a wife. Leaving his sister in the care of family and his best friend Dy, Darcy goes to a reunion house party of old Cambridge and Oxford mates.
There he meets his cousin's fiancee and is at once charmed and disturbed by her flirtation. He finds solace in the dark beauty that is his host's half-sister. As his thoughts war between Sylvanie and Elizabeth, both gray eye beauties, a dark nearly Gothic mystery begins to unfold. His host is in dire need of funds, a piglet is slaughtered and made to look like a human baby, personal affects are stolen, and more. Fletcher, Darcy's valet, is the only one he can trust to help unwind the threads of this coil.
I guessed immediately who was behind everything, but had not guessed at the second mystery that was present in the writing. It took me by surprise at the end during the revelation. In hind-sight I can see the clues that I could not before. A masterful tale, if a little drawn out. Would have preferred more Bingley in this part of the story, as it was there was very little. I suspect Dy and/or Colonel Fitzwilliam love romantically the sixteen year old Georgiana. My suspicions will have to wait until the next and final chapter of Mr. Fitzwilliam, Darcy Gentleman Trilogy.
Review: 3 Stars
Buy: Duty and Desire
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Originally posted 2009-07-02 03:04:22. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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August 1st, 2009 — News
July has been another outstanding month! You guys are such a blast! There were a lot of guest bloggers this month and I would like to take a moment to thank them all. You're contributions really made this month special and I am so pleased with the responses they garnered. We also saw the announcement of the 2009 RWA Rita and Golden Heart winners this month. Congratulations again authors, your work truly enriches all our lives. Below are this past month's highlights:
July’s 11 Most Commented Posts:
Guest Bloggers:
Author Interviews:
Guest Book Reviews:
Movie Reviews:
Polls:
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July 30th, 2009 — 4 Stars, A-C, Comedy of Manners, Estranged, Gambling, Gentry, Gothic, Great Britain, Guest Reviews, Jane Austen, Regency
By: Sasha Muradali, guest blogger
Duty & Desire is an interesting addition to the trilogy of Fitzwilliam Darcy: Gentleman by Pamela Aidan. This second installment takes readers through Mr. Darcy’s missing moments in Pride and Prejudice in between his departure for London after the Netherfield Ball and his reemergence at his aunt’s house, Rosings Park.
A decent novel, filled with twists and turns, it’s nothing too extraordinary or special in terms of the storyline.
It has two important qualities however: Mr. Darcy’s relationship with his sister Georgiana and a deeper look into his personality.
Readers familiar with Pride and Prejudice, will know the thoughts swirling around Lizzy Bennet’s head, but were left with presumptions and, often dream-filled landscapes, as to the inner mechanical mind of “the man himself.”
These two facets are the meat of the story. Through Aidan’s novel, readers are exposed to another side of Mr. Darcy they always knew existed, but were ever privy to reading about until the very end of Pride and Prejudice. Darcy’s relationship with Georgiana is beautiful.
To quote Elizabeth Bennet, he’s “an ideal older brother.” From his indulgences of her, patience, kindest endearments and openness, as a girl, you cannot help but love him more. Not only love him more, but have the urge to squeal “awwwwww.”
The best part? He falls asleep on her shoulder one night after he comes back from a horrid escapade with a “pack of vipers.” And yes, the vipers are people, not snakes. No, Pamela Aidan does not take Mr. Darcy into Indiana Jones land. Be not alarmed ladies.
The ability to view Darcy’s love for Georgiana, also enables the reader to delve deeper into, what Aidan interprets, as his inner thoughts. Conflicted and confused between decorum and feelings, duty and desire, this novel is one more way to hold on to the character we all know and love.
Not to mention, that it is, for lack of a better term, simply cute how he pines over Lizzy Bennet
It does fall short of An Assembly Such As This, by not by much.
4 of 5 stars.
Read Keira's review of Duty and Desire.
Buy: Duty and Desire
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July 22nd, 2009 — 3.5 Stars, A-C, Big Misunderstanding, Book Review, Comedy of Manners, Gentry, Great Britain, Jane Austen, Regency, Virgin Heroine
These Three Remain is the last installment of the Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman Trilogy by Pamela Aidan. This is the one you’ve all been waiting for, or at least is the one I’ve been waiting for. It starts just before Darcy’s trip to Rosings and goes through to the final proposal.
It’s very long and engrossing, practically too long, if I had any complaints. I was sorely tempted to pull out my (oddly enough a very neglected) copy of Pride and Prejudice to compare both proposal texts. In the end I decided against doing that in case Aidan took liberties because I would enjoy the book more without knowing.
Moreover, Aidan wraps the time period more firmly into the piece than Austen. Darcy’s friend, Dy, is back and is revealed to be something other than he is. A lot of words are devoted to this end and with Dy in the picture as Darcy’s best friend, Bingley comes in second rate. Additionally, Colonel Fitzwilliam is proven correct on Dy’s feelings toward Miss Darcy.
I’m not really sure why this whole segment is really necessary or for that matter Dy’s character in general. Dy’s contacts come in handy with tracking down Wickham and Lydia but as is mentioned by Aidan through Darcy there were other elements already in place to that end.
