Review on: Mr Darcy Presents His Bride by Helen Halstead
Rating: 3/5
This story begins right at the end of Jane Austen’s story, with Elizabeth already engaged to be married to Mr Darcy, and preparations for the wedding to be set. Mr Darcy Presents His Bride is an interesting take into the story that happens after Elizabeth becomes Mrs. Darcy, their presentation into society, the effects on not only the Bennet household but on the Darcy household as well.
What’s nice about the book is that it not only focuses on Fitzwiliam and Elizabeth Darcy’s lives, but also includes the continuing stories of Jane and Charles Bingley, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, Anne de Bourgh, Georgiana Darcy, Kitty Bennet, Mary Bennet, and Lydia Wickham. It also includes other interesting new characters that the author puts in, in-dialogue with Austen’s original characters.
The story includes a quick look into London Society, and how Elizabeth is first looked upon by London society, with an inclusion of the beliefs of society as to the status and fortune of Elizabeth and her family. The author also does not fail to include the realities of married life, and presents fights that occur between Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam during their married life. The loveliness of this book lies in the fact that Elizabeth is very present in the lives of her sisters, Georgiana and Kitty, as they mature within the story. Also in this book, Elizabeth appears as very real and continues her dislike for her mother’s simple want of high society, by not being drawn into high society and doing her best to remain as real to herself as possible.
There are of course some things that I did not (personally) like in the story. There was (for me) a lack of dialogue within the story. There were parts of the story that passed too quickly and there was a definite lack of dialogue, though the author included letters-writing to quicken the passing of time within the story. Also, there were some parts of the story I believed to be too modern for such a time, which of course is not the fault of the author since writers of present society unconsciously put in modern thought to their writing. I also feel that some parts of story made Elizabeth too easily accepted by society, which could be contrary to the truth in reference to how real high society might actually accept outsiders.
Many of the “new characters” in the story were very interesting, but it felt as if the potentials of those characters weren’t utilized to the fullest, and most of them didn’t appear much throughout the story. Or at least, if not much, they seemed crucial to parts of the story but weren’t really wholly ingrained in the flow of the plot.
Otherwise, the story is a great perspective as to the events that happened after the Pride and Prejudice story. It has interesting characters, interesting dialogue, and an interesting flow of events. A very interesting read.
Decide for yourself if you like the book or not. 🙂 Enjoy~
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This book review is based on personal opinions and perspectives, and is also based on a history of reading many books of this time.
