Mr & Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy by Sharon Lathan

A couple of years ago I became obsessed with Austen fan fiction, a brief intense period in which I immersed myself in everything Austen (I recall at the same time Masterpiece Classic was releasing new series versions of a few Austen classics), though eventually I think I burnt myself out and I haven't really focused on it much since...though I do have a nice collection of Austen titles and fan fiction. I think the genre has become saturated and quality has suffered. Seriously, I will never be caught reading Pride & Prejudice and Zombies and I am so glad my favourite actor Natalie Portman decided not to take the lead role).  Recently though another series caught my attention in blog posts (mainly because of the book covers), which is Sharon Lathan's Darcy Saga.

I hold the Pamela Aidan Fitzwilliam Darcy - Gentleman series as the pinnacle of Austen fan fiction, which followed the same storyline as the original Pride & Prejudice, but from Darcy's point of view. I was expecting a lot from the Sharon Lathan series, my first foray in Austen fan fiction after a long drought) but after reading the first novel I admit I am bit gobsmacked. Usually I do some research on ratings and recommendations before I purchase books but I have to admit I didn't do so for this series and I wish I had. I'm not really sure how to proceed with reviewing the novel, in order to be fair and not give away any spoilers. For further reviews I suggest visiting LibraryThing. Here are a few observations that may be helpful in deciding whether you would want to read the series:

• The novels follow the Darcy's directly after their wedding.
• There is a lot of description about the Pemberley estate, manor and history of Darcy's family. 
• New characters are brought into the story.
• Mr. & Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy contains a lot of romantic language and scenes of intimacy. (I am not a overtly romantic person but I do think I have sensitivity and the quantity of these moments and the verbosity of the characters frankly made me uncomfortable, something that takes quite a lot to do!) 
• The peak of the story, all the action, comes in the last chapters of the book.
• The novel is romance not literature.
• Indirectly offers lessons in romance: when, where, why, and how often to say "I love you".
• The book covers are certainly pretty.

Well, I purchased the series all at once with a Christmas gift card, so they are there sitting on the shelf, so I suppose they will all get read one day (maybe). I think for me that's it for now with Austen fan fiction...but for those who can't get enough please look to the Pamela Aidan series and Syrie James' The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen.

My Rating: 2.5

ChaptersIndigo
Amazon

Related Posts:
Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Rigler
Mr. Darcy's Diary by Amanda Grange

Darcy's Story by Janet Aylmer

Sharon Lathan Giveaway at Hist-Fic Chick

Hist-Fic Chick is hosting an amazing giveaway for Sharon Lathan's three Jane Austen fan fiction novels: Mr. and Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy: Two Shall Become One, Loving Mr. Darcy: Journeys Beyond Pemberley and My Dearest Mr. Darcy: An Amazing Journey into Love Everlasting, which is being released by Sourcebooks this month.  Don't miss out on your chance to enter...the contest ends January 28th. Open to residents of U.S. and Canadian residents only.

Beauty by Robin McKinley

This much-loved retelling of the classic French tale Beauty and the Beast elicits the familiar magical charm, but is more believable and complex than the traditional story. In this version, Beauty is not as beautiful as her older sisters, who are both lovely and kind. Here, in fact, Beauty has no confidence in her appearance but takes pride in her own intelligence, her love of learning and books, and her talent in riding. She is the most competent of the three sisters, which proves essential when they are forced to retire to the country because of their father's financial ruin.

The plot follows that of the renowned legend: Beauty selflessly agrees to inhabit the Beast's castle to spare her father's life. Beauty's gradual acceptance of the Beast and the couple's deepening trust and affection are amplified in novel form. Robin McKinley's writing has the flavor of another century, and Beauty heightens the authenticity as a reliable and competent narrator.

I like that McKinley creates a realistic setting, although with magical elements, and real life problems for Beauty and her family to struggle through. The family has lived a charmed life until a string of bad luck reduces them to living on a very small farm, having to learn chores and to do for themselves. Beauty avoids the mirror and revels in being the tomboy she always has been at heart, thinking herself plain and mousy. She has courage to make a sacrifice for her family and in doing so discovers more about herself and what she desires out of life. She overcomes her timidity with the Beast and eventually realizes, like how she views herself, that one's heart and character on the inside is more important than what one looks like on the outside. There are many themes that young adults can relate to: courage, honor, working hard, sacrifice, true beauty, being humble and thankful, etc.

What I found odd about the Beauty storyline was that it was not linear. McKinley would reference present events and then skip back to past events to explain and expound and then skip back to the present events. Seemed hodge podge when past events could have been all explained in a prologue. That said ... McKinley created interesting characters each with their own quirks.

I guess I was expecting more content and fluidity to the writing and the numerous spelling mistakes were distracting. It was a bit difficult reading the first half of the book getting used to the abrupt sentence structure. Although if I think the writing style would suit pre-teen and teen readers well. Solidly young adult fiction although I would recommend anyone can read the story and enjoy it.

