Rating: 
Summary: Tug of war
Review: "Pride and Prejudice" is about integrity as personified in Elizabeth Bennett."Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman" is about a decent, intelligent, and very wealthy Mr. Darcy who has built his life within a defensive stockade of formality and exclusiveness. Then he stumbles across Elizabeth Bennett who threatens his defenses while she challenges his whole comfortable cocoon of existence. He can't get her out of his head, and then she takes over his impregnable heart and leaves him gasping and struggling to re-engage his logic, and logic fails. We get to go along and experience the metamorphoses through each stage of Darcy's battle to defend his cocoon. Meanwhile, Elizabeth goes solidly unimpressed with his grandeur; beautiful, distant, poised, and loving. And beneath him. We know how it ends. What we didn't know before was how Darcy got there. Jane Austen would approve.
Rating: 
Summary: Avoid it unless you like third-rate fan-fiction!
Review: After reading all the overwhelmingly positive user responses on Amazon, and reading Pride and Prejudice (which is one of my top five favorite novels) I ordered this book. A third of the way through nothing had happened except Darcy feeling nervous around, and uncomfortably attracted to, Miss Elizabeth Bennet, and drinking lots of "rich amber brew" of one kind or another. When I realized I had no interest whatsoever in this book about what could have been an exceptionally interesting character, I carefully wiped the fingerprint markings off my copy of the book, and mailed it back to Amazon who fortunately accepted the partially read copy. I've never hated a book so much I returned it before.
My other criticisms are, the proofreader really phoned it in (how many apostrophes in plurals am I supposed to stomach?), and the printing quality was quite poor. The only positive aspects were elements of dialogue from the original novel. Maybe I wasn't reading it with the appropriate fan-fiction grain of salt; you may be able to overlook the factors that made it unreadable to me.
Rating:
Summary: An Assembly Such As This
Review: Even though his personality is presented only in brief snippets throughout the novel, Pride and Prejudice, Fitzwilliam Darcy's personality is vividly presented through the skill of Jane Austen. Proud, principled, disciplined, correct, and snobbish, he is arguably one of the most beloved characters in fiction. Why is this? Because Pride and Prejudice is the touching story of this man who is rocked to his core by the intense passion he feels for Elizabeth Bennet, an impoverished gentlewoman with a very remarkable mind and a very undistinguished background. It is a must read for every true romantic. If a beloved and much-read novel could be described as an old house, then I would know every room, hallway, nook, and cranny of Pride and Prejudice. To my delight, in the Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman, trilogy, Pamela Aidan has opened up a whole new wing, with each richly furnished and decorated room providing the seemingly impossible: the enhancement and augmentation of Jane Austen's remarkable book. You will laugh and cry as she skillfully plots Darcy's gradual metamorphoses into a truly admirable person by the power of love. "An Assembly Such as This" is the first book of the trilogy and provides delicious anticipation for what is to come in books two and three.
Rating:
Summary: The elusive Darcy meets his match
Review: Ever wonder what Darcy was thinking in Pride and Prejudice? Pamela Aiden gives us Pride and Prejudice from Darcy's point of view. The cool headed Mr. Darcy's composure is breeched by the witty, graceful and lovely Elizabeth Bennet. Darcy is caught in a dilemma between being a "man of property" of high social status, and his desire for a woman that out classes the women of his class. We get to meet some of Darcy's people, like Fletcher the Shakespeare quoting valet, and the ever faithful butler, Wicher. I esp. enjoyed the behind the scenes machininations of Fletcher attempting to aid Darcy in his campaign to win Miss Elizabeth's heart. Darcy's disdain for Caroline Bingley is also very amusing. Ms. Aiden also gives the reader an interesting view of Darcy's high class world. I await the next in this series of books with anticipation.
Rating:
Summary: truly enjoyable
Review: Finally on paper the 1st part of a new, still in progress, austenian 'novel' which goes far beyond the average fanfiction and compliments almost perfectly Pride & Prejudice. If you ever missed anything in the best JA masterpiece, and usually is more in depth analysis of Darcy's feelings and what he did when not in the tale, now you have it in this most likely reconstruction of the Darcy's side of the romance. It is not a prequel, it is not a sequel: it is the true P&P in a male and modern perspective. Very well designed and even better written. Enjoy. I couldn't wait for its availability in Europe for having it in my hands.
