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Mr. Darcy's Daughters (Darcy #1)

by Elizabeth Aston (Goodreads Author)

3.21 of 5 stars 3.21 · rating details · 2,693 ratings · 459 reviews

Picking up twenty years after Pride and Prejudice left off, Mr. Darcy's Daughters begins in the year 1818. Elizabeth and Darcy have gone to Constantinople, giving us an opportunity to get to know their five daughters, who have left the sheltered surroundings of Pemberley for a few months in London. While the eldest, Letitia, frets and the youngest, Alethea, practices her m...more

Paperback, 368 pages

Published April 8th 2003 by Touchstone (first published 2003)

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May 09, 2008 Rachel C. rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: nobody - particularly NOT Jane Austen fans, who are likely to be scarred for life as I was

Shelves: jane-austen, lit-permutations, pop-fic-general

Darcy and Lizzy would NEVER have had daughters as stupid as these! Horrible, horrible. I'd give this book negative eight stars if I could.

In terms of tone, this book is like Jane Austen as written by US Weekly. The narrative has ADD and jumps all over the place. Characters behave as if they're Paris Hilton's contemporaries - and talk that way too, calling each other sluts and whores. How could anyone who has read P&P - not to mention a self-proclaimed "passionate Jane Austen fan who studied...more

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Sep 27, 2007 Blythe rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I purchased this book on a whim since two of my favorite things to read are Jane Austen novels and decently-written fanfiction. I think this qualifies in both categories.

This is not a great novel, and the author is most certainly not the next Jane Austen. Most elements from the book are lifted directly from Pride and Prejudice. Darcy and Elizabeth had five daughters:

1. Beautiful but stubborn Letitia, who becomes the outraged moral center for the girls and is highly obnoxious about it.
2. Camilla,...more

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Jun 10, 2009 Vicki rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Heh, heh. Well...

Shelves: austen-spinoffs

Oh, brother. Bad idea, Lady. I saw that one other reviewer wrote that she was pretty sure that Mr. Darcy would have drowned several of these characters at birth, and, yeah. She's onto something. I don't expect anybody to equal Austen. And by that, I don't mean that I think other writers could never be better than her. I just mean that I don't expect anybody to be able to pick up where she left off.

I feel like this author misses SO SO SO much of the point about Jane Austen. And that is disappoin...more

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Jan 28, 2008 Meredith Galman rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

Turns out there's quite a cottage industry of prequels, sequels, alternative points of view, and variants on Jane Austen's novels. This one is OK, but really just a standard Regency rather than owing anything to Austen. Although some of the characters bear the same name as their P&P counterparts, they are sadly altered: Mrs. Gardiner is inexplicably changed from someone of Mrs. Bennet's generation to one of Lizzie's, and it's hard to believe that the Col. Fitzwilliam who so admired Lizzie ba...more

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Aug 08, 2009 Gini rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I have a weakness for P&P fanfic, but this was pretty ridiculous.

In the original Pride and Prejudice, the silliness and eccentricity of the younger Bennet girls is put down to the poor breeding and empty head of Mrs. Bennett and the general laziness in Mr. Bennett. Surely, if that is the case, daughters raised by Darcy and Elizabeth should be vastly better bred and behaved.

Instead we get five daughters once again: Letitia who, though the family beauty, is given to dour predictions, hysterica...more I have a weakness for P&P fanfic, but this was pretty ridiculous.

In the original Pride and Prejudice, the silliness and eccentricity of the younger Bennet girls is put down to the poor breeding and empty head of Mrs. Bennett and the general laziness in Mr. Bennett. Surely, if that is the case, daughters raised by Darcy and Elizabeth should be vastly better bred and behaved.

Instead we get five daughters once again: Letitia who, though the family beauty, is given to dour predictions, hysterical worries and preachiness (Jane and Mary combined); Camilla who is witty, well-read, speaks her mind and is pronounced on the page to be like her mother; twins Belle and Georgina, who are simply Lydia and Kitty; and youngest Alethea, who manages to be original by being smart or outspoken like her mother, but also devious and secretive.

Darcy and Elizabeth have turned out to be appalling parents, it would appear. (Oh, there are the required "heir and a spare" of schoolboy age tucked safely back at Pemberly where we needn't be bothered with them.)

And apparently, though Letitia is 21, Camilla 19, and the twins 17, (Alethea, 16, is "still in the schoolroom") their parents have never brought them to London. That is, until Darcy is sent to Constantinople on a diplomatic mission and Lizzie, showing all the mother instincts of a frog, goes off with him, leaving all five daughters in the care of Colonel Fitzwilliam and his very young wife.

