Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife: Pride and Prejudice Continues (Darcy & Elizabeth, #1)

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Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife: Pride and Prejudice Continues (Darcy & Elizabeth #1)

3.36 of 5 stars 3.36 · rating details · 5,984 ratings · 1,078 reviews

What readers are saying
"Whoa, Darcy!"
"Some parts are hilarious and some a walk on the wild side for Austen characters. Curl up and enjoy!"
"Tells the tale I always wanted to hear...how the Darcys lived happily ever after..."
"The only fault I found with this book was that it ended."
Every woman wants to be Elizabeth Bennet Darcy-beautiful, gracious, universally admired,...more

Paperback, 465 pages

Published May 1st 2004 by Sourcebooks Landmark (first published October 15th 1999)

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An Assembly Such as This by Pamela Aidan

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith

Best Pride and Prejudice Sequels/Variations/Adaptations

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Oct 17, 2007 Valerie added it Recommends it for: no one

I was so happy to see that GoodReads allows you to rate something with zero stars! If ever a book merited such treatment, it is this one. This book is so BAD it is unintentionally funny. Very funny. My favorite sentences so far:

"Propitious fortune allowed her to descry whom the crepuscular light yielded."

"The single unseemliness bechanced in her dressing room."

"Whilst still partaking of their meal, Darcy apologised unnecessarily upon the austere winter dressing of his county."

"In the pristine mo...more

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Mar 06, 2008 Edallia added it Recommends it for: Total masochists, people who love laughing at bad books

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. ...and sometimes, to torture myself, I read sequels to Pride and Prejudice. Hey, it's published fanfiction! How cool is that?

So, my personal disclaimer is that I don't expect these sequel writers to write just like Jane Austen. I don't even want them to *try.* If they do, they will fail. Period. I would just prefer them to write *well.* It covers a multitude of sins!

On the book at hand- this was originally published under the title The Bar Sinister, and I did wonder why the title had been change...more ...and sometimes, to torture myself, I read sequels to Pride and Prejudice. Hey, it's published fanfiction! How cool is that?

So, my personal disclaimer is that I don't expect these sequel writers to write just like Jane Austen. I don't even want them to *try.* If they do, they will fail. Period. I would just prefer them to write *well.* It covers a multitude of sins!

On the book at hand- this was originally published under the title The Bar Sinister, and I did wonder why the title had been changed- until I read it. Because this book isn't so much about whether or not Mr. Darcy has an illegitimate son (to quote a far superior Austen adaptation: "As IF!") as it is about the fact that people, Mr. Darcy takes a wife. A lot. All over the place. In various non-sexy and increasingly contrived scenarios.

As if that wasn't non-stimulating enough, the prose is positively *florid* and convoluted and actually unreadable in parts. I'm not going to go after specific examples, because I would never *stop,* but I would like to take this opportunity to introduce Ms. Berdoll to the word "between." Honey, no one is torn betwixt two lovers, they're not betwixt a rock and a hard place, and nobody sits betwixt Bob and Sally at dinner. Okay?

If it wasn't for the direct quote from Love and Freindship and the vague allusion to one of Austen's letters, I wouldn't even believe that Ms. Berdoll has read any of Austen's work. I doubt she's read Pride and Prejudice. I think she saw the A&E miniseries 97 times, thought Mr. Darcy was hot, and sat down to write the ultimate self-insertion wish-fulfillment fantasy fanfic.

Which is exactly how this thing reads. Elizabeth gets a thoroughbred horse! Elizabeth gets a huge diamond necklace! Elizabeth gets her portrait painted! And she gets to christen every room of Pemberley with that hot Colin Firth!

Oops, I meant Mr. Darcy.

Then, after all the hot monkey lovin', everyone but E&D start multiplying like rabbits all over the place! Mr. Collins is randomly killed off in some strange Rube Goldberg sequence! Elizabeth fires a pistol at Lady Catherine! Who wets herself! Various characters take off to the Poorly Researched War! And the presumed-dead Wickham rides up over the hill on his valiant steed, like a zombie clawing his way out of the grave in a horror movie!

