Exploits and Adventures of Miss Alethea Darcy

Darcy #2

by Elizabeth Aston

From Publishers Weekly In this delightful new chapter in the story of the Darcy clan, taken up by Ashton (Mr. Darcy's Daughters) where Austen left off, the youngest daughter of Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy is in a pickle. Having married in haste, Alethea is now repenting bitterly, languishing under the unspeakable treatment of her horrid husband, Norris Napier. She escapes in the company of her intrepid maid, Figgins, and dressed as young men, they hare off to Europe to find Alethea's favorite and most sympathetic sister, Camilla. On the way, unbeknownst to them, they are found out by Mr. Titus Manningtree, who's off to Europe to find a Titian painting of his father's that has gone astray. Appalled by Alethea's apparent total disregard for her position and the requirements of polite society, Titus is nonetheless impressed by her courage and pluck. At first out of duty and then out of interest, he comes to her aid time and again, seeing her safe back to England. Once there, however, it is discovered that her husband was murdered, and she comes under suspicion. Both Titus and Alethea are captivating, and the quality of the characterizations saves the book from the plot confusions, too-easy tieups and too-modern sensibility that plague it. Copyright Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Romance, Historical, Historical Romance, Regency, Chick Lit

368 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

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 several books under my own name Elizabeth Edmondson. They're historicals, but set in the 20th century.

from http://www.elizabeth-aston.com/catego...

Reviews

[Eileen · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is so bad it's great. I mean, the cast of characters is enormous. The location is constantly changing. The author isn't held back by the whole "pride and prejudice" thing, misnaming Mr. Darcy's sister "georgina" when clearly, it's georgiana. Alethea is a ridiculous character and the time spent on the secondary "servant" characters is out-of-character for an Austen tribute (as Austen put servants in place to indicate a charcter's wealth but never gave them a meaningful role in the plot) and well, frankly, silly. With names like "figgins" and "bootle" one imagines she named her characters by peering into her pantry and altering the letters a bit. I suppose I should just be glad that we didn't end up with a "sallsa"or "Srn. Mesuringcup"... However, this book provided for hours of amusement while my friends and I traveled in Italy. If you want a book that combines every possible plot line available in any variety of terrible romance novels (duels! art theft! a dashing hero who just happens to have a yacht!) and includes a few new ones (cross dressing! lecherous gay characters!), this is truly the story to pick up.

[Aubrey · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book will keep you laughing for sure! My favorite line is "His soul was in his eyes as he smiled down at her; it wasn't a triumphant nor a knowing smile, but a smile that sprang to his lips as he read what was in her heart" (351). The pre-teen age group will eat it up, but as for the rest of us...

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

Alethea Darcy flees an abusive marriage by cross-dressing and heads towards Venice to get help from her favorite sister. Many things happen.

This is very melodramatic. I found myself missing the intense research of romance novelists like Julia Quinn. I wished for Alethea to act like an abuse survivor, I wished for fewer modern turns of phrase.

[Sheila Majczan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this long ago just after it was published, in paperback, and have been meaning to reread in order to post an honest review but this will have to do for now.

[Nikki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure if i enjoyed this book as much. It was good - but the writing was not so Jane Austen for me. A bit to much of how people act in modern day. Not terrible though..i will continue with the series.

In this delightful new chapter in the story of the Darcy clan, taken up by Ashton (Mr. Darcy's Daughters) where Austen left off, the youngest daughter of Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy is in a pickle. Having married in haste, Alethea is now repenting bitterly, languishing under the unspeakable treatment of her horrid husband, Norris Napier. She escapes in the company of her intrepid maid, Figgins, and dressed as young men, they hare off to Europe to find Alethea's favorite and most sympathetic sister, Camilla. On the way, unbeknownst to them, they are found out by Mr. Titus Manningtree, who's off to Europe to find a Titian painting of his father's that has gone astray. Appalled by Alethea's apparent total disregard for her position and the requirements of polite society, Titus is nonetheless impressed by her courage and pluck. At first out of duty and then out of interest, he comes to her aid time and again, seeing her safe back to England. Once there, however, it is discovered that her husband was murdered, and she comes under suspicion.

[Bridget · Rating 2 out of 5]

A friend gave me this book, and I figured it would be an OK read. It was, but just *barely* OK, in my opinion. The main character is Alethea Darcy Napier, one of the daughters of Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. She has made an unfortunate marriage, as a result of being on the rebound from a relationship where her intended married another woman. Her husband, who is much older, and named Norris Napier, won her with his admiration of her musical talents. But it turns out that he is a terrible person, wanting to control every aspect of her life, and treating her very poorly.

