The Late Mrs. Willoughby by Claudia Gray - Review

Today the blog tour for Claudia Gray’s The Late Mrs. Willoughby stops by for my review. Let me share the blurb with you, and then I’ll tell you what I thought of the story.

Book Description

The suspenseful sequel to The Murder of Mr. Wickham, which sees Jonathan Darcy and Juliet Tilney reunited, and with another mystery to solve: the dreadful poisoning of the scoundrel Willoughby's new wife.

Catherine and Henry Tilney of Northanger Abbey are not entirely pleased to be sending their eligible young daughter Juliet out into the world again: the last house party she attended, at the home of the Knightleys, involved a murder—which Juliet helped solve. Particularly concerning is that she intends to visit her new friend Marianne Brandon, who's returned home to Devonshire shrouded in fresh scandal—made more potent by the news that her former suitor, the rakish Mr. Willoughby, intends to take up residence at his local estate with his new bride.

Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam Darcy of Pemberley are thrilled that their eldest son, Jonathan—who, like his father, has not always been the most socially adept—has been invited to stay with his former schoolmate, John Willoughby. Jonathan himself is decidedly less taken with the notion of having to spend extended time under the roof of his old bully, but that all changes when he finds himself reunited with his fellow amateur sleuth, the radiant Miss Tilney. And when shortly thereafter, Willoughby's new wife—whom he married for her fortune—dies horribly at the party meant to welcome her to town.

With rumors flying and Marianne—known to be both unstable and previously jilted by the dead woman's newly made widower—under increased suspicion, Jonathan and Juliet must team up once more to uncover the murderer. But as they collect clues and close in on suspects, eerie incidents suggest that the killer may strike again, and that the pair are in far graver danger than they or their families could imagine.

Mr. Darcy 's Valentine by Heather Moll - Blog Tour, Guest Post, Review and Giveaway

Today I’m really pleased to be welcoming Heather Moll back to the blog with the blog tour for her newest book, Mr. Darcy’s Valentine. I love a bit of seasonal reading and have been lucky enough to read this one. As you will have gleaned from the title it’s a Valentine’s day story. Read on to learn more about the book, read a guest post from Heather, see what I thought of the book and finally have the chance to enter a worldwide giveaway.

Book Description 

WILL AN EXCHANGE OF SECRET VALENTINES LEAD TO LOVE?

After her aunt notices her partiality for Mr Wickham, Elizabeth Bennet is invited to town for the winter along with her sister Jane, and February in London gives Elizabeth the chance to become better acquainted with the Gardiners’ friend Mr Elgin.

When Mr Darcy and Elizabeth cross paths at a concert, Darcy must account for how Bingley left Hertfordshire as he considers his deepening feelings for Elizabeth. Bingley is determined to renew his attentions to Jane, and an evening’s diversion of writing valentines leads to disastrous results for Darcy.

When Valentine’s Day arrives, who will Elizabeth want to receive a valentine from: the lively man she just met or the man whose proposal she already refused? On sale Feb 1, 2023 by Excessively Diverted Press in ebook and paperback.  

Content note: this is a 50,000 word kisses-only variation

Godmersham Park by Gill Hornby - Review

Today the blog tour for Gill Hornby’s Godmersham Park stops by at Babblings of a Bookworm. Godmersham Park is where Austen’s well-off brother Edward lived, and this book is a fictionalised account of the time that real-life governess Anne Sharp spent there. Read on to find out more about the book, and what I thought of it. 

Book Description

A richly imagined novel inspired by the true story of Anne Sharp, a governess who became very close with Jane Austen and her family by the #1 International bestselling-author of Miss Austen.

On January 21, 1804, Anne Sharp arrives at Godmersham Park in Kent to take up the position of governess. At thirty-one years old, she has no previous experience of either teaching or fine country houses. Her mother has died, and she has nowhere else to go. Anne is left with no choice. For her new charge—twelve-year-old Fanny Austen—Anne's arrival is all novelty and excitement.

The governess role is a uniquely awkward one. Anne is neither one of the servants, nor one of the family, and to balance a position between the "upstairs" and "downstairs" members of the household is a diplomatic chess game. One wrong move may result in instant dismissal. Anne knows that she must never let down her guard.

When Mr. Edward Austen's family comes to stay, Anne forms an immediate attachment to Jane. They write plays together and enjoy long discussions. However, in the process, Anne reveals herself as not merely pretty, charming, and competent; she is clever too. Even her sleepy, complacent, mistress can hardly fail to notice.

