Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy: The Last Man in the World [Paperback]

 

 

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I enjoyed this "what if" scenerio. Before Elizabeth has a chance to refuse Darcy in Kent, he kisses her and is observed by his cousin the Coronel and 2 workers. She must accept him now as she would otherwise be considered compromised. Charlotte is the only one who knows her fears about marrying a man she doesn't love (she wouldn't even dare tell Jane when she got home) and Charlotte advises her to try her best to please her husband because you don't want to live with a man that comes to hate you. So begins her love-less marriage. You feel so sorry for poor Darcy though cause you can just see how much he so loves Elizabeth and does everything for her comfort in Pemberley. He can sense she is not the same Elizabeth - not as lively, never challenging or argueing with him but he can't place his finger on it until his cousin the Coronel comes to visit and he sees Elizabeth as she used to be - lively, witty and full of life. He comes to her that night, not with gentleness but with angry jealous passion and they have an argument. When provoked she tells all without the least empathy for his feelings. He learns she only married him because she felt compromised and he is devastated. You must remember readers that because she had to accept him in Kent, there was never a letter that exoneratd Darcy from Wickmans involvement or an explanation for his interference with Jane/Bingley. Lizzy has even cut off ties with her family to "please" him and he never realized the extent of her feelings till now, months after marriage. He now gives her distance, doesn't come to her anymore at night and doesn't go beyond polite conversation at dinner. Georgiana sees that this marriage is loveless and initially assumes that Elizabeth married Darcy for his money but she will learn that its not about money at all for she hardly spends any of it and makes it very clear with anger Elizabeths voice when she realizes what Georgiana thinks. Poor Darcy is suffering and now that he's given her space, she misses him terribly. One day when he doesn't come home from his ride and his horse returns without him Elizabeth goes into a panic - she realizes just how much she's come to care for her husband. He is found, greatly injured and given drugs to keep his pain low but unconscious.. Elizabeth is a faithful nurse to him and realizes now when Darcy is so close to death how much she loves him. She wishes he could be the man so full of love that he was when they first got married but fears its too late. She tells him how much she cares while he is in and out of consciousness but as he improves there is a change - he suddently wants nothing more to do with her. Days go by when she does not go into his room until she gets a letter from Jane with news about Lydia's supposed alopement. She tells Darcy and he decides he must take action and leaves Pemberly with Elizabeth in a panic not realizing why and worried for his health. She learns she is with child but she doesn't want to live if she cannot have the love of the man she married. Each does not realize the true feelings of the other. When he returns Elizabeth doesn't know how to show her feelings, she wishes to take him into her arms but fears rejection. She writes him a letter one evening to ask him what he wants of her now that is with child - should she leave? This brings back Darcys emotions to the fore (he doesn't want to lose her) and leads to an emotional conversation. There are more misunderstandings, more pain but there are nights when Elizabeth shows Darcy the passion she feels for him (if you want clean romance, you may skip the few pages that describe their passionate 2 evenings together). As you read this novel you hope that they will end up happily ever after but the road to get there is not without troubles - wonderful depth of emotion in this novel.

A fun light read for P&P fans. I thoroughly enjoyed it the first time and think I will enjoy it as much the second time. It's the kind of book I enjoy reading on the beach or when flying. Not classic literature, and definitely wont win a Pulitzer but as long as you're just looking for an enjoyable read, you should have no complaints!

This book was so addictive, that late at night I put it down. It was getting late and I thought I should work on reading another book. No I had to stop and go back to this one. I had to finish it. I just had to. I wanted to know what was going to happen next to Lizzy and Darcy. My heart just went out to them because I wanted things to work for them and yet it looked like everything was going from bad to worse. So I just couldn't leave them there. I just HAD to finish this book. It took me two days to do so (because of interruptions and such).

Since I'm so attached to Lizzy and Darcy, naturally this book absorbed every bit of my attention. I liked how it switched from Elizabeth to Darcy's viewpoint and it was fun to see how each one thought of each other and what they thought after their quarrels. Sometimes it made me just want to smack myself because they just couldn't see eye to eye and you wanted to jump in and become the middle person in their arguements. Then there were parts where I wanted both of them in their own corners as if they were children and misbehaving. It was just filled with such emotional conflicts that you weren't sure how to feel towards both of them. There were also times where I just heaved a sigh of frustration because it just wasn't working out and it felt as if it was one thing after another and you're left with saying: "Oh jeez, now what???" but, I liked it. This book was excellent on tugging emotions left, right and center. I really liked both Elizabeth and Darcy in this book.

Their character development was great. What I thought most interesting was, Georgiana, who wasn't really much in the book developed in character as well I actually liked that considering we don't really hear much about her anyway. However, naturally the main character development is within Elizabeth and Darcy and they develop nicely. Plotwise, I'd have to say there really isn't much of one. The real main focus is the development of the relationship between Elizabeth and Darcy. This might not sit well with others as plot driven novels can be essential to the story. I didn't mind, I was too engrossed in their relationship and what they went through to really pay attention to having no plot.

The one thing that did bother me about the novel was Elizabeth's behavior. Where was her wit? her comments that had the subtle sarcasm that was her trademark? where was her inner strength and her ability to think things through clearly and cleverly? to me, Elizabeth wasn't really Elizabeth it was like as if that part of her personality was wrenched out from her. I wasn't really too crazy about this new Elizabeth in this book but I went along with it. There were parts in the book where she engaged in her banter with Darcy but it just wasn't the same. It bugged me but not the the extent that I had to stop the book and quit it altogether. There are a few romance scenes in here, but I was willing to read it through. It was acceptable for a non romance reader like me.

Overall, if Elizabeth's personality change doesn't bother even the most hard core of Austen readers out there, then by all means pick this up. It'll tear you to pieces with emotions, that I can guarantee you. You either wanted to reach out to either confort or lecture these two. This is a great Jane Austen "What if" question, and a great novel to add to your Austen sequel collection.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Love it!
This book is a completely original take on the Pride and Prejudice sequels. I love it.

Published 19 months ago by lindsay

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