The Ladies of Norton, Coming Soon!

I'm writing! Wow! It feels good and has been way, way too long. I've only carved out a few days to get this Twisted Austen story completed, but it will hopefully be ready to post here the week before Halloween. If I miss my self-imposed deadline, I'll post it late. Whenever it's ready. It's just really excited to be working on something new, and I am having a blast with this twist. Mrs. Dashwood inherits a life residency at Norland Park and her daughters each have ten thousand pounds, but will this improvement to their fortunes result in happily ever afters? I can't wait to share. In the meantime, what do you think of the cover?

Mr. Darcy's House Party by Elizabeth Aston

Just a short review of a quick and fun read: Mr. Darcy's House Party: A Darcy Novella by Elizabeth Aston. I have not reviewed her Darcy Series. I read it long before I began this blog, very early into a burgeoning JAFF addiction (I was still 20th century enough to be limited to the books I could find in a Barnes & Noble). I zoomed through the first four or five books in the series, both fascinated and irritated, having no idea I was reading my first Regency romance novel. I did not yet know such a genre existed! Page after page (and I couldn't stop turning) I kept looking for Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth, who are almost entirely non-existent in these stories. Instead, the focus is on distant cousins and the Darcys' five daughters (our dear couple are portrayed as having the supervisory skills of the man with the yellow hat). It was Ms. Aston who first introduced the word Almacks into my vocabulary, opening a whole new world for me to devour, but I had pretty much resigned myself to looking elsewhere for fine Austenesque, until last December when she released her first Darcy Novella: Mr. Darcy's Christmas (look for my review this holiday season).

With the Darcy Novellas, Ms. Aston has take her entire Darcy Series and anchored it to Pride & Prejudice in a far more satisfying manner. The best part, because these books are both prequels to the Darcy Series and sequels to Pride & Prejudice, is that you needn't have read the Darcy Series to find them perfectly satisfying (though a few names might seem odd). As ebooks, they are also inexpensive, but be warned: Ms. Aston's compelling storytelling might very well get you hooked, and the entire Darcy Series is not a cheap read. The Kindle editions start over $9, and there are six books in all. Just in case you were wondering, The Second Mrs. Darcy is my personal favorite, and it can definitely be read independent fromt he others.

Back to the house party - Mr. Darcy did not want one. He intended a quiet family weekend at Pemberley, just the Bingley's and themselves, but then the dashing Lady Sarah Fitzwilliam arrived and multitudes followed in her wake. The result is an uproarious romance much in the tradition of Georgette Heyer. Lady Catherine and Mr. Collins show up, too, which can only result in high entertainment. I love this interaction between Mr. Collins and the two eldest of the Darcy daughters, and I don't think it gives too much of the story away:

"A paradise," Octavius said admiringly, then stopped and looked down at Sarah.

They stood, gazing at each other for a long, long moment; hearts, eyes, feelings joined as one. Octavius took a step forward, and Sarah was about to fall into his embrace, when they heard the door of the hot house open and close and Letty's clear voice saying, "I saw them come in here, Mr. Collins."

They sprang apart and Sarah said, "That wretched child. She is one of those girls who cannot tell a lie, and she does not even have the sense to see that it is better never to say anything at all to Mr. Collins. Oh, lord, what a fix we are in!"

Octavius looked around and his eyes fell on a group of three large plants with broad leaves which were planted in huge pots. Seizing Sarah's hand, he pulled her behind them, and they knelt on the wooden slats of the walk-way.

They could hear Mr. Collins's heavy breathing - had he come here at a run? - and his even heavier footsteps.

Then another girl's voice said, "Good morning, Mr. Collins."

Letty said, "What are you doing here, Camilla? You should be practicing the piano."

"I had ;earned my piece so well I was let off the rest of the practice."

Letty said, in disbelieving tones, "You little liar."

"What are you doing in here, Mr. Collins?" Camilla asked. "Are you looking for something?"

"I'm looking for your cousin, Lady Sarah."

Camilla said, "Oh, Cousin Sarah isn't in here. I came through the other hot house, and she was in there a moment ago."

"Alone?" said Mr. Collins.

Camilla said in tones of perfect innocence that Sarah knew concealed inner laughter, "Quite alone, Mr. Collins. She was admiring the jasmine. Its Latin name is Gardenia jasminoides, are you familiar with it?"