Yes, Lizzie's conviction that younger sisters should not be held back from coming out simply because older ones are not yet married has apparently resulted in never allowing *any* of them to enjoy a debutante season in London, never in their youth taking them into town to see the classics, never introducing them to or guiding them through the first dazzling effects of male attention, she has instead dumped them like a sack of cats onto the doorstep of a young mother and then made a hasty retreat to part so foreign that communication is a matter of weeks and months.

The madcap tomfoolery that proceeds from this preposterous theory is mildly entertaining and a quick read, but it is definitely among the worst of the post-P&P books out there and I was horrified that the author has written at least four others. Completist though I am, I do not intend to read any more of her nonsense. (less)

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Feb 17, 2009 Black Elephants rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: romance

I don't know which was worse: Pride and Promiscuity: the Lost Sex Scenes of Jane Austen, or Elizabeth Aston's Mr. Darcy's Daughters.

What? Wait! Yes, I must admit, that I'm enough of a Jane Austen fangirl to curiously pick up both. Yet after I read both, it felt as if someone had vomited on my religion. Aston's book seems more heretical however because the book touts her as the student of a great Jane Austen biographer, Lord David Cecil. I now wonder if that name is as fictional and asinine as ha...more I don't know which was worse: Pride and Promiscuity: the Lost Sex Scenes of Jane Austen, or Elizabeth Aston's Mr. Darcy's Daughters.

What? Wait! Yes, I must admit, that I'm enough of a Jane Austen fangirl to curiously pick up both. Yet after I read both, it felt as if someone had vomited on my religion. Aston's book seems more heretical however because the book touts her as the student of a great Jane Austen biographer, Lord David Cecil. I now wonder if that name is as fictional and asinine as half of the characters that should have drowned in her plot.

Anyway: THE Pl0t.

Mr. Darcy and his wife have 5 daughters. The first, Letitia, is the most beautifullest. The second, Camilla, is the most smartest with the finest eyes. The twins, Georgina and Belle, are the most wildest with the flirtiest behavior AND have violet eyes, and Alethea, the youngest, loves the music good. Our protagonist is the witty (SHOCKINGLY ABOMINABLE TH4t a women can have the education to be witty?!?!?!) Camilla. She is an enigma in a society that likes giggly, cute women rather than intelligent ones.

I only made it through 50 consecutive pages before I got offended by the vapid characters, the Jane Austen errors, the character murders and overall badness of the novel. One of the worst felonies committed by the author was turning Mr. Darcy into a misogynist. How did this happen? Aston writes that despite giving his daughters an education, he realizes that it's hopeless to expect them to learn anything unless it is a natural inclination. Also, because the tough male persona of their father is absent in the story, the girls go wild and cause scandalous, ludicrous, snooze-worthy things to happen.

I skimmed, and by skimmed, I mean I flipped a hundred pages ahead, read a line, got nauseated then flipped to the end to see who married who. Whatever.

This book relied upon the most gross of author cliches: grandiloquent names, ridiculous plot twists like sodomy and memory loss due to a head wound at Waterloo, cliche themes such as women in Victorian society are repressed and men don't like the ones with the smarts, and boring language.

Aston should have published her bad fan fiction on the Internet in obscurity rather than give it the slightest chance to blight the good name of Jane Austen on the shelf of a bookstore.

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Jun 07, 2008 Susannah rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I thought this book was only okay. I was a little bit bored at times. I probably expected too much. I jumped in thinking I would be in the world of Pride and Prejudice again, and although the author does a great job at enveloping you in the physical world, the spirit of the novel just didn't compare to Jane Austen's original. I felt like the faults and foibles of the Bennett daughters lead us to a greater good. But the Darcy daughters simply entertained (and sometimes not even that) on the surfa...more

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Mar 31, 2011 bookczuk rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: give-me-my-time-back

I thought I might be up for a romantic romp through Regency England with a possible connection to Jane Austen, but obviously I wasn't. I find books about groups of women, all with their personality quirks and foibles particularly loathsome, so am not sure why I thought I'd get through this one. I'm sure there are some that found it delightful; for me, the most particularly delightful bit was reading the reviews of other readers who were distainful of the Darcy Daughters. Probably if the book had...more

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Mar 23, 2009 Brittany rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Well, I read this book in about a week. I couldn't put it down. I loved it! I thought it was very well written. The romance was really good. The scandal was fun, but never bad because what was considered bad in those times was almost acceptable today, so it was nice to read a book without having to worry about anything being crude. It was such a good read! I was worried that the language would be too flowery, but it was totally fine. I've never read Pride and Prejudice, but this book made me wan...more

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May 29, 2013 Zaira rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: romance, historic-fiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Ugh. This book was K.I.L.L.I.N.G me. I couldn't stand it! There was one thing after another and even more and it drove me nuts! Well, not I have to compose myself and write a decent review.

