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Wickham's Diary

by Amanda Grange (Goodreads Author)

2.96 of 5 stars 2.96 · rating details · 139 ratings · 36 reviews

11 July 1784
"Why should I be beneath Fitzwilliam? I am just as handsome as he is; I am just as intelligent, even though he works harder at his books; and I am just as amusing; in fact I dare say I am a great deal more amusing, for Fitzwilliam is so proud he will not take the trouble to entertain other people. Yet although he is no better than me, when he grows up he will...more

Paperback, 208 pages

Published April 1st 2011 by Sourcebooks Landmark (first published March 3rd 2011)

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Apr 28, 2013 Deborah Vespo rated it 3 of 5 stars

I'm usually pretty happy with Amanda Grange's books. She feeds my thirst for another Darcy and Elizabeth story. I was intrigued when I saw this one and was not quite thrilled with it once I reached it's conclusion. It's pretty much background story on his childhood, his relationship with his parents, how his mother feeds his wicked and spoiled rotten nature, and his roguish behavior while in school at Cambridge and then on afterward. I was hoping to hear his perspective while in Meryton after me...more

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Aug 04, 2012 Blair Mirth rated it 5 of 5 stars

Thoughts/ Review:

This is my first real taste of anything Austen and while I know people usually start with the original before moving onto the re-tellings and prequels and other Austen like novels, I decided to dip my toes in the other end and picked up Wickham’s Diary, by Amanda Grange in hope that I would get a feel for the time period, and hopefully like it enough to want to pick up the original.
My verdict: I loved it. It was so easy to read and I slipped right into the time period with no wo...more Thoughts/ Review:

This is my first real taste of anything Austen and while I know people usually start with the original before moving onto the re-tellings and prequels and other Austen like novels, I decided to dip my toes in the other end and picked up Wickham’s Diary, by Amanda Grange in hope that I would get a feel for the time period, and hopefully like it enough to want to pick up the original.
My verdict: I loved it. It was so easy to read and I slipped right into the time period with no worries. For me I am not a huge fan of classics as I find it hard to get into Historical fiction [not my preferred taste] but every once in a while I like to mix it up and try something different. I have Misty over a The Book Rat to thank for it because without her Austen in August events I probably would have let it slide.

In this novel we get to meet George Wickham who seems charming and intellectual, until you really get to know him and understand that he is a lazy, selfish man who spends every cent he’s got and is in so much debt that he is being hunted by collectors. I must admit I have a thing for bad boys but for the most part of the novel it wasn’t that he was a bad boy, he was just plain reckless. But for some reason it worked for me and I enjoyed reaching about his nights spent with women and his endless journey in finding a ‘beautiful and wealthy heiress’ to marry into for money.

The begging of the novel and the progression of Wickham’s relationship with his controlling mother and Fitzwilliam was one of my favorite parts of the novel. It is through these encounters and conversations with his mother that we learn her hopes for his future and that without his mother steering him in the right direction he is truly a lost soul. For the better half of his childhood his mother conditioned him with the ideals she wanted him to have and prepped him up for a successful life, but after his parents pass he goes on a spiral downwards and looses not only his family, but the Darcy’s through death and an ending of his friendship with Fitzwilliam, of course to no one’s fault but his own.

I think that is what I took most from the novel and what really propelled me into wanting to read more about Pride and Prejudice. That even today it is no different to what it was. For instance like Fitzwilliam’s dream, his pursuit for something more, and the pursuit for his happiness that is still relevant in today’s world as is the men who waste their lives away with money, drinks and women and toss away their futures. It’s real and I think Amanda did a wonderful job with keeping with the time period and yet making it even modern without having to resort to a complete re-telling set in modern times.

Now I can’t say for certain how Wickham’s diary reflects on the original, but I certainly recommend it for fans of Austen and for those who love the time period and regency fiction. It is a light, short and often cheeky and humorous read and Wickham’s constant epic fails are a highlight throughout the whole novel, and even though I rolled my eyes at his nature, I still wanted to read on in hopes of a happy ending.