"You made that up," said Letty.

"I did not, Papa told me."

Sarah could see that Octavius was about to say something, but she laid a finger on his lips to prevent him. He caught her hand and pressed her palm to his own lips. They sat with bated breath while the footsteps dies away, Mr. Collins saying, "If she is alone, then there still may be time for me to prevent what would be a wholly inappropriate meeting."

Camilla's voice piped up, "My governess always used the word inappropriate, Mr. Collins. Pray tell me what it means."

Isn't that lovely? Guess which little Lizzy in the making is the focus of Mr. Darcy's Daughters, the first book in the Darcy Series.

The Perfect Match by Lory Lilian

The Perfect Match: A Pride and Prejudice Sequel is a short, satisfying novel providing a glimpse into the Darcy's happily-ever-after-lives a year after their marriage. They are, as the title unequivocally states, the perfect match: often shocking relations, friends, and society with their open devotion. Jane and Bingley have not managed to achieve the same happiness. Much of the conflict of the story centers around the difficulty this couple has bonding due to lack of communication and imposing relations. It is my favorite part of the book. The picture drawn of a timid and demure Jane, anxious for her husbands attentions but not even possessing the language to describe what she yearns for, pitted against a Mr. Bingley so in awe of her beauty that he's scared she could break is very believable. This tensions also sets up some wonderful comeuppance moments for Caroline. The very best set down she receives, astonishingly enough, is from Mrs. Bennet:

"You know, speaking of the ball, I had the pleasure of meeting with Lady Matlock these last few days - what a wonderful person, indeed. She is very fond of Lizzy and so polite and kind - one can easily observe the effect of a proper education. That is my idea of good breeding - and those persons who fancy themselves very important and only open their mouths to give offense, quite mistake the matter."

Go Mrs. Bennet! I love that. As this occasionally lovable matron hints, the crux of the plot rests upon Elizabeth's first ball. Relishing their privacy, she has yet to be properly presented to society, and Lady Matlock is guiding her through the process. Another great moment for Miss Bingley occurs when she is bullying Elizabeth about her preparations, and Jane cooly informs her Lady Jersey is coming. Very satisfying!

I also really enjoyed the devotion the staff shows their new mistress. I don't want to provide any real spoilers but this story does take place a year in to the marriage, Elizabeth is having a hard time sleeping, her appetite is lacking ... draw your own conclusions (mine were set a few pages into the book). Anyway, she has a fainting spell at one point and Darcy's valet, obviously feeling the need to act on behalf of his missing master, swoops the protesting Mrs. Darcy into his arms and deposits her in her bedroom. I laughed pretty hard upon reading that, and even more so when a distraught Mr. Darcy comes home and yells at his excessively devoted servants, who of course understand he is just anxious and have forgiven him long before he apologizes for his transgressions. Silly old Mr. Darcy!

Like most Lory Lilian books (two of which I have reviewed: Rainy Days and His Uncle's Favorite), things can get rather steamy from time to time, but while the more intimately romantic scenes in this tale can be lengthy, they are not terribly graphic, which I greatly appreciate. I happen to have been told by Ms. Lilian herself that her next book, My Husband, Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy, will be similarly discrete in its sexual depictions. The book should be out soon and explores what would have happened if Darcy and Elizabeth were forced to marry before coming to their own understanding. Can't wait! I really enjoy her books.

The Perfect Match makes a perfect summer read, especially for a distracted mom at a beach, pool, or on an airplane. The story is not so emotional that you can't put it down, yet it provides a thoroughly happy escape into a world of wealth, romance, ton, and it even gives us a little bit of Christmas in July, if you hurry up and read (or reread!) it in the next three days. A very pleasant diversion, indeed!