Meanwhile Jane's brother, Henry, begins to take an unusually strong interest in the lovely young governess. And from now on, Anne's days at Godmersham Park are numbered.

Bloomsbury Girls: A Novel by Natalie Jenner

Today I’m taking a bit of a departure from the Austenesque and taking part in the blog tour for Bloomsbury Girls: A Novel by Natalie Jenner. Now, this isn’t an entire departure, as one of the main characters of Bloomsbury Girls was in Ms Jenner’s previous book The Jane Austen Society, which was a fictionalised account based on the setting up of the real society, which secured Austen’s last home in Chawton, which is now the Jane Austen’s House Museum, in Chawton. I really enjoyed that book, so was keen to read this one too. I’ll tell you a bit about the book (which is available now in ebook, hardback and audio) and then I’ll move on to my review of the book.  

Book Description

Natalie Jenner, the internationally bestselling author of The Jane Austen Society, returns with a compelling and heartwarming story of post-war London, a century-old bookstore, and three women determined to find their way in a fast-changing world in Bloomsbury Girls.

Bloomsbury Books is an old-fashioned new and rare bookstore that has persisted and resisted change for a hundred years, run by men and guided by the general manager's unbreakable fifty-one rules. But in 1950, the world is changing, especially the world of books and publishing, and at Bloomsbury Books, the girls in the shop have plans:

Vivien Lowry: Single since her aristocratic fiancé was killed in action during World War II, the brilliant and stylish Vivien has a long list of grievances--most of them well justified and the biggest of which is Alec McDonough, the Head of Fiction.

Grace Perkins: Married with two sons, she's been working to support the family following her husband's breakdown in the aftermath of the war. Torn between duty to her family and dreams of her own.

Evie Stone: In the first class of female students from Cambridge permitted to earn a degree, Evie was denied an academic position in favor of her less accomplished male rival. Now she's working at Bloomsbury Books while she plans to remake her own future.

As they interact with various literary figures of the time--Daphne Du Maurier, Ellen Doubleday, Sonia Blair (widow of George Orwell), Samuel Beckett, Peggy Guggenheim, and others--these three women with their complex web of relationships, goals and dreams are all working to plot out a future that is richer and more rewarding than anything society will allow.

BOOK TRAILER

AUDIOBOOK

Narrated by esteemed stage and screen actress Juliet Stevenson, enjoy the full unabridged edition of Bloomsbury Girls. “Stevenson delivers the satisfying triumph at the end with perfect polish.” —AudioFile Magazine

AUDIOBOOK EXCERPT

The Murder of Mr Wickham by Claudia Gray - Review

One of my favourite genres to read aside from Austenesque is cosy mysteries.  So when the chance came to read a book that was the two combined I obviously jumped at it. The Murder of Mr Wickham by Claudia Gray has an enticing title for any Austenesque reader, and when you read the blurb and find out that there are characters from a number of Austen’s novels then it draws you in all the more. I’ll share the book description with you and then move on to my review of the book.

Book Description

A summer house party turns into a thrilling whodunit when Jane Austen's Mr. Wickham—one of literature’s most notorious villains—meets a sudden and suspicious end in this brilliantly imagined mystery featuring Austen’s leading literary characters.

The happily married Mr. Knightley and Emma are throwing a party at their country estate, bringing together distant relatives and new acquaintances—characters beloved by Jane Austen fans. Definitely not invited is Mr. Wickham, whose latest financial scheme has netted him an even broader array of enemies. As tempers flare and secrets are revealed, it’s clear that everyone would be happier if Mr. Wickham got his comeuppance. Yet they’re all shocked when Wickham turns up murdered—except, of course, for the killer hidden in their midst.

Nearly everyone at the house party is a suspect, so it falls to the party’s two youngest guests to solve the mystery: Juliet Tilney, the smart and resourceful daughter of Catherine and Henry, eager for adventure beyond Northanger Abbey; and Jonathan Darcy, the Darcys’ eldest son, whose adherence to propriety makes his father seem almost relaxed. In this tantalizing fusion of Austen and Christie, from New York Times bestselling author Claudia Gray, the unlikely pair must put aside their own poor first impressions and uncover the guilty party—before an innocent person is sentenced to hang. 

Back to the Bonnet by Jennifer Duke - Review

Earlier this week I posted about a fund raising appeal that author Jennifer Duke is running in order to have her Pride & Prejudice-inspired time travel book Back to the Bonnet converted to audio format. 

