Nothing makes me sadder (in literature, at least) than the fact that Jane Austen only completed six marvelous novels before her death. Many authors have since tried to continue her beloved stories, with varying degrees of success. I’ve read many, many ‘sequels’ or ‘retellings’ over the years in the hope of recapturing at least a little of the magic that she wove and this is one of the few books that I have found that manages to.
Lara Ormiston takes up the story from the point at which Elizabeth Bennett receives Mr. Darcy’s first, inglorious proposal and asks the question: what if she had said yes? From there on, she takes the story in a slightly different direction than the original, of course, though many events seem predestined to occur regardless of the changes. This is a character-driven story, which I always prefer, but that does mean it can get a little exhausting being constantly inside the characters’ heads and experiencing their every emotion.
The language is not jarring and I did not spot any obvious ‘modernisms’ to take you out of the spirit of the 19 century. The characters are recognisable and, most of all, enjoyable. Nothing could compare to Jane Austen’s original work, but this is an interesting story, told well by a clearly invested author and one which I will be glad to reread in the future.
Book Travels 