And speaking of research (No, I'm NOT done yet!), it probably wouldn't have killed Ms. Berdoll to, you know, do some of that. Who the heck is SIR LUCAS? (And on one memorable occasion, LORD Lucas?) You don't have to be an expert on the British peerage to know that a knight is addresed by Sir Firstname, not Sir Lastname. Why, all you'd have to do is consult that pesky source material! Which also would have told the author that Darcy's mother's name was Anne, not Elinor.

Wait a minute, I take that back. Ms. Berdoll *did* do some pretty extensive research. On Regency slang for naughty parts and the sex act. So at least we all learned something.(less)

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Feb 08, 2008 Cori rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: No one. Not even my worst enemy ... well, maybe my worst enemy.

SO BAD. This is just smutty fanfiction that someone was able to get published. Sex (which was done very stupidly) is on every other page and the characters have been given new, and less flattering backgrounds. Mr. Darcy is a "well endowed" sex god, who has been "spreading his love" around since he was 16. Elizabeth, while still a virgin, was ready to give it up to Darcy before marriage, and would have, if not for an interruption. I just felt like I was growing to dislike these characters who I h...more

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Sep 01, 2008 Alicia added it

When you want a taste of Tudor England, do you turn to Shakespeare, or do you watch The Tudors? You answer might determine whether or not you would enjoy Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife, a book that tries to hide the fact that it is a romance novel by pretending that it might have been imagined by Jane Austen.

I can’t decide if this is a bad book or not. To me, there is a time and a place for the trashiness of The Tudors, or The Other Bolyn Girl, or the part of the BBC Pride and Prejudice when Colin Firth...more When you want a taste of Tudor England, do you turn to Shakespeare, or do you watch The Tudors? You answer might determine whether or not you would enjoy Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife, a book that tries to hide the fact that it is a romance novel by pretending that it might have been imagined by Jane Austen.

I can’t decide if this is a bad book or not. To me, there is a time and a place for the trashiness of The Tudors, or The Other Bolyn Girl, or the part of the BBC Pride and Prejudice when Colin Firth climbs out of the pond in his clingy shirt. That time, for me anyway, is when I need a break from whatever highbrow pursuits I might usually undertake. When, in other words, I just want to be entertained by pretty people walking through pretty landscapes, wearing pretty period clothes. And, you know … doing it.

Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife begins with a note from the author about what a prude Jane Austen was. It offers this “sequel” as an antidote – and that’s the warning sign right there, on page iv. Actually, perhaps the warning sign comes earlier than you realize that you’ve never heard of this author OR the publisher before. You know what that means: other, nobler artists and editors turned this idea down.

At first, the story doesn’t seem all that bad. The writing is almost kind of quaint: lots of words like “hence,” “solicitous,” and “chastement.” If you’re drunk, maybe you can even convince yourself that it sounds a little like a real Jane Austen book. And it opens with our beloved heroine, Lizzy Bennett Darcy, thinking back on her romantic, lustful wedding night. That’s not so bad, is it? Haven’t you always kind of wondered if they made as good a married couple as they did enemies?

But then, by about page 18, the references to Mr. Darcy’s “easily agitated male instrument” begin. They don’t stop. And some of the descriptions are almost nightmarish: “manhood” (although, fine, I expected that one), “ampleness of his credentials,” “commodious organ,” “explicit bulge in the fork of his unhintables,” and so on. Yes, on that trashy level maybe it’s fun to read about how well-endowed Mr. Darcy is, (and I'm not talking about his money). And yet, I’m not sure I fully appreciate it. Will I be able to read Pride and Prejudice again without thinking of his “unhintables?” I really hope so.

My annoyance at the language culminates with the author’s use of the word “compleat.” It’s on just about every page: compleat, compleatly, compleatness, etc. Come on. You are not Jane Austen, you don’t live in olden times – none of us are so confused to believe any of that, so I’m pretty sure you can use the modern spelling.

Right now, my scales are tipping towards the idea that this book sucks. I just can’t decide whether it sucks so bad that it’s actually awesome.

