Mrs. Darcy's Dilemma: A Sequel to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice

All Jane Austen lovers yearn for the discovery of a lost Jane Austen manuscript. This is the next best thing! Ms. Birchall seems to channel Jane Austen in this witty, entertaining and exceedingly clever P & P sequel. Not since Tom Stoppard wrote "Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead" has an author been so masterful at speaking the very prose of another beloved author. "Mrs. Darcy's Dilemma" jumps us (the readers) ahead a quarter of a century from the end of P & P. We have wonderfully satisfying glimpses of Elizabeth Bennett and Darcy's marriage; equally fun, we meet the offspring of the Bennett girls. Also, the non-Bennett P & P characters are each reintroduced in this novel, sprinkled throughout like old friends just back in touch. Best of all, the plot of this novel, while true to the pace and tenor of Austen's plots, is original and delightful. I reread P & P about once a year. From now on, my readings will be immediately followed with this gem. Bravo Ms. Birchall! Please, please write more.

I can never get enough Austen, and I find the better sequels enjoyable. This is one of my favorites, because the writing is especially good - I think the author gets closer to Jane Austen's own style than any of the others I've read. It's also more realistic and believable than most. Some have very far-fetched, romantic-novel type plots, but this one is a convincing version of what Darcy and Elizabeth might really be like in middle age, and what might happen to them and their family. The author seems to know the period well. It's quite a charming book.

I first read P & P more than 40 years ago, and I've read it more than 40 times since. Mrs. Darcy's Dilemma is the first sequel I couldn't put down; it's Jane Austen come to life again. Birchall speaks the language without being silly about it. The Darcys have a mature marriage, as one would have expected; Kitty is as envious and querulous as can be; Lydia as clueless and conniving as ever she was; Mary as superficially well-read as she started out to be. Readers of Birchall's In Defense of Mrs. Elton will not be surprised to find that Mrs. Darcy's Dilemma is great fun.

Of all the Austen-related books I've read, I think this is the one that's written in a style that most closely approaches Jane Austen. Not that anyone can really do that in this modern day, but this author manages to write with an old-fashioned elegance that really creates a wonderful atmosphere. The story is charming too, and Austen's characters seem to live again, in a way that's very true to themselves. I'd recommend this sequel to anyone who'd like to see how Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth might have lived and behaved in their middle age, in Victorian times.

Diana Birchall's previous offerings in the literary world have been the delightful pieces on Mrs Elton and her highly acclaimed biography of her " Bad Grandmother " the first Asian American novelist Winifred Eaton.Reading Mrs Darcy's Dilemma is rather like returning home to old friends after living abroad for 25 years. Although the main characters from Pride and Prejudice are here they have matured , they have children and fresh acquaintances and new troubles. We know the family members as well as if we too had attended a ball at Pemberley.Mrs Darcy though some 25 years older and a mother of three is as delightful and caring as ever she was, Mr Darcy has lost none of his charm and magnetism. The greedy sensuous Lydia has become older but sadly no wiser, indeed she appears to be adopting all of her mothers bad traits whilst sadly ignoring her finer points. One feels that the crux in any Pride and Prejudice sequel is the arrival of Mr Collins on the scene . A character who can so easily be overdone and descend into parody , here he is his truly ghastly oleaginous self once more .We are introduced to the Darcy children, Fitzwilliam the oldest son and a keen follower of the turf. Henry, serious minded , yet fun loving and destined for the clergy , and finally the Darcy's daughter Jane. Beautiful, intelligent and charming with all of the finest character attributes of her mother. Lydia's daughters Bettina and Chloe soon enter in to the household and events begin to unfold.There are no blurred or ragged characters in the book , all are drawn as sharply as the originals indeed it is as if Miss Austen herself has returned to take up her story. The simple and regular movement of the narrative , and the naturalness and vivacity of the dialogue make this book a joy to read. The author's imagination brightens every sentence with the aptest fancies and the happiest turn of phrase.As Mr Bennet might say "A book that may be highly recommended, even to young clergyman and flighty daughters" .