As the book opens, Alethea and her maid Figgins are sneaking out of the estate house dressed as men to flee to Venice, where Alethea hopes to stay with her husband Camilla and her husband, who she feels will understand her predicament and help her. During the course of the book, they end up traveling with a group of other English people, one of whom immediately recognizes Alethea and is curious about why she is traveling dressed as a man.

I will admit that even though I wasn't crazy about this book, I read it to see what would happen. Overall, it was pretty predictable and the characters did/said/acted the way you would expect. I found it hard to believe that a girl/woman like Alethea would be the daughter of Lizzie and Mr. Darcy, because it just didn't seem to fit, as far as I am concerned. True, it brings into the limelight the position of women in the society of the time, and the limitations to their behavior and personal power, but that didn't work for me to move the story along.

The character of Norris Napier seemed to be simply a way to get to a story. (Besides, who the **** would marry someone with that name???) We never really get an idea of him, other than as an ogre. And the character that becomes involved with Alethea, Mr. Titus Manningtree, is so transparent, it isn't hard to guess what might happen.

I've read worse books, but this one just wasn't worth the effort in the end.

[Sharee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once again, I couldn't put this book down. I just love these novels despite the fact that they are extremely predictable and pretty similar to each other. What can I say, I love a happy ending.

[Eva Lavrikova · Rating 2 out of 5]

Také sa mi stalo, že som sa ponáhľala na vlak a zabudla si knihu, tak som v práci schmatla prvú, na ktorú mi padol zrak a aspoň trochu ma zaujala - presnejšie odkazom na Darcyho a teda Austenovú.
Sľubovala som si dobovú romancu s nadhľadom, dostala som zmätený mišmaš divotvorného roadtripu, s hlavnou postavou, ktorá nedávala zmysel.
No, každopádne, cesta vlakom mi celkom ušla, ďalšie rádoby austenovky tohto typu neprosím, ďakujem.

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ce n'est un secret pour personne que ma lecture des Filles de Mr Darcy, le premier tome, ne m'avait pas vraiment convaincue. Mais je me suis dit qu'une fois les filles les plus sottes mariées, j'aurais plus de plaisir à découvrir la suite, et je ne m'étais pas trompée!

Une fois encore, il n'y a pas grand chose d'austenien si ce n'est le nom de Darcy: ni l'écriture, ni les sujets évoqués n'ont le moindre rapport avec ce que l'on pourrait lire dans Orgueil et Préjugés ou Emma. Il est donc d'autant plus facile d'occulter ce côté-ci et de s'intéresser tout simplement aux aventures palpitantes de cette jeune femme qui vient de s'enfuir de chez elle.

Et on ne s'ennuie pas une seconde: on traverse l'Europe en découvrant les Alpes, Venise ou encore le Portugal, on y parle de musique et de tableaux, on assiste à un duel et même à un meurtre. Et pendant tout ce temps, on s'attache à Alethea, on l'admire pour son courage et on a hâte de découvrir ce que le destin lui réserve encore.

J'ai également apprécié les autres personnages tels que Titus et Lady Hermione, qui sont bien plus agréables et mieux développés que ceux rencontrés lors du premier opus. D'ailleurs, le fait que nous suivions l'histoire selon deux points de vue différents est non seulement appréciable mais nous permet d'approfondir notre connaissance de la psychologie des protagonistes.

Alors bien sûr, certains sujets me gênent toujours un peu parce que ce n'est pas ce que l'on recherche généralement en lisant une histoire se déroulant à cette époque, bien sûr certains dénouements sont un peu faciles et bien sûr, l'histoire d'amour est cousue de fil blanc mais en refermant ce livre j'ai l'impression que je viens moi-même d'effectuer un voyage des plus intéressants.

En résumé, lorsqu'Elizabeth Aston laisse Jane Austen en paix, cela lui réussit bien mieux et soulage nos petits coeurs darciens!



http://janeausten.hautetfort.com/arch...

[Tracy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this novel much more than Aston’s first novel: Mr. Darcy’s Daughters. Aston toned down the sexuality in her writing and focused more on the story at hand. She must have reviewed Pride and Prejudice before attempting this novel because she stayed truer to Austen’s style of writing. It reads like historical fiction, but the Austen characters still make their appearance.