I am giving this:
★★★★★
Lovely Bonnet’s
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Apr 29, 2011 Linda Banche rated it 5 of 5 stars

In WICKHAM'S DIARY, Amanda Grange has written a cautionary tale of how circumstances and personality can conspire to make a man go wrong.

In Georgian and Regency England, birth was all. No matter how brilliant, hardworking or even wealthy, a person's place in the natural hierarchy trumped all. But if a man was not born to wealth and power, he could obtain some if he used his opportunities.

Wickham, son of the elder Darcy's steward, was the younger Darcy's childhood playmate and friend. As such, Wi...more

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May 12, 2011 Serena rated it 3 of 5 stars

Amanda Grange's Wickham's Diary takes a look at Wickham's relationship with his childhood friend Darcy before they became enemies. Even in the early entries, readers get a sense that Wickham feels he is entitled to certain pleasantries and that he is better than Darcy in many ways. Much of this stems from his jealousy at being merely the steward's son and being born into a particular class.

"Fitzwilliam and I rode out this early morning. We raced down to the river and I won, beating him by a good...more

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Apr 04, 2011 Staci rated it 2 of 5 stars

Recommended to Staci by: Sourcebooks

Shelves: 2011-reads

My Thoughts:
I have to admit that I was disappointed in this one. No two ways about it. I thought and hoped that the author would develop Wickham's character and really give us (her idea why) the reason why he turned out to be such an abuser of women! Alas, I was wrong. He seems to have just been a bad egg, which he came by honestly enough from his manipulative mother. I'm glad that this one was short ,so I didn't feel too terrible about the time I spent reading it.

Recommend? Only to the die-hard...more

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Aug 29, 2011 Michelle Fidler rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book uses characters from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice and George Wickham is the main character. It ends after he tries to elope with Georgiana Darcy. I enjoyed the book. It's shorter than some of her other books, such as Mr. Darcy's Diary and Captain Wentworth's Diary. It's a quick read at only 195 pages, smaller than the average trade paperback, and it has a good size print. I couldn't believe that I read it so fast; I never finish books that quick! I checked it out of the library on...more

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Apr 04, 2011 Crystal rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc, for-review, read-april-2011

I loved this book. Sometimes it's easy to be disappointed by other authors taking a stab at Jane Austen fiction, but I was not at all disappointed with Ms. Grange's take on this Pride and Prejudice character.

A quick easy read, written as a diary by the infamous George Wickham from Pride and Prejudice. Wickham's Diary takes us from Wickham at age 8 right up to the point where he crosses Mr. Darcy by trying to run off and elope with his sister Georgiana.

It's very interesting getting a better feel...more

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Feb 19, 2013 Alexandria Steele rated it 3 of 5 stars

It was only okay. Wickham was portrayed as a horrible person without really showing why he was like that. I would have liked to see what influences in his life made him the way he was. It's probably good that they made him so bad, because otherwise I would have been rooting for Miss. Darcy to run away with him. I tend to root for the protagonist not matter how unworthy. The book ends right before we pick him back up in Pride and Prejudice. I chose this book because it seemed like it would be a s...more

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May 31, 2012 Georgiana 1792 rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: old-friends-new-fancies

Piccole Canaglie Crescono

Il Diario di Wickham inizia quando George è un ragazzino di dodici anni. Fin dalle prime righe si vede che è sprezzante, invidioso, infastidito di dover svolgere compiti – come occuparsi del proprio cavallo – solo perché Fitzwilliam, che è il figlio del padrone di Pemberley, lo fa.
George vorrebbe essere fortunato come Darcy: diventare ricco senza doversi impegnare in niente (trascurando di pensare che essere erede di una grande tenuta come Pemberley comporta una dose mas...more

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Jul 08, 2011 Megan rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2011

Wow! I found this book very enjoyable. It sheds a new light on Wickham, a man almost everyone hates. It shows how and why he became the way he did and it made me feel a little bit sorry for him. It shows him to have a heart, which of course we know he later does not have.