P.S. I just read this line, which is tipping the scales towards 'sucks': In discussing Kitty Bennett's propensity for swooning in front of potential suitors, the author says Kitty puts her "hand on the back of her forehead." Ok. So, I think we all know what she MEANT was "back of the hand to the forehead" since the back of the forehead is, what? The brain? But "back of the forehead" made it into the final draft, the draft that made its way onto a bookshelf. I didn't want to say so before, but now it appears that this book was edited by some livestock. It's called proofreading and everyone from first grade forward is encouraged to do it.
(less)

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Apr 25, 2008 Sarah rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2008-reads

Oh, gosh. I really have no excuse. As such, in my shame, I am going to patch together a review from other people's reviews, as I'm sure what needs to be said has been said. Note: these are all from the first page (of 47) of reviews, as I really can't take reading any more.

I'm embarrassed to admit it--this was a totally enjoyable book (Susan). You cannot take it seriously or try to critique it academically (Ange pronounced Ahhh-nj). This is just smutty fanfiction that someone was able to get publ...more Oh, gosh. I really have no excuse. As such, in my shame, I am going to patch together a review from other people's reviews, as I'm sure what needs to be said has been said. Note: these are all from the first page (of 47) of reviews, as I really can't take reading any more.

I'm embarrassed to admit it--this was a totally enjoyable book (Susan). You cannot take it seriously or try to critique it academically (Ange pronounced Ahhh-nj). This is just smutty fanfiction that someone was able to get published (Cori). If you are looking for nothing more than a romance novel with fancy language and characters who just happen to share names with some illustrious literary figures, you might be pretty happy with your choice (Nicole). Instead of Austen's witty comedy of manners, this is a soap-operatic dramafest, with bastardy, rape, blackmail, stillbirths, adultery (Abbie). This is not Jane Austen. This will never be Jane Austen, as Jane Austen is dead. Purists shouldn't be reading Austen fan fic to begin with (Susan). No one will ever write like her again, so we better just buck up and admit that any book using the same characters and purporting to tell their story certainly will not be anything near a Jane Austen novel (Martha).

As a study tool for the GRE, this might be useful (Alana). The language at times is florid to the point of silly (Susan). Many of the sentences are downright be-cramped with broken sentence structure and overwrought language (Valerie).

People, Mr. Darcy takes a wife. A lot. All over the place. In various non-sexy and increasingly contrived scenarios (Edallia). Darcy and Elizabeth have a very passionate relationship (as we'd all hoped) but even I, who have been around the block a time or two, found myself muttering, "Geez, you two, take a break and have a spot o'tea" (Susan). They call their private bits things like "nonny-nonny" and "larrydoodle," nevermind the inevitable "torch of love" (Erica). A hilarious and satisfying read (Amanda).

If you're the sort of person who giggles and says "Aw snap, Charlotte!", then this is a fun ride (Susan). Trashy fun...totally satisfying (Lara)!

And, finally, (this is me not resisting some snipery): "Horrible sex scenes that have nothing in common with what we would expect from Lizzie and Darcy after P&P" (Nicole)? Really, Nicole? What DID we expect? Please illuminate us. And also, I will bet at least four of my toes that a very tiny number of people grousing about this not being a witty drawing-room comedy of manners or whatev take any interest whatsoever in contemporary drawing-room comedies of manners written by people who are the ACTUAL, if lesser, heirs to Austen. No writer who could legitimately be called an heir to Austen would ever, EVER, write any kind of Austeniana. You dumbasses. No one who picked up -- much less flipped through at the bookstore and spent $12.95 on -- this book in its gilted, nipple-baring cover has any right to complain. It really could not be clearer what you are (and are not) getting.(less)

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Jan 28, 2008 Susan rated it 4 of 5 stars

I'm embarrassed to admit it--this was a totally enjoyable book. Unlike the yawn-inducing Mr. Knightly's Diary this took great liberties with the plot, taking off where the original leaves off.

First, this is not Jane Austen. This will never be Jane Austen, as Jane Austen is dead. Purists shouldn't be reading Austen fan fic to begin with.

