Customer Reviews: Read 11 more reviews...
 Fun, but August 6, 2008
This is the first book in the series that I've read. The conceit is that it follows on where "Pride and Prejudice" left off. It was amusing, but I felt that it totally lacked the biting satire that was Austen's forte, which turns it into just a romance novel with lit refs. In addition, the author needs a copy editor; she uses tons of run-on sentences, i.e., commas where semicolons should be.
 The Second Mrs. Darcy: A Novel August 5, 2008
I have never read any novels that attempt to duplicate the style of Jane Austen, and I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I thoroughly enjoyed it and have just recently ordered several more books by this author. Just enough tie ins to the original "Pride and Prejudice" to evoke a sense of the familiar. Great read!
Deceptive title, but good read July 17, 2008
I really enjoyed reading this story about another Darcy family member that has been previously unknown. I also enjoyed how the connection was brought to Netherfield and other parts of Hertfordshire. I found myself cheering on the cause of Octavia Darcy, and feeling downcast when it looked as if her future was quite bleak. I only wish there would have been a bit more written about Octavia and Lord Rutherford, such as a bit more detail about their relationship. I highly recommend this book to Austen fans, as it can make you feel, just like Miss Austen does for her readers.
Great story! May 27, 2008
I was at first disappointed in this book to see that our beloved characters from 'Pride & Prejudice' were not part of the story. However, as I continued to read I was extremely pleased at the new story line and the new characters. I felt like it took too long to implement Lord Rutherford into the book, nearly 1/2 the book later.
Octavia Darcy was the wife of Fitzwilliam Darcy's long lost cousin. After his dicease, Octavia remained in India until called home to see about an inheritance from a never before known relative, leaving her very wealthy. Her 1/2 sisters and brother cannot stand her and never could.
Octavia is in the same mold as Elizabeth Bennet/Darcy, where personalities are concerned. She is witty, brave, and opposed to stuffy, think too highly of themselves, snobs.
She draws attention to herself when she takes charge of a library rescue operation that is in flames. by Lord Rutherford. It does not go well, but they are destined to meet time and time again, until finally they end up at the same place for an extened period of time.
There are new characters, fairly well untroduced with stories of their own. You will learn to like these people, and want to know more of them.
A cousin of Mrs. Darcy's late husband comes along and tries to claim her inheritance by fraud, but Lord Rutherford comes to the rescue.
This was a wonderful story! Clean! Well written. And I highly recommend it.
 Although predictable, still a pleasant escape November 12, 2007
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
I have read all four of Elizabeth Aston's novels, starting with Mr. Darcy's Daughters. I have enjoyed them all very much. She basically uses the same formula for all of these books. The heroine is above-average but not outstanding in beauty. She may or may not be wealthy, but she is almost always outspoken to the point that others in late Regency London think her to have "too much of an opinion on matters for her own good". She lives by a strong code of moral conduct, although she is not judgmental of others, and is rather open-minded for the period. She has sisters or other relatives that make life less than pleasant for her. These relatives are predictable, and rude, and selfish. She is not desperate for a husband, but not adverse to the idea in general. She strives to be independent, and, in short, is appealing to 21st century women. It's how we would like to think we would have been if we had lived in the 1830's in London. The hero is also very similar throughout the books. He is handsome, rich, independent, and has had some sort of hardship in his past. He has very good moral character in general, although may have had a mistress or two along the way. He doesn't think much of the heroine when he first meets her, as she is so different from typical young ladies of the time. However, he comes to appreciate the strength of character the heroine shows when she is unfairly accused or accosted by some rogue (often Caroline Bingley's dastardly son). And they live happily ever after.
So why do I like these so much if they are all rather the same? The answer is that the formula, with Mrs. Aston's pleasant writing style, works very well. I like the characters and I want to find out what happens to them. I like how the author often includes details of dress, fabrics, furniture, houses, landscapes, etc. Not to the point of distraction, but enough to make it very enjoyable to read. She sprinkles in some interesting characters, and brings them back in several of the novels. With the exception of minor appearances by the ever mean-spirited Caroline Bingley and the buffoon clergyman Mr. Collins, Mrs. Aston does not attempt to use Jane Austen's characters in her novels, but rather created her own set of characters. The effect is fresh, and fun. This is a great kind of escape novel, when you would like something to ease your mind, and take you away to a romantic setting. There is nothing disturbing or vile in them at all, something you could feel comfortable giving to your 80 year old grandmother to read. Try them out, starting with Mr. Darcy's Daughter, the first in the series. If you are an Austen fan, you will probably like these.
|