The plot was hardly original. I've seen Pride and Prejudice retellings that are far better than this. It seemed like Aston just ripped the plot off the pages of P&P and put it down in a slightly twisted version. 5 sisters, all in London, oh gosh, how in the world is this going to be? I don't know, exactly...more Ugh. This book was K.I.L.L.I.N.G me. I couldn't stand it! There was one thing after another and even more and it drove me nuts! Well, not I have to compose myself and write a decent review.

The plot was hardly original. I've seen Pride and Prejudice retellings that are far better than this. It seemed like Aston just ripped the plot off the pages of P&P and put it down in a slightly twisted version. 5 sisters, all in London, oh gosh, how in the world is this going to be? I don't know, exactly like Lizzy's and Darcy's? There were elopements, jilts, even a steamy make-out scene. Most of it just seemed to unoriginal, inappropriate, or inaccurate.

Unoriginality: 5 stars!
Seriously, everything (more or less) happened in the exact way that P&P was written.
Let's see our set of characters:

Letitia: Bossy, preachy, absolutely gorgeous. Likes to contemplate all the bad things that could happen to her family members. Total hypocrite. She's our own little Jane and Mary, all wrapped up in one, but missing some serious character traits that might have made me like her.

Camilla: Camilla or Camille? The author can't seem to decide. I swear, this is Lizzy's clone, except perhaps a tad bit prettier. She has these glorious eyes that are somehow irresistible. And you can't forget that wit and charm that she can pull out of her purse at any given moment. Encounter sodomy, a sister having a total love-fest, and a couple of broken engagements (not all of them hers,) Bingo! Here's your girl. Unfortunately, she didn't have the charm Lizzy herself had.

Georgina and Belle: Lydia and Kitty are seen in both of these girls. Flirtatious 17 year olds who really don't know when to stop. Elopements galore (and did I mention that love-fest?)

Alethea: Now here's a girl how doesn't seem to belong in her mother's family. She's actually pretty funny with a little bit of a smart tongue. So not afraid to tell you what's what. Unfortunately, the story is centered on Camilla, and not on this little upstart.

Every other character in this book was a gossip or a flirt. Or they were trying to ruin the Darcy sister's reputations, not like they could do it themselves in one night. I swear, every other page was filled up with gossip about the girls, or fluffy dialogue about the weather or some exports that I didn't really understand why it was in there. Everyone was so mean to each other.

There's another problem. You know just how polite Lizzy and the other characters were in P&P? Even insults had a polite edge to them that made them extremely hilarious. This book was not hilarious, except for the fact that it was so dang bad. Sophie talked back to her parents and called her cousins names that I would rather not mention in front of company. I was appalled by the lack of propriety in the girls. What happened to the 19th century that I know and love? The author went so far as to use Christian names outside of immediate family!

Really, this entire book was ridiculous and frivolous. It maddened me and the only motivation to reading this book was to right this review without sounding like an idiot. (Though I did happen to skip about 30 pages in the middle, that's just about how boring it got.) I was constantly skimming and laughing my head over lame plot twists and ridiculous happenings. Horrible way to spend a few hours. Next book please?
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Jan 19, 2013 Anthea Ilpide rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Ok, so I picked up this book because I wanted to re-immerse myself in all things Jane Austen in honor of the 200th anniversary of the publication of Pride and Prejudice. I thought this book would serve that purpose to some extent at least... I couldn't have been more wrong. The writing is, well, terrible, with contrasts as obvious and painful as: one of them was as blond as an angel and the other as dark as the night. Like, seriously?!

Then there is the fact that the author somehow decided to ch...more

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Sep 21, 2012 Tessa rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Je suis très mitigée sur ce roman. Un coup j’étais complètement dans l’histoire, un coup je me demandais ce que je lisais et je n’en ressors pas vraiment convaincue.

Tout d’abord l’univers. J’ai beaucoup aimé replonger dans l’époque de Darcy et Elisabeth. La romance historique et les quartiers de Londres m’ont charmé. On peut accorder cela à l’auteure, on abandonne la campagne pour la grande ville et ce petit changement de décor est bien accueillit.

Côté personnages, les filles de Darcy et Elisabe...more Je suis très mitigée sur ce roman. Un coup j’étais complètement dans l’histoire, un coup je me demandais ce que je lisais et je n’en ressors pas vraiment convaincue.

Tout d’abord l’univers. J’ai beaucoup aimé replonger dans l’époque de Darcy et Elisabeth. La romance historique et les quartiers de Londres m’ont charmé. On peut accorder cela à l’auteure, on abandonne la campagne pour la grande ville et ce petit changement de décor est bien accueillit.

