Goodreads | An Assembly Such as This: A Novel of Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman

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Katharhino rated it:

09/30/08

bookshelves: austen, regency, romance

Read in September, 2008

After all I'd heard about this series, and the many recommendations I'd seen, I was kind of shocked to find how badly this was written.

This is supposed to be the best insight into the character of Darcy and instead we get inconsistency and pointless detail. In general, I disagree with the interpretation that has Darcy madly in love with Elizabeth about .3 seconds after insulting her at the Netherfield Assembly. But I could put up with that if it were done well. This Darcy swings confusingly...more After all I'd heard about this series, and the many recommendations I'd seen, I was kind of shocked to find how badly this was written.

This is supposed to be the best insight into the character of Darcy and instead we get inconsistency and pointless detail. In general, I disagree with the interpretation that has Darcy madly in love with Elizabeth about .3 seconds after insulting her at the Netherfield Assembly. But I could put up with that if it were done well. This Darcy swings confusingly from obsession with Elizabeth's every move, to childish irritation whenever she zings him. He's nothing even close to a realistic man, but rather a mish-mash of heroic clichés (he is the only person who can handle his high-spirited black stallion! Hee!) that reminds me of the imaginary games I used to play when I was twelve. Add in a few allusions to Darcy as played by Colin Firth in the '95 adaptation (twirl that pinky ring, Colin Darcy!) and you've got this reader, at least, snickering rather than swooning.

Elizabeth as seen through this Darcy's eyes is similarly a blend of irritating feminine tropes who would probably seem a lot more sympathetic if you turned her into a drinking game (sip every time the author describes her as "delicate"). It's as if the author had never actually observed a real person and how emotion would make that person act, but instead uses whatever literary or movie stereotype seems most appropriate. (People do not "quirk" their eyebrows nearly as often as she thinks they do, nor are snorts usually "delicate." *slurp*)

The book improves just a bit after Darcy gets to London and the author leaves Austen's narrative (and Darcy's obsession with Elizabeth) mostly behind. The Darcy-Bingley interactions are some of the better-written passages. However, the ton society bits seem out of place at best and farfetched at worst. It's a little difficult to buy Darcy as a rival to Brummel, even reluctantly, or hobnobbing with the scandalous Caroline Lamb. It's so much the antithesis to everything Austen wrote about. These scenes are a little more interesting than the rest of the book, but if the author wanted to write a high society regency, maybe she should have done that as an original novel instead of trying to shoehorn it into an Austen fic. I don't feel as though the London episodes do a whole lot to enlighten us on Darcy's character. They feel as though they were added because the author COULD, rather than with a purpose that fits into the narrative as a whole.

Plus, I would like to assume that Aidan did her research on the regency period, but I suspect it did not extend to much more than lots of Heyer – I caught some errors myself, and I'm no expert. (Come on, Darcy would have known what a waltz was, musically at least. They had 3/4 time long before they did the face-to-face ballroom dancing. There's even a waltz mentioned in Emma although it's clearly meant only musically, not as in dancing style.) Heyer-ish slang also seems out of place in Austen. (Darcy is constantly calling Bingley a "gudgeon" which seems really odd for Darcy.)

Which brings me to language and style. The book reads as if the author had used a thesaurus for every fifth word, but only correctly about half the time. ("Unwittingly" does not mean what she thinks it means.) And yeah, Shakespeare had a great vocabulary too, but Ms. Aidan is missing the point that it's not really about how many different words you can use, but how WELL you use them. She certainly doesn't understand how to describe evocatively or effectively. I assume in some attempt to mimic the complexity of early 19th century writing, her style is a grammatic disaster, full of unnecessary passive voice, vague or missing antecedents, and pointless clauses wherever she can work in a few more adverbs. The problem is that Jane Austen's prose, while probably a little more complex than we're used to, is always clear and incisive and you usually don't have to read her sentences three times just to understand what she's getting at.

Let's look at a brief snippet to show what I mean about language and style.

