Product Description

Joan Aiken, one of Jane Austen's most sparkling successors, takes up Austen's pen yet again, this time continuing where Pride and Prejudice left off.

In Austen's classic novel, the arrogant Lady Catherine de Bourgh tried vehemently to prevent the betrothal of her nephew Mr. Darcy, whom she had intended for her daughter Anne, to the less socially connected Elizabeth Bennet. Defeated, she retreats to her grand estate-- Rosings Park. This enchanting sequel tells the story of what happens one balmy April day when a sudden blizzard disrupts the weather, causes a carriage accident, and affects the lives of all those involved in a most amazing way.

From out of the blizzard emerge the Delaval siblings. Miss Delaval, having twisted her ankle in the carriage accident, accepts Lady Catherine's gracious hospitality while she recovers. But the Delavals' presence proves disturbing to the entire household-- first causing the removal of two artists from their cottage home on the de Bourgh property, then meddling in Miss Anne's marriage plans. Suddenly, Lady Catherine is kidnapped, revealing some members of the household to be not at all what they seemed.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1298409 in Books
• Published on: 2000-04-11
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 176 pages

From Booklist
Aiken's latest sequel to Jane Austen's work centers on Pride and Prejudice's Lady Catherine de Bourgh and the inhabitants of Rosings Park. During an unusual April snowstorm, Ralph Delaval and his sister Priscilla have a carriage accident and arrive at Rosings seeking aid. Elegant and polite, they are allowed to stay, but most of the household is suspicious of their motives. Lady Catherine's daughter Anne does not trust Mr. Delaval, and when he suggests the demolition of a cottage that is inhabited by friends of Anne's late father, she becomes distraught because the two painters and a young gardener are her only friends. Lady Catherine then embarks on a journey; a diamond necklace of hers is declared fake, and a letter arrives informing the family that Lady Catherine has been kidnapped. Everyone is thrown into an uproar, except Anne, who relishes her unexpected freedom. Aiken has fashioned a charming variation on Austen's work that will give Austen fans a chance to revisit some old friends. Patty Engelmann

Review
"Joan Aiken writes with the genius of a born storyteller, with mother wit expanded and embellished by civilized learning, and with the brilliance of an avenging angel."--The New Yorker

"Others may try, but nobody comes close to Aiken in writing sequels to Jane Austen."--Publishers Weekly

"Aiken captures the language, customs, and style of an era when young women's lives were at the mercy of their parents, older siblings, and highly connected relatives."--Publishers Weekly on The Youngest Miss Ward
-- Review

Review

Customer Reviews

Ludricrous and unsatisfactory
This novel was a big disappointment to me. It began with great promise but then fell apart at its midpoint. I can only conclude that Ms. Aikens was writing under a deadline because the resolution of the various plot lines in the novel's concluding scene is ludicrous and unsatisfactory. So save your money for another book.

Disappointing
I had rather high hopes for this books but it turned out to be a huge disappointment. It had a lot of promise-- starting with a love affair between Maria Lucas and Colonel Fitzwilliam and the secret past of Lady Catherine's late husband, Sir Lewis. These plots just fizzled and turned out to be annoying. I also thought that since Lady Catherine and Mr. Collins were in the book it would have been entertaining, but I was wrong. Aiken didn't know how to play characters like that. Mr. Collins had a brief cameo and Lady Catherine wasn't nearly wonderfully awful as Austen would her out to be. I don't suggest this book. Not at all. If you have a compulsion to read it,get it from the library and save your money.

I love Jane Austen!
Joan Aiken is NO Jane Austen! The title is unconsequential to the plot, there are aspects of life (i.e. homosexuality) which Miss Austen would never have included in a novel, and the ending feels as though she had met her maximum page numbers and was simply trying to quickly close things out. I've read "Jane Fairfax" and thought this would be as well done; more's the pity for me to have wasted my time here.