Back to the Bonnet is written from Mary Bennet’s point of view because she is the time traveller (most of the time). Mary uses a bonnet with mysterious powers to go back in time and is therefore able to undo some unfortunate events. You can read the previous post here and I’d recommend that you do, as it has an alternate take on the Netherfield ball which Mary has to undo.

I’ve been meaning to read the book since it came out and Jennifer’s fund raising appeal gave me a nudge to read it. Let’s look at the blurb and then I’ll share my review with you. 

Book Description

Matrimony is not a destiny that attracts plain but clever Miss Mary Bennet.

With her family’s fortunes threatened by their own foolish mistakes, deceptive rogues and the inconvenience of male heirs to her family home, the future looks unstable, even bleak. But Mary possesses a secret weapon . . . a bonnet that allows her to travel in time.

In orchestrating events according to her own inclinations, Mary takes an unconventional route to protect her family from ruin. However, she is unprepared for the dark path down which duty and power will lead her.

Jane Austen's Genius Guide to Life: On Love, Friendship, and Becoming the Person God Created You to Be by Haley Stewart - Review

So when you have a to be read list as long as your arm you shouldn’t be looking on Netgalley, but I was, and this title caught my eye. Let’s take a look at the (very long) blurb, and then I’ll let you know what I thought of Jane Austen's Genius Guide to Life: On Love, Friendship, and Becoming the Person God Created You to Be by Haley Stewart 

Book Description

Popular Catholic podcaster Haley Stewart insists that there's no better life coach than nineteenth-century British novelist Jane Austen.

In this uniquely Catholic take, Stewart reveals Austen's thoughtful, deeply personal exploration of human relationships--including with God--through her six novels. Stewart's insights take you on a journey that is both literary and spiritual, revealing how Austen's characters and themes can lead to you to discover and become the person God has called you to be.

Stewart draws fascinating connections between Austen's novels and real life and introduces Austen as a capable life coach by how she guides her readers to understand virtue and vice through friendship, love, community, and God's grace. Austen's characters reveal how virtuous habits transform us and help us become who we were meant to be. Each chapter focuses on characters and virtues from a single novel:

·        Do you find yourself swayed by superficial charm and yearn to see others more clearly? Let Elizabeth Bennet teach you how to recognize substance in others and address the pride in your own heart through the cultivation of humility (Pride and Prejudice).

·        Are you stuck in selfishness that wounds others (and yourself)? Let Emma Woodhouse and George Knightley help you develop the compassion to see the world more clearly with the eyes of Christ (Emma).

·        Do you get swept away into poor choices due to a lack of self-control? Let the Dashwood sisters show you the virtue of temperance and guide you to embrace your God-given personality and temperament (Sense and Sensibility.

·        Do you have treasured ideals but struggle to live them out? Follow along with Edmund Bertram's journey toward constancy through the example of Fanny Price (Mansfield Park).

·        Have the disappointments of life grown resentment or bitterness in your heart? Be inspired by Anne Elliot's vulnerable fortitude in the storms of life (Persuasion).

·        Do you struggle to know what to do or who to believe in tricky situations? Join Catherine Morland in learning prudence to know and act on the truth (Northanger Abbey).

Whether you are already an Austen fan or are discovering her works for the first time, Stewart's infectious enthusiasm and captivating spiritual insights will have you digging in to experience firsthand the characters and stories that have captured imaginations in book and film for more than two centuries.

Discussion questions and recommended film adaptations make this book suitable for individual or group use or as a high school classroom or homeschool resource. A free, downloadable leader's guide is available at avemariapress.com.

Austen-Inspired Children’s Book Suggestions

I have a number of children’s books which are Austen-inspired, but as they are so much shorter than the books I usually blog about I thought I’d put a post together featuring a few. If you’re interested in ones I’ve looked at previously you can see posts about a version of Pride & Prejudice for younger readers here, and a biography of Austen here. 

Firstly, Cozy Classics Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice by Jack & Holman Wang– this is a board book for babies featuring pictures of needle-felted characters with single words on each page. The characters are really SO cute – mostly inspired by Pride & Prejudice 2005 by the looks of them, although I’d say Elizabeth looks more like the 1995 or maybe even based on Jane Austen. I would recommend this as part of a baby gift to a parent who is a P&P fan. Five Stars

Jane Austen and Names by Maggie Lane - Review

Today I’m bringing you a review of a book I read a while ago. I had been meaning to read this book for literally years so I was pleased to finally get to it. The title of the book is Jane Austen and Names by Maggie Lane and as you will have inferred from the title, it takes a closer look at the character names that Austen used in her works. Let’s look at the blurb and then I’ll bring you my review.

