Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife: Pride and Prejudice Continues Review

The Case

I'm a big classics lover, and one of my faves is Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.  Now, I'm not really into literary romances, but the characters in Pride and Prejudice are wonderful, especially Darcy and Elizabeth.  Their relationship is fantastic.  Sadly, though, Austen never revisited them.  Of course, in today's world, we've had many writers who've tried to do just that.  I've read a fair few amount of 'sequels' to Pride and Prejudice, but so far, Mr. Darcy Takes A Wife is my favorite.

The Plot (Spoiler-free!)

Mr. Darcy Takes A Wife starts right where Pride and Prejudice left off, with Darcy and Elizabeth riding away into the sunset after their wedding.  As the two lovebirds settle in at the Darcy estate of Pemberley, they slowly grow accustomed to married life and each other.  Our beloved characters hope for a life of wedded bliss, but, of course, it wouldn't be a good story without intrigue, scandal, and danger!  Darcy and Elizabeth face one trial after another, ranging from highway robbery and war to old lovers and obnoxious in-laws.  And we get to join them every step of the way!

The Good

The main reason that I like this particular sequel to Pride and Prejudice so much is that Linda Berdoll manages to capture the basic essence of Austen's original characters.  She really gets their inner fire and their personalities, and they come to life in this novel just as they did in the original story - loveable, flawed, and delightful.  The story is full and lively, and it will keep you reading.  I felt very lucky to see a little farther into the lives of not just Darcy and Elizabeth, but all the other beloved P&P characters as well.

Though the characters are true to form, it's important to note that Ms. Berdoll is telling a tale of our favorite couple in a married relationship, not a courting one.  And we all know what married people do, though it would have created quite the scandal to actually write about it back in Miss Austen's day.  So, if you read this delightful little continuation, be prepared for a fair amount of sex.  I mean, c'mon, they're newlyweds!

The Bad

I can hear the Austen purists gasp out loud.  Sex?!  Darcy and Elizabeth?!  Heavens to Betsy!  Say it ain't so!  Well, it is so.  And so, and so, and so again.  Not only is there sex, there's a lot of sex.  So skip this one if that doesn't fly with you.

The sex really didn't bother me, but there were a few minor annoyances that did.  First - some of the writing and syntax.  Seriously.  This book does an admirable job of copying the tone and style of P&P, but certain words and phrases were sooo overused.  By the end of the book I was literally growling every time I came across the word 'howbeit.'  Sixty gazillion times in one novel is just too much!  Use a different word for crying out loud!

Also, the story is pretty soap opera-ish.  Old flames, bastard children, rape and villainy, it's all a little cliche if you think about it.  But, in the end, none of it mattered.  I really just enjoyed the heck out of this one!

The Verdict

Four stars!  I for one am glad that I got to read about how Mr. Darcy Takes A Wife!