That said, the author throws down a gauntlet in the forward with a quote from smack-talking Charlotte Bronte who writes that Austen can't write past the weddin...more

29 likes · like · see review

Sep 27, 2011 Kathy rated it 1 of 5 stars

Okay, it didn't help that there were about 150 pages repeated in this book, plus about as many missing. I realize this was a printing error, but the book was SO BAD that I hated it even before I discovered the pagination problems. This was written by a woman who had never read Pride & Prejudice but saw the BBC version (which totally rocks) on TV. Feeling cheated because the book ends with Darcy & Elizabeth's marriage but no description of the consummation of their passion, she decided to...more

7 likes · like · see review

Aug 05, 2007 Nicole rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: people I dislike

Shelves: 19thcentury

Please, don't read this book, or, if you feel compelled to, please don't tell me you did unless it is with the intent to vent your anger and frustration that such a travesty was ever published. If you do not feel highly protective of Darcy, Lizzie, Jane Austen, and all her writing stands for, you might get some enjoyment out of this book. If you love Jane for her satire and excellent but unforced language, as well as respectable characters, you might be brought to tears or to burning this book.
J...more

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Feb 18, 2013 D.G. marked it as dnf · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed

I have high tolerance for most P&P fan fiction but this one was TERRIBLE! The idea was to make it a spicy version (sort of what happens after they married) but the "author" used a very convoluted style of writing with weird words all over. For example:

Propitious fortune allowed her to descry whom the crepuscular light yielded.

WTH is that supposed to mean?

Then she used some words that I even doubted were real, which I later confirmed when I looked for "discaution" in the dictionary and didn't...more

8 likes · like · see review

Jan 26, 2008 Lara rated it 4 of 5 stars

Trashy fun...totally satisfying! Yes, a trashy book can be satisfying indeed. Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife filled a massive void in my life: what the heck happens to Darcy and Elizabeth after Pride and Prejudice????

I have no idea how many times I've read Pride and Prejudice. It is at least an bi-annual tradition. I also tend to wallow in a self-imposed gloom if I don't get to watch the BBC's most excellent, divinely-inspired 1995 mini-series Pride and Prejudice at least once a year. Berdoll's book has...more

15 likes · like · see review

Oct 15, 2007 Susan rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: the Austen lover who wishes Darcy and Elizabeth did more than kiss at the end

Berdoll spins quite an entertaining tale. One of the Brontes once said that Austen wrote about a chaste kiss because she was smart enough to write only what she herself knew about...Berdoll really takes it from there. Darcy and Elizabeth have a very passionate relationship (as we'd all hoped) but even I, who have been around the block a time or two, found myself muttering, "Geez, you two, take a break and have a spot o'tea." Once you get past the fact that this is supposed to be an Austen-like s...more

14 likes · like · see review

May 17, 2007 Nat Dear rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: lonely housewives

Someone PLEASE, for the love of god, take away Linda Berdoll's thesaurus. She uses it like holy water to ward off her sinfully atrocious plot and subplots. The tawdry crime of affixing "era appropriate" colloquialisms (i.e. "gel", "chit", "the ton," "the season") should only remain in lower-brow, period romance novels. Not to speak against insipid, salacious romance novels, I am a fan; however Berdoll managed to make a complete mockery of Jane Austen's timeless classic. She has sullied the name...more

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Apr 12, 2010 Zeek rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: hist-rom, hist-fiction, the-jane

I loved it. It picks up right after Elizabeth and Darcy's wedding and shows us a relationship that Jane Austen could never have written in the early part of the 19th century as the virginal, unmarried woman that she was. This version is too sexy a read!

Make no mistake, Jane Austen purists will hate it. I have to think too that Austen would not have approved of someone messing with her characters, but then, what author does?

The basic elements are the same, Darcy remains the quintessential hero an...more

11 likes · like · see review

Jan 26, 2008 Maribel rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to Maribel by: Rebecca

Of course nothing equals Jane Austen's writing, but since I wanted a peek into what happens to Elizabeth and Darcy this is a guilty pleasure (that is best read with your husband)

9 likes · like · see review

Aug 01, 2007 D rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: fanfiction, unfinished

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

16 likes · like · see review

Sep 12, 2008 Marcie rated it 4 of 5 stars

I am a huge Jane Austen fan. Pride and Prejudice is one of my favorite books. Not because I’m a book snob and it’s a classic, but because it’s a good book. Many Austen fans hate Mr. Darcy takes a wife because they think it’s nothing like Pride and Prejudice. I disagree.

