... that all sequels, prequels, add ons and heaven knows what else regarding the novels of Jane Austen are poor stuff. Not so I hear you cry and after that sweeping statement (as you all know by now I love sweeping statements) I will admit that I have read a few, a very few that I have enjoyed and thought were worth reading.
And here is one I thought was excellent. Mrs Darcy's Dilemma by Diana Birchall. This paragraph is just perfect. It captures Jane's writing and style beautifully but does not stray into the exaggerated vernacular that so many of the other Jane books fall into.
"Mr Darcy was, at fifty, very much as might have been expected from a knowledge of him at eight and twenty; a noble man indeed...magisterial bearing and dignified manner were more impressive than ever... yet his lips would relax in an indulgent smile that was good to see, his eyes would gleam with enjoyment and his face would look really handsome still, when he looked upon his wife...." who was " between forty and fifty years old and still a handsome woman known for her with and good humour....she was as much as ever the delight of Mr Darcy's mind and the beloved of his heart...."
I reviewed it here some time ago and here is the link.
https://randomjottings.typepad.com/random_jottings_of_an_ope/2008/03/mrs-darcys-dile.html
A book of a few years ago which falls into my Approved Jane Category is Longbourn and the story is told from a servant's point of view which makes for intriguing reading.
https://randomjottings.typepad.com/random_jottings_of_an_ope/2013/09/longbourn-jo-baker.html
It is very interesting to see how the sainted Jane and Elizabeth are viewed by those below stairs
"If Elizabeth Bennett had the washing of her own petticoats, Sarah thought, she would be more careful not to tramp through muddy fields".
We are meant to admire Lizzy in her tramping across to Netherfield to see her sister and this is an outcome we do not think of. Diana Birchall also wrote a book featuring Mrs Elton, a character in Emma who is portrayed as snobbish and superior and we are invited to dislike her intensely. And we do. And yet Diana put forward the thought that Mrs Elton may have been eager to come and meet Emma and all the people in Highbury and make friends and enjoy her newly married state. We see her from Emma's point of view which, let's face it, is not reliable and Mrs E may have found her hopes totally flattened.
Of course, whether we are meant to look at a character so beautifully and wickedly portrayed by Jane Austen in another way is a moot point but I have to admit that after reading Diana's take on Mrs Elton I looked at her in a more sympathetic light.
And I now turn to a book I read this month and really enjoyed. The Other Bennet Sister by Janice Hadlow. In 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.
I am quoting here from the blurb which sums up the book beautifully. The Other Bennet Sister 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?"
At the start of this title Mary is the irritating sister we all know but then we begin to see that her outer shell of superiority is a shell to cover up her inadequacies when compared to her sisters. And, once again, Elizabeth and Jane are shown not to be so perfect but to be thoughtless and hurtful to the younger sibling they find annoying and do not understand.
I have always thought that Mary was the most suitable bride for Mr Collins and in this title she feels the same and does her best to bring this about, but is outsmarted by Charlotte Lucas as we all know. When staying with them on a visit it is clear that the marriage is not happy and Charlotte despises her husband. And here is where we get a new look at Mr Collins. He loves his wife but suffers knowing that she holds him in contempt. Under the bombastic and pompous exterior is a kindly man, not the quickest wit in the world, but appreciative of his home and his family. He and Mary spend a lot of time in the library together and slowly they form a bond. I found this aspect of the book really most interesting and was beautifully portrayed. Charlotte begins to notice this blossoming friendship and is rather put out, but it makes her look at herself and behave more kindly to her husband and the marriage improves.
Of course, Mary finds love in the end but it is not an easy route and, like Emma, she had to look at herself and change her thinking and admit that she too has to change her attitude.
This is a really good addition to the Austen+ canon and one of the better ones.
I cannot leave this post without mentioning Old Friends and New Fancies which was reprinted in 2007 but was written in 1913 and has been billed 'The First Jane Austen Sequel ever created'.
It is obviously written for sheer fun. I found it to be totally unpretentious, without any of the high flown pastiche that I have mentioned above. It is all a bit silly and yet, also, intriguing. All of Austen's characters lived at the same time, were involved in the navy, law and church and so it was likely that they would meet up with each other as they moved in the same circles.
Sybil G Brinton has worked on this premise and so we have Mr and Mrs Darcy with a new curate at the living at Pemberley. He is James Morland, brother of Catherine (now Mrs Tilney), who falls in love with Kitty Bennett. However, Kitty who is in many ways similar to her sister Lydia (now in the West Indies with Wickham), rejects him as she has fallen in love with William Price (brother of Fanny now married to Edmund, also friends of the Darcys). She has been encouraged to believe that he cares for her by Mrs George Knightly with whom Kitty has been staying (Emma still getting it wrong). BUT, William Price has fallen in love with Darcy's sister Georgiana who was engaged to her cousin Fitzwilliam until they agreed they would not suit. Fitzwilliam then bumps into Mary Crawford at Bath and promptly falls in love with her. Tom Bertram also has his eye on Georgiana but is rejected and eventually ends up with Isabella Thorpe, who was briefly engaged to James Morland (see above).
You can therefore see how totally daft it all is and yet it is written with a deft touch, there is something very innocent about it all and I am sure that any Janeite out there will thoroughly enjoy it. (Currently available for Kindle at a trifling 99p)
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