Mr. Darcy's Diary

While revisiting the books in my home library, I came across this retelling of Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice written by Amanda Grange.

Written in attempted diary form, this book reads more like a novel while the story is told through the eyes of Austen’s most notable character, Fitzwilliam Darcy.

A sore point for some, is that Grange relies heavily on Austen’s work and this novel contains, at the very least, 90% of Austen’s material verbatim. Yet, Grange has peppered the pages with Darcy’s internal monologue that stays surprisingly true to the character and is quite an enjoyable read. Mr. Darcy in this book, while he is tormented internally by his affections for Elizabeth Bennet, does not betray his stature or position and act out of the ordinary. Instead, he writes of his inner torment in his diary and tries to hold his composure because of his status (and because of Elizabeth’s). With his entries, we see Mr. Darcy as a red-blooded man, someone who can love most passionately, and someone who can grieve over his mistakes.

There are a few additions to the book such as private conversations between Darcy and Charles Bingley. Also, Caroline Bingley is given more spotlight and she is as catty as ever. Georgiana Darcy is more center stage as well, and we learn a few things about her and Bingley’s friendship before Pride & Prejudice was written. We are also given a behind the scenes look at several situations, such as Darcy’s separating Bingley and Jane Bennet.

But, perhaps the most enjoyable is the author’s additions of Darcy and Elizabeth’s life after they are wed. We are given several entries from Darcy as a married man and given a glimpse of what the character’s married life might have been like.

It was a refreshing read, in that many secondary characters are given more dialogue, and Darcy has been given more depth as a character while not straying too far from Austen’s portrayal of him.

3 & 1/2 Stars

This book is an entry in the Jane Austen is My Homegirl Challenge