Product Description

"Those with a taste for the balance and humour of Austen will find a worthy companion volume."-Book News

The weddings are over.

The guests (including millions of readers and viewers) wish the two happy couples health and happiness. As the music swells and the credits roll, two things are certain: Jane and Bingley will want for nothing, while Elizabeth and Darcy are to be the happiest couple in the world!

The couples' personal stories of love, marriage, money, and children are woven together with the threads of social and political history of nineteenth century England. As changes in industry and agriculture affect the people of Pemberley and the neighboring countryside, the Darcys strive to be progressive and forward-looking while upholding beloved traditions.

Rebecca Ann Collins follows them in imagination, observing and chronicling their passage through the landscape of their surroundings, noting how they cope with change, triumph, and tragedy in their lives.

"A lovely complementary novel to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Austen would surely give her smile of approval."
-Beverly Wong, author of Pride & Prejudice Prudence

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #41569 in Books
• Published on: 2008-04-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9781402211539
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

About the Author
Rebecca Ann Collins is the pen name of a lady in Australia who loves Jane Austen's work so much that she has written a series of 10 sequels to Pride and Prejudice, following Austen's beloved characters, introducing new ones and bringing the characters into a new historical era. Thoroughly researched and beautifully written, this series has been extremely successful in Australia with over 80,000 books sold.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Excerpt from the Prologue to The Pemberley Chronicles

THE WEDDINGS ARE OVER. There are rose petals everywhere. Jane and Elizabeth Bennet have been married to Mr Bingley and Mr Darcy on a shining Autumn day, and everyone is smiling with the joy of sharing in their happiness.

"They looked more beautiful than princesses," said the little maids, Caroline and Emily Gardiner, who with Kitty Bennet and Georgiana Darcy had assisted the brides.

"Could anyone have looked happier than Lizzie?" asked her aunt. "Not unless you looked across at Jane, who seemed as if she was all lit up like a candle," said Colonel Fitzwilliam. Both bridegrooms looked extremely well. Mr Bingley was the favourite, of course, being universally charming. But even those who had reservations about Mr Darcy, thinking him proud and reserved when he first came to Netherfield, could not deny how well he looked: tall and very handsome, his countenance suffused with delight as he and Elizabeth stepped out into the sunlight.

Sir William Lucas said over and over that we were losing the brightest jewels in the county and Mr Darcy was a real dark horse, because no one had guessed he was in love with Lizzie, whereas everyone knew, he said, from the very first evening they met, that Mr Bingley had lost his heart to Jane. Sir William even claimed credit for the match, having been the first to call on Mr Bingley and invite him and his party to Meryton. He was boasting of his success to Mr and Mrs Gardiner, who knew a good deal more of these matters, being particular friends of both Mr Darcy and Elizabeth, but they just smiled and let him chatter on.

Later, on the way home they would comment that, had he known it was at the reception at Lucas Lodge that Mr Darcy had first noticed Lizzie's beauty and found himself wanting to know her better, Sir William might have become quite impossibly conceited about his role in their marriage, too.

Jane and Charles Bingley are gone to London, where Charles wants to show off his beautiful wife, while Lizzie and Darcy have left for Oxford en route to the estates on the borders of Cheshire and Wales that are part of Darcy's family inheritance. Mrs Gardiner, who helped Lizzie and Jane pack for their journeys, says Lizzie is longing to see Wales, never having visited the area before. They are all to meet in London some six weeks hence to dine with the Gardiners.

The servants gathered up the debris on the lawn, and the guests began to leave. Some of them seemed more reluctant to go than others. Mr Bennet looked as if he would like them to be gone, but Mrs Bennet would not stop talking, endlessly, to Mrs Long, Aunt Philips, Lady Lucas, and anyone else who would listen, detailing her joy at having her two most beautiful daughters so well married and settled. She was full of news too about Jane and Charles and their journey to London and bemoaned the fact that she knew so little of
Elizabeth and Darcy's plans, except the couple were to be at Pemberley for Christmas. She was still too much in awe of Mr Darcy to ask him outright.

As we were to learn later, while the Bingleys headed for London, Darcy hoped the time and the environment of the lovely border country would give Lizzie and himself a chance to be alone together as they never could, amidst the bustle of friends and families at Longbourn.

They broke journey and spent their first few days at a very pleasing hostelry outside the university town of Oxford. At Oxford, Darcy, a Cambridge man himself, took his wife to meet an old friend, a clergyman, who had spent some time at the Kympton living in Derbyshire prior to returning to continue his theological studies at Oxford. Dr Francis Grantley was two years Darcy's senior, learned and witty with it, not at all sombre and pompous as some clergymen one could name! "Poor Charlotte," Elizabeth sighed for her friend as she recalled with a shudder the silliness of Mr Collins. Dr Grantley was quite another matter, said Elizabeth in her letter to Mrs Gardiner, written before the couple left Oxford:

I am sure, my dear Aunt, that you would like him very much indeed. He is Mr Darcy's dearest friend and they have known one another for many years, since Dr Grantley was assistant to the curate at Kympton, the picturesque little parish we visited in Derbyshire last Summer. We spent all day with him, visiting some of the wonderful libraries and College Chapels, including his own college, St John's, which has a renowned Chapel choir and delightful gardens. Mr Darcy has invited Dr Grantley to return to the living at Kympton, which is now vacant, during his sabbatical and I for one would welcome it; we could do with another gentleman of education and taste at Pemberley!