There Must Be Murder by Margaret C. Sullivan

Today is lovely novella review day, the second of which was just as delightful as the first (read my review of Young Master Darcy here). There Must Be Murder is a continuation of Northanger Abbey by Margaret C.  Sullivan, better known to the blogosphere as Mags, editrix of the fabulously snarky AustenBlog. There is a shortage of Northanger Abbey fanfiction out there, and if this sadly overlooked novel (one of my very favorites that Austen wrote, right after Persuasion) can be said to be safe in anyone's hands, it is Ms. Sullivan's, long time devotee to both the book and its fabulous hero, Mr. Tilney (again, one of my favorites, right after Mr. Darcy). Our story takes place two months into Henry and Catherine's marriage, when they return to Bath in order to honor the town which brought them together. It is so in keeping with Austen's original tale that it is nearly seamlessly, beautifully capturing her characterizations, tone, and subject matter. Now a wiser woman, Catherine has learned to distinguish fantasy from reality, the probable from the improbable, but not everyone she encounters has similarly learned to check their active imaginations. The book is littered with characters anxious to both view and live their lives as dramatically as those in Mrs. Radcliffe's tales, which Henry reads aloud to Catherine when they retire in the evenings (those who know that my husband and I engage in very similar activities, though usually with Georgette Heyer as our entertainment, will be well able to imagine how touching I found this portrayal of the newlywed's activities). I love their bantering commentary regarding Udolpho, as in this scene:

The first time Catherine read Udolpho, she had wept over this passage; but when Henry read Valancourt's dialogue, he used such a simpering, affected voice that she found herself laughing at the poor Chevalier's distress.


"'Why should we confide the happiness of or whole lives to the will of people, who have no right to interrupt, and, except in giving you to me, have no power to promote it? O Emily! Venture to trust your own heart, venture to be mine forever!' His voice trembled, and he was silent; Emily continued to weep, and was silent also, when Valancourt proceeded to propose an immediate marriage, and that, at an early hour on the following morning, she should quit Madame Montoni's house, and be conducted by him to the church of the Augustines, where a friar should await to unite them."

Henry stopped reading and pondered for a moment. "The banns were not published? No license obtained? A curious business; I dare say that the brave Valancourt might have found the Augustine friar less receptive to his scheme than he anticipated."

"It is only a story, Henry," said Catherine in the patient tone used to educate the slow-witted.


"Forgive me, my sweet. It was a matter of professional interest. To continue: The silence, with which she listened to a proposal, dictated by love and despair, and enforced at a moment, when it seemed scarcely possible for her to oppose it; - when her heart was softened by the sorrows of a separation, that might be eternal, and her reason obscured by the illusions of love and terror, encouraged him to hope, that it would not be rejected. 'Speak, my Emily!' said Valancourt eagerly, 'let me hear your voice, let me hear you confirm my fate.' She spoke not; her cheek was cold, and her senses seemed to fail her, but she did not faint. To Valancourt's terrified imagination she appeared to be dying; he called upon her name, rose to go to the chateau for assistance, and then, recollecting her situation, feared to go, or to leave her for a moment."


Henry paused and glanced down at his wife's rapt face. "I am glad that you are not of a swooning disposition, Cat. It must be terribly uncomfortable to have a girl forever falling insensible at inconvenient times, when she is most in need of all her faculties. It is well that you did not swoon when I offered you marriage. It might have put me off my mission."


Catherine sighed in delight. "I assure you, I felt no inclination to swoon. That was the happiest moment of my life. I should not have liked to miss it because I was insensible."

Now, I admit to finding Mrs. Radcliffe's writing pretty painful (Udolpho is one of three books I have ever, in my life, not finished once I started it), but if I could listen to Mr. Tilney recite her novels, this scene leads me to believe I would find it not only tolerable, but highly amusing. 

The plot of the story surrounds familial acquaintances of the Tilney's: one Lady Beauclerk, recently widowed, and her daughter. Along with her nephew and heir to her late husband's estate, the rakish Sir Philip, the Beauclerks have descended on Bath with General Tilney in tow, as he is paying court to Lady Beauclerk. As Henry and Catherine have not been in contact with the General since their marriage, this state of affairs comes as a surprise, and not necessarily a pleasant one. All the Beauclerks seem to be playing an unknown, but very deep, game, made further mysterious when the manner of the late baronet's death comes into question. On a more agreeable note, also come to Bath are the former Eleanor Tilney and her new husband, Lord Whiting, who, quite naturally, become Catherine and Henry's chosen companions during their sojourn in the spa town (other than their charming Newfoundland, MacGuffin).

In Ms. Sullivan's hands, the Tilney's marriage lives up to all the promise with which Austen infused it. Romantic while not being tawdry, mysterious without relying on needless drama, There Must Be Murder is a beautiful and loving homage to both Jane Austen and her first full-length novel. I highly recommend it to all fans of Northanger Abbey, and if you have never bothered to read this sadly neglected novel, I urge you to make haste in rectifying this grievous oversight. 

