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Death Comes to Pemberley

3.11 of 5 stars 3.11 · rating details · 33,029 ratings · 4,944 reviews

A rare meeting of literary genius: P. D. James, long among the most admired mystery writers of our time, draws the characters of Jane Austen's beloved novel "Pride and Prejudice" into a tale of murder and emotional mayhem.
It is 1803, six years since Elizabeth and Darcy embarked on their life together at Pemberley, Darcy's magnificent estate. Their peaceful, orderly world...more

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Dec 16, 2011 Damon Suede rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A hideous, plodding, ungraceful piece of mawkish fanfiction that succeeds neither as a mystery or as a pastiche of Austen's most beloved novel. Oy.

Almost from page one, there are embarassing lapses of craft and tone. None of the economy or vibrance of Austen appears in these pages and the so-called plot is built around a "mystery" that was so hamhanded that I'd sussed the perpetrator within the first 50 pages. But that's not the worst of it. Some of the greatest characters in world literature re...more

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Dec 22, 2011 Kim rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: buddy-reads-with-jemidar, one-star-reads, kindle

Oh dear. What were PD James, her agent and her publisher thinking? And more to the point, what was I thinking, deciding to actually spend money on this book?

All I can say is that it seemed like a good idea at the time. I am in what I presume to be the target demographic for this novel: female, passionate about Jane Austen's novels, a long-time reader of crime fiction and a fan of PD James to boot. Indeed, if James' name had not been on the cover, this is a book I would not have contemplated rea...more

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Jul 06, 2012 Jodie Anderson rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: to-buy-wish-list

Authors note:

I owe an apology to the shade of Jane Austen for involving her
beloved Elizabeth in the trauma of a murder investigation,
especially as in the final chapter of Mansfield Park Miss Austen made
her views quite plain; 'Let other pens dwell on the guilt and misery.
I quit such odious subjects as soon as i can, impatient to restore
everybody not greatly in fault themselves to tolerable comfort,
and to have done with all the rest.' No doubt she would have replied
to my apology by saying, had...more

18 likes · like · see review

Mar 25, 2012 Richard rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery-thriller, british-literature, reviewed, by-women, 2012

There were good and bad things about this book. It gave more nuanced portraits of some of the characters, notably Darcy but also some minor characters. It invites the reader to think a little differently about Jane Austen's classic novel.

However, the use of Austen's source material, though meant as an affectionate tribute, is wooden, often heavy-handed and often overdone. Some characters are dealt with unsatisfactorily. Mary ends up in a situation which for her is suitable (in fact I had though...more

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Jan 05, 2012 Alun Williams rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I expect I am not alone in having bought this book because I was attracted by the idea of a murder mystery set in Pemberley. I'd fondly imagined that Elizabeth Darcy (née Bennett) would be a witty and perceptive detective, and that P. D. James would successfully channel Jane Austen's muse. I was to be disappointed on both counts. The plot is dull but complex, the writing is mostly dull (and no more than occasionally a pale shadow of Jane Austen's) , worst of all, Elizabeth herself is dull and pa...more

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Dec 31, 2012 Laurel rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery, regency-era-fiction, jane-austen-sequels

I consider it more than a bit perplexing when an author begins their book with an apology. In this case, it is to author Jane Austen for using her characters. Since Death Comes to Pemberley is a sequel to Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, it is like apologizing for snow being cold. If you are going to write a sequel to a classic of world literature, it is, what it is. Don’t apologize for it. It really puts me off my reading game from the get go.

Okay, I got that off my chest, so now on to more pleasa...more I consider it more than a bit perplexing when an author begins their book with an apology. In this case, it is to author Jane Austen for using her characters. Since Death Comes to Pemberley is a sequel to Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, it is like apologizing for snow being cold. If you are going to write a sequel to a classic of world literature, it is, what it is. Don’t apologize for it. It really puts me off my reading game from the get go.

Okay, I got that off my chest, so now on to more pleasant topics – the fact that the venerable mystery writer P. D. James has taken up her pen inspired by my, and her, favorite author and whipped up a murder mystery for me do devour is delightful. What Janeite in their right mind is not salivating at the thought of an Austen sequel written by such an acclaimed and exalted author? Just the thought of Austen and mystery in one sentence pushes me into the giddy zone. To say that my “wishes and hopes might be fixed” in anticipation is an understatement.