Elizabeth was interrupted at this point by her husband, who came in to dress for dinner, having given instructions for their journey to Bristol on the following day. In a touching gesture, he had brought her a rose, picked fresh from the garden, taking her by surprise, as he would do often in the future. Recounting the incident to her aunt, Elizabeth confessed she was more pleasured by these unexpected and spontaneous expressions of affection, than by the ritualised courtliness affected by many men in smart society.

She let him read her letter while she completed her preparations. It was the first time she had let anyone other than Jane see any of her letters, and she was conscious of what it signified between them. That he was pleased with what he read, she knew from his smile as he handed it back to her and the warmth with which he embraced her before they left the room to go to dinner. There would be an openness between them that would enhance the intimacy of their marriage, and she was excited by its rich promise for their future together.

Later that night, Elizabeth rose quietly from bed as her husband slept, and finished her letter to Mrs Gardiner:

You will be happy to learn, dear Aunt, that my dear husband approves of my excellent judgement-not only with regard to my appreciation of Dr Grantley but more especially in my love and esteem for himself-as expressed earlier in my letter; both feelings, he assures me, are returned in full measure. I need not say again how very happy we are, but I almost fear that were I not to say it, you may not know how completely certain I am of the correctness of my decision to marry Mr Darcy. I know my dear father had his doubts, but you, I am sure, did not share them. Indeed, in your letter to me after Lydia's dreadful faux pas, relating the part Mr Darcy played in resolving the problems caused by Wickham and Lydia's stupidity, you were most generous in your praise of him, and had I not already realised that I loved him, I would certainly have been persuaded to look again at this paragon! I am so glad, however that I needed no such persuasion; having come to understand how deeply I cared for him, it was good to have your confirmation of his virtues. Since then, every occasion that we have been together, whether alone or in company, has only served to confirm my good opinion of him. Dear Aunt, he is a most generous and honourable gentleman and as I have discovered since our marriage, a truly loving husband.

Thank you again, my dearest Aunt and Uncle, for your part in bringing us together; for persuading me to visit Pemberley on that beautiful morning. We have spoken often of those Summer days in Derbyshire, and Mr Darcy agrees with me they will forever be part of our most precious memories. He sends you his love and best regards.

Customer Reviews

Overall very good but sometimes TMI
TMI = too much information? This is several hundred pages encompassing the first 25 years of marriage of Darcy and Elizabeth. It keeps in the style of Jane Austen and the familiar characters are all as you would expect. Overall I would recommend it for any Austen fan.
What bothered me was the great import and detail given to the political and economic situation of Regency England. Yes, these were important factors in a rich landowner's life, but Jane Austen herself chose to ignore the world events of her time: i.e. Napoleonic wars! The author researched very well I'm sure but I found it all quite boring. I cared more about the characters and their lives than I did the political upheavals of their time.
Just when I thought it was all too perfect a terrible tragedy occurs, making the story realistic and believable. Overall a good read.

There are better reads out there
While the historical detail is excellent in this book, as a sequel to Pride and Prejudice, is a disappointment. There are sequels out there that are much more enjoyable reads.

Part of the trouble with this book is that it gets extremely repetitive, repeating phrases and themes so often that it gets a bit boring when you factor in the slow pacing of the plot.

Wish had more love & less preaching of socio-econmoic struggles of the day!
I was elated upon receipt of this book to feel it's heft. A few hundred pages of post Pride and Prejudice, what could be better?! Unfortunately by page 12, I caught myself rolling my eyes at the unbelievable situation that Lady Catherine would entertain Caroline Bingley et al at Rosings for Easter, as Bingley's money derived from trade, albeit a generation or two back. And whyever would the illustrious Lady Catherine be pushing an alliance with Colonel Fitzwilliam's elder brother and Caroline Bingley? Anyway, I persevered on as the writing style was decent and I do love Lizzy and Darcy. I found this book delves much into the economic and social struggles of the time and although it was very informative, was extremely tedious. This Darcy leans toward some Reformist views and the Colonel becomes extremely impassioned with the Movement as well. I also found it hard to believe that the Colonel would eventually marry the daughter of Lizzy's cousin, Uncle Gardner's daughter (daughter of a tradesman turned landowner.) With all the research that went into this book regarding class struggles and economic changes, I was surprised that the author didnot get a map... it is a bit disconcerting to read it is but a daytrip to London from Derbyshire. Still the strongest points, and most enjoyable to read, are when the author contrives tragedies and other life altering events. I wish this book shared more passion --and less preaching about the ills and inequalities of the day. All in all, I felt it was a "good" book. Maybe not one that I will re-read right away, but for the most part, harmless. And the book cover is very nice. I did order Pemberley Women at the same time, so now I'm off in hopes it fares better. Not bad for the $10+ price, but (More) Letters from Pemberley might be a better choice.