Aston’s theme in this book is “it’s a small world.” Characters cannot help but run into each other again and again, propelling the story along. I couldn’t wait to see where the story would go next, and I had a difficult time putting this novel down. One skill Aston has picked up since writing her last novel is the talent of holding things back. She does not give us the story all at once, like in her last novel, but we are given it little by little. All is revealed eventually, with surprises no one could guess at. My only complaint is that Mr. and Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy give the impression of neglectful parents. They have yet to make an appearance in either of these novels.

[Susannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was a lot more forgiving of this book than Mr. Darcy's Daughters- probably because my expectations weren't as high. I still didn't love the fact that Alethea was being written as a Darcy Daughter (again, Elizabeth and Darcy are untouchable up on their pedestal), but once I ignored that fact, I was able to rather enjoy this book. It is quite a silly adventure. But I found myself genuinely interested in Alethea's fate, and by the end the book compelled me forward and I couldn't put it down. It was a refreshing surprise after having read Mr. Darcy's Daughters (although, it does help to have read the first one in order to get the complete story of Alethea.)

[Vicki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure this was my favorite of the Elizabeth Aston books. The premise is a little more fantastical. Alethea is a very talented musician stuck in a horrible marriage to a man who abuses her. She tries to get escape to 2 of her sisters, who brush her off and tell her to go back to her husband. She dresses up as a young man and tried to flee to another sister in Italy. All the while trying to stay a step ahead of her evil husband. Eventually it all turns out just fine, of course, but usually I enjoy the journey more than I did with this book. I think the dialogue is what's missing.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Now that I've read three of these books I am detecting a pattern. They are very much written to a template. The Darcys seem to be plagued with women who run amok of societal convention and ruin themselves only to finally meet a man who sees beyond their disgrace and his own prejudices to love them and marry them. Alethea Darcy is a strong character and intriguing, but the final chapters seem to be written in shorthand the transitions in the relationships are so abrupt and the ending rushed.

I enjoy the period and the characters, but I can't decide if Austen would laugh or cry.

[Michaela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Asi som si mohla pozrieť, ako tie knižky idú za sebou. :) Najskôr som prečítala trojku a teraz dvojku. Nevadí, všetky dôležité rodinné vzťahy sa vysvetlili v priebehu čítania. Romantika pokračuje, akurát, už ku koncu som trochu presýtená, navyše mám pocit, že tie závery sú nedotiahnuté. Nnapríklad, stále sa nenašiel Tizianov obraz, rodičia sa nerozprávali s dcérou (no dobre, tak prostredníctvom listu, ale to mi prišlo nedostatočné) a celkovo, bolo tam príšerne veľa náhod. Ale tak ok, nejako ten príbeh autorka musela dostrkať niekam, aby sa skončil tak, ako sa skončil.

[Jeneale · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read all of the books in Aston's series, and this was my favorite. All of them were fun reads, but they followed much the same formula as Pride and Prejudice: girl meets boy from different life station, alot of prejudice between them, they get over it and fall in love. This particular novel, though, has a little different formula and feel. It's interesting to see Aston working with the language of Jane Austen. She does ok, but then again, there is no other Jane Austen!

[Stacey · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think I'd give this another 2 1/2 stars. There are about 1,000 characters in this book, but it kept me reading. I like this daughter but again feel like The Darcy's would never have married her off to that guy - Darcy simply would have done more research when it comes to husbands for his daughters!

[Miriam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This sequel was much better, I liked the style and the way this author wrote much more than the last one. It was fun and entertaining. In my mind though it isn't much of a sequel either except for the fact that they through in some familiar names every now and then.

[Flo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Difficile d'appeler ça une romance puisqu'elle n'est présente que dans le dernier 1/4 du roman! Il s'agit en effet des "aventures" de Alethea pour échapper à son mari, c'est assez rocambolesque et à la limite du crédible.

Récit agréable mais pas inoubliable.

[Jill · Rating 2 out of 5]

As with the other Pride and Prejudice sequel by Ms. Aston, I was very disappointed with this one. I think this sequence of events is also very unlikely for this era.

[Hollyandcheyenne · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a romance novel with a less bosomy cover and only veiled illusions to sex. Fast and fun read, but I won't remember it next week. Definitely not like reading Jane Austen.

[Miriam Reeves · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an ok read. She was very adventurous. No Elizabeth or Darcy in this one, only mentioned a few times.