Darcy’s original proposal and backlash is fantastic. I love how it takes him a while to really grasp what Elizabeth meant. He is determined to become a better man because of her. He thought he was the man he always wanted to be or at least well on the way to becoming that man until the proposal in Kent.
How Bingley and Darcy patch up is another good scene. Not nearly as exciting as I had hoped, but decent. I was surprised to see it happen as it did in the timeline, having expected it earlier. As it was it happened after Bingley returned to Hertfordshire but before his proposal to Jane.
I think the most intriguing piece in the whole story however is the interview with his aunt. Very rewarding! I always wanted to know how that went.
Overall a very strong finish.
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Buy: These Three Remain
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July 11th, 2009 — 4.5 Stars, A-C, Business, Comedy of Manners, Gentry, Great Britain, Guest Reviews, Jane Austen, Regency, Virgin Heroine
What I love best is seeing multiple perspectives on books that I'm reading, have read, or intend to read. When Sasha sent me this guest review, I was pleasantly surprised. Without knowing it, we were reading the same book trilogy within days of each other! Check out my review of An Assembly Such as This and Sasha's below!
By: Sasha Muradali, guest blogger
This is not your typical romance novel, nor would I classify it as romance per se because An Assembly Such As This (Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentlemen) by Pamela Aidan is the author's take, from the point-of-view of Fitzwilliam Darcy, on Pride and Prejudice, a classic novel, by Jane Austen. However, well-acknowledged, Pride and Prejudice is a love story.
An Assembly Such as This is the first part of a trilogy (Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentlemen) that takes us through the all too familiar journey so many of us have come to love. The other two novels are called Duty and Desire and These Three Remain. This specific volume ventures into the first third of Pride and Prejudice up until when Darcy and the Bingley family leave Hertfordshire for London after the fiasco at the Netherfield Park Ball.
You cannot truly appreciate or understand the depths of this novel without having had read Pride and Prejudice previously. There is a lot that the author takes for chance that you already know.
While, many of us have had our assumptions on that Darcy feels, we've never really seen it in writing before. And as someone who is very skeptical about anything that interprets Pride and Prejudice, this first novel of Aidan's trilogy is nothing short of absolutely fantastic.
The author takes her readers through Darcy's first meeting with Elizabeth, why he behaves they way that he does, and how often, what was once seen as him being tough and perhaps cruel, was his natural decorum, or way of flirting holding on to that very decorum.
Specifically, Aidan is able to add some of her own little quirks into the story - consistent letters between Georgiana and Darcy, a look into Darcy's private life as male head of house. This is actually one of the most unique aspects, and what I enjoyed reading the most, because as a reader you get to see an illustration of how Georgiana was really feeling post-Mr. Wickham. These letters also serve as a means to understand how truly and deeply Darcy cares for Georgiana - they also show how often he really puts others before himself.
This fact helps the reader understand further his decision to separate Bingley from Jane Bennett; in An Assembly Such as This, Darcy is working together selflessly with Caroline to protect Charles, not harm him. It would be important to remember that in the original Pride and Prejudice, the ball at Netherfield Park turned into somewhat of a fiasco between the younger Bennett girls running wild with the officers, Mrs. Bennett running her mouth off and, the Bennett's cousin, Mr. Collins, becoming a public laughing stock. These circumstances are part of what fuels Darcy's opinion of country manners being 'savage.'
If you are looking to laugh, gain a near flawless interpretation of Pride and Prejudice through the eyes of Fitzwilliam Darcy, try your eyes on An Assembly Such As This.
Here on Love Passion Romance we will be featuring reviews on the other two in the trilogy shortly. So stay tuned and don't forget to remember the tag 'Fitzwilliam Darcy Gentlemen.'
4.5 of 5 stars.
Buy: An Assembly Such as This
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June 30th, 2009 — 4 Stars, A-C, Book Review, Business, Comedy of Manners, Gentry, Great Britain, Jane Austen, Regency, Virgin Heroine
This novel is Pride and Prejudice
retold from Darcy's POV. He's very wordy--can you imagine? His version is in three parts! Part one of the Mr. Darcy, Gentleman trilogy, An Assembly Such as This, and the only one I’ve read so far, details his time in Hertfordshire. It starts with the Meryton Assembly and ends after departing Netherfield and before Jane Bennet arrives in London.
I liked the book a lot. The language matches the feel of Pride and Prejudice. It’s written in a slightly more updated fashion than Jane Austen’s original. Purists might dislike that, but it made me happy.
It’s written at a good pace. I was halfway through before I realized the novel couldn’t possibly end with them together. (I hadn’t realized it was part of the trilogy when I started.) That’s not to say it was all easy reading—some parts dragged; getting bogged down in the details. Luckily they are few and far in between and you can skimmed them and still understand what’s happening.
Observing Mr. Darcy fall for Elizabeth was a hoot. His thoughts on the subject of Elizabeth are quite a riot. I loved learning that in some situations when others see a stern visage his mind is more favorably inclined. The duality created many “aw—that’s so cute!” moments for me. Darcy comes to the conclusion he’s in love with Elizabeth at the very end and the very idea terrifies him as much as it exhilarates him.
Rating: 4 Stars
Buy: An Assembly Such as This: A Novel of Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman
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