It is six years since the happy day on which Mrs. Bennet got rid of her two most deserving daughters in marriage: Jane to Charles Bingley and Elizabeth to Fitzwilliam Darcy. Both sisters and their husbands are at Pemberley, the palatial country estate of the Darcys in Derbyshire, whose grandeur is only equal to the ten thousand a year that it generates for its previously haughty master and decidedly opinionated mistress. Elizabeth has settled in as chatelaine to a large estate and mother to two young sons. Life is orderly and good at Pemberley, as long as one stays out of the haunted woodland.

Darcy’s younger, and still unmarried, sister Georgiana is also in residence being courted by two beaux: her cousin Colonel Fitzwilliam, and the young, ambitious, but dishy attorney, Henry Alveston. All have gathered for Lady Anne’s ball, an annual event in honor of Mr. Darcy’s deceased mother’s birthday. Many county families will be in attendance. On the eve of the grand event Mrs. Reynolds the housekeeper and the staff are busy preparing for the large formal gathering while the family dine and later meet in the music room. It is a windy, moonlit night, but Colonel Fitzwilliam takes his leave for his nightly exercise, a ride along the river. Later, many have said their goodnights and departed when Darcy is surprised by the sight of a carriage careening at full speed down the woodland road to Pemberley. The coach abruptly arrives depositing a frantic Lydia Wickham, Elizabeth’s unruly younger sister on the doorstep. She is hysterical, shrieking, “Wickham’s dead. Denny has shot him!”

The Wickhams had been traveling to Pemberley with friend Captain Denny by carriage. Even though Mr. Wickham would never be admitted to Pemberley because of his past indiscretion with Georgiana, Lydia, uninvited, had still planned to crash the party. Wickham and Denny had quarreled while traveling through the woodland, departed from the carriage, and gun shots heard soon after. Off into the haunted woods go the search party of Darcy, Alveston and Col. Fitzwilliam to discover a body in the woodland that Lydia is certain is her husband.

And now the glade was before them. Passing slowly, almost in awe, between two of the slender trunks, they stood as if physically rooted, speechless with horror. Before them, it stark colours a brutal contrast to the muted light, was a tableau of death. No one spoke. They moved slowly forward as one, all three holding their lanterns high; their strong beams, outshining the gentle radiance of the moon, intensified the bright red of the officer’s tunic and the ghastly blood-smeared face and mad glaring eyes turned toward them. p. 65

A murder in the haunted woodland. The investigation begins. The body is removed to Pemberley. Mr. Darcy notifies the local magistrate, Sir Selwyn Hardcastle, who arrives to conduct the inquiries. Darcy, Elizabeth, Jane and Bingley are all distraught by the shocking death. The staff is terrified that the curse of the Darcys continues in the haunted woodland. Lydia is hysterical. Lady Anne’s ball is canceled. The official inquest begins. Why did Colonel Fitzwilliam leave Pemberley to ride in terrible weather so late at night? What is the secret behind the Bidwell family who lives in the woodland cottage where Darcy’s great-grandfather committed suicide? Who, or what, is the shrouded figure who haunts the woodland? What is the motive for murder?

We are happily reunited with many of the characters from the beloved original novel and deposited at Pemberley, quite possibly the pinnacle of the Janeite world. Real comfort food for Austen fans. The first twenty page of the prologue recap the plot and details in Pride and Prejudice. Was this for the benefit of her mystery readers who have not read P&P? If so, the same effect could have been achieved by working it into the narrative in a more creative way. James continues building the mystery slowly by adding in elements of the haunted woodland, the curse, and the ghostly figures reminiscent of a Grimm’s fairytale. The plot ponders along with occasional bits of excitement from that evergreen drama queen, Lydia Wickham, nee Bennet, whose character she hits spot on. Another character who she develops interestingly is Colonel Fitzwilliam. He was the second son of an earl in Pride and Prejudice, and we all know that second sons must make their own way in the world. He chose the army. His life changes drastically, and his personality, when his brother dies and he becomes heir to a grand estate. He courts Georgiana, but don’t look for much romance in this novel. It is a mystery and her romantic triangle is second fiddle to the murder investigation. Darcy and Elizabeth are, well, an old married couple and not as interesting as the proud and prejudiced characters that Jane Austen presented. I missed their witty banter.