Book Description

For Jane Austen, Edmund was a name the represented heroism and chivalry, Maria signified heartlessness and Richard was a joke.

She had a weakness for Emma and a passion for Frederick which endured from her earliest years until she bestowed it on her last, and most romantic, hero.

Unlike most novelists of her period, in naming her characters Jane Austen confined herself to the names found in everyday life, choosing them to fit not only their personalities but their place in society.

While the classic English names are her staple, she also drew on the Old Testament for her low-born characters and eighteenth-century creations for the would-be fashionable.

In this study of a hitherto neglected area of the novelist’s art, Maggie Lane looks at the history of English nomenclature up to Jane Austen’s time and at the naming patterns and practices current in her society, including who was entitled to use the Christian name of whom.

A section on Jane Austen’s own taste in names is followed by an alphabetical listing of all the Christian names used in her mature fiction, with their history, social status and associations.

'Jane Austen and Names' is a must-read for anyone interested in the great novelist.

Mistress of Netherfield by Julia Winter - Blog Tour, Deleted Scene and Review

Today I’m happy to be welcoming Julia Winter, a new author, to the blog. Julia has written a Pride & Prejudice variation, Mistress of Netherfield, and she’s visiting here today with a deleted scene from the book and a giveaway opportunity. She was also so kind as to provide me an ebook of Mistress of Netherfield to read and so I’ll share my review below. Let’s look at the blurb first, and then I’ll hand over to Julia.

Book Description

It is a truth universally acknowledged that on escaping an unhappy marriage, a young widow will be delighted to remove to the dower house and lease the marital abode to a single man in possession of a good fortune, provided he looks elsewhere to fulfil his want of a wife.

Forced into an unwanted marriage at the tender age of sixteen, and freed six months later by the death of her abusive husband, Elizabeth Grayson (née Bennet) has finally found a measure of peace. The inheritor of her husband’s estate, Netherfield Park, Elizabeth is now a wealthy young widow, independent and self-reliant. With an eye always on improving her four sisters’ woefully small dowries and providing for her mother, who will be homeless when her father dies, Elizabeth is pleased to lease out Netherfield to the Bingley family from the north of England, making her home in the dower house in Meryton and vowing that she will never remarry.

Fitzwilliam Darcy of Pemberley in Derbyshire is rich and well-connected, but reserved in company with anybody outside the very few he counts as friends. Towards those friends, he is loyal and steadfast, the staunchest of supporters. So when a young man comes to him with a tale of the clandestine marriage and mysterious death of Darcy’s old schoolfriend, James Grayson, and begs Darcy’s help to investigate the widow’s role, Darcy agrees. Visiting Charles Bingley, the new tenant of Netherfield, Darcy is very soon torn between his loyalty to his dead friend, and his burgeoning attraction to the widow.

Throw two unprincipled rogues and an elopement into the confines of Meryton, and how will Darcy’s dilemma over Elizabeth ever be resolved? And is she willing to put aside her misgivings, and trust again?

(British English spelling and grammar used throughout)

Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen, Retold by Gemma Barder - My Review

What do you do when you have a review backlog and a TBR list that would fill a room if it was all physical copies? You go on Netgalley to have a nose, and stumble across something you want to read, d’oh! In my defence though, it was a quick read, which at least helped me in my quest to get back on track with my annual reading challenge. The book that I’m bringing you a review of today is Austen’s Pride & Prejudice, but retold for a younger audience by Gemma Barder.

Book Description – from Amazon

A beautiful and accessible children's book adaptation of Austen's famous story, Pride and Prejudice, featuring contemporary black and white illustrations and a free Audiobook accessible via QR code for an alternative, entertaining and engaging listening experience. 

Mrs Bennet is desperate to find rich husbands for her daughters, so the arrival of a charming new neighbour is welcome indeed. Sadly, the friend he brings with him is not. Mr Darcy seems to have even more pride than money. Nobody likes him least of all Elizabeth Bennet. But not everyone is who they seem...

This adaptation is part of The Complete Jane Austen Children's Collection (Easy Classics), featuring the following 8 books: Emma, Mansfield Park, Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion, Northanger Abbey, Love and Friendship and a personal My Story Journal (available to buy as a box set). These stunning books are a perfect gift and introduction to classical literature for children aged seven and up. 

Sweet Cherry Easy Classics carefully adapt classic literature into accessible stories for children, with the aim of introducing these timeless tales to a new generation.