"...The last to accept his cup, Bingley paused at Darcy's side and motioned with a quirk of his chin to the vacant seats next to Elizabeth and her sister. [No! Chins do not "quirk" and pointing with your chin is rude and obvious.:] Even as he silently declined the invitation, [how did he do that? shake his head? "quirk" his eyebrow?:] Darcy could not prevent or deny the bittersweet pull on his senses the opportunity presented. [See, getting trapped by a needlessly complex sentence structure -- "pulls" do not "present". They pull. This would be better: "Darcy could not deny a bittersweet pull on his senses." Much clearer AND more effective, although a bit cliched.] Determinedly, he took up a position somewhat apart from the others, from which he could safely bide his time. ["Determinedly" is like the most awkward adverb ever AND should be unnecessary -- SHOW NOT TELL.:]

As it was, the conversation was consumed with the ball that Bingley had promised. [I don't like "consumed" here... it feels like the wrong word, too violent for the context. Perhaps "occupied" or "engaged".:] Since the others were well aware of his aversion to the scheme, Darcy's opinions were not solicited, even by Miss Bingley, and he was left to his silent contemplation. [Unnecessary use of passive voice -- sentence would be stronger if it read "..., even Miss Bingley refrained from soliciting his opinion." Full stop. Last phrase is repetitive.:] Relieved that he would not have to take part in a conversation fraught with traps that would militate against his plan, [Mixed metaphor! Traps do not "militate"!:] Darcy breathed in the tangy scents of earth and vegetation. [Eh, in my opinion earth does not smell "tangy", which implies sour or citrusy. Pick fitting words! Don't just use the first one that comes to mind!:] Suddenly there swept over him an acute longing. Pemberley! [Now, that's just cheesy. But whatever.:]..."

If edited properly, these books could be one volume instead of three. ...less

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Ana T. rated it:

07/26/08

bookshelves: borrowed, read-in-2008, trad-regency

Read in July, 2008

"Ten thousand a year and a large estate in Derbyshire!" That was all Mrs. Bennet desired to know of Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy before she began to entertain hopes that one of her daughters would attract his attention. In Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen reveals little of her creation's past or present before banishing him for quite two thirds of her book. But, who is Fitzwilliam Darcy?

An Assembly Such as This, the first book of the Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman trilogy, answers that int...more "Ten thousand a year and a large estate in Derbyshire!" That was all Mrs. Bennet desired to know of Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy before she began to entertain hopes that one of her daughters would attract his attention. In Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen reveals little of her creation's past or present before banishing him for quite two thirds of her book. But, who is Fitzwilliam Darcy?

An Assembly Such as This, the first book of the Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman trilogy, answers that intriguing question by taking the reader into Darcy's world, a world very different from Elizabeth Bennet's. Chronicling Darcy's supervision of his naive friend Charles Bingley and his growing fascination with Elizabeth Bennet, it culminates with the disastrous ball at Netherfield and Darcy's return to London with the express intention of forgetting Elizabeth amidst the dizzying and dangerous whirl of Regency society."

Continuining with my interest in Jane Austen related reads I recently loaned this book from A.. It's P&P told from Mr Darcy's point of view and I was highly curious about it. I must say though that I found this Mr Darcy a bit boring, not as much introspection regarding feelings as I would like and he wasn't as focused on Lizzy as I would like. Or maybe he was too focused as one thing I found a little odd was how he interpreted her reactions to him, too emotional I thought for such a reserved man. I'm afraid I measure every book with a male hero against Gaskell's Mr Thornton and I have yet to find such beautiful and intense feelings as she gave him in other men.

I must say that my favourite part was after Darcy and Lizzy started sparring verbally and she clearly was the best in their witty dialogues. Aidan does create some new scenes and characters. I particularly enjoyed Darcy's relationship with his valet Fletcher. It provided some humourous situations and Darcy seemed a bit unsure on how to deal with Fletcher occasionally.

The book only covers a third of P&P and I'm hoping the next ones will be better as Darcy and Lizzy interact more.

Grade: B-...less

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Susan rated it:

02/25/08

bookshelves: guiltypleasures

Read in February, 2008

How ungrateful I must seem! This book was a Valentine's Day gift from my husband, intended to delight a complete Austenophile like me. And I was indeed enchanted with the first few chapters, for they tell the story of Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy from the gentleman's point of view. Part of the great charm of Pride & Prejudice lies in the mystery surrounding Mr. Darcy. What are we to think of this quintessentially stiff-upper-lipped toff when he inexplicably snubs the sparkling Miss Ben...more

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Holly rated it:

02/28/08

Read in February, 2008

I have yet to find an attempted Pride and Prejudice sequel to be worth my time. This novel is the first that really does the story justice. While this book isn't a sequel, it's a wannabe adaptation: the first of three novels which basically retell the story of Pride and Prejudice from the viewpoint of Mr. Darcy. A viewpoint that Austen readers have wondered about since the novel was published. This one ends after the ball at Netherfield, with Darcy and Miss Bingley conspiring to remove Char...more

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