Côté personnages, les filles de Darcy et Elisabeth se révèlent être calquées sur les filles Bennet de l’histoire de base. Hormis peut être l’ainée qui ici m’a complètement exaspéré alors que Jane était un personnage que j’aimais beaucoup, les autres filles sont exactement les mêmes dans les deux histoires (sachant aussi qu’elles sont 5 des deux côté…). Je suis donc assez déçue. Même si j’ai bien aimé Camilla, elle est trop calquée sur sa mère et le récit s’en ressent car manquant d’originalité.

Deux autres points qui m’ont gêné: le flot de personnage a fait que je me suis complètement perdue dans les noms. J’ai certes une petite mémoire mais j’arrive toujours à m’y retrouver. Ici cependant, l’auteure a réussi à me perdre un peu et ça a réellement alourdit ma lecture.
Le second point est sans nul doute que j’aurais aimé qu’Elisabeth et Darcy interviennent un peu dans l’histoire. Ils sont prétendument en voyage mais ce scénario ne m’a pas paru naturel, les voyant mal se séparer de leurs filles aussi jeunes pendant un an voire plus.

Au final, j’ai trouvé le récit un peu longuet et se rapprochant un peu trop de l’histoire d’Orgueil et Préjugés. Pour un lecteur non avertit, la romance historique sera appréciée mais pour un amoureux du genre, le livre d’Aston pourrait paraître comme une pâle copie d’Austen. J’ai bien aimé le côté romance mais elle devient vite prévisible et le récit est vite alourdit par des dialogues sans réels intérêts. Aston a donc réussi à rester dans l’univers d’Austen mais a malheureusement perdu le pari de nous offrir une nouveauté par rapport à son prédécesseur.(less)

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Jul 23, 2012 Audel rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Tout d'abord, il est préférable de ne pas comparer ce livre avec le roman Orgueil et Préjuger de Jane Austen. En effet, l'auteure c'est ici très, très largement inspirer du roman d'origine, elle en a surtout garder les noms de lieux et de personnages. En outre, les éléments faisant référence à Orgueil et Préjugés sont tous expliqué dans le roman donc il n'est vraiment pas utile de le lire pour comprendre et apprécié ce roman-ci. Au contraire même, cela éviterai une déception possible.

Il y a deux...more

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Jul 04, 2012 Ellana-san rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: edwardian, austen, rewriting, romance

J'aurais dû savoir d'après le titre que l'histoire ne se centrerait pas autour de Mr Darcy mais j'avais espoir qu'il occupe quand même un second rôle assez important. Espoir pieux. De Darcy et d'Elizabeth, nulle trace dans ce livre.

Alors, ai-je détesté?

De manière surprenante pour une suite de P&P sans Darcy, non. J'ai même beaucoup aimé. Les cinq filles étaient des personnages forts en couleur, assez intéressants et, ma foi, leurs histoires respectives m'ont très facilement captivées. Seul...more

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Jun 11, 2012 Elodie Diebolt rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

En grande fan de Jane Austen, j’avais vraiment hâte de découvrir ce roman et de voir comment l’auteure allait construire son histoire. La couverture est juste magnifique et nous met bien dans l’ambiance de l’époque. La quatrième de couverture laisse présager une histoire mouvementée avec au programme amour, famille et trahison ce qui m’a donné encore plus envie de lire ce roman.

L’intrigue du roman est basé sur le séjour des cinq filles Darcy à Londres pendant que leurs parents sont en voyages à...more En grande fan de Jane Austen, j’avais vraiment hâte de découvrir ce roman et de voir comment l’auteure allait construire son histoire. La couverture est juste magnifique et nous met bien dans l’ambiance de l’époque. La quatrième de couverture laisse présager une histoire mouvementée avec au programme amour, famille et trahison ce qui m’a donné encore plus envie de lire ce roman.

L’intrigue du roman est basé sur le séjour des cinq filles Darcy à Londres pendant que leurs parents sont en voyages à Constantinople. Les thèmes de la bonne société d’antan, la bienséance, l’amour, la famille mais aussi la trahison sont abordés de façon simple et très agréable. Niveau originalité, on quitte la campagne et on découvre avec joie Londres, ses fêtes mondaines, ses bals et ses rues, le tout décrit avec précision et justesse à tel point qu’on s’y croirait presque.