Book Description – from the back of the book

Mrs Bennet is desperate to find rich husbands for her daughters, so the arrival of a charming new neighbour is welcome indeed. Sadly the friend he brings with him is not. Mr Darcy seems to have even more pride than money. Nobody likes him – least of all Elizabeth Bennet. But not everyone is who they seem and love can change everything. 

My Review of Pride & Prejudice, retold by Gemma Barder

This version of Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice has been rewritten for a younger audience. As it’s a children’s version, one of the important jobs the author has had to do is explain some of the things that might not make sense to a modern child. I thought the author here did a great job of explaining things within the flow of the story. Although this is a simplified version, all the important plot points are covered. Having said that, there were some things that I felt were misrepresented – some facts relating to Wickham, and it being said that Elizabeth had overheard the ‘tolerable’ insult and made sure Mr Darcy knew that she had heard. This just didn’t happen, and if it had the relationship dynamic would have been quite different and he wouldn’t have been thinking of her regard so smugly later on! In the main though, the plot is covered well and explained clearly. 

The book has quite a few illustrations, which are very nice, although I would have loved to have seen them in colour. I read this on kindle, but I believe the illustrations are also black and white in the printed copy.

This book is part of a set of books retelling Austen’s stories - the six main novels plus Love and Freindship (sic) and another book - I'm not entirely sure what this one is, but it's called My Story Journal so presumably it's one for the child to write in.

The question is whether to buy or not to buy. Well, I am not entirely sold on the concept of classics being rewritten for children. The first time I read Pride & Prejudice as a teen I didn’t know anything about the story, and was able to discover it fresh. I think much of the enjoyment in Austen comes from her use of language rather than her plots – she truly was a mistress at turning a phrase – and while there are echoes of some of her quotes in this book, it’s a simplified version and doesn’t use such sophisticated language. 

My concern is whether a child reading a book such as this would be dissuaded from picking up the original, feeling that it’s a book they’d read already. Reading the plot of an Austen story is by no means reading Austen! However, if you like buying classics rewritten for children, I would say that this is a good rewrite – it has all the main plot points and most of the facts clearly described and is quite a good read in its own right. It also has a very cute cover so if I bought it for a child I'd be inclined to get the hard copy. This would be a good addition to the bookshelves of a child who reads classic rewrites and I'd rate it as a 4 star read.

*I received this book from Netgalley UK for my honest review

Author Bio

Gemma Barder is a children's author with 15 years experience of writing fun, exciting and engaging books for children. She started her publishing career in children's magazines, before moving on to editing books and part-works. She soon found her happy place as a freelance writer - tapping away at her laptop in her slippers at her home in Leicestershire, with her husband and two daughters close at hand, and with a cup of Earl Grey.

Buy Links

Pride & Prejudice adapted by Gemma Barder is available to buy now in Paperback, Kindle and Kindle Unlimited. Ms Barder has also retold Austen’s other novels and you can get the whole collection in a paperback boxed set. 

Pride & Prejudice - Amazon US • Amazon UK • Amazon CA (looks like paperback is not released yet in Canada) • Add to Goodreads shelf

Boxed Set of Paperbacks - Amazon US • Amazon UK • Amazon CA (Unfortunately I couldn’t find the set on Amazon CA – hopefully it will be on there at some point)

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What do you think about the idea of rewriting classics for children? On the one hand, might it  make them feel less intimidating to a reader and make readers more likely to try them? Or would it put readers off the full versions because they feel they've read them, and will they miss out on all the magic of them? I'd love to know your thoughts in the comments. 

Note about comments: Unfortunately I’ve had some spam comments lately, so have turned on comment moderation, which means that your comment won’t appear straight away. If you have any problems adding your comment please contact me and I will add your comment for you :)

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Holidays with Jane: Spring Fever - Review

Today I’m bringing you my review of the anthology Holidays with Jane: Spring Fever. This has stories from Jessica Grey, Cecilia Gray, Melissa Buell, Rebecca M. Fleming, Kimberly Truesdale and Jennifer Becton.

I’ve read this book more than once but I’ve never got around to reviewing, and as it’s seasonal, once you’ve missed the opportunity to post, you have to wait a whole year for it to be the right time of year to review. So this year, although I’m late, I thought that I would post the review or it will never happen! I’ll give you the blurb (or part of the blurb because the whole thing is very long!) and then I’ll move on to my review of the book.

The Other Bennet Sister by Janice Hadlow - Review

UK Cover

Today I’m bringing you my review of Janice Hadlow’s ‘The Other Bennet Sister’, the focus of which is the middle Miss Bennet, Mary. Let’s look at the blurb and then I’ll move on to my thoughts on this novel.