Jane Austen’s ability to poke fun at herself and her society is reflected in Berdoll. The forward quotes Charlotte Bronte saying Austen couldn’t write past the wedding because she herself knew nothing about the physical pleasure t...more

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Apr 17, 2008 Kristen rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: romance

I stole this review from someone else, because it perfectly states what I thought:

" SO BAD. This is just smutty fanfiction that someone was able to get published. Sex (which was done very stupidly) is on every other page and the characters have been given new, and less flattering backgrounds. Mr. Darcy is a "well endowed" sex god, who has been "spreading his love" around since he was 16. Elizabeth, while still a virgin, was ready to give it up to Darcy before marriage, and would have, if not for...more

10 likes · like · see review

Mar 10, 2008 Rachel Ferguson added it

I got about 20 pages in before I threw the book in the trash. Although I appreciate an author's ability and desire to continue beloved stories where the original author left off, this particular example was disappointing and disgusting. The author's vain attempt at writing with the understanding and breadth of the early 19th century Jane Austen was irritating and disappointing. According to this author, all early 19th conversations started with the word "Pray", and her authorial narrations inclu...more

6 likes · like · see review

Feb 07, 2008 Marjorie Hakala rated it 1 of 5 stars

Some of the many, many sex scenes in this book offer some insights into the characters that we love. Most of them do not. This novel is populated with caricatures--Charlotte Collins ghosting around with dead eyes, Mrs. Bennet screaming everything all the time, Darcy the world's greatest lover and Bingley the most clueless. All of it punctuated with fantasy after lurid fantasy in stilted pseudo-nineteenth-century prose. There must be a better way of understanding Austen's characters as sexual adu...more

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Jul 20, 2007 Abbie rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: chicklit

Why, oh why, do I keep reading books that propose to be sequels to "Pride and Prejudice"? I love the original so much that reading all these imitations is the literary equivalent of watching a good friend being beaten up and not doing anything about it.

ANyway. Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy get married. And they have sex. Oh, boy, do they have sex. If I were 12 years old and still curious about how that sort of thing worked I'd be delighted, but as it was, I kept wanting to scream "Will you two just st...more

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Aug 26, 2011 Deb rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

If I could put less then one star, I would. This book was that bad. Pride and Prejudice was one of my favorite books. Linda Berdoll has taken a great story, with wonderful characters, and turned it into something worse than a trashy romance novel!

She turned Darcy and Lizzy into simpering, pathetic characters who are forced into one ridiculous crisis after another. Add to that the apparent need to have them constantly clawing at each other sexually. They love each other...we get it. They enjoy s...more If I could put less then one star, I would. This book was that bad. Pride and Prejudice was one of my favorite books. Linda Berdoll has taken a great story, with wonderful characters, and turned it into something worse than a trashy romance novel!

She turned Darcy and Lizzy into simpering, pathetic characters who are forced into one ridiculous crisis after another. Add to that the apparent need to have them constantly clawing at each other sexually. They love each other...we get it. They enjoy sex with each other...we get it. "Don't bathe because I want to look at you and know I'm running down your leg" isn't sexy or romantic, it's disgusting. No joke, the first several chapters of the book are so focused on sex, and in such a ridiculous way, I almost didn't think I was going to be able to keep reading. Think of reading a trashy romance novel that written in such a way as to attempt to be coy, "proper", etc. It's just plain awful.

She turns Darcy into a murderer, and Bingley into a philanderer. She turns Jane into a witless prude. I'm assuming her intent was to turn Georgiana into a strong female, but instead turns her into a headstrong, selfish girl who has no regard for the terror she causes her family. The only characters that she doesn't butcher are Lady Catherine, Lidia and Mrs. Bennett. Even what she does with Wickahm is disappointing, but I don't want to say what it is, as it would be a spoiler (although you'll have it figured out long before the end of the book).

She also introduces new characters that are entirely unnecessary. Does anyone really care about the glorified whore (Juliette) that Darcy had sex with before falling in love with Lizzy? Do we really care whether or not Hannah (Lizzy's lady maid) or Goodwin (Darcy's) have an interest in each other? Is it really necessary to introduce John Christie, the child of Abby Christie, a chambermaid that both Darcy and Wickahm slept with in their youth?