For Austen fans this will be an enjoyable, is somewhat ponderous, read if you overlook some of the annoying errors in continuity, and for mystery enthusiasts, James does spin a clever tale with a surprise ending that comes out of nowhere. Combined, the Austen and mystery elements do not play out to their potential. None-the-less, it is still an interesting read that has wrangled its way up the bestseller lists. That is an incredible achievement and great proof that the Austen brand continues to grow.

Laurel Ann, Austenprose(less)

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Mar 21, 2012 Kristen rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Heard about this book on NPR today. Sounds like a great read--Jane Austen and a murder mystery all wrapped up in one!

Ok, now it's several months later and I've had the opportunity to read the book. It was tolerable, I suppose, for a read at the beach. But I admit it failed to live up to the expectations of an Austen novel or a good murder mystery. As for striving to achieve the heights of Austen, I feel James spent too much time apologizing for the actions of the characters in P&P. I think w...more

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Apr 04, 2012 Julie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery-crime-thriller, british-isles-theme-setting, best-of-2012, read-2012

I considered mounting a passionate defense in favor of this lovingly-rendered tribute to Jane Austen, but then I decided I couldn't care less what the naysayers think. If you pick up this gentle whodunit expecting the sartorial sleuthing of Commander Adam Dalgliesh, you will be disappointed. If you read this looking for the ghost of Jane Austen, you will catch but a glimpse of her delicate frame. Although the point of fan-fiction escapes me entirely (I can't help but think of tribute bands; I ha...more

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Feb 15, 2012 Verena rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A murder mystery by P.D. James that takes place at Jane Austen’s Pemberley is a reading experience not to be missed if you are a fan of these authors. It is clear that James (who claims a lifelong passion for Austen) had great fun playing with the characters from Pride and Prejudice. She even refers to a few choice characters from Austen’s Persuasion in this novel that takes place six years after the marriage of Elizabeth and Darcy. Great literature this is not, and James’ imitation of Austen’s...more

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Dec 06, 2011 Kwoomac rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: all-about-darcy, brit-lit, mystery, reviewed

I'm not sure why P.D. James, a very talented writer of mysteries decided to take on Pride and Prejudice. I can understand (if not forgive) a lesser writer for trying to ride on Jane Austen's coat tails. Perhaps she was in a playful mood. Maybe she said, "Hey I'm 92, I can do whatever I want." Because of her expertise in writing intelligent mysteries, I definitely held her to a higher standard. I didn't think the whole thing worked. Sure, I was happy to be reunited with Elizabeth and Darcy 6 year...more

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Jan 01, 2012 Gary McTiernan rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sorry-i-started

This is perhaps the worst of all the Pride and Prejudice sequels and prequels. Over the years I've read some outlandish stuff-Elizabeth and Darcy enjoying a quickie in the morning room, an insane woman haunting Pemberley and making Darcy unfit for Miss Eliza-and other such rubbish. But nowhere else did they seem so dull and lifeless, so devoid of charm and spark. Be forewarned, the death referred to in the title is really that of Elizabeth Bennett which is simply unforgivable.

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Oct 09, 2012 Sherwood Smith added it · review of another edition

Shelves: disappointments

I hate to mark it 'read' as I did not finish it.

I found it painful to read--so many errors in period, errors in tone, errors in characterization, humorless and altogether so disappointing I wish I had not spent money on it.

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Feb 18, 2013 D.G. marked it as dnf

Shelves: snoozefest, reviewed

In this book, P.D. James didn't only borrow characters from Jane Austen but also to tried to write a mystery in her style. The big problem: notwithstanding Rosalyn Landor's excellent narration, the book is really BORING. I'll try to give it another chance in print where I can read faster because the audio almost put me to sleep.

ETA: After listening the advice of my most excellent friend Heather, I decided to let this one go and consign it to my DNF pile. Life is too short to waste in boring boo...more

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Dec 13, 2011 Deborah Hale rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

When I won an advance copy of this book on Goodreads I was thrilled. Perhaps I approached the story with expectations too high. I wanted so much to like it, but the more I read the more disappointed I became. The prose is very well-written and somewhat in the Austen manner, but without the subtle wit.

