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Summary: Perfectly emulates the style
Review: Jane Austen could have written this book.This is not some overly sentimental tribute to Jane Austen that does little more than steal her characters. Old and loved characters get new life and spirit. Previously minor characters (Georgiana especially) get fabulous personalities of their own. New characters are strongly reminiscent of other Jane Austen characters. The end of Pride and Prejudice provides a jumping-off point for Julia Barrett. She succeeds admirably. This book is faithful to the characters and situations Austen created. It lavishes new details and new plots on Jane Austen fans by embracing the best qualities of Pride and Prejudice: lively, interesting characterizations and biting, insightful wit.
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Summary: Presumption:An Entertainment:A Sequel to Pride and Prejudice
Review: For those who loved Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, this is for you. Following the marriage of Lizzie and Mr Darcy, this books revolves around Georgiana. Several of the other original characters are developed along with the inclusion of new ones. The author has copied Jane Austen's style to perfection. A GREAT READ!
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Summary: I've read worse
Review: I've read worse Jane Austen sequels, but I assure you that is not meant as overwhelming praise for this book. It's pleasant enough, and the authoresses do a halfway-decent job of imitating Austen's style and language. In fact, the pretty language lulled me sufficiently that I was halfway through the book before I realized that there was almost no plot. There's a lot of coming and going from Pemberley, Lady Catherine is still annoying, Miss Bingley treats Elizabeth with civility (unlike Emma Tennant, the authoresses got that right--Jane says as much in the last chapter of P&P), Georgiana acquires some beaus, but what little sustained plotting the book contains (i.e., Georgiana Finds A Husband) moves at such a glacial pace that it was hard to remain interested. The plot with Aunt Philips being accused of stealing the lace was cleverly borrowed from Jane's own life, but everything happens off-canvas, so why bother? I frankly can't even remember how that subplot ended up, because I lost interest in it. A little more attention to detail and a tighter plot would have made this book a lot better. It had potential, but that potential was unfulfilled. And once and for all, DARCY'S MOTHER'S NAME WAS LADY ANNE! Not Susan, or Elinor, or Mrs. Darcy! She was the daughter of an earl, for heaven's sake, she would never be "Mrs." Anything! (sequel writers NEVER get this right!)
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Summary: an exercise in futility
Review: A futile attempt by the author to continue wonderful story by Jane Austen. It is perhaps a little ungracious to say that this is a terrible book, lacking warmth and insight into the hearts of minds of all the principal characters of Pride and Prejudice. Julia Barrett is better off writing a new book with fresh ideas and characters instead of writing a sequel to Pride and Prejudice. An exercise in futility indeed !
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Summary: Lacks warmth of character
Review: Reading this book was like galloping madly across a countryside that I would rather have been strolling through. Each chapter is like a fresh charge through the plot as the reader hangs on for dear life, never getting any slack in the pace until the abrupt conclusion. I felt that the greatest lack in this novel was the absence of the character development of anyone at all; is there a main character in this book? It's a good thing we already know Eliza and Mr. Darcy so well, but Eliza's involvement and presence was sadly lacking. The language is formal and true to a Jane Austen novel, but with so little warmth that it becomes difficult to relax with. Even the supposedly suspensful part of the story-line was too easy to predict, somewhat of a deja' vu, and was brought to a sudden and hurried end. I did enjoy the expansion of Kitty's character, but thought the closing comments on Lydia's life "ever after" highly improbable. I could not resist giving this book a try, but while I can't say that I flat disliked it, I will say that it was a disappointment.
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Summary: Could almost be Austen...
Review: I really enjoyed reading this book. It created a feeling, mood, and atmosphere so similar to Austen's original work that I could almost believe I was reading a long-lost manuscript she'd written. I appreciated the consistency of the characters as well as the introduction of new, very well-developed characters. While it was comforting and familiar to see Elisabeth and Darcy's relationship continue to unfold, I enjoyed the shift in focus towards Georgiana life and love games. I really enjoyed reading this book, and recommend it to any Austen fan, particularly those who loved Pride And Prejudice.
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Summary: Varies from Austen's implications
Review: While Presumption is true to Jane Austen in many respects, there are too many errors and recharacterizations. Though this is a sequel to Pride and Prejudice, the author(s) spend little time on the main characters. Elizabeth is fearful of meeting Darcy's mentor and life-long friend, which is hardly likely considering her fearlessness in P&P. The novel focuses on Georgiana, who seems to be rather uninteresting. I suppose it is fitting that she ends up with someone equally dull..... The whole idea of marrying below one's station was already canvased in P&P, making it a bit redundant. Those who are well aquainted with Jane Austen are better off not reading this book.