In conclusion, this books sucked. If you really want to read a sequel to Pride and Prejudice, one of the other numerous offerings out there have got to be better than this one. (less)

1 like · like · see review

Jul 08, 2008 Elisa rated it 2 of 5 stars

I woke up this morning in a very poor frame of mine, indeterminate of whether to rise and face the world or give up on life, work, school, and breakfast.

The reasons for my my listlessness can be traced back to the fact that I stayed up late the night before reading a very poor novel.

I am a great fan of Pride and Prejudice. In fact, on a blogquiz that Webel took for me, I was dubbed "most like Elizabeth Bennet" of all the Austen characters. The fact that Webel apparently does not know me at all...more I woke up this morning in a very poor frame of mine, indeterminate of whether to rise and face the world or give up on life, work, school, and breakfast.

The reasons for my my listlessness can be traced back to the fact that I stayed up late the night before reading a very poor novel.

I am a great fan of Pride and Prejudice. In fact, on a blogquiz that Webel took for me, I was dubbed "most like Elizabeth Bennet" of all the Austen characters. The fact that Webel apparently does not know me at all somewhat dampens my exceeding good pleasure at this outcome, but in any case, I love Elizabeth Bennet and Darcy as characters.

So it is really no wonder that after seeing a sequel to P&P in several bookstores, I seized upon the prospect of discovering "what happens next" to some of literature's most beloved and timeless characters. Fortunately, I thought to rent the book from the library and read other user reviews before buying it. (The reviews were alarmingly divergent... people either loved or hated the book, which is why I checked it out from the library before buying).

I am very glad now that I did this. Last night, about 5 chapters in, I threw down the book in utter disgust anad repented to God for reading such trash. I agree with the reviewer who claims that Austen would turn in her grave were she to see the "b-grade porn" her poor characters have been subjected to. I do not know what a- or c-grade porn looks like, but I am very disappointed. I don't consider myself to be an Austen purist and am all for someone trying to tell the sequal of the Darcys, but I feel like this book is a romance novel which only borrows names from great literature. Furthermore, the writer swings in and out of Austen's prosaic style somewhat awfully.

Another interesting side note is that this book was originally self-published and then picked up by a house (albeit one of which I've never heard). I work with in the printing/publishing industry and as a general rule, authors don't self publish unless they cannot find a publisher willing to bank on their success. Furthermore, all the reviews on the back cover are not attributed to such literary behemoths as Publisher's Weekly or the New York Times... they are user reviews, and anonymous ones at that.

I am giving this book two stars because I really was intrigued by the plot... I just couldn't continue the novel to further explore it! (less)

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May 24, 2008 Alexis rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: no one

Shelves: jane-austen, did-not-like, my-reviews

Don't do it to yourself. If you have any love for Jane Austen at all, you'll leave this one on the shelf. I couldn't even get through it. The author clearly misses what makes Elizabeth and Darcy who they are, and has twisted them into what she wants them to be. It reads like she sat there with a Regency era thesaurus to enhance the "historical" nature of the novel, in an attempt to legitimize a plot that's littered with pure smut. I used to use the term "fanfiction" for all of these Pride and Pr...more

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Sep 07, 2008 Sarah rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: people who like really bad books

1 1/2 stars. VERY disappointing.
I suppose it was my own fault for not reading the reviews first.
Written in a Jane Austen-esque style, this book was completely UN Austen as they get.
Elizabeth Bennet turned into a complete Nymphomaniac!
Although she never ran out of euphamisms for sex. I was amazed at how many descriptions she came up with for the act.
It was VERY hard to read about Mr darcy's "Well endowed member" . This is MR DARCY! You can't write stuff liket hat about him!! AHHHH.

