Darcy & Elizabeth

March 27, 2006
Berdoll's second lighthearted romp through Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice
set (following Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife
) turns nasty. Things start off sweetly as the terminally dignified Darcy returns from the continent to greet wife Elizabeth and the twins she has borne in his absence. Despite initial annoyance engendered by Elizabeth's recuperation, during which sex is rather out of the question, hearth and home soon return to normal. However, dealing with Darcy's conniving aunt, Lady De Bourgh, as well as the machinations of his troublesome sister-in-law, Lydia, and his arch-rival and nemesis Wickham (here truly evil), threaten their domestic happiness. Elizabeth takes all this circumspectly but with keen concern; between bouts of marital jollity, she provides Darcy with wise and commendable counsel. The story is thick in period trappings and language; the secondary characters and tangential story lines are Dickensian to a fault and the ending is very deus ex machina. But Berdoll's take on Darcy & Co. contains enough pleasures to overcome overwriting and underplotting.

April 1, 2006
Berdoll's sequel to Jane Austen's seminal "Pride and Prejudice", "Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife", took up where Austen's book left off, addressing world events -e.g., Waterloo, political unrest, the Corn Laws -and the physical passion and daily intimacies between husband and wife. "Darcy and Elizabeth" continues the saga, following the Bennet sisters through the trials and tribulations of parenthood and the deaths of certain family members. Purists will take exception to Berdoll's language, which, while it captures Austen's ironic flavor, is sprinkled with anachronisms; her characters, however, are dead on. Austen fans will delight in learning more about Darcy and Elizabeth's relationship and will find themselves intrigued by all of Austen's original characters and enchanted by the new ones. [For those who can't get enough Jane Austen knockoffs, see also Elizabeth Aston's "The True Darcy Spirit", Paula Marantz Cohen's "Jane Austen in Scarsdale", and Laura Horowitz's "The Family Fortune". -Ed.]" -Cynthia Johnson, Cary Memorial Lib., Lexington, MA"

Copyright 2006 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2006
Readers and writers can't let go of literary maven Jane Austen. In this latest addition to the canon of continuations featuring reticent yet passionate Mr. Darcy and his wife, the spirited Elizabeth, the happy couple is enjoying their new twin infants, their abundant estates, and their lust for each other. In the first chapter alone, the author goes to great lengths, using the most civilized language, to describe Darcy's, well, " length " and his pent-up desire for his buxom spouse" . " Therein lies the plot, thin but entertaining, yet written with such mirth that readers won't care. Enticing backstories have been crafted for characters old and new. Shrewd villainess Lady de Bourgh and degenerate dilettante Wickham reappear to meddle in the lives of the happy couple. Although the florid prose is packed with the historical details, descriptions, and familiar characters fans appreciate, the plot trots along at a good pace. A frothy historical dessert following a meaty entree of a classic, suitable for fans of Regency romance who don't mind a little spice. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)