My Rating: 3.5 Chapters Amazon

Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Rigler

I don't think Miss Austen would have been impressed. Courtney Stone falls into the life of Jane Mansfield in the time of Jane Austen. Inhabiting Jane’s body Courtney experiences life in 1813 England and learns who she truly is and discovers her destiny. I thought the idea for the book was good but could have been executed better. I’m a fast reader and having paragraphs of 6 or 8 word sentences made the story seem choppy and incoherent. The story switched so often between thinking like Jane to thinking like Courtney that it had a whole disjointed feeling. On the other side the story was lively and rollicking, and it was interesting enough for me to read the whole thing, just would have liked more content. Doubtful if I will read the next in the series Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict. After nursing a broken engagement with Jane Austen novels and Absolut, Courtney Stone wakes up to find herself not in her Los Angeles bedroom or even in her own body, but inside the bedchamber of a woman in Regency England. Who but an Austen addict like herself could concoct such a fantasy? Not only is Courtney stuck inside another womanas life, she is forced to pretend she actually is that woman; and despite knowing nothing about her, she manages to fool even the most astute observer. For her borrowed body knows how to speak without slaying the Kingas English, dance without maiming her partner, and embroider as if possessed by actual domestic skill. But not even Courtneyas level of Austen mania has prepared her for the chamber pots and filthy coaching inns of nineteenth-century England, let alone the realities of being a single woman who must fend off suffocating chaperones, condom-less seducers, and marriages of convenience. Enter the enigmatic Mr. Edgeworth, a suitor who may turn out not to be a familiar species of philanderer after all.

My Rating: 2.0

Chapters Amazon

Related Posts:

Mr. Darcy's Diary Darcy's Story

How Do I Love Thee by Nancy Moser

My most recent read has been How Do I Love Thee by Nancy Moser from BethanyHouse Publishers.  To be released June 1, 2009 in Trade Paperback. I received an ARC copy from LibraryThing's EarlyReviewers program.

The year is 1845. Elizabeth Barrett is a published poet--and a virtual prisoner in her own home. Blind family loyalty ties her to a tyrannical father who forbids any of his children to marry. She has resigned herself to simply existing. That is, until the letter arrives... "I love your verses with all my heart," writes Robert Browning, an admiring fellow poet. And as friendly correspondence gives way to something more, Elizabeth discovers that Robert's love is not for her words alone. Could it be that God might grant her more than mere existence? And can she risk defying her father in pursuit of true happiness?

Nancy Moser has crafted a romantic, emotion-charged novel based on the true story of beloved poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning.

This is an inspirational historical fiction novel based on the life of the poetess Elizabeth Barrett Browning. There are elements of Christian faith within the story - being inspirational fiction - and being a not very religious person I did not find it overwhelming. Elizabeth and her Father pray together in one scene and I did have a twinge of uncomfortableness but otherwise I thought these elements enhanced the story because Moser uses faith as a tool for comparing different types of love. 

When we first meet Ba (as Elizabeth Barrett was called throughout her life by close friends and family) she is introspective, living through her writing, rigid and martyr-like, with aspects of her character forced upon her by a restricted existence but otherwise a tacit willfulness to be obedient. Her father has dictated no child of his shall marry and Ba never thinks of defying her father. Ba allows her life to wither away until the persistence of Robert Browning awakens her to the possibilities of happiness and love.  

The novel reveals Ba's complex emotional journey...in the beginning she is nervous, weakhearted, cowardly, unwilling to defy her father's iron hold over her and smothered by fear of the unknown. She wills herself, step by infinitesimal step, to change, take risks and step outside the cage she lives in, as for most of her life she confines herself to her room. We see her joy as she discovers a world of possibilities and overcomes all obstacles. Eventually she escapes to Italy with Robert, becomes a mother and lives a fulfilled life.

At the beginning of the book I did not like Ba at all. It is so hard to relate to someone who has no sense of independence and it is the strangest thing in the world for a father to deny his child love, marriage and for a child to be complacent and accept these dictates. How Do I Love Thee presents many lessons. We can be mired in despair and loneliness, yet the next day can be brighter if we embrace change. At its essence this novel is about a woman's struggle to be more courageous, break free of self-imposed bonds, fulfill her destiny and experience life and love. 

The book contains excerpts of the love letters between E.B.B. and R.B. and also stanzas of their poetry throughout, with Moser helping to reveal  the meanings behind their discourse and literature by expressing their thoughts and feelings. Additional content includes a Dear Reader letter from Nancy Moser, Fact or Fiction chapter by chapter, Discussion Questions, and Sonnets from the Portuguese by Elizabeth Barrett Browning.  Here is a great quote from the book:

I shook my head, needing to continue. "You own a past full of love and happiness, Robert, but I...my past is a drop if ink in a pool of clear water. It radiates outwards, seeping into every droplet, coloring the clearness with dark. The stain cannot be removed."

"But surely if more clear water is added, the darkness can be diluted."

I smiled and cupped his face with a hand. "You are my clear water, Robert. Refreshing and brilliant."

My Rating: 3.5

Chapters

Amazon

Mr. Darcy's Diary by Amanda Grange

Now having read Pamela Aiden's series and a range of other Jane Austen fan fiction novels, I would compare Amanda Grange's Mr. Darcy's Diary as better than other fan fiction but not on par with the Pamela Aiden novels. The last one-fifth of the book was the most interesting to me, as it provided a "what could have happened" glimpse into the lives of Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam and their acquaintances after their marriage. I think Amanda Grange had the best of intentions and made a solid effort at summarizing Pride & Prejudice from Darcy's perspective, unlike other the other Jane Austen fan fiction authors who almost make a mockery of one of the world's greatest works of fiction.

My Rating: 3.5

Chapters

Darcy's Story by Janet Aylmer

I am having a mostly enjoyable time reading Jane Austen fan fiction (I decided to start a collection to accompany my complete works of Jane Austen) but having read Pamela Aiden's series of Pride & Prejudice from Darcy's perspective first, I can state positively that this version by Janet Aylmer is almost lifeless. The story is more explanatory and observational of his experiences than how Darcy may having been thinking and/or feeling emotionally at the time. It is a good attempt but sounds like an essay, so I would invest in the Aiden series first instead of spending your time and money on this version. Ok, so maybe I am being too harsh (feel free to debate with me!), as I was also harsh with Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict, but where at least CJAA was entertaining this effort did not seem inspired in any way. 

My Rating: 2.0

Chapters