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Summary: Presumption: Truly an Apt Title
Review: This sequel to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, Presumption, is aptly titled. It was very presumptuous for the authors to attempt this story with apparently as little research as they did. This book is riddled with errors that a good read through the original would have rectified. Errors in ages, names, positions, family connections and character dispositions are scattered throughout the book, and each new chapter seems to bring another. These errors are jarring and distracting, and detract greatly from the story itself. The story itself, with many twists and turns, and familiar characters interwovern with new, is quick moving. It is mainly a plot story, less focused on character development than Pride and Prejudice. I would heartily recommend that one pass on reading this book if one considers the details important, or if one has read the original.
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Summary: Endorsed with reservations...
Review: If you pick up _Presumption_ without hopes of discovering the "happily ever after" life Elizabeth and Darcy (they are separated for most of the novel, and are not the main focus of the narrative), you may enjoy this sequel. This is the first sequel to _P&P_ I have read, so I have no basis of comparison, except for the original work. Undoubtedly, this is unfair to the author/s of this novel, so please read my comments with that in mind. I was a bit nonplussed upon finding two factual errors within the first 50 pages of the book: 1. On the very *first* page, the narrator describes how Georgiana was swept off her feet by a dashing lieutenant named Wickam. Um...didn't Wickam join the militia some time after this encounter? When we first see him in _P&P_ he is in non-military attire, having just accepted a commission in the corps. 2. And this is a small thing, but _Presumption_ ages Caroline Bingley. In Vol I, chapter 9 of P&P, Miss Bingley is referred to as Bingley's *younger* sister (making her about Elizabeth's age - 20). Presumption increases her age to 24 a mere 2 years later. The errors themselves are troubling in a novel that I assume is well researched. But they rankle mainly because they yank one out of the story early on, turning what should be a delightful entertainment into an error-finding mission. It may be the authors intentially erred for the sake of the sequel's internal logic (Georgiana falls once again for a military man, Caroline's age and the marital barriers it implies provide motive for her later actions). I was also disturbed to see the character of Kitty transformed into the character of Lydia. Her character is more complex than this and deserves better. The romantic entanglements of Georgiana (the central figure in the novel) are not very romantic. More promising is the first encounter between Kitty and her suitor (true to the predictions in final chapter of P&P). Sadly the narrator gives the couple little attention and we hear about their growing attachment in only a most indirect way. I found the language to be true to the original, particularly Austen's method of representing a character's dialogue indirectly (i.e.; "Are you warm enough?" She replied that she was quite comfortable). More enervating is the authors' habit of using "dear" (dear Elizabeth, dear Jane, dear Georgiana). Despite a the drawbacks mentioned above, I liked reading this novel. Unfortunately, I was never able to lose myself in it.
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Summary: A compendium of review comments on PRESUMPTION/excerpts
Review: Reviews and comment "A firm fix on Austen's style and a finely tuned ear for her barbed dialogue... even the persnickety Miss Austen would approve." Chicago Tribune "...Energetically and often delightfully handled, evoking the spirit of Pride and Prejudice." The New York Times Book Review "The book is an elegant, airy delight." New York Daily News "Presumption prefers the subtler pleasures of allowing the reader to be better informed than the characters." Washington Post Book World "Presumption's style...evokes Jane Austen's dry wit" "...It moves briskly along and is "eminently enjoyable." Los Angeles Times Book Review "Barrett manage[s] to turn into a positive treat the process of watching Georgiana and Elizabeth blossom into capable, unconventional, and independent young women." San Francisco Chronicle "Barrett's new characters are felicitous, her plot twists brisk... the dry irony in Austen's prose, the tension between circumlocution and real feeling,is present in Barrett, as is the ear for pomposity." New York Village Voice "A sensitive sequel...an appealing entertainment likely to make even Janeists giggle." ELLE Magazine "Pays entertaining tribute to the English novelist, providing her devoted readers with a pleasant,diverting tale." Orlando Sentinel "Presumption's style evokes Jane Austen's dry wit." Chicago Sun-Times "Julia Barrett's Presumption has set itself up as heir to Jane Austen's Pride Prejudice." USA Today "Barrett expertly captures Austen's ironic voice and subject matter in the book that is sure to delight and intrigue most Austen devotees." Library Journal "The novelist makes stunning observations on social clashes and inserts cunning references to events in the original. One hopes for yet another sequel. Booklist "If you're a Jane Austen fan, you'll be happy to know that a miracle has happened. It's a sequel to Pride and Prejudice and it's wonderful...near flawlessly written." Book Page "A glittering gem. The title gives fair warning of their approach, respect and common sense with a strong dose of humor. ...We are in high fashion." British Heritage Magazine "A witty, amusing sequel to Pride and Prejudice. A stylish entertainment that may lead some to the unsurpassable Jane." Kirkus Reviews "A boon to anyone who has ever yearned for one more in the Jane Austen canon." Cynthia Ozick, novelist "...A work of wit in its own duly earned right, continuously vivid and urbane." "[It is never] too late for intelligence, grace and style, as now in Presumption." Denis Donoghue, critic "A worthy pretender in continuing the story of Pride and Prejudice." "...Elegance of the language, the intricacy of the plot and the shrewdness of the wit." Elizabeth Forsythe Hailey: novelist
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