Desire and Duty : A Sequel to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice

Rating:
Summary: An insult to Austen readers everywhere
Review: Pride and Prejudice is hands down, my favorite book. Quite honestly, I can't get enough of Jane Austen's work. I've read all her books multiple times. Unfortunately, the quality of Austen's books made this book all the more reprehensible. This was truly the worst book I have ever read. I can't think of words strong enough to discourage a Jane Austen fan from wasting their time and money on this book. I understand that the authors are also Austen fans, but they should have left well enough alone. This book was more than enough to scare me away from any Austen "sequels."

Rating:
Summary: Pretentious and disappointing
Review: If the authors had not emphasized their point in being adherent to Austen's intentions for her characters in Pride and Prejudice, this book would not have been so offensive. Authors of other P&P sequels at least show their respect for both Austen and her admirers by admitting to only entertain. The so-called research the authors claimed to have done contain facts that were downright wrong. The way the Baders would have the characters acted and reacted are in direct opposition to the proper conduct of genteel ladies and gentlemen with good breeding, as were Fitzwilliam and Georgiana Darcy. The language is a total disaster (despite the explanatory notes by the author), weaving in and out of late 18th/early 19th and 20th centuries. Such pretentious use of a stylized language exposes only the authors' ignorance of the English language and Austen's sincere style. Some of the dialogue appear to have emerged from the latest Harlequin romance novel(s). The religious overtones are such that even Austen, despite the fact that her father was in the clergy, would have rolled her eyes in disgust. The medical references only serves to represent one of the author's eagerness in exerting his own "superior" knowledge in the field. I strongly question the authenticity of those "favorable" reviews quoted of those names supposedly respected and noted in the English discipline and Austenian studies. Either the authors and publisher had paid those "experts" a handsome honorarium for staking their names on this book or they seriously need to consider their own qualifications. As one of my professors used to caution his students: just because someone wrote it and someone published it and someone even read it and liked it, doesn't mean that this is Gospel. Indeed, the Baders would have willed it as such. There is a reason why Pride & Prejudice has survived as a classic--it doesn't need a sequel. And the utmost respect we Austenites can paid to this literary genius is to leave Pride and Prejudice and all her other novels as they are and not in the least attempt to imitate Austen's writing style or second-guess her intentions for her characters.

Rating:
Summary: Not Jane Austen style
Review: I thought this book had a good plot, but the Baders did some things in the book that Jane Austen wouldn't have done. For example, they killed off three main characters: Lady Catherine de Bourgh, her daughter Anne de Bourgh, and worst of all, Mrs. Bennet, Elizabeth's mother! Other than that though, it was a good sequel, taking into consideration that it's impossible to copy Jane Austen's style of writing.

Rating:
Summary: Leave the sequels to your imagination...
Review: I finally gave in to curiosity & the ease of ordering via the Internet & decided to give one of the P&P sequels a try. I should have known better & relied on my imagination to go to work on what might have happened to Elizabeth, Darcy & the other characters. This book is heavy-handed, lacks any of the humour or wit of P&P, and at times is downright irritating. Some of the dialogue actually made me wince, and I did not recognise any aspect of Jane Austen's original characterisations in this book. I have read Austen's original more times than I care to remember without ever tiring of it - this book is a lazy, unintelligent and patronizing attempt at imitating her work. However, I am grateful for one thing - I now know better than to waste my time & money on any other 'sequel' to Austen's originals by ANY author. p.s. the one star awarded is for the authors spelling their names correctly (miaow...).

Rating:
Summary: Horrible horrible book
Review: I was quite excited when I first heard about this book. Imagine my disappointment when I actually read it. Neither wit nor cleverness were to be found anywhere within its pages. It had disturbing relgious overtones that made me think the author had more of an affinity with Mr. Collins than Elizabeth Bennet.

Rating:
Summary: A delightful sequel
Review: Desire and Duty is a delightful sequel to Pride and Prejudice. The characters and story line are entertaining and engaging. Even while reading it the second time I enjoyed it so much I found it difficult to put it down. I would recommend Desire and Duty to everyone, whether you are a Jane Austin fan or not.

