sanalith | Pride and Prejudice, Take Two (Reply)

So, I’m afraid I have to squeal about this here, because as much as Mike indulges in my fandoms, he is a guy, and as such he will never be able to truly appreciate the beauty of a good chick flick (or books based on them).

I have just finished reading the first book in the Fitzwilliam Darcy – Gentleman series by Pamela Aidan. This series is basically a re-telling of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, but from Darcy’s point of view. This first book, An Assembly Such as This, takes us up to the point where Darcy, Bingley and his sisters return to London, and deals a little with their time there. Unfortunately for me, the next two books are not out yet. I though I’d checked on Amazon to ensure that they were, because I *hate* getting involved in a series and then finding out that I have to wait for the rest of the them to come out, but apparently I was mistaken. They seem to have been released elsewhere (perhaps Britain) but the second book won’t be available until October, and the third comes out in January.

This is Bad.

Why, do you ask? Because I seriously do not think I have ever been so obsessed with an adaptation before in my life.

I have previously read other novel adaptations of Pride and Prejudice. All of them were good in their own way, if for no other reason than the characters are just so amazing that it’s almost impossible not to like them. But until now, I’ve never really felt like any author has been able to capture the characters in their entirety, and in a fashion that I think Austen herself would approve of. There was not one moment in this book that made me feel like anyone was acting out of character, or doing, saying or feeling anything unexpected. Whatever magic Austen worked in her original novel, Aidan has it in spades.

Most importantly, since it is from his point of view, her Darcy is astounding. Not only did she capture the character perfectly, she somehow managed to capture Colin Firth’s adaptation of the character flawlessly. Whenever I’ve read previous Pride and Prejudice adaptations, I’ve always had a vague picture in my mind of the characters, which generally looked something like the BBC actors, but not exactly. In this case, I had not trouble at all. His words, his attitude, and his very thoughts just scream Darcy in a way no other version has, and I love him to death!

Probably one of the best aspects of the novel is, of course, getting to see everything from Darcy’s perspective. Here we finally see the softness that we all knew lurked behind his cold exterior. We get to see and feel him slowly but surely falling in love with Elizabeth, and Aidan presents it in a perfectly believable fashion. We get to feel his regret at his forcible separation of Jane and Bingley, not only because he feels as though he is betraying his best friend’s trust, but because he knows Elizabeth will never forgive him for it. My favorite scene (perhaps not surprisingly, but this time for different reasons) was the Netherfield ball. Darcy had actually talked himself into initiating a small flirtation with Elizabeth, to see how she received his attentions, and was even trying to work up the nerve to apologize to her for speaking ill of her when they first met. He truly believed she would be open to his attentions, because they both seemed to enjoy their verbal fencing so much, and is extremely shocked at her cold reception. In this version, it is she who seems to be both proud and prejudiced, unreasonably rejecting him for a man with a vicious character and checkered past. The role-reversal is stunning, and very interesting. She seems so hard and unreasonable, while Darcy appears perfectly genteel and understandable.

The only part of the book I disliked was, unfortunately, the ending sequence, which takes place in London, after everyone’s departure from Hertfordshire. Darcy is attempting to bring Bingley out into society in order to help him forget Jane. They attend a large ball given by a prominent matron of the ton, and a great many things happen that don’t seem to be truly related to the story. Darcy gets briefly dragged into a debate about politics, for instance, but nothing more is decided than that Darcy is a Tory (which is not at all surprising), and there the conversation ends. There is also a big to-do with Darcy and the way his valet knotted his neck cloth, which was so ornate that it drew the attention of Beau Brummell, and man I’d never before heard of, but (thanks to Wikipedia) I know understand to be The Great Fashion Arbiter of the era. All this did, of course, was make Darcy upset by being forced into the center of attention, but again, nothing substantial. I was amused by Darcy’s violent reaction against the waltz, which was being performed, but nothing much can be said about that. I guess I just felt like these chapters were sort of tossed in at the end to show off Aidan’s knowledge of the regency, but she took no time to elaborate on them (or at least not well enough for people unfamiliar with the politics and customs of the era). I also felt like it did nothing to enhance the story or move it along. Granted, there are two more books, so her design may eventually become clear, but for now, it just seemed useless.

Aidan introduced a few new characters that will most likely become regulars throughout the series, and my favorite by far is Darcy’s valet, Fletcher. Like all servants, he always seems to know more than he should (most likely including Darcy’s infatuation with Elizabeth), and while he seems extremely loyal to Darcy, he also has no qualms about disobeying certain orders. Darcy strictly ordered Fletcher to make certain nothing he wore attracted undue attention at the assembly in London, for example, yet he purposely knotted Darcy’s neck cloth in as elaborate a fashion as possible, to ensure Brummell noticed it. I’m really hoping to learn more about him throughout the series.

All in all, I seriously cannot recommend these books enough. Although I’ve only read the first one, I have no doubt the other two will be just as good. I can’t imagine Aidan dropping the ball. If you’re a fan of the original novel, then read this. I can almost guarantee you won’t be sorry. I’ve never read a more realistic portrayal of Austen’s characters. I fully admit to being completely obsessed.