Dans ce roman nous faisons donc la connaissance des cinq filles de Mr Darcy et Elisabeth. L’aîné, Letty, m’a juste profondément agacé! Suite à une grosse déception amoureuse, elle devient horripilante, toujours à faire la morale à ses soeurs et à se mêler d’histoires qui ne la regardent pas. Le seul moment ou je me suis mise à l’apprécier, c’est à la fin du récit lorsqu’elle finit par redevenir normal… La suivante est Camilla qui m’a énormément fait penser à Elisabeth dans Orgueil et Préjugés et je l’ai beaucoup apprécié, autant pour son caractère que pour son dévouement et sa façon de voler au secours de ses soeurs. Viennent ensuite les jumelle Belle et Georgina. Deux jeunes filles complètements délurés qui se fichent totalement des convenances et ne pensent qu’à s’amuser et flirter. Je dois avouer qu’elle m’ont pas mal fait sourire et ont fortement contribuer à mettre de l’ambiance dans le récit. Vient la dernière, Aléthea, qu’on pourrait croire douce et discrète. Elle n’en a pas moins un caractère bien trempé et un sens aiguisé de la répartie! Elle sait ce qu’elle veut et dit bien souvent ce que tout le monde pense tout bas. J’ai beaucoup apprécié cette jeune fille à la fois fraîche et drôle et son amour pour la musique.

L’histoire nous est raconté par l’auteur de façon, très agréable. Le vocabulaire est riche et colle parfaitement avec l’époque du roman mais reste tout de même accessible et compréhensible. Le style d’écriture est fluide même si parfois on pourrait reprocher quelques longueurs et descriptions pas franchement indispensables. L’histoire est intéressant et même si on pourrait reprocher à l’auteure d’avoir repris un grand nombre de chose au roman Orgueil et Préjugés de Jane Austen, elle y a mis sa touche personnelle et sa manière de raconter qui m’ont séduite. J’ai adoré me replonger dans cette époque et découvrir Londres et ses festivités. L’histoire est intéressante et j’ai beaucoup aimé voir les filles Darcy évoluer dans un univers qu’elle découvraient pour la première fois, univers rempli de codes et de pièges avec son lot de commérages et de médisance mais aussi des personnages hauts en couleurs et originaux comme par exemple Mrs Rowan. Il n’y a pas énormément d’action si ce n’est à la fin mais l’auteure a su garder mon attention et me donner envie d’en savoir plus et de continuer ma lecture.

Pour conclure, c’est une lecture que j’ai beaucoup aimé même si on y retrouve beaucoup de choses prise dans Orgueil et Préjugés. On passe un agréable moment de lecture et on se replonge avec joie dans cette époque et dans la découverte de Londres et ses mondanités. Je vous recommande cette lecture!(less)

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May 11, 2010 Amanda rated it 3 of 5 stars

I just finished this book, it was hard for me to decide how I felt about it. I love Jane Austen and of course Mr. Darcy so I think I had high expectations. In the end I didn't like it as well as I had hoped. It was good and it kept me interested and enthrawled even, I could hardly put it down, I had to know what happened to all the sisters and see if they all turned out ok. The problem with it was that I didn't think the characters fit well, meaning the daughters didn't seem like they could be t...more

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Oct 26, 2009 Jill Hill rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I have mixed feelings about this book. I first read it a few years ago, directly after reading Pride and Prejudice, and loathed it. It was like the author took the characters from P&P, reshuffled some of their personality traits, and called them the next generation. Plot lines and even conversations seemed to be stolen from P&P without even attempting to make them seem different. And I refuse to believe that so many of Darcy and Elizabeth's daughters would turn out to be such irritating...more

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May 30, 2009 Diana rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: those who are NOT Austenites

Shelves: chicklit

This book was ultimately a huge disappointment, and I teetered between the one and two star ratings. Thanks to a heads up from Andrea, I went into this with a fairly good idea of what to expect. Ultimately I felt that the decision to remove Darcy and Elizabeth from the narrative was a wise one (one always has fierce notions of what this beloved literary couple should be), and I felt the exposition of the book was fairly strong. In particular, I appreciated the references to the literature of tha...more This book was ultimately a huge disappointment, and I teetered between the one and two star ratings. Thanks to a heads up from Andrea, I went into this with a fairly good idea of what to expect. Ultimately I felt that the decision to remove Darcy and Elizabeth from the narrative was a wise one (one always has fierce notions of what this beloved literary couple should be), and I felt the exposition of the book was fairly strong. In particular, I appreciated the references to the literature of that time period; namely, Thomas Peacock, Boccaccio, Maria Edgeworth and Mary Shelley. In my opinion, the heroine's name is an allusion to the fiction of Frances Burney, a writer many claim contributed greatly to Jane's literary imagination. However, no Jane Austen revision/sequel seems to be complete without butchering at least one Austen character. Mr Fitzwilliam and Mrs Gardiner were, for me, notable examples of this consistent trend in Jane fanfare.