Rating:
Summary: Miles below Jane Austen's standards
Review: I number among those who consider DESIRE & DUTY a travesty, and I resent suggestions by admirers of the book that we aren't "TRUE" fans of Jane Austen and "need to get a life". Everything about the book is miles below Jane Austen's standards. In the Baders' hands, her superbly drawn characters become crudely sketched figures who are recogniz able only by their names. The formerly lively, witty Elizabeth, for instance, now utters nothing but leaden inanities e.g. "'...remember Edgar's interfering friend Dr. Marchmont? He advised the reflective Edgar to say to himself about Camilla, 'How should I like this, were she mine?'' mimicked Elizabeth in a low voice, which resulted in both of them trying to repress giggles"; "'The doctor says I am to have twins.' 'I am glad, however, I am more interested in you getting well.' 'I will then, but I will also give you sons. Pemberley will be filled with the sounds of boys.' 'Even when you are weak, you are lively,' smiled Mr. Darcy." As the quotations suggest, D&D has none of the scintillating wit for which Jane Austen is renowned; in fact, the only real humour is unin tentional, supplied by the ineptness of the writing: "Lord Westbrook, whose face appeared to never have thought about the relative positions in the sleigh, readily consented"; "They entered the gray, cold twilight of the single room. The fire had only a few lowburning coals. The darkness was made worse by the sunshine being interrupted by clouds as they stood at the door" (who, the clouds?!); "Mr. and Mrs. Darcy were in the adjacent parlor trying to busy themselves with reading and embroidery, respectively. The word 'trying' is used, since Andrew and John were having trouble entertaining themselves", etc. As for the story itself, the Baders may incorporate the character outcomes that Jane Austen told her family and take religion into account, but they do so in the most lacklustre way imaginable. The narrative consists mostly of the kind of heavy- handed sermonizing that Jane Austen satirized with characters like Mr. Collins and Mary Bennet. All in all, DESIRE & DUTY is a extremely disappointing novel that falls far short of Jane Austen's great masterpiece PRIDE & PREJUDICE, or for that matter, even her very earliest writings.

Rating:
Summary: A true disappointment,and not worth reading.
Review: As a reader so enamored of Austen's talent and characters that I will read everything that even hints of a connection, I was at first delighted to find Desire and Duty. Too quickly that delight turned to sheer dismay. The book is clumsy. Its scenes drag and plod. The authors are to be commended for their excellent taste in literature, and excoriated for their pale counterfeit. I will not attack its premise or its facts. If it had at least entertained, its shortcomings would be easily overlooked. Unfortunately, it does not entertain, or even mildly amuse. In 45 years I have never taken a book back to a bookstore to demand a refund, no matter how disappointed I was in the book. I am sorry to say that Desire and Duty became the first. A reader's time is better spent on Aiken or Tennant.

Rating:
Summary: A Must Buy! Must Read!
Review: Desire and Duty is a delight. The authors have obviously done their homework well and produced an outstanding sequel to Pride and Prejudice. The story is a joy to read. This sequel is in true Jane Austen style. Desire and Duty continues the story from Pride and Prejudice in exactly the way that Jane Austen would have wanted. I recommend this book to everyone. It should be on every buyer's list and in every library.

Rating:
Summary: A Good, Worthy, Entertaining Sequel!!
Review: I have just finished reading "Desire& Duty." It is one of the best sequels to Jane Austins "Pride & Prejudice" that I have read. "Desire & Duty" is a continuation of the life of Elizabeth & Darcy after their marriage. Also, we get to read about some of our old favorites and what has become of them. I found the characters believable, interesting and entertaining. Therefore making you feel involved in their stories. So many other sequels that I have read (and I have read them all) focused to much on Georgiana Darcy's affairs instead of what happened with Elizabeth & Darcy. Which was after all why I really wanted to read a sequel. Their love story was so strong and intriguing. In "Desire & Duty" the plot does include them as well as Georgiana. As some people here have critizied "Desire & Duty" for the language as not being perfect for the era, get a life!! The authors themselves do not claim to have perfectly imitated Jane Austin's syntax. While there will never be another Jane Austin, "Desire & Duty" is well worth reading!!!!