Rating: 
Summary: Perhaps the best of the Pride & Prejudice spinoffs
Review: Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman is a trilogy that focuses on Darcy's point of view. Unlike other Pride & Prejudice spinoffs, which attempt to continue the story into the future, this one cleverly covers the same ground from the other protagonist's perspective. It is imaginative and realistic. Aidan enhances her tome by fleshing out some of the details of Regency England. Austen herself assumed that the reader understood the mindset of the landed gentry of early nineteenth century England, and thus glosses over incidental description. Aidan introduces more of the culture, for example the Morning In tradition, and includes greater interaction with servants as well. These serve to enrich the modern reader with a greater appreciation of the background setting. This work is not without flaws but they tend toward disagreement in interpretation than serious error. For example, she has Bingley reveal annoyance privately to Darcy about sister Caroline's criticisms toward others, which seems a bit out of character with his overwhelming affability in every situation as Austen portrayed him. In a couple of places, Aidan's passages about Darcy's evaluation of his early encounters with Miss Elizabeth Bennet seem far more typical of a woman's much keener perceptions of the subtleties and nuances of relationships than the typical man, then or now. (Although a bit unrealistic, since most readers of this will be women they will probably enjoy and appreciate Darcy's analysis.) It seems a glaring mistake to have Darcy figure out that Elizabeth overheard his untoward comment about her at the first Hertfordshire assembly, when seen in light of the naivete' of his first marriage proposal in Austen. However, Aidan more than compensates with outstanding portrayal of Darcy's plausible reasoning behind many of his early attitudes that lead Hertfordshire society to think ill of him. On the whole, this is in my opinion the best of the many second party writers' books that attempt to extend Austen's timeless story. The second part of the trilogy is scheduled to appear during summer 2004 and the final installment in the fall of 2004. I look forward to reading them as well, and encourage all aficionados of Pride & Prejudice to read all three. She earns only four stars from me primarily out of respect for Austen.
Rating:
Summary: Finally! More Pride and Prejudice true to Jane Austin's Styl
Review: I absolutely love Jane Austin novels. I've read a few books based on Pride and Prejudice that continue the story where Austin left off but this one is by far the best! Much of the novel is like re reading P & P as the scenes and senarious are the exact same..this time instead of reading about Elizabeth youre reading about Mr. Darcy. The only thing I dont like is that the other 2 books in this series have yet to be published so I feel like im just hanging mid story. I recommended this to many friends who also fell in love with this book! I really urge you to read it...however if youre like me an unfinished ending will drive you crazy!...you may want to add it to your wish list and wait to read it when the 2nd and 3rd book finally comes out. A MUST READ!!!
Rating:
Summary: Only the first third of Pride and Prejudice - retold
Review: I do not wish to discourage anyone from buying this book, which I feel is one of the better Austen adaptations or sequels available today, and certainly among the best that I have read. However, it is important to point out (as another reviewer has done) that Aidan covers only the first third of Jane Austen's novel, roughly upto the point that Mr Darcy leaves Netherfield and just before his visit to his aunt Lady Catherine in Kent. Pamela Aidan's version of Mr Darcy is fairly true to Austen's Mr Darcy, although his self-absorption might displease some Austen purists. The most interesting part of Aidan's version is her filling in the details about Darcy's life outside of the original novel. This includes not only the goings-on in Ramsgate (with his sister Georgiana and Wickham) but also his relationships with other members of his family such as Col. Fitzwilliam and some close friends. Darcy's valet Fletcher is a memorable secondary character. Aidan's explanations help us understand what Austen left out. Jane Austen assumed that her readers would know the social conventions (for example, when to visit, when not to visit) as well as practicalities (for example, the burden imposed by relatives in trade or vulgarity among near relatives; the problems of a small dowry in the face of lack of gentility or family connections). Readers who are fully conversant with Regency-era society might understand all these points, but for many other readers, Aidan's version of Pride and Prejudice might be a gentler and entertaining introduction to Austen's work. The big minus for Aidan's book is that the price is a little stiff; her entire retelling (with two books forthcoming) will end up at least thrice as long as the original and almost thrice as expensive (unless you are buying a critical edition of the original book). Some readers might be put off by the level of detail, while others might find her language a little too flowery and the details just a little too excessive. Others will relish her attention to details and consider her effort an admirable tribute to the great novelist. I appreciate the fact that she did not stray from the original storyline even though she added new characters and invented new episodes involving Mr Darcy. I do wish that some of the characters had other names, and at least one name evokes in my mind the image of a certain up-and-coming politician and barrister who lived in the same period. Other recommended sequels I have read - Joan Austen-Leigh's version of Emma "A Visit to Highbury" (ASIN: 0312118600) which however uses the point-of-view of a minor character in the original novel and tells the story through letters.
Rating:
Summary: An Assembly Such As This: Great Book!
Review: I eagerly awaited the arrival of this book, and wasn't disappointed. I love reading P&P from Darcy's point of view. I can't wait til the other two books come out! If you love P&P, and want to know what is going through Darcy's mind through all of it, get this book (and the books to come!). www.crownhillwriters.com/AUS
Rating:
Summary: one of the better P&P retellings
Review: I found this a good read which kept me throughly entertained. It is not a sequel to P&P, but a retelling of the story through the eyes of Darcy. The story is divided up into three different books, An assembly such as this, Duty and Desire, and These three remian. The first book covers the time from when Darcy first comes to Hertfortshire until the point where he returns to Pemberley to spend Christmas with his sister. The story allows us to see how Darcy views the whole situation around him. I thought that it might be somewhat of a bore at first because it is telling a story very famaliar to me but Aidan managed to keep my attention. She creates different scenarios between Darcy and Elizabeth without ruining the original work, but also keeps the main scences from P&P. The book basically shows how Darcy first starts to fall in love with Elizabeth and how he tries to deny and overcome his attraction towards her. Overall a pretty good read that you should spend the time to read.
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