I could have overlooked such a minor irritation, had the text not been so heavily weighed down by melodrama and antiquated principles of superficial propriety. The author was so eager to illustrate the social restrictions of the Regency period, that she became consumed by them. As for the melodrama, it engendered a 'messy' atmosphere for the reader and became the antithesis of what Austen stood for. Her books, in a way, are the same simple story that has been told time and time again: a boy and a girl falling in love. But the characters she creates are so vivid, her tone and humor so bright, that her writing inevitably stands apart from other cliched tales of courtship and marriage.

In Aston's novel, the relationship between Camilla and her future husband was not fully or realistically developed; their story became secondary to a couple of ideas the author reiterated far too often. If Camilla and her story claimed a larger portion of the narrative, I may have enjoyed it more. As it was, I was hard pressed to become emotionally invested in a couple I felt I barely knew.(less)

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Apr 11, 2009 Irma Fritz rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Irma by: my book club

ASTON vs. AUSTEN

There is something of the grave robber in a writer who pens a sequel to a dead author's story. I am talking about Elizabeth Aston who wrote “Mr. Darcy’s Daughters: A Novel,” intended as a sequel to Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice.” I noted with interest that Elizabeth calls herself "Aston" while Jane, of course, was an "Austen." Penname, I assume?

Still, remembering Colton’s maxim that “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery,” and keeping on hand a good dose of Coleridge’s...more

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Jul 25, 2012 Ikebukuro rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Je suis archi fan de Jane Austen, au point de ne pas vouloir lire Northanger Abbey qui est dans ma pile car je sais que ce sera le dernier livre… alors je ne pouvais qu'être intriguée par ce roman. Elizabeth Bennet et Darcy sont partis pour Constantinople et ont confié leurs 5 filles aux bons soins de parents londoniens chargés de les introduire dans la bonne société. De là vont se succéder bons nombres de péripéties, d'intrigues, de petites répliques perfides et de chassés-croisés amoureux. On...more Je suis archi fan de Jane Austen, au point de ne pas vouloir lire Northanger Abbey qui est dans ma pile car je sais que ce sera le dernier livre… alors je ne pouvais qu'être intriguée par ce roman. Elizabeth Bennet et Darcy sont partis pour Constantinople et ont confié leurs 5 filles aux bons soins de parents londoniens chargés de les introduire dans la bonne société. De là vont se succéder bons nombres de péripéties, d'intrigues, de petites répliques perfides et de chassés-croisés amoureux. On retrouve dans ce livre la mécanique des romans austeniens mais n'est pas Jane Austen qui veut ! J'ai un peu de mal à parler de ce livre car au final je ne sais pas ce que j'en ai vraiment pensé. J'étais hyper lucide sur les défauts de l'histoire et pourtant j'ai passé un bon moment car je n'ai eu aucun mal à avancer dans le livre et je l'ai lu plutôt rapidement.

Je peux dire que j'ai bien aimé ma lecture malgré une écriture trop moderne à mon goût et des rebondissements qui n'en finissent plus de… rebondir. C'est d'ailleurs ce qui m'a le plus gêné dans le livre, cette surenchère de petites intrigues, de coups bas et de retournements de situation. Je ne me suis pas ennuyée mais contrairement à certains lecteurs qui aiment quand l'intrigue monte en puissance et n'arrête jamais, pour ma part je trouve que c'est agréable de se poser un peu avec un rythme qui retombe par moment pour permettre au lecteur de souffler. Mais avec ce livre, on passe des frasques de l'une aux jérémiades de l'autre et on peut parfois s'y perdre un peu et plus on avance et plus le rythme s'accélère avec l'entrée en scène des jumelles. Comme ces filles sont agaçantes ! De vraies têtes à claques qui n'en finissent plus de mener leur monde à la baguette et qui sont d'un égoïsme incroyable mais c'est aussi ce qui donne du piquant à l'histoire. Le contraste entre les personnages est particulièrement poussé et permet des confrontations et des dialogues colorés. Tous ont des caractères très marqués, voire caricaturaux et accentués, on trouve la bigote, les deux écervelées, la rebelle et la fille posée et réfléchie et tous ces personnages permettent des combinaisons improbables.

Je savais en lisant ce roman qu'il fallait que je fasse complètement abstraction des livres de Jane Austen afin de ne pas être dans la comparaison. Je ne voulais pas commencer à lire en cherchant les points communs avec Orgueil et Préjugés même si la construction de l'histoire est basée sur la même mécanique narrative. Je trouve que l'auteur a plutôt bien réussi à rester dans l'esprit de l'univers de Jane Austen sans tenter de copier son style, elle a réussi à apporter sa propre personnalité même si quelquefois on sent qu'elle a du mal à se détacher de l'œuvre originale.