It was nice to...more

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Sep 06, 2008 Jenn rated it 1 of 5 stars

I started this book and couldn't get past the first few chapters for one main reason-- the characters are no longer Austen's. Granted, Berdoll is not Austen, and so any character will undoubtedly be different. But there should be at least some resemblance of them to the original. I found none of the humor, wit, or thought in either character that was so apparent in Austen's. And it bothered me a little, too, noting that this change of personality for both came after marriage. A marriage will cha...more

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Dec 23, 2007 Ani rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: fans of Jane Austen who can't stop themselves from reading this book

This is a terrible, terrible book. The author is completely obsessed with sex. She's as bad as Dr. Gregory House! That wouldn't be so bad, but the language is terrible. She is trying to use the language of the period, but it ends up being florid to the point of ridiculousness. I also get the sense that the author hasn't actually read the original, and gotten her details from the BBC/A&E miniseries. She gets some of the minor details wrong (like Mr. Darcy's mother's name, etc.).

Although they...more

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Feb 18, 2009 Jeanie rated it 1 of 5 stars

I thought maybe the author would take que from Jane Austen and follow a similar path of writing. Not so. I actually couldn't finish as it was in my opinion too offensive...

3 likes · like · see review

Aug 01, 2007 Shelley rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: chicklitromance, historical

After the discussion with Rory, I ended up skimming where I left off, and then full out reading. It took forever but I also couldn't let it go. The book was pretty much a mess - felt like two books, really. And the characterization - ack. Look at it as a romance novel featuring a guy who looked like Colin Firth and you were fine. As P&P, less so.

It was divided into three parts: Lots and Lots of Sex (I still can't get over the bathtub scene - nothing stopped them!); Lots and Lots of Babies (...more

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Oct 30, 2007 Amber rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: like making love...

This book is hot. I am a HUGE fan of Mr. Darcy anyways and this just is a page turner...It is VERY long and I do have to say, the times without Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth were not my favorite. I love the addition to the story and love how the language and pace of the book is similar to that of Jane Austin. Very true to her character with a little spice.

Yes, it is a little less complex than the original but it is a more up to date TV-fide version which I do like. Yes, the sex is happening all the ti...more

1 like · like · see review

Sep 21, 2008 V rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Those who like bawdy romances

Recommended to V by: Book Club

Shelves: throw-out

This book is "ok" if you have never read Pride & Prejudice or if you completely throw out anything you know about the characters, or if you pretend their was a huge nuclear accident and they all are "changed" by it before the book starts.

The writing isn't as bad some JA knock-offs, but its clearly not Jane Austen or anywhere near it. I barely got 1/3 of the way through it, and only that because I really was trying to finish it for a book club. It would have been much better as a book alone w...more

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Beyond Mr. Darcy:...: December 2012: Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife	3	9	Jan 01, 2013 03:22pm

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About Linda Berdoll

Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife was originally self-published in 1999 as The Bar Sinister and sold a phenomenal 10,000 copies. In 2004 Sourcebooks purchased the rights and republished it under its original title. Readership soared and, thanks to their request for more, in 2006 Linda penned Darcy & Elizabeth: Nights and Days at Pemberley. At last count, over 250,000 of Linda's Pride & Prejudice sequ...more

More about Linda Berdoll...

Books by Linda Berdoll

Darcy & Elizabeth: Nights and Days at Pemberley (Darcy & Elizabeth, #2)

The Darcys: The Ruling Passion (Darcy & Elizabeth, #3)

Very Nice Ways to Say Very Bad Things: The Unusual Book of Euphemisms

Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice Sequel Bundle: 3 Reader Favorites

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Quotes from Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife...

“He purchased that great canvas also bearing the likeness to his beloved, for he could not bear another to look upon what he dreamed each night...but as he now had enjoyed the quite singular pleasure of his wife's true form revealed to him, he knew he would have [it] returned... At one time he had thought it quite impossible, but now he understood how truly inadequate the vision cast by his mind's eye had been.” — 10 people liked it

“Because he has never forgiven himself any fault, he can forgive no one else's.” — 8 people liked it

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title link	preview: Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife: Pride and Prejudice Continues
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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/83221.Mr_Darcy_Takes_a_Wife?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347777561l/83221.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/83221.Mr_Darcy_Takes_a_Wife?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife: Pride and Prejudice Continues by Linda Berdoll[/url]

Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife: Pride and Prejudice Continues (Darcy & Elizabeth #1)

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