Darcy's Diary [Hardcover]

I loved this book. It was exactly what I wanted to read, a retelling of Pride and Prejudice from Darcy's point of view.The style and characters are true to Jane Austen, and it was written by an English author, so there are no Americanisms.

I had a lot of trouble getting hold of the book as I kept being told it was unavailable, but then I found out that it was only unavailable because it was reprinting, so I just kept ordering it until I got it. I'm glad to say it was well worth the trouble.

I read the book in one sitting and then I read it again. The style is so direct that I felt Darcy was talking to me, telling me his thoughts and feelings as events unfolded.

Favourite moments for me were the scene after the first proposal, when Darcy had to go back to Rosings and pretend that nothing was wrong, but really he was in turmoil over Elizabeth's rejection. I loved the second proposal, and how nervous Darcy was when he went back to Longbourne to see Elizabeth, not knowing if her feelings had changed towards him. I really felt for him, and I loved it when Elizabeth said yes. You could really feel his joy.

I also really enjoyed the scenes that Jane Austen didn't put in the book, which Amanda Grange has added, for example the scenes in London with Wickham, which were very well realised and rang entirely true, with Darcy tracking down Wickham and then making him marry Lydia. I absolutely loved the scenes after the marriage, when Darcy and Elizabeth held a house party at Pemberley. Mrs Bennet was hilarious, in fact all the characters were true to form, and it was like a present to find out that there was more to read after the wedding. I should say here that there are no sex scenes, as there are in some of the other Pride and Prejudice spin-offs. The wedding and after-marriage scenes were like they would have been if Jane Austen had written them.

Another thing that I really liked was the way Amanda Grange filled in Anne de Bourgh's background. I won't say any more here because I don't want to spoil it but it was another bonus to this book.

All in all, I loved Darcy's Diary. There are a lot of unexpected bonuses, but the main focus is on Darcy and Elizabeth. If you can't get enough of Pride and Prejudice, then Darcy's Diary is for you.

I started reading this book expecting to be disappointed. Although I very much enjoyed Pamela Aidan's trilogy of books in the Fitzwilliam Darcy: Gentleman series, I am well aware there is a huge tract of dreadful material out there which is a follow-up or a retelling of Jane Austen's story, and I thought it quite likely this would be one of those.

How wrong I was! I was relieved to discover very quickly that Amanda Grange knows her subject, knows how to write in a lighthearted and enjoyable way, and I ended up reading the entire book in one sitting. It's short enough and light enough to do that - the story moves on with more pace than Austen's book and Elizabeth features in most of the scenes in it, unlike the original. We get more of an insight into their life after their marriage - how the reconciliation with Lady Catherine takes place, and even an engagement between Colonel Fitzwilliam and Anne De Bourgh.

I have mentioned Pamela Aidan's three books, also written from Darcy's perspective. It's been interesting to read these two works only a few weeks apart as they couldn't be more different. Aidan's books are detailed, things move slowly, most of the action is taking place inside Darcy's head as we follow his thought processes as he falls in love with Elizabeth. Although in this book, written in the form of Darcy's diary, we do get some of his thoughts these are not particularly detailed. In some ways it read almost childlike - easy sentences, minimal description, fast-paced. But it worked really well for this book and made it a fun read.

The plot device of this being Darcy's private journal worked reasonably in some ways (it could be written in the first person) but had drawbacks - can anyone seriously imagine a gentleman writing for an hour each evening a diary with verbatim reporting of long conversations? But it was a useful tool upon which to hang the story and worked fairly well.

Probably 95% of the dialogue is lifted directly from Jane Austen's work but Amanda Grange certainly knows how to write in the style of the period as any other dialogue that she inserted worked really well. This was a seamless work which fitted in well and was true to the original.

Finally, it has to be said it was a relief to read a book written by an Englishwoman which was therefore bereft of the so-common American mistakes. Such a delight to read a book without a single "gotten", "fall" (for autumn) and "inquire". Very picky of me, but I think some of the other books I've read have shown a lack of decent editing and research.

I certainly recommend this book. I understand Amanda Grange has written at least nine other books. I shall be on the lookout for them now.

I've read a few Pride and Prejudice spin-offs but this is the best so far. IT's true to the story but at the same time it gives a lot of new insights into the original characters. It['s a good read even if you don't love Pride and Prejudu

ccie and a must read if you do.