Of course, with who this book is about, there are a couple of scenes that show his low morals, but they are well done! They make it clear what he is about to do or what he already did, but they are not in detail - which I was ve...more

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Apr 29, 2011 Marla rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-read-in-2011, epistolary-novels, historical-fiction, jane-austen

This was a very quick read for me. I was stuck awake with heartburn and read it within an hour and a half. This isn't a very detailed book, but it does provide an interesting theory as to why Wickham is the way he is. It is a character study in jealousy and entitlement and I was left disliking him even more for knowing it. Grange details a possible scenario as to why Wickham tried to elope with Darcy's sister, Georgiana, as well as how he knew her companion, Mrs. Younge. He is every bit as devio...more

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May 19, 2011 Lori rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: jane-austen-austen-inspired, historical-fiction

Let's start with the utterly shallow on this book. The cover is divine, isn't it? I love the plume through the paper, I love the man (presumably Wickham) on the right side of the page with only half his face revealed (a portend of Wickham never truly revealing all himself?) and the ladies on the upper left (Wickham's weakness).

On to the actual book, I love that author Amanda Grange took Pride and Prejudice's bad boy, extremely relevant to the overall story and yet still a supporting character,...more Let's start with the utterly shallow on this book. The cover is divine, isn't it? I love the plume through the paper, I love the man (presumably Wickham) on the right side of the page with only half his face revealed (a portend of Wickham never truly revealing all himself?) and the ladies on the upper left (Wickham's weakness).

On to the actual book, I love that author Amanda Grange took Pride and Prejudice's bad boy, extremely relevant to the overall story and yet still a supporting character, and based a book around him. After all, Jane Austen didn't give much insight into George Wickham's mind and actions, other than through others' recountings. The reader receives some strong ideas from Wickham's own fictionalized tales to Elizabeth but the focus remains on Elizabeth and how she perceives Wickham's tales and how this affects her presumptions toward Mr. Darcy.

Wickham's Diary allows readers to peek inside George Wickham's world, as the son of the weathy Mr. Darcy's steward and a flighty, flirtacious mother, through relatively brief diary entries spoken in his voice. The entries begin when Wickham is twelve, and already chafing against the system that does not allow him to be young Fitzwilliam Darcy's equal. The undertones of jealousy and resentment are already set, heightened by young George's mother's wish of a more affluent lifestyle and her assertions to her son that he will do something better with his life than becoming a steward.

I was fond of seeing Wickham's home life from his own perspective and what events conspired to shape him into the rogue we were introduced to in Pride and Prejudice. His mother proved a fascinating character, far more so than his father, and Wickham's relationship with her, told through the author's eyes, explained a lot of his future endeavors.

I also enjoyed seeing the characters and set ups that would eventually come to shape Pride and Prejudice and the roads that would lead Wickham to Meryton on the day that would bring him into the Bennet family's world, with Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley to witness it.

It was additionally rewarding to see the Darcy family from an outside eye, even one as jaundiced as George Wickham's. Most Pride and Prejudice retellings focus on Darcy as an adult already, so it was pleasurable to read about him as a young boy and adolescent. It was also nice to read about the senior Mr. Darcy, since very little has been written about him other than being a good man.

Despite these excellent points, I was discouraged that the book was so slim. Granted, George Wickham is not as major a character as Mr. Darcy, or Mr. Knightley from Emma, (author Amanda Grange has written "diaries" of these characters, among others) but I do think he was slightly shortchanged in this tome. For example, the book ends prior to his fateful meeting with the Bennet girls in Meryton. I, for one, would have loved to read Wickham's viewpoint on seeing Darcy, for the first time since his aborted elopement with Georgiana, in the village, and upon meeting both Elizabeth and Lydia. I also would have liked to know his thoughts on Lydia and her silliness and exactly what drove him, beside hormones, to encourage Lydia to believe he was going to run off to Gretna Green with her. And who wouldn't want to know Wickham's thoughts upon his first introduction to his eventual mother-in-law, Mrs. Bennet?