[Nathan Albright · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a hard novel to really appreciate.  Throughout her body of work, Elizabeth Aston has written a lot about the Darcy family as she imagines them in the next generation, making these novels anachronistic in their dealing with concerns and behavior that is more au currant than it was of the times that she is supposed to be writing in, roughly the period just before the Victorian age, when English royalty was at a particularly decadent level.  Both the hero and heroine of this particular novel are meant by the author to be highly appealing to contemporary audiences but also somewhat daring to the past in ways that I thought undercut their appeal to me personally.  Alethea Napier (nee Darcy) makes a disastrous misalliance for understandable reasons--she is on the rebound from someone who took her virginity but did not propose marriage and falls in love with a superficially charming and wealthy person who ends up being an abusive and insanely jealous flagellant who openly keeps his mistress in his house as a torment to his young wife, who quite naturally seeks to escape him and brings upon herself the madcap adventures of this novel.

Nor is the young woman alone in being a magnet for drama.  The romantic hero here is equally troubled, one Titus Manningtree, a PTSD afflicted veteran of the Napoleonic wars where he fought with Wellington in Spain and at Waterloo who is off to stop the ever-villainous George Warren in order to retrieve a Titian painting that has gone missing under strange circumstances in Italy that his father bought for reasons unknown.  Manningtree is brooding and handsome, a rather Byronic hero of sorts (and one who claims a friendship with Byron, which makes sense), but while he is insightful enough to recognize Alathea's capers in a pants role as she tries to escape her horrifying marriage and find a life as a free woman, he has the downside of having carried on in an openly adulterous relationship for several years with a woman who, as soon as she was a widow, eloped with her Italian voice teacher.  Meanwhile, there is a near-deadly duel, a mugging, Alethea's brave attempts to avoid being charged with the murder of her husband when he is killed in darkly mysterious circumstances, family quarrels over who believes Alethea's tales of domestic abuse, and some very unpleasant efforts to try to save herself (while pretending to be a young man) from the unwanted attentions of various homosexuals.  Even if the book ends happily, it often seems as if Alethea, for all her spunk and resilience, simply cannot catch a break.

Nevertheless, even if the plot is exciting, it is all too evident that the author frequently forgets that she is writing a novel set in the 19th century among respectable young women (and men) of the gentry and aristocracy and instead tries to win the Lambda Award for best Austen adaptation.  One of the most charming aspects of Austen's writings was her sense of restraint, in the way that she avoided trying to write about those whose perspective she could not grasp even as she dealt in a quiet and understated way with the realities of her time and the restrictions that were placed on women.  Austen did not write strident and tawdry novels about the seamier sides of life in her times, even though she was certainly aware of them--there are references to duels and to adultery and illegitimate children in Austen's writings, but nothing as descriptive as what we find here, and certainly nothing as dispiriting and tawdry.  The author would have been well-served to ponder what restraint and wit has made Austen endure rather than pandering to contemporary decadence.

[Claudia · Rating 3 out of 5]

#2 in the recurring adventures of Mr. Darcy's Daughters. As in the previous book, Mr. and Mrs. Darcy are away - this time in Vienna and Turkey.

This episode focuses on Alethea, the youngest and musical of the 5 girls. The story starts as she flees her marriage house with her maid, Figgins, with flashbacks revealing how Alethea got in this situation, the sudden shift in her former beau's affections which threatens a scandal for Alethea, her 'attraction' to the charming Napier and the disastrous marriage, the rules and unpleasantness she was forced to accept from her husband.

Disguised as a young gentlemen and servant, they cross the Channel to her sister Georgina in Paris (no help there) and across the Alps to Venice and sister, Camilla, who just left for Rome in the days preceding. Mugged, robbed and bludgeoned, Alethea returns to the stage to earn some money as a castrato in an opera.

At the same time, there is a second plot working it's way through the story - Titus Manningtree is following George Warren to Venice, tracking down a Titian painting that Manningtree's father bought but was forced to abandon during Napoleon's activities and Warren wants to buy for the English king.

Manningtree, Warren, Alethea and others meet on the road when an avalanche in the mountains slow their rush to Venice. Flipping back and forth between the hero (Titus) and heroine(Alethea), additional characters flit in and out of sight - including Alethea's estranged husband, Napier, appearing in Venice.

The character of Alethea shows a young woman who was afraid of society's censure due to her attraction to Penrose in the flashbacks to a resourceful woman who is willing to live as a young man in order to escape her controlling husband. That two of her sisters and cousins refuse to believe her tales of abuse, saying she is exaggerating or needs to quit being so selfish and learn to accept her husband's actions, provides a glaring spotlight on society at the time.

Admittedly, at the beginning, it seemed like a basic story but it certainly got more interesting as Alethea and Titus were having to deal with separate and eventually parallel circumstances. It doesn't seem that odd that the story ends with a happy ending.

