My Cousin Caroline

My Cousin Caroline, Book Six in the wonderful Pemberley Chronicles series by author Rebecca Ann Collins, tells the story of Caroline Gardiner Fitzwilliam, daughter of original cast members Mr. and Mrs. Edward Gardiner of Cheapside and later Lambton; and wife of Col. Richard Fitzwilliam, Mr. Darcy's cousin. Influenced by her elder cousins Lizzy and Jane, and romantically inspired by their loving relationships with Darcy and Bingley, Caroline (who first appeared as a child in Book One of "The Chronicles") has come of age. She's grown into a smart, strong, and tenacious woman (like so many of Jane Austen's characters). Married to "our favorite Colonel," Caroline has, unsurprisingly, known great joy in her life. She's also experienced tremendous sorrow. Both helped to make her a role model for her extended network of family and friends. Readers of the series will recognize many of the plot lines and events which take place in this book from previous volumes. However, seeing them here, viewed and experienced through a different lens, affords the reader a sort of emotional validation. For me, it was like watching a wall of video screens whose cameras were all trained on the same location, but placed at different angles. Hence the viewer (or reader in our case) sees events on-screen unfolding from a variety of slightly different perspectives. Caroline Fitzwilliam's complex character had been hinted at, touched upon, and alluded to in previous books in the series. But those references only teased this reader into wanting to know more about her. Caroline had been a peripheral character in Books 1 - 5, but here, she is a shining star - taking control of her life as she falls in love, marries, raises her children, supports her husband in his political career and helps run her father's business, when he falls ill. This is not your typical Victorian housewife. Readers of the series will know that there are some difficult parts to read, which deal with the loss of two beloved children. I was reluctant to read them myself. However, like Lizzy at the piano, I managed to "fudge and slur my way through the difficult passages," to arrive at another wonderful reading experience! Series readers will undoubtedly be pleased at the reappearance of Mr. Bennet and Mr. Collins in a humorous episode at Pemberley, where Mr. Bennet enjoys baiting his pompous, self- important and completely unwitting cousin, in much the same ways that he did in the original Pride and Prejudice (and to the great amusement of the rest of the company.) For readers new to the series, the book can easily stand on its own, but I must warn you... the characters (new and old) are addicting! You'll want to read more... and luckily, there are many more volumes in this series to read--both before and after My Cousin Caroline.

Written in much the same style and tradition of her predecessor, Jane Austen, the author brings to life the endearing love story of Caroline Gardiner and Mr. Darcy's cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam. The novel takes place in a time of tremendous upheaval in England; a time of great economic depression and public unrest. Due to the writer's vast knowledge of the political history and cultural norms of that period, the reader can glean a wealth of insight into the era, while enjoying the familiar characters found in Jane Austen's original classic novel, Pride and Prejudice. As an Austen fan, I found this masterfully written and historically interesting. It's a book I'm sure Ms. Austen would appreciate.

Synopsis: My Cousin Caroline builds on two well liked characters in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Colonel Fitzwilliam, cousin to Fitzwilliam Darcy, who had been portrayed as an agreeable and attractive gentleman who only lacked wealth to be considered an eligible bachelor discovers, woos and marries Caroline Gardiner, cousin to Elizabeth Bennett Darcy. In Pride and Prejudice, the Gardiners stood out as a sensible and refined middle class family, the family that Elizabeth enjoyed visiting and trusted to help when her sister Lydia eloped. Caroline carries on these sensibilities - she is educated, sensitive, generous, and interested in the world around her. My Cousin Caroline covers Caroline's life from a young girl to her growth through the years. We learn of her reformist tendencies, her support of her husband's political aspirations, and involvement in the suffrage movement, the difficulties that she faced raising her children, her involvement in her father's trading business, and her constant love and friendship of the Darcys. Review: My Cousin Caroline is an enjoyable extension of the adventures of the characters from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. We glimpse enough of Elizabeth and Darcy to know that they are a central part of the action but Caroline and her husband remain the lead characters in the novel. This allows Rebecca Ann Collins to develop a fresh new story altogether while retaining the flavor of Pride and Prejudice. My Cousin Caroline covers a much longer period and brings a sense of the sort of life the Colonel and Caroline as well as Darcy and Elizabeth might have had as they became grandparents surrounded by large and loving families. Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark (September 1, 2009), 352 pages. Courtesy of the publisher and author.