En résumé, ce n'est pas un coup de cœur mais ce fut malgré tout une lecture agréable, même si je suis consciente des défauts du livre. C'est d'ailleurs peut-être là que réside le tour de force de l'auteur : j'adore Jane Austen et je n'arrive pourtant pas à détester ce livre malgré ses faiblesses !
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Feb 19, 2013 Jill rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was AWFUL. Writing a Pride and Prejudice-inspired novel is a way to show your devoted love for Austen's greatest story, but if it reads like fan fiction, its place is on the internet. Aston inserts her unlikeable characters into Austen's London where they play out uncompelling little dramas once, of course, Lizzy and Darcy have been swept out of the country where they can't interfere with the goings-on. How convenient that Mum and Dad are gone at the VERY time every one of their daughters i...more This was AWFUL. Writing a Pride and Prejudice-inspired novel is a way to show your devoted love for Austen's greatest story, but if it reads like fan fiction, its place is on the internet. Aston inserts her unlikeable characters into Austen's London where they play out uncompelling little dramas once, of course, Lizzy and Darcy have been swept out of the country where they can't interfere with the goings-on. How convenient that Mum and Dad are gone at the VERY time every one of their daughters is ripening into marriagable age. Of all the cringe-worthy daughters, I actually find Letitia the most loathsome and the least believable. We all know someone who is pessimistic, but Letty (or Galetea as her family calls her because she is so statuesque and because families totally give nicknames like that) sees doom and death everywhere she looks. If Camilla enjoys a dance, Leticia is certain that the perspiration will cool on her brow causing her to catch a chill which will lead to a wasting illness. Worse is her habit of seeing sin everywhere. Enjoying that book you're reading? A sinful indulgence. A gentleman touched your elbow? You sinful whore. You went to church? You didn't listen carefully enough, sinner. So annoying.

The way Aston writes Society is spasmodic; it seems to at the same time condemn and revel in the same wicked behaviors. In Austen's world, no one speaks about worldly, unrighteous topics in the presence of ladies. The ideal is to protect young doves from the burden of knowledge of sordid things. Here, men speak openly right in front of these young, unmarried girls about their affairs, exploits, and general misbehavior as though these are things to brag about. Within these confusing societal straits, the well-behaved characters in the book fret over What Society Will Think when something scandalous happens... and that's often. At one point, Camilla walks in on one of the twins MAKING OUT with a man--not merely accepting a chaste and loving kiss which is the farthest an unmarried, unchaperoned young girl could possibly go with impunity in the nineteenth-century world, but dress-in-disarray, hands-in-naughty-places, gasping-for-breath MAKING OUT. Instead of rushing into the room to break it up, she leaves them to it, though she is disturbed. In the next moment, she catches her youngest sister Alathea who has dressed as a boy flautist and infiltrated the orchestra playing at the ball. Camilla begins shrieking that the family will be ruined if anyone sees her and HOW could she do this wicked thing and HOW ON EARTH will I get you home without an escort?? Um, huh?

Aston gets every canon character wrong. Where did her Fitzwilliam come from?? He was seriously cool in P&P, why would he suddenly turn into a novel-censoring, fun-killing, marriage-contract-negotiating old curmudgeon?

Oh, and another thing: in several places in the narration, Camilla's name was sometimes Camille. I guess the author and the editor failed to catch those oopsies and assumed the reader would too.(less)

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Mar 01, 2012 Whitney rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: classic-parody, historical-fiction, reviewed

Mr. Darcy's Daughters focuses on Elizabeth and Darcy's five daughters each with appearances and/or personalities very similar to other characters in Pride and Prejudice. The book is packed to the gills with more scandals and intrigue than can possibly be believed. Although quite a few beloved Austen characters were only mentioned, there were a few that were included. Hearing what could have happened to them was quite interesting.

There were quite a few inconsistencies with the characters that I f...more

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Aug 11, 2009 "Aubri"/Lisa rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

I enjoyed this book well enough, but I would've rather it been called something more like, "Mr. Wickham's Daughters." Camilla, the main character, is very much in the mode of Lizzie in Miss Austen's "Pride and Prejudice," but I don't believe the other four daughters resemble their supposed parents in any way. In addition, neither Fitzwilliam nor the Gardiners were very much like the original characters, who were all quite level-headed and gracious individuals. Fitzwilliam, in fact, seemed rather...more

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Jul 29, 2011 Mirah W rated it 2 of 5 stars

I have mixed feelings about this book...as a stand alone without knowing anything about Pride and Prejudice I may have liked it more. I just don't think Darcy and Elizabeth would have raised some of these (annoying and frivolous) daughters. The daughters in this portrayal have similar countenances as the daughters in P&P...not sure if Aston meant to create those parallels or if they were by accident...I'm guessing it was part of her plan. I find it unrealistic that Darcy and Elizabeth would...more

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Dec 08, 2012 Patrick rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction

I need a little change up from the post-apocalyptic series I am reading. Shauna's book club is reading this, so I'll read it too. I'm 4 chapters in. It is definitely more modern, but it is pretty enjoyable so far. More stuffy women (the oldest daughter is like a combination of Mary and Miss Manners, with some latent Mrs. Bennett as well) and men who don't like intelligent women with a sensible second daughter as protagonist.