What I found tiresome was the story-telling. The first word of dialogue is not spoken for many, many pages and much of the dialogue is actually a series of lengthy monologues that sound more like n...more

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Sep 13, 2012 Elizabeth rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Austen haters

Shelves: reviewed, 2012, books-about-books, boston-janeites, in-by-of-england, mystery, jane-austen-made-me-do-it

Well, that was embarrassing...

now you all know that I read this terrible book. I've been disappointed in Austen-fanfic before. I've railed against the likes of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls for twisting the original characters beyond recognition but I also knew what I was getting into there. Just look at it.

But this is P.D. James. I've read and liked at least one other of her books. It's obvious from the author's note at the beginning that she has done more research than...more

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May 04, 2012 Stephanie rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

PD James is an excellent mystery writer, but I am skeptical about this one.

- - - -

So, I read it. Eh. I didn't expect it to be freaking fabulous, and I'm fully in support of Ms. James following her love of Jane Austen. But it was good from a "lover of J.A. books" only, not her best mystery. Recommended as a quick read for Austen buffs.

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Jan 03, 2012 Liz Nutting rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery-thriller, kindle

I'm really torn about this book. One of my favorite mystery writers meets one of my favorite stories; it's gotta be good, right? And it is good. But it's not great, and I was hoping for great.

I shy away from a lot of the Pride and Prejudice follow ons--fan fiction legitimized by a publisher, and sometimes not nearly as good as amateur fan fiction. But this I was eager to read. And I will say, it held my interest. James does a good job of capturing the spirit and even language of Austen, not per...more I'm really torn about this book. One of my favorite mystery writers meets one of my favorite stories; it's gotta be good, right? And it is good. But it's not great, and I was hoping for great.

I shy away from a lot of the Pride and Prejudice follow ons--fan fiction legitimized by a publisher, and sometimes not nearly as good as amateur fan fiction. But this I was eager to read. And I will say, it held my interest. James does a good job of capturing the spirit and even language of Austen, not perfectly, but definitely nothing to cringe at.

But there were missteps, in my opinion. First, too much time and ink was spent essentially retelling the story of Pride and Prejudice and not enough time building on it. There were long passages throughout the book that just recapped the original story. Granted, not every one of James' readers will have read P&P, but I'd venture most of us will have. That's why we picked this up to begin with. Trust your readers a bit. And if they haven't read it, give them an excuse to, instead of just giving them a recap so they don't have to.

Unfortunately, retelling the original was not the only time James strayed from the "show, don't tell" rule. There was also a lot of exposition done through long monologues by different characters. Indeed, the mystery itself was weak and not very satisfying--which pains me to say because this is P. D. James after all.

Finally, and perhaps most disappointing of all, there simply wasn't enough interaction between Elizabeth and Darcy. They seemed to be each pursuing different activities through most of the book. Let's face it, part of the joy of returning to them post P&P is getting back to the delicious sexual tension that Austen crafted. I wanted them to be less intellect and more passion. But here again it was told, not shown.

Maybe I expected too much; maybe it's an impossible task to try to capture characters who are in many was so deeply personal to their fans. This was James' vision, not mine. Still, I did enjoy the book. So if you're an Austen fan or a P. D. James fan, don't miss it. (less)

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Jun 08, 2012 Wealhtheow rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: people who neither understand the past nor care about Pride and Prejudice or mysteries.

Recommended to Wealhtheow by: Richard

Shelves: historical, regency

Some years after Pride and Prejudice, Lydia Wickham (nee Bennet) stumbles through the front door of Pemberley in hysterics. There were gunshots in the woods, and she's sure her husband has been murdered. Darcy and some of the other men go out in search, and find (view spoiler) Darcy summons the magistrate and then spends the entire rest of the novel thinking anachronis...more Some years after Pride and Prejudice, Lydia Wickham (nee Bennet) stumbles through the front door of Pemberley in hysterics. There were gunshots in the woods, and she's sure her husband has been murdered. Darcy and some of the other men go out in search, and find (view spoiler) Darcy summons the magistrate and then spends the entire rest of the novel thinking anachronistic thoughts and doing absolutely nothing related to the murder investigation. In fact, there really isn't a murder investigation; the most the characters do in regards to the murder is sit around the fire talking about whether or not the alleged murderer has the mindset possible to do the deed. No evidence turns up, nor do the characters make any attempt to find any. The full story of the murder is randomly turned up in a deathbed confession, and then another character equally randomly confesses the rest of the plot.