Young Master Darcy: A Lesson in Honour by Pamela Aidan

As soon as I learned that Pamela Aidan had written a prequel to Pride and Prejudice, based upon her acclaimed Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman series, I instantly ordered a copy, and it has completely fulfilled my expectations. This novella takes place long before Elizabeth Bennet, the town of Meryton, or even Charles Bingley have entered into Darcy's life, in a time where both his parents are still alive. Young Master Darcy is thirteen years old and home from his first term at Eton for the Christmas holiday. The lessons he has learned at school have already begun to change him, but those bestowed upon him at home will forever change his life, determining the man he will become, for better and for worse.

The first blow to fall upon Darcy upon reaching the family townhouse in London is that his mother is ill and will die. The events that follow are all a result of his attempt to cope with and assimilate this information, as well as the family's struggle, with the assistance of the Fitzwilliams, to insure that Mrs. Darcy will enjoy a happy final Christmas at Pemberley. The story is both touching and funny, making me laugh and cry in turn. In an attempt to escape the oppression of the house, Darcy masquerades as a Lampton lad, joining in a group of young people who are preparing to put on a mummers entertainment for Christmas Eve. He knows his parents would not approve, and it is the fall out of this episode that leads to his "lesson in honour". Simultaneously, Lady Anne Darcy is trying to instill in her young son's head all the wisdom she had hoped to teach him as he grew up. Though she acts with the best of intentions, she achieves results that readers of Pride and Prejudice will instantly recognize as disastrous, especially when reinforced by the mummers episode. Take this scene: 

"Your choice of wife will be the most important decision you ever make, Fitzwilliam,"his mother continued. "It will, in large part, determine your own happiness and the success of Pemberley in the future. It is a decision you must not take lightly. It is a decision you must prepare for even now as a schoolboy at Eton." Lady Anne considered him for a moment before continuing.


"I know that marriage must seem a very dull topic to young man contemplating driving a team of horses, but I fear I may not have another opportunity before you are off again to school. I promise to keep my advice concise so that we may proceed to other subjects. Agreed?"


"Agreed, Mama," Darcy answered.


"Well, now, some requirements for your choice of wife. She must come from a good family, Fitzwilliam, the best family. This you must do for the honour and dignity of Pemberley." Lady Anne took a sip of tea.


"Secondly, she must be your social equal with manners that  reflect well upon you in every situation - in Town or in the country. You must do this for your own sake. Your wife's manners - her speech, deportment, behavior - cannot be an embarrassment to you, Fitzwilliam, or you will never respect her or know peace. Do you understand me?"


"I believe so, Mama. But..." Darcy spread his hands hopelessly. "I know nothing of girls. How am I to choose?"


His mother laughed again. "You mustn't worry about that now. It will happen in good time. You will meet many girls in the years to come, Fitzwilliam. You will learn how they think and act, what attracts you and what does nt. I dare say you will have many admirers since you arerich and grow more handsome by the day." Darcy blushed at his mother's enthusiasm.


"That is the danger, Fitzwilliam, for there will be many young ladies who will wish to become mistress of Pemberley." She leaned towards him and held out her hand. He took it, soft and light, in his. "I know you will be guided by your Father in this when the time is appropriate, but, for your happiness, choose a woman who is your equal in taste and feeling, a woman who respects and honours you and for whom you feel the same. If you remember and act on this advice, Fitzwilliam, you will be well and content."

Perhaps, if his father had lived to advise him, as his mother assumes, Darcy would have had the sanction he required to make an exception to this rule in the case of Elizabeth Bennet, but as that is not the case, we know too well the detrimental affects of such lessons. In Young Master Darcy, we witness a playful, fun loving boy, ready to interact with his social inferiors on a level of equality, being replaced by the aloof and proud man Austen created. It is not until he meets Elizabeth that this long buried aspect of his personality is allowed to reemerge. Ms. Aidan does an excellent job accounting for the defects we find in Darcy upon our first introduction to the man, and for how such a creature can transform into the hero that we so all adore. The novella is excellent. Readers of her trilogy will relish the introduction of original characters such as family retainers and the Matlocks, while those unfamiliar with Ms. Aidan's previous novels will find her portrayals of the young Wickham and Fitzwilliam uncanny. I highly recommend this book to all.