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Women's Fiction

Mr. Darcy's Daughters : A Novel

Mr. Darcy's Daughters : A Novel

List Price: $14.00
Your Price: $10.50
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Just plain silly
Review: PRIDE & PREJUDICE probably is the novel that created romance novels. As such, it was a curious book for a spinster in the English countryside to have written in the earliest years of the 19th century.

Yet its author, Jane Austen, must have been an astute observer, because no book reveals the manners of its characters, and the rhythms of their lifestyle, more effectively.

She penned a perfect story of romantic attraction and sexual tension and resolution; why that story seems so perfect cannot be quantified, but it unquestionably is the reason that "P & P" has remained a classic for two centuries.

In comparison, MR. DARCY'S DAUGHTERS, a modern day "sequel" to "P & P" written almost 200 years later, just seems silly. A voice such as Miss Austen's, a voice that then was fresh and insightful, merely seems predictable and stilted and derivative when parodied here by the author of DAUGHTERS.

Jane Austen no longer is around to defend herself and, really, she deserves better.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Not what i expected
Review: If i had wanted to read a trashy novel, i wish someone had recomended this one to me. I enjopyed the book but it was nothing at all compared to what i expected. the daughters were exactly the same as the bennet sisters, other than there was no jane. all in all the sisters also tended to aggravate me, being unrealisticly to the exreme in teir emotions, either over the top in prudishness or so silly it was unbearable. throughout the novel it is mentioned that camilla is meant to be witty and intelligent, but neither does she act this way or say much that is witty at all. What i found most annoying about this book, however, is the ending. The book passes 350 pages with minor scandals and perfect, simple, resolutions and then ties every single loose end in the last 50 or so pages, marrying or engaging-off all but one sister in a completely unbelievable set of twists to the already completely unbelieveable story. If you have not read any Jane Austen, you will probably enjoy this book when laying on the beach. If you are a Jane Austen fan, the bad reincarnation of beloved characters and stupid Darcy sisters will most likely grate on your nerves.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: The Bennets are no longer the silliest girls in England
Review: I was disappointed in this book, to say the least. The biggest complaint that everyone seems to have is that Darcy and Lizzy would not have raised such stupid daughters, and I am inclined to agree with that view. Darcy's daughters are impossibly annoying, rebellious and flighty, and even the attempt to portray Camilla as a daughter of sense was lost in the tidal wave of her other sisters' behavior. My other problem with this book is that she felt the need to enter into subjects which Jane Austen ommitted from writing about (obviously for a reason!) or touched very delicately on. Jane Austen's books have been treasured throughout the years because of her ability to capture the fascination of an audience by her witty, intelligent writing style; of true love overcoming all odds- all this being done without the need to throw in numerous sexual comments and explicit scenes. I would love to see one sequel written that can capture the classic style of Jane Austen without feeling the need to throw in modern day trash. Unfortuantely, this was not that sequel.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Great Read -- Not Predictable
Review: Good and enjoyable read -- Just when I thought I knew what would happen next, I was suprised. Jane Austen fans will enjoy the familiar characters and plots.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Pleasant read...not very good sequel
Review: As a novel this book was entertaining...as a sequel to Pride and Prejudice it was pretty bad. I enjoyed the story very much, but we see nothing of Darcy or Elizabeth. The biggest flaw I see is that I hardly doubt that as parents they would leave their daughters to shift alone for themselves in London for a whole season wihtout proper supervision, especially knowing their daughters' characters! Three of the daughters just don't fit the idea I have of what the children of the Darcys' would be like.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Entertaining but lacks originality
Review: I found "Mr Darcy's Daughters" entertaining. I enjoyed reading the book and couldn't put it down. However, during the course of reading the book, I coldn't help but (a) wonder if Darcy and Elizabeth would produce such narrowminded, prudish, and/or immature daughters (I had far greater expectations than that) and (b)compare this novel to Pride and Prejudice. I felt that each of Darcy's 5 daughters, apart from Letty, mirorored the characters of the Bennett sisters, in that sense I thought the story lacked originality.

I would recommend this book if you are a fan of the period or social scene for that time, but not if you are a strong critic craving for a Jane Austen caliber novel.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Another sequel that falls short
Review: Yet another "sequel" to Austen's masterpiece, "Pride and Prejudice," this novel deals with the hypothetical "What if..." In this case, the "what if" is that Darcy and Elizabeth, happily married for over 20 years, have five grown daughters. While that may not be outside the realm of possibility, Aston's characterization of the five daughters, all of whom have travelled to London while their parents are in Constantinople, is less believable. While the eldest, beautiful Letitia, is priggish and preachy, the second eldest, Camilla, is essentially a pastiche of Elizabeth Bennet, not quite as pretty as her sisters but smarter by leaps and bounds. Twins Belle and Georgina seem cut from the same mold as Lydia Bennet, and as far as anyone can tell, are utterly indiscernible from one another, save for their appearance. The youngest, Alethea, is a talented singer with a sharper tongue than first realized. While it may not be wholly unconscionable that two people such as Elizabeth and Darcy might produce daughters as silly as Belle and Georgina or as grating as Letitia, it is puzzling that Aston would think the exploits of these girls would interest readers, especially Austenites.

Aston is an Austen scholar and displays a good knowledge of Regency society. If anything, this novel merits reading only for a more specific understanding of the workings of Austen's world. Aston tries to ape Austen's style, but her prose is still far too stilted and modern, and, as a member of Austen's world would say, "vulgar." Aston tarts up the Regency world quite a bit, with lusty glances and intimations of homosexuality, but compared with Austen's infallible subtlety, this novel comes off as a crude, post-modern attempt to capitalize upon a classic.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: It should be Lydia's Daughters.
Review: I did not like this book. I felt as if the author never read P&P. We are to believe that the Darcy's would have daughter's like these, I find the only truely believable daughter is Camilla, who is a bit like Elizabeth, other than that I have a hard time imagining these parents raising girls like this. I wondered what happened to the Bingley's as I felt the girls would have been sent there first. I don't like the characterization of Mr. Fiztzwilliam, or the Gardiners, who I like very much in the original and can barely tolerate in this story. We are to believe that the Gardiners have more money than the Darcy's, and have fallen into the pettiness of society. We are to believe that the girls have never been in London, but raised in the Country and lacking many social graces.
The book would have been better as a stand alone story, with no ties to P&P, that way no background could interfere with the story. If you are expecting a Jane Austin type read, this is not the book for you.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Disappointing
Review: It is impossible to believe that Mr Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet's daughters would have turned out like the five in this book. The author is clearly trying to parallel the five Bennett daughters in the original book, but it doesn't come off. The constant sexual innuendo and references to sexual scandal may have been an attempt to give a modern sensibility to the story, but they succeed only in creating the impression of a drugstore romance novel. We keep hearing that Camilla is clever, but actually get no dialogue to support that; the rendering of Colonel Fitzwilliam is nothing short of character assassination; and the plot developments are fairly preposterous. Pretty much a waste of time, all things considered. Re-read the original instead.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: A Little Disappointing
Review: The book is okay, in a cute, light-summer-reading sort of way, but I was disappointed. Firstly, I felt that some of the character portrayals were not very accurate, especially Fitzwilliam and the Gardners. And I agree with the reviewer who commented that no child of Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet would turn out like Letitia, their eldest in this novel. Finally, there are several parallels to P&P in this book's plot, and I found that too contrived and unrealistic.

And I was hoping Lizzie and Darcy would return at the end so we could catch a glimpse of them.


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