It's a very odd book. Usually a murder mystery involves a long period of finding out clues, or talking to witnesses, or figuring out the motives--and instead the characters just go over the same three facts ad nauseum. For example: we see the discovery of the body through Mr. Darcy's eyes, and then he relives the discovery a few times, and then he recounts the discovery several times to various law enforcement personnel. His story and view of the facts never change, so there's no point to going over it all again almost word-for-word.

It's no good as historical fiction, because although James has clearly done some research into the period (which she infodumps randomly; for example, apropos of nothing, Darcy soapboxes about the need for an appeals court) she doesn't seem to get the underpinnings of Regency society. The characters are worried that they might upset the police by moving the body--even though they would have no reason to expect an autopsy, and the police of the time were a distrustred force of ill-trained, ill-paid, low class dudes who barely existed yet. And even a century later the police wouldn't be going in the front door, let alone questioning rich gentlemen about their alibis in the parlor!

And it doesn't work as a continuation of Pride and Prejudice, either. The spirit and wit of Austen is completely missing, but then I expected that. But the characters are all wrong as well! Elizabeth is a quiet, maternal figure in the background, who has about three scenes total. She and Mr.Darcy hardly speak to each other, except to utter platitudes about how happy they are to have children or to rehash old lines from P&P. Colonel Fitzwilliam gets a complete character assassination--far from the wry, practical man who bantered with Lizzy, here he's a prig who despises her. It doesn't ring true.

Death Comes to Pemberley just doesn't satisfy on any level. If you're looking for murder mysteries set in the Regency period, I suggest the Julian Kestral series by Kate Ross instead.

(The review I used to have up, before I read the book, was "Ooh, I hope Wickham's been murdered! That child-molesting, predatory lying scumbag.")(less)

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Jan 18, 2013 Marialyce rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Disappointing, although it was nice to "catch up" with some old literary characters. This book was a lot of fluff and very little stuff, but it did provide the remedy to the rereading of The Grapes of Wrath which is brutal, honest, and downright compelling.

Sorry to say Ms James, I was not a happy camper with this very contrived plot and happenings of the residents and friends of the people of Pemberley.

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Feb 08, 2012 Rita Varian rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was a Christmas gift, so I am reading it. I usually love PD James, but even though I made it past the synopsis of P&P and what happened since, it still feels really stilted & awkward. Gonna stick it out though.

OK I'm done, and it didn't get much better. The imitation of her style made me wonder how I could have voluntarily read Jane Austin, but I did, so PD James must be missing the spark. Whatever you call that point of view in a novel, kind of overhead, rationalizing, indirect- we...more

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Jan 16, 2013 Clarabel rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Il y a très peu d'action et beaucoup de bavardages, il fallait s'y attendre, en fait c'est comme si l'auteur cherchait à percer les pensées des personnages, à les décortiquer à la loupe, c'est ce que faisait Jane Austen, mais en mieux. Là, parfois c'est lourd, répétitif et ça devient déprimant de voir ce cher Darcy accablé de doutes et de remords. Le couple Wickham m'a horripilée à un point ... tsss ! Sottise et inconséquence sont leurs deuxièmes prénoms.
Enfin bref, j'ai tout de même savouré l'a...more

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Mar 18, 2012 Angie rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: didn-t-finish

It is a truth universally acknowledged that imitations may be the sincerest form of flattery but they rarely live up to the originals. In the case of Death Comes to Pemberly, I suspect that Baroness James enjoyed writing this book consideralby more than I enjoyed reading it.
P D James is obviously an Austen fan, and she works very hard to re-create the atmosphere and the style that Austen lovers revere. However, this is supposed to be a mystery, and the leisurely style and florid prose of the ear...more

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Apr 11, 2012 Mandy rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: insomniacs, people who don't really like themselves