[Jassmine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Clearly, I have no respect for my own time and writing a detailed review would only push that point, so I will try to be brief. I accidentally started this series with the third book, which was an OK read, even if a bit weird. For some reason the series was still on my mind though, so I read the first book, which I didn’t like at all… The second book has a better rating though, so I gave it another chance and it was – wait for the surprise – also terrible. I have to say that I liked it more than the first one, it was a bit more energetic, things were happening. Was it absolutely ridiculous? Yes, but that’s what I’m here for. I have several other problems.

1) Alethea is an abuse survivor – the said abuse was both sexual and physically very painful (though the particulars are never truly cleared and what we know is a bit confused and weird). And yet she doesn’t mind being in close spaces with men. She is repeatedly sexually harassed by a man and she thinks it laughable. Her only issue is with marriage which, alright, but that shouldn’t be IT.

2) This family is just terrible, I hate them. When sister comes to you with something as personal and serious as domestic abuse, you don’t accuse her of spinning tales. That in no family. The end.

3) When you write a homosexual villain in one of your books, I say it’s alright. Homosexuals are only humans like rest of us, so even though I didn’t like how it was done in Mr. Darcy's Daughters, I let it slip (nor really, but… I didn’t mind that much). But if you do it again in your second book and even take it to another level, I’ll start to suspect that you are a homophobe. Really the stereotypization was terrible. Every man that is a villain takes care of his looks (Warren, Lucius) and those who don’t at all are something extra (Titus).

4) Did Alethea cut her hair or not? Make your mind woman!

There were places where this book was making me sick (which the previous one didn’t manage), but at the same time it was catchier. I have no respect to my time at all, so I’ll probably read the fourth one, because it seems slightly more interesting and I am curious it we’ll get gay villain once more. I am such a masochist…

[Sherry · Rating 3 out of 5]

The last we saw of Althea Darcy, at the end of Darcy‘s Daughters, was Althea, having been taken home at age 16, in men’s clothes, after playing the flute at a ball. In this new adventure, we see her slipping out of the window of her husband‘s country home, in boy’s clothing, and running away with her faithful maid Figgins, dressed as her manservant.
Althea had fallen in love with Penrose Youdall, they had given into their actions, and a day later is engagement to Miss Gray was announced. On the rebound to save her pride, she had accepted the marriage offer of smooth, sophisticated, music, loving Norris Napier, but his social behavior was nothing like his overwhelmingly, possessive, brutal abuse in private.

Titus Manningtree, in a fit of pique after his mistress, the married, and now widowed Emily refuses his offer of marriage and marries an Italian musician instead, rages off to the continent in search of a lost Titian painting bought by his father years before, and now being sought by the odious George Warren to sell to now king George for his private collection. It is in Paris, that he literally is run into by a young man and setting out for Venice over the Italian Alps in the late spring realizes that young man is a young woman whose family he knows.
Many adventures and misadventures follow, as Althea, Darcy’s impersonation of a young man, get her deeper and deeper into trouble and Titus and her sister, Camille‘s mother-in-law join forces to rescue her.
The escapades here are fraught with high drama, including duels, storm ravaged yachts, murder, gossip and the need for Althea to once again, pretend to be the young man, Aloysius Hawkins, before emerging as the widow of Norris Napier. It’s all too much, but it ends quite happily ever after.

[Della Tingle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I went back and forth trying to decide if I would give this book 3 stars or 4. This is a solid 3 1/2 stars, if that were an option. I love, love, love Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, and I greatly enjoy spin-offs. However, after reading this book, I have come to the realization that I am only interested in novels containing the characters of P & P, like Darcy and Elizabeth. This book, with its new characters, well, I would have rather read a book with the old, familiar characters.

“One’s first love is always perfect until one meets one’s second love” (16).

“It did one no good to dwell on the past; the only place to live was the present, with the expectation that, against all odds, there would be a future where things were no so very bad” (184).

“Easy enough to dismiss others’ problems when you had none of your own” (255).

“No good ever came regretting what was done and past; you couldn’t undo it, so you might as well put it out of your mind” (256).

“We weren’t put upon this earth to have things easy” (281).

“The world will always believe the worst” (317).

“One has to be polite to everyone, you know, and that is a great bore” (342).

“Life doesn’t turn out as we expect it to. When we come out into the world, our futures seem as smooth and unmarred as virgin snow. It is an illusion, of course, and soon we weave a web of mistakes and failures as much as achievements and triumphs, and become used to walking on broken pavements rather than on paths of gold. It is what makes life so interesting; one quickly learns that one never knows what is going to happen next” (344).