Book Description:

For fans of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, Janice Hadlow's The Other Bennet Sister tells Mary's story...

It is a sad fact of life that if a young woman is unlucky enough to come into the world without expectations, she had better do all she can to ensure she is born beautiful. To be handsome and poor is misfortune enough; but to be both plain and penniless is a hard fate indeed.

In Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Mary is the middle of the five Bennet girls and the plainest of them all, so what hope does she have? Prim and pious, with no redeeming features, she is unloved and seemingly unlovable.

The Other Bennet Sister, though, shows another side to Mary. An introvert in a family of extroverts; a constant disappointment to her mother who values beauty above all else; fearful of her father’s sharp tongue; with little in common with her siblings – is it any wonder she turns to books for both company and guidance? And, if she finds her life lonely or lacking, that she determines to try harder at the one thing she can be: right.

One by one, her sisters marry – Jane and Lizzy for love; Lydia for some semblance of respectability – but Mary, it seems, is destined to remain single and live out her life at Longbourn, at least until her father dies and the house is bequeathed to the reviled Mr Collins.

But when that fateful day finally comes, she slowly discovers that perhaps there is hope for her, after all.

Simultaneously a wonderfully warm homage to Jane Austen and a delightful new story in its own right, Janice Hadlow's The Other Bennet Sister is, at its heart, a life-affirming tale of a young woman finding her place in the world. Witty and uplifting, it will make you feel – and cheer – for Mary as you never have before.

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UK Cover

The Other Bennet Sister - Review

I am not the biggest fan of Mary Bennet, although I do feel sorry for her position, caught between two close sets of sisters. I’ve always imagined that she would have felt quite alone and that the reason she worked so hard on her accomplishments was to have a defined role – Jane was the beautiful one, Elizabeth the clever one, which left Mary to try and distinguish herself another way.

…who having, in consequence of being the only plain one in the family, worked hard for knowledge and accomplishments, was always impatient for display.

Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen

And from The Other Bennet Sister:

Learning would rescue her, not just from boredom and frustration, but from the likelihood of making any further sad mistakes.

It’s interesting to speculate on Mary’s perspective, and this is where books like this come in. This is a book in four parts and it’s quite a mighty tome – the best part of 700 pages. Part one looks at childhood and the events of Pride & Prejudice from Mary’s perspective and this was probably my favourite part of the book. Here, Mary is aware of the deficiency of her looks compared with those of her sisters, and it isolates her from them:

She had always been a cautious, watchful girl; now, she thought of little else but the poor impression she must make upon those around her.

I felt that the portrayal of Mary in the P&P part was obviously quite sympathetic to her, as it’s written from Mary’s point of view. I felt it showed Mrs Bennet as being more unkind to Mary than I got a sense of from P&P. Mr Bennet is just as insensitive and neglectful though!

The truth was, she thought bitterly, that there was no one in her immediate society who considered her worthy of attention; and it this was so when she was still young, why should it improve as she grew older?

Once we move past P&P, Mr Bennet has died, the Collinses take possession of Longbourn and Mary struggles to find her place in the world. I felt extremely sorry for her at this point, because at Jane’s home, Miss Bingley is still in residence and basically bullies Mary, and at Pemberley Mary feels like she’s intruding in the family party. She stays for a while at Longbourn and finally ends up with the Gardiners where FINALLY she feels accepted and loved for being herself.

It was as if a great abyss had opened up before Mary, and in it, she saw nothing before her but loneliness. In the space of a moment she understood how fervently she longed for affection.

US Cover

There were some parts of this story that for me didn’t tie up with Pride & Prejudice. Some details like Sir William Lucas being a baronet rather than a tradesman who was knighted. Mr Collins is different too – firstly, he was shown still acting as a clergyman once he had inherited Longbourn but I think it more likely that he would have revelled in the status upgrade of being a landed gentleman. He is also better-educated than P&P Collins, who had an ‘indifferent education’. I felt quite sad for Mr Collins here, who has started to come to the realisation that his wife doesn’t care for him.  

I didn’t follow some of the facts relating to Lady Catherine either. Here, it is said that Lady Catherine recognises Darcy as titular head of the family but I don’t know why that would be. He is head of the Darcy family, but she is either a de Bourgh or a Fitzwilliam. Also, a character called Mr Ryder is described as her closest relation but I wasn’t clear on how he was related to her, unless he is the son of another Fitzwilliam sister and in that case he wouldn’t be any closer than Darcy, Colonel Fitzwilliam or one of their siblings. Unless he was an illegitimate child of hers, which doesn’t seem likely!