I have never had any interest in the Jane Austen spin-off industry. Never understood why all those writers couldn’t come up with their own damn characters and leave Austen’s beloved creations alone. But when PD James jumped on the bandwagon, I thought, well, okay, there’s a proven good writer and I buckled. Too bad. Now I know that PD James possesses neither wit nor humor. Not that I ever would have condemned her for lacking such traits. I always held her in high esteem--Devices and Desires is o...more I have never had any interest in the Jane Austen spin-off industry. Never understood why all those writers couldn’t come up with their own damn characters and leave Austen’s beloved creations alone. But when PD James jumped on the bandwagon, I thought, well, okay, there’s a proven good writer and I buckled. Too bad. Now I know that PD James possesses neither wit nor humor. Not that I ever would have condemned her for lacking such traits. I always held her in high esteem--Devices and Desires is one of my all time favorite reading experiences. But, once borrowed, Jane Austen’s characters deserve to be handled with the same wit and humor they were accustomed to, and here PD James miserably fails them all.

At first, I enjoyed the reintroduction of Darcy, Elizabeth, Colonel Fitzwilliam. Just the names alone took me back to my first reading of Pride and Prejudice (and better yet the superior BBC miniseries way back in the 80s). Then, the genius idea of killing off Wickham—so deserving of a mysterious death. The list of suspects with grievances is enough to weave an excellent whodunit. Okay, what fun! Let’s keep reading….huh, what? Who is dead? Wait, who was he again? I’m supposed to care about him? Isn’t this section of driving into the forest looking for the body and who is sitting in what room or looking out what window while waiting for the search party to return and then getting the body back and putting the body on the table and laying the pillows and blankets on the sofa and deciding who will sleep where and what servants are doing going on a little too long? Yes it is. Turns out that’s about 85 percent of the entire content of the novel. Maybe a better title should have been Lots of Housekeeping Issues Arise When Death Comes to Pemberley.

For the majority of this novel, we are expected to read and reread and read again the same account of that one evening, which was aptly explained the first time, and was not so many pages back that I really need to keep re-reading it. I am perfectly capable of following along and there is very little chance that I am going to forget the only tiny bit of action that happened in this book to begin with. I am on page 216 and I just read, again, the fact that there was an argument in the carriage, someone leaves the carriage, they were going on to the King’s Arms at Lambton, Wickham was not received at Pemberely ever. Repetitive, repetitive, repetitive. Does PD James and her editor vacation and spend the holidays together? Because there were serious problems with the writing and pace here that were ignored and that might be the biggest mystery about this book. I would really like to know what goes on in those publishing houses when dreck like this shows up but the author is a sacred cow.

Truly flawed as a mystery. Bad storytelling, badly paced. No misdirection, layers of suspects and or motives. Not until the end of the book do we get an info-dump that explains why we read the first two hundred plus pages of repetitive text and the ending is just (view spoiler) Sorry about that old bloke!

I won’t even touch on the really really lame heart to heart talk between Darcy and Elizabeth at the end. Just horrible and sad.
(less)

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Dec 12, 2011 Shannon McEwen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book was absolutely delightful. Perhaps not to an Austen purist, of course. But as a PD James fan and an Austen fan, this was a fantastic read.

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Jan 30, 2012 Betsy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, historical, mystery

I bumped this up from 2 stars to 3, because it was an easy and entertaining story and 2 stars seemed awfully low. But I have to admit I ended the book with a rather distinct feeling of "meh". I'm not hugely familiar with PD James (I'm sure I've read her before - though I can't recall a specific book) but I feel like an author of her popularity must have strongly realized characters. So I'm blaming this on the character-detachment-syndrom that often strikes "professional" fan fiction. Because the...more

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Jan 10, 2012 Alicia Rasley rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I enjoyed the meticulous "world-building" in this book set a few years after Pride and Prejudice. It was almost like a police procedural set in 1806! I learned a lot about how investigations and trials worked in that time period in England. That was the best thing about this book. Otherwise, it didn't really work for me.