Unfortunately, Wickham's Diary deprives the reader of that. I can only speculate that the author ended the book where she did, assuming that Pride and Prejudice readers would be able to figure out, based on Jane Austen's book, what happened next with Wickham. True enough, but it still would have been a fun ride to continue. And space did indeed allow.

All that said, I enjoyed Wickham's Diary and found it a speedy, entertaining romp through George Wickham's world of drink, debauchery and drive. For Pride and Prejudice fans, it should go on their wish list.

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Apr 06, 2011 Laurel rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: austen-sequel, regency-era-fiction

A charming rogue, a gamester and an infamous eloper gets his own story

Austen’s bad boy George Wickham gets top billing in this prequel to Pride and Prejudice that will surprise readers for more reasons than one first imagines.

Anyone who has read Jane Austen’s original novel or seen one of the many movie adaptations knows that Wickham is a bad man: a charming rogue, a gamester and an infamous eloper. But what influences molded his character and what forces drove him to his choices? Wickham’s Diar...more

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Sep 17, 2011 Meredith (Austenesque Reviews) rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: jane-austen, pride-and-prejudice

George Wickham, fortune hunter, seducer of young women, and wastrel, had not only all the appearance goodness but a childhood situation that held a lot of promise. As the son of a steward, godson of the late Mr. Darcy, and playmate to the heir Pemberley, Wickham's future could have been bright. He had good looks, pleasing manners, and the approbation of a wealthy man. What went wrong?

In Wickham's Diary by Amanda Grange we learn that George Wickham, along with his mother both feel some displeasur...more

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Oct 14, 2011 Becca rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: brititsh-literature

I had previously read Darcy's diary and loved it. So I picked up Wickham's Diary and was a little dissapointed because of its timeline. It didn't take place during the Darcy/Bennett time as did Darcy's Diary. It took place during his time at Pemberly up to his attempted elopment with Georgiana. However it was written well in that she paints his character well and you loath him and his mother all throughout the book. It was good but left me wanting to know what his view was with the Bennetts.

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Aug 03, 2012 Christy rated it 2 of 5 stars

As a fan of Grange's Austen Hero series, I was interested to see what she'd do with Wickham. The book was super short and it ends where Pride and Prejudice begins which disappointed me greatly. I wanted to know what Wickham thought of Elizabeth and what in the world he was thinking when he ran off with Lydia. The book seemed so incomplete without these elements. My advice, read "Mr. Darcy's Diary" instead.

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Apr 20, 2012 Samantha rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: library, 2012

This prequel to "Pride and Prejudice" begins with George Wickham at age 12, handsome and charming but also acutely aware that his friend, Fitzwilliam Darcy, is rich, whilst he is poor.

Wickham's Diary is only the second of Amanda Grange's novels that I have read, and to be perfectly honest, I found this novel not as interesting or page turning as I thought I would.

As a reader, I found the novel rushed and under developed, though it was interesting to learn about Wickham's boyhood and his early ye...more

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Jul 11, 2012 Shiralea Woodhouse rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: jane-austen-ish

This is a prequel of sorts to P&P. A very quick read (I would have actually liked to see a bit more story) and interesting insight into perhaps what makes bad boy Mr. Wickham so...Wickham. I think George here has the same problem as many young men today - he wants it all with no consequences. I think Grange does a good job of keeping with his true character from P&P.

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Jun 14, 2011 Charlene rated it 3 of 5 stars

I was a little diappointed at the end of this book. I had the feeling that it was not quite finished. The story was very good up til that point, but I thought the author made Darcy to dark and even a little mean. Of course we are seeing him through Wickhim's prospective, so I did buy it. For those who think George Wickhim's the worst villian of Jane Austen this novel will give you a different prospect. I would of rated this book higher but the ending was to abrupt and should of ended where P &...more

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Sep 02, 2011 Mischelle rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Jane Austen fans

Shelves: jane-austen

I read this story in half a day today. A short story about George Wickham before he comes to Meryton to meet Elizabeth Bennet and her sisters. Very creative story. I liked it.