Going back to the story, I thought Mary’s tale seemed quite a typical story of a person who is completely lacking in self-esteem. If you are a person who has similar issues I think this could cut quite close to the bone for you, and in that, I thought it was well done.

“Mr Wordsworth says elsewhere that nothing of value is to be gained from books. For him, our affections are the only real guide worth following.”

She felt tears begin to well up in her eyes.

“And I’m not sure I have any. Or none strong enough for me to follow with confidence. Perhaps they are too weak – too frozen – to help me find my way.”

Mary benefits hugely by living with the Gardiner family who genuinely love her. They see her for herself and love and value her. She finally finds like she has a place and begins to blossom. And once she has a greater value for herself she begins to find other people who value her too.

You dress as you do because you do not believe you deserve anything better and you wish to communicate that low opinion of yourself to everyone who sees you.

I found the character of Mary frustrating, though – while she learns to put a higher value on herself and becomes less despondent, in other aspects of her life she doesn’t seem to learn at all. She makes some mistakes through not trusting her own judgement – realising immediately that it’s a mistake but does nothing to rectify it, and then when she has a similar feeling in the future she learns nothing from the previous incident and just follows the same pattern. I was pleased to see her seize the moment in order to take the advice that she is trying to live by of being the architect of her own happiness.

In summary, there was a lot to like about this story, such as Mary’s take on the events of P&P and her coming to value herself, but I found I that it was drawn out a bit much for me. I prefer a shorter read. I’d rate it as a 4 star read.

* My thanks to Netgalley UK and the publishers of The Other Benent Sister, Pan Macmillan for the review copy.

Buy Links

You can buy this book in paperback, hardback, ebook or in audio now! 

Amazon UK / Amazon US / Amazon CA / Add to Goodreads Shelf

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Sanditon by Kate Riordan - My Review

 
Today the review roundup blog tour for Sanditon by Kate Riordan stops here for my review of the book. This is the novelisation of the Sanditon completion mini-series. In the UK, this aired last year, so I've watched the whole series... twice... but it's just started showing in the US. Let's take a look at the blurb and then we will look at what I thought of the book.

Book Description

In the vein of Downton Abbey, Jane Austen's beloved but unfinished masterpiece-often considered her most modern and exciting novel-gets a spectacular second act in this tie-in to a major new limited television series.

Written only months before Austen's death in 1817, Sanditon tells the story of the joyously impulsive, spirited and unconventional Charlotte Heywood and her spiky relationship with the humorous, charming (and slightly wild!) Sidney Parker. When a chance accident transports her from her rural hometown of Willingden to the would-be coastal resort of the eponymous title, it exposes Charlotte to the intrigues and dalliances of a seaside town on the make, and the characters whose fortunes depend on its commercial success. The twists and turns of the plot, which takes viewers from the West Indies to the rotting alleys of London, exposes the hidden agendas of each character and sees Charlotte discover herself... and ultimately find love.

My Review of Sanditon by Kate Riordan

As this is a novelisation of the series I think I should start by telling you (briefly and in as spoiler-free fashion as is possible) what I thought of the series. In preparation for watching it I read the fragment of Sanditon. by Jane Austen. It really is a fragment, introducing a whole cast of characters but not much more. My deduction from the fragment was that Charlotte was a very normal heroine, who I liked very much. Sidney Parker was the likely hero, and pretty much the rest of the characters were comic relief, all of them being odd in their own way. There was clearly rivalry for Lady Denham's money, and Clara Brereton was pitted against the buffoon Sir Edward Denham and his unlikeable sister Miss Denham in the quest of it.

I felt that in the adaptation, in terms of characters some were the same and some were changed - our heroine Charlotte and Lady Denham were the same as I had envisioned, for example, but Sir Edward Denham is most certainly no buffoon, but a ruthless man, focussed entirely on the pursuit of his inheritance. Miss Denham is cold and unlikeable - until I started to pity her, and then I was absolutely on her side, not in securing an inheritance, but in finding the happiness that I felt she deserved. What about the person I had earmarked as a hero, Sidney Parker? Well, he isn't portrayed as the character that I had expected (like Henry Tilney from Northanger Abbey but more handsome, if you are interested!). He's more a Mr Darcy but with less polish and subtlety. I was a bit frustrated by that, because a Mr Darcy-style love/hate hero almost feels like a default choice, due to the success of Pride & Prejudice in popular culture. We literally only just meet Sidney at the end of the fragment. He is described as lively, leading me to expect a light-hearted hero rather than the burdened, sombre and sometimes churlish character in the adaptation. However, his description in Austen's fragment is given by people whose judgement may be faulty, so I wouldn't say that this deviation is counter to Austen's starting point.

