Consequence: Or Whatever Became of Charlotte Lucas

by Elizabeth Newark (Illustrator)

Book by

Genres: Fiction

131 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1997

Reviews

[Sophia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm ever curious about how life treated several of Jane Austen's minor characters after they slipped off the scene and one of those is Charlotte Lucas. It was fun discovering this novella on a booklist and getting a chance to pick it up when it is not easy to find and I was even more delighted by the light and fun way the story was presented.

Consequence starts out catching the reader up quickly on Charlotte Collins nee Lucas and her now grown family living at Longbourn before the book changes up using the excuse of two of the younger generation, Henry Darcy and Eliza Collins' romantic interest to carry the story to Pemberley and catch up on all the rest of the extended Bennet-Darcy family and friends. Now, at this point, I was tickled to discover that the author slipped in an entertaining pastiche of several Austen couples from other novels and their extended family for a grand reunion at Pemberley. At the heart of this pastiche are a few core story threads- Henry and Eliza's blooming romance, a few other romances, time with Charlotte, but also time with Darcy and Lizzy. Conflict arises, youth comes of age, and a new generation are set to ride off into the sunset while Charlotte discovers more happiness in her later years than she ever dreamed from her decision to follow her head instead of her heart.

This book is compact and the story within quickly gets the reader up to speed, leaps to new scenes and brings things to a head rapidly. It can be underdeveloped in spots and rushes through with summaries at times, but for all that, I was delighted by it and what happened with the characters and story. If Austen readers come across this gem, it is worth the read.

[Jennie · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a book as short as this was, there were way too many characters. I did not like how families of the characters from Jane Austen's other books were brought into the story. Would have preferred it to just be P&P characters.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lovely bit of Austen fluff.

[Gail · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a Janeite and don't usually want to read follow-ups to Austen's perfect novels, but this is really short and looked intriguing. It turned out to be fun, mainly because it doesn't take itself too seriously. The book isn't just about Charlotte (I'd have liked more focus on her), but follows the children of all Austen's characters, mingling with and falling in love with each other. It's probably very hard to find but I'd recommend it.

[Isa Schaff · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a lot of fun for Janeites that enjoy seeing the characters from THE six novels mix together. Honestly, this book it would not rate a 3 but it was too enjoyable to rate just a 2