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good story written in the Jane Austen style. Lizzy and Darcy's daughter, Alethea, has made a very bad marriage. The man is a brute. And she just 18 years old. He dictates what she will do everyday, who she will see, what she will wear, when she will sing. He keeps her away from family and friends, stuck out in the country as it were. She decides to venture off, to quit her home and her husband, and go abroad to visit her sister in Paris, then on to Venice. One (mis)adventure after another makes for a great story. Oh, did I forget to mention that Alethea and her maid are dressed as men, initially to throw off her vile husband in his pursuit? Later, they enjoy the freedom that being "men" affords. We follow their exploits around Europe. You think it's going to go one way, then they surprise you and go a completely different direction. And Mr. Collins makes an unlikely visit to the story. I should possibly have read the first story first, but this was what I had, so this is what I read. Maybe I shall go back and pick up story #1. Spoiler Alert: The one thing I don't get is, at the very end, when Titus comes to visit Alethea at Lady Hermione's villa in the mountains, she tells him that she "cannot marry again." Then, her brother-in-law, Barleigh Barcombe, comes to take her home because London gossip has it that she's in the company of a man. Titus asks Barcombe, with Alethea's permission, to marry them. What?????

[MissBibli · Rating 2 out of 5]

Alors, alors, que dire de cette "suite" de l'histoire de Darcy et Elisabeth ?!?
D'abord qu'hormis le nom de famille de l'héroïne et l'époque, ce roman n'a que très peu de chose à voir avec l'oeuvre de Jane Austen.
Tout d'abord Aléthéa est, par ses actes, tout l'opposé des héroïnes de la romancière : elle couche avant le mariage, fuit son mari et traverse l'Europe déguisée en homme. On est loin de la chronique sociale et de l'étude des mœurs façon Austen mais plutôt, comme le mentionne d'ailleurs le titre, dans un roman d'aventures. Même la romance est reléguée aux tout derniers chapitres.
Finalement, les quelques personnages purement "austeniens" sont plutôt secondaires : la femme de chambre, qui ne connaît rien au monde mais a un avis - souvent négatif - sur tout ; les sœurs qui ont une vision étriquée de la société et ne peuvent envisager qu'on ne vive pas comme elles.
Même Titus m'a déçu : pendant les 2 tiers du roman, il est ce qu'on attend d'un homme de cette époque dans sa vision de la condition féminine puis, d'un coup il abandonne ses idéaux, ainsi d'ailleurs que la quête qui l'avait mené à entreprendre son voyage.
Pas franchement convaincue par cette oeuvre, donc, qui ne propose ni l'étude sociale de l'originale, ni le piquant des romances historiques actuelles.

[MELANIE · Rating 1 out of 5]

Alethea est enfermée dans un mariage malheureux et n'a d'autre choix que de fuir son mari, de fuir l'Angleterre. Elle se déguise en jeune homme (car une jeune femme n'a pas le droit de voyager seule) et la voici sur les routes, accompagnée de sa femme de chambre, déguisée en valet. Elle rencontre Titus, qui est à la recherche d'un tableau de valeur.  
Le résumé est plutôt accrocheur, je m'attendais à de l'action, des quiproquos, de l'humour... et bof Je me suis ennuyée, il ne se passe finalement pas grand chose et c'est trop facile. Les personnages ne sont pas attachants (je n'ai pas compris les soeurs d'Alethea). Je n'aurai vraiment pas aimé vivre à cette époque.  
Côté romance, je n'en ai pas vu, aucune séduction, aucun sentiment qui se développe et puis pouf, tout d'un coup c'est fait.  
Enfin, je ne sais pas s'il y aura une suite ou non, mais il y a un point de l'intrigue qui au final est complètement laissé en plan en plein milieu de l'histoire.
Bref, je passe à autre chose.

[Jennsie · Rating 3 out of 5]

My rating is 2.5 stars, but I put it up to three. I couldn’t find the first book in the series to read first and was hoping it wasn’t required. It was difficult to follow or understand the characters as it jumps straight in, so read the first book first.

The story follows a young Darcy woman who found herself in a bad marriage, so she and her maid dress as men and flee to Europe. The story follows their movements, and they happen to meet others on their journey. The ending of the book was over swiftly but could have been longer with some slow-moving earlier plot removed. The pacing was off, and there’s no real feeling or emotion in the characters.