I started off watching the adaptation hoping for something that I could believe that Austen herself had written but I had to abandon this hope - we are through her material by midway through the first episode and some of the content I felt was decidedly not Austen. There is some sexual content and although I think Austen would certainly have been aware of sex, she would not have written about it! There is also nudity but I felt this was acceptable nudity. It's in the context of seabathing, which men did in the nude in those times. Once I gave up my admittedly unreasonable hope of somebody channelling Jane Austen and writing something that I could believe came from her I decided that I would need to enjoy Sanditon as an historical drama on its own merits. And I did enjoy it, aside from some frustration at hairstyles I deemed too modern, until the ending.

I am sure you will have heard our splutters of indignation across the pond, as UK viewers found that they were robbed of the 'happy' ending that we had expected so I don't see it as a spoiler to mention it. Instead we are given an ending that I felt was an opening for a second series which left me feeling a little cheated! However, as people viewing it now will have been warned  of the ending, perhaps you won't be as cross as I was about it. I hope that we are treated to a second series, because aside from Charlotte's story, I felt that other stories had been started but not finished, such as that of Miss Lambe, Jane Austen's only non-white character. I also wanted to know what fate had in store for Arthur Parker, who I have a fondness for - he is so funny, and not enough time was devoted to him.

So, moving onto the book. This is a novelisation of the series, rather than a book that has been translated into an adaptation. I think the big plus from this is that we don't get any moments that jar because they've been changed in the adaptation. Everything is just the same, but just enriched by the extra detail that can be added in a book such as characters' thoughts and motivations! There were some things that the book didn't deliver on as well as the adaptation - little details, such as the impressions left on the viewer from looks and visual hints. For example, there was a character who I was sure things wouldn't work out for based on something visual, although I will be fair and say that Kate Riordan dropped hints in other ways in relation to this particular person.

I really enjoyed reading this book; it took me through the series in my mind with additional embellishments of detail. The author's style isn't like Austen - probably more modern and simplified compared to her in terms of language, but you could feel absolutely immersed in the life of Sanditon.

Obviously, huge spoilers for the series abound in the novel, so I'd recommend that if you enjoy the series, you then move on to the novel; personally I wouldn't do it the other way round because I so enjoyed reliving it in my mind.

As stated above, there is some sex in the adaptation but the same scenes in the novel are decidedly non-graphic, which I felt was a good choice.

My recommendation is to give the adaptation a chance, bearing in mind that it isn't Austen, and there is no telling where she would have taken the story. If you enjoy it then I'd certainly give this novelisation by Kate Riordan a go. I enjoyed it, and I'd rate it as a 4 star read.

My thanks go to Grand Central Publishing who provided me with a copy of Sanditon by Kate Riordan for my honest review, and a copy of The World of Sanditon by Sara Sheridan, which I hope to read soon! I'd also like to thank Laurel Ann from Austenprose, for organising the blog tour.

Author Bio

Kate Riordan is a writer and journalist from England. Her first job was as an editorial assistant at the Guardian newspaper, followed by a stint as deputy editor for the lifestyle section of London bible, Time Out magazine. There she had assignments that saw her racing reindeers in Lapland, going undercover in London's premier department store and gleaning writing tips (none-too subtly) during interviews with some of her favorite authors. After becoming a freelancer, she left London behind and moved to the beautiful Cotswolds in order to write her first novel.

Buy Links

Sanditon by Kate Riordan is available to buy now, in paperback, ebook and on audio.

Amazon US / Amazon UK/ Amazon CA / Audible US / Audible UK / Barnes & Noble / Book Depository / Indiebound / Add to Goodreads Shelf

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SANDITON REVIEW ROUNDUP SCHEDULE:

January 13              Austenprose—A Jane Austen Blog

January 14              History Lizzie

January 17              Babblings of a Bookworm

January 20              Confessions of a Book Addict

January 20              Living Read Girl

January 25              Margie’s Must Reads

January 26              My Jane Austen Book Club

February 03            The Lit Bitch

February 10            Unabridged Chick

February 10            Laura’s Reviews

February 13            Bookfoolery

February 14            Half Agony, Half Hope

February 17            Scuffed Slippers, Wormy Books

February 18            Impressions in Ink

February 23            From Pemberley to Milton

February 24            So Little Time…

February 24            Vesper’s Place

February 26            Austenesque Reviews

February 28            My Vices and Weaknesses

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