If you're looking for an actual sequel to P and P, this isn't it. While there are characters named Darcy and Elizabeth, et al, they aren't really very much like Austen's characte...more

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Feb 07, 2012 Jennifer rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

What the hell, P.D. James? She's an excellent writer, I cannot understand why she completely failed to capture any trace of the personalities of Darcy and Elizabeth. I've loved her books in the past, and this was really a big disappointment. The intro chapter is ridiculously long, really is there anybody who doesn't know the story of Pride & Prejudice who is going to be reading this book? And if there was, she could have worked all that info in in a more interesting fashion instead of the tr...more

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Aug 20, 2012 Rebecca rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: crime, historical-fiction, sad, reviewed

I have started reading some truly terrible P&P spin offs in the past, but as James is a well respected author and this book had some very positive reviews I thought I'd give it a try. I thought it was a good idea to use the original characters/setting for a crime novel rather than trying to wrote a JA-style romance with them... However most of my high hopes didn't really pan out :(

Elizabeth herself is almost completely missing from the novel, seemingly only concerned with children, servants...more

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Jun 19, 2012 Elizabeth rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I knew I shouldn't have. I read, and believed, Cathy's review. But it was on the library shelf and I couldn't help myself. I had to see just how bad things were.

First off, even though it's not in the book, Austen fans know that the author intended that Mary would marry an attorney in Meryton and Kitty would marry a clergyman she met when spending time with her sisters in the North. Don't mess with the master, you know? Especially when neither sister is even in the story.

Also, I want some Elizabe...more

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Jan 22, 2012 Melissa Proffitt rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, mystery, flawed

Stories about "what happened next" to the characters of Jane Austen's novels don't really do it for me. It's not like I object to pastiche*, because I love Sherlock Holmes stories in all their forms; I've just never felt that way about Austen. But I do like P.D. James's novels a lot, so I was excited about this one. I was a little let down not to love it, but I did like it.

*I apologize for using this oh-so-pretentious word, but I didn't want to keep writing "books-written-to-imitate-Jane-Austen-...more Stories about "what happened next" to the characters of Jane Austen's novels don't really do it for me. It's not like I object to pastiche*, because I love Sherlock Holmes stories in all their forms; I've just never felt that way about Austen. But I do like P.D. James's novels a lot, so I was excited about this one. I was a little let down not to love it, but I did like it.

*I apologize for using this oh-so-pretentious word, but I didn't want to keep writing "books-written-to-imitate-Jane-Austen-and-explore-what-happens-next." "Pastiche" sometimes has a negative connotation, as if referring to a pale imitation of the original, but I always mean it as a judgement-free description of a sub-genre.

It doesn't feel as though it's meant to be a strict imitation of Austen's style, probably because (as James admits in the introductory note) it's not a strict imitation of her content; no murder-thriller drama for Jane Austen. And maybe that's the problem; the characters all sound like themselves, but they're doing things they never would have done in Pride and Prejudice. I kept wondering how a real fan of Jane Austen pastiche would feel about it.

On the other hand, I think James meant this book to reach people who aren't readers of Austen and aren't familiar with Pride and Prejudice, because there's a lengthy and tedious introduction that recaps the bits of the story you'd need to understand who Elizabeth and Darcy and all the rest are. In that case, it's mildly brilliant. Brilliant, but I'm still not the right reader for the book.

I did like how characters from other Austen novels popped up in the background, like when Wickham was hired as a caretaker for a house belonging to Mr. Elliot (of Persuasion). It's fun to think of all those people potentially bumping into one another. And James's Darcy felt very realistic--every successor to Austen, whether developing P&P into a movie or writing sequels to it, has had to interpret that mysterious figure whose feelings we never see first-hand. Overall, it was an enjoyable book, and I think I may like it even better the next time I read it.(less)

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P. D. James is the author of twenty books, most of which have been filmed and broadcast on television in the United States and other countries. She spent thirty years in various departments of the British Civil Service, including the Police and Criminal Law Department of Great Britain's Home Office. She has served as a magistrate and as a governor of the BBC. In 2000 she...more

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Quotes from Death Comes to Pemberley

“If this were fiction, could even the most brilliant novelist contrive to make credible so short a period in which pride had been subdued and prejudice overcome?” — 6 people liked it

“Neither man spoke of the past. Darcy could not rid himself of its power but Wickham lived for the moment, was sanguine about the future and reinvented the past to suit his audience, and Darcy could almost believe that, for the present, he had put the worst of it completely out of his mind. p.172” — 1 person liked it

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