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Apr 06, 2011 Chrissy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: arcs-i-own, austen-fan-fiction, regency-era, georgian-era, historical-fiction, rao-reviews, 2011

Deep down I have never felt like Wickham was simply a “bad guy”. That’s too black and white for someone such as me who loves a world full of various shades of grey. My feelings about Wickham were amplified (and perhaps even echoed) by the BBC series Lost in Austen which showed us a completely different side of Wickham, painting him not as the selfish rogue but as a man who took on a bad reputation in order to spare the loss of Georgiana Darcy’s repute.

Continue reading (and enter to win a copy!)...more

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Apr 03, 2012 Kate rated it 2 of 5 stars

Meh. I've liked Grange's other Austen-from-Hero's-POV books but this one left me cold. Wickham's narrative sounds far too young for the 12-year-old at the beginning, and continues to sound dim-ish for the rest of the book, which ends just after the attempted elopement with Georgiana Darcy. There's no good reason for Wickham to turn out the way he does, at least not in this narrative, but even if he's really a sociopath that doesn't make for interesting reading. Also there's a weirdly dropped thr...more

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May 14, 2013 Elfmagic Taylor rated it 3 of 5 stars

I enjoyed seeing the story from a different perspective from the eyes of Wickham.

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Dec 02, 2012 Karla rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: from-library-returned

I found this book very enjoyable and i finished the same day i started it.

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Feb 13, 2012 Regina Hunter rated it 3 of 5 stars

Fast read over a cup of tea. Do not expect too much of a grandeur nor greatness of Austin. It is very, very simple "novel" just to clarify some of the things in the original novel.

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Jul 13, 2011 writer... rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: alphabet-reading-challenge-2011, janeausten

quick afternoon read ~
very likely background on this scoundrel!

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Jan 02, 2013 Daniela Brito rated it 2 of 5 stars

It had nothing good to ass to Austen's character...

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Mar 29, 2012 Rakisha rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: dnf

I put aside my negativity about Jane Austen and all the hoopla surrounding her works (including Pride and Prejudice) to check out Wickham's Diary, which seemed like it might be a delightful piece of fluff that would include ingredients from Gossip Girl, Edith Wharton, and American Psycho. I was sadly disappointed that it turned out to be a bit of a flat read that didn't allow me to connect with Wickham. All the elements were there (i.e. envy, scheming, overbearing mum) but they didn't gel.

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May 16, 2013 Shankia Tinsley rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

Just as the comments say on the cover, Amanda Grange seems to really understand George Wickham's character; she truly has created a masterpeice of a gateway to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice and set the backdrop to what follows in the piece.

I really enjoyed reading Wickham's Diary!

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Jun 14, 2011 Stephanie rated it 2 of 5 stars

The writing is good as it always is with Amanda Grange. It was extremely frustrating that it first ended so early and second that I was able to read it in a little over an hour! I guess I was just hoping for more.

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About Amanda Grange

Amanda Grange was born in Yorkshire and spent her teenage years reading Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer whilst also finding time to study music at Nottingham University. She has had sixteen novels published including six Jane Austen retellings, which look at events from the heroes' points of view.

Woman said of Mr Darcy's Diary: "Lots of fun, this is the tale behind the alpha male," whilst The Wash...more

More about Amanda Grange...

Books by Amanda Grange

Mr. Darcy's Diary (Jane Austen Heroes, #1)

Mr. Knightley's Diary (Jane Austen Heroes, #2)

Captain Wentworth's Diary (Jane Austen Heroes, #3)

Colonel Brandon's Diary (Jane Austen Heroes, #5)

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