Finished: Didn't like it. I went in wary, had my opinion rise, but it ju...more I need a little change up from the post-apocalyptic series I am reading. Shauna's book club is reading this, so I'll read it too. I'm 4 chapters in. It is definitely more modern, but it is pretty enjoyable so far. More stuffy women (the oldest daughter is like a combination of Mary and Miss Manners, with some latent Mrs. Bennett as well) and men who don't like intelligent women with a sensible second daughter as protagonist.

Finished: Didn't like it. I went in wary, had my opinion rise, but it just doesn't hold up.

1. The story doesn't respect Austen's characters. Put your stamp on a new story, use creative license, but don't degrade established characters. It was thus understandable to put Darcy and Elizabeth off screen to work with new characters, but the on screen characters still reflect on them. To have the daughters be so horrible is a black mark on the parents that does not harmonize with the couple we love, especially without some kind of extenuating explanation. I liked the interesting change in the Gardners' social status, but I was mad at their negative, unintelligent portrayal as well. Fitzwilliam is much more of a blank slate to project in the future, but he still seems bad too and his young wife is well-meaning, but foolish.

2. Related to number 1, this is too focused on the supposed sordid underbelly of polite London society, which I think portrays the author's modern bias. Yes, sexual impropriety and hypocrisy existed, but the author literally portrays 95%+ pf the nobility and upper crust in the book as licentious. It's just too cynical and crass, making the book unbelievable and boring as there's basically no one to root for.

So I think my Goodfriends friends should just skip this book. Try the series I read a few years ago, 3 books taking place in the same time frame as Pride and Prejudice, but from Darcy's point of view, which was an enjoyable, interesting read. It touched on some of these same themes of the corrupt upper class, but was more balanced and had much better characters. (less)

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Feb 11, 2008 Beth Nell rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I honestly didn't really care much for this book. The author tried to write like Jane Austen, but it wasn't as good...and some of the things she put in there were things that I do not think Jane Austen would have ever written about... I know Elizabeth Aston is not Jane Austen, but still....plus, it had a few "d" words...so I don't exactly think I'd recommend it...

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Jun 04, 2013 Alex rated it 4 of 5 stars

Overall, I really loved this book. It gave great insight into the world of the novel in a way that felt organic and comprehensive, and many of the characters fit really well into Austen's world. Fitzwilliam did not; Georgina and Belle did not. (They were way too much like Lydia, and while I can understand them rebelling from their parents, I can't imagine that Lizzy and Darcy would allow them to go to London--it's completely against Lizzy's canon character. She spoke against Lydia going to Brigh...more

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Feb 03, 2012 Katarina rated it 3 of 5 stars

I have to admit it: I am a fan of Jane Austen sequels and spin-offs. I can't get enough Jane, so the next best things works too... To that end, I read Mr. Darcy's Daughters (among other books). As the genre goes, this one is pretty good. Unfortunately for Elizabeth/Darcy-obsessed readers such as myself, it focuses more on their children (you'd never guess from the title...), and their courtships. The Darcy girls are reminiscent of the Bennet sisters, down to their range of personality types and...more

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Jun 21, 2011 Sarah rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book does not have a serious plot. So if you’re looking for that, don’t start this book. It strongly resembles “Pride and Prejudice” only without the flair of Austen herself. The five daughters each take a bit from several of the Bennett sisters’ personalities and then add a dowry of 50,000 pounds…and you get several incidents of scandal and heartbreak. They also meet up with the now married Caroline Bingley and the widowed and remarried Aunt Lydia – both of whom are very much the same as t...more

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Aug 04, 2012 Kathy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: romance

Instead of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet having five daughters to marry off, it is 20 years later...and now the Darcys have five daughters. This story focuses on these five young women, mostly from the viewpoint of the second daughter, who is very much like her mother. In fact, all the girls are in many ways the Bennet girls made over into Darcy girls. For anyone looking for some Lizzy/Darcy interaction, this isn't the book you want as they are no where in the story, other than mentioned in an occasional...more

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About Elizabeth Aston

I’m the daughter of two Jane Austen addicts, who decided to call me after a character from one of Jane Austen’s novels. So it’s no wonder that I also became a passionate Jane Austen fan.

Elizabeth Aston is a pen name (it's actually my married name). I first wrote under the name Elizabeth Pewsey, and now Attica Books are reissuing those novels as ebooks under my Aston name.

I've also published seve...more

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