Recollections of Rosings

In Recollections of Rosings, 8th in the 10-book Pemberley Chronicles series, author Rebecca Ann Collins, turns her brilliant lens on two of her original characters: Catherine Collins Harrison (eldest daughter of Charlotte Lucas and Rev. Collins) and her younger sister Rebecca Tate. These sisters, separated from one another as teenagers, have led almost parallel lives - meeting only rarely, and often on sad occasions. Both women, now in their mid- to late 40's are forced by circumstances to take stock of their lives. And what they find in their middle-years, is that their lives are no longer fulfilling enough. Their children are grown. Their husbands are gone. They desire happiness, but have no idea how to find it. "Recollections" focuses primarily on Catherine. A devastating fire at Rosings Park years after the death of Lady Catherine deBourgh brings a certain Mr. Frank Burnett back to the estate nearly 25 years after he'd served as Lady Catherine's librarian. While at Rosings, young Frank Burnett falls in love with the teenaged Catherine Collins who had been invited by Lady Catherine to live at Rosings Park following the death of Rev. Collins. Lady Catherine's officious interference quashed a budding romance between Catherine Collins and Frank Burnett. And despite the fact that neither had declared their feelings for the other, both young people were heartbroken and never truly recovered from these events. Fast forward nearly 25 years. Catherine Harrison has lost her husband, Dr. Harrison (rector at Hunsford and Lady Catherine's hand-picked choice). Her older children are overseas and only her youngest child, Lillian (a young woman on the cusp of adulthood herself) is left to keep Catherine from being alone. Thanks to the generosity of Mr. Darcy and the Rosings Trust, Catherine and Lillian continue to live at Rosings Park. Lillian is a strong and self-possessed young lady who will not allow the trappings of wealth to sway her morals. This becomes evident when she travels to London to spend a season with her Aunt Becky Tate. Becky, despite being worldly and well-educated, has become a social climber, and her ambition often blinds her to the seedier side of London society. So, despite good intentions (to ensure an excellent match for her niece), Becky pushes Lillian toward a circle of wealthy but morally bankrupt suitors. Lillian boldly pushes back, and in so doing, brings about more than just her own marriage, but also a reconciliation of sorts between her aunt and her mother, at a time when each could benefit from a close and trusting relationship with the other. A loving and careful mother, Catherine seeks to vet her daughter's suitor, Mr. John Adams, about whom she knows very little. She asks for advice from friends, including Mr. Burnett (whose knowledge and opinions she had always valued). Over the course of several months these two become close confidants. When they finally declare their love for one another, only to discover how they

Recollections of Rosings is the eighth book in Rebecca Ann Collins' The Pemberley Chronicles series. This series has long been on my To Be Read list and despite owning the first two books in the series, I have yet to be able to read them. So while I was excited at the prospect of reading a book in this series, I was also hesitant about beginning with the eighth installment. As a Pride and Prejudice devotee, and with the help of the list of characters provided in the book and by the publisher, I had no problem keeping up with the characters (those established by Jane Austen and those created by Rebecca Ann Collins) and the storyline. While my beloved Darcy and Lizzy made brief appearances here, I did come to like very much Catherine Collins Harrison and her lively daughter Liliane. Again, not having read the previous books, I did feel that Catherine was very much like her mother, Charlotte Lucas Collins, and fortunately not like her namesake, Lady Catherine deBurgh! I found the contrast between Catherine and younger sister Becky to be an interesting one, as Becky is not only more outgoing and outspoken than her sister but also much more fond of city life and living in town rather than the country. The two sisters, while very divergent personalities, still share a close and loving relationship that is both positive and inspiring. The cruelty by Lady Catherine, alluded to in the synopsis, is just that and frankly, would we expect any less from a character you love to hate? It's a wonderful plot point and I fell in love with the result (without giving away too much!) I think the best part of Recollections of Rosings was the heart of the story that remained true to Jane Austen's original vision. True Pride and Prejudice fans will happily soak up this story, following the lives of much loved characters. Despite a somewhat slow start, I did find myself immersed with Catherine, Liliane, Becky and the Darcys and the Bingleys in Kent. My only complaint with Recollections of Rosings would be the aforementioned somewhat slow start. I fear that impatient readers may not give Recollections of Rosings a chance but it is well worth the time.

If you like Pride and Prejudice, you'll like Rebecca Ann Collins's RECOLLECTIONS OF ROSINGS. RECOLLECTIONS OF ROSINGS, Book 8 of THE PEMBLERLEY CHRONICLES, follows the PRIDE AND PREJUDICE characters and their offspring into the future with this tale of love new, love old, and love lost. Emotional intensity, pictures painted with words, and an engrossing story--RECOLLECTIONS OF ROSINGS has it all. The Chronicles have now reached the Victorian age, and Ms. Collins deftly interweaves the stories of Catherine Harrison and Becky Tate, daughters of Elizabeth Bennet's friend, Charlotte Lucas, and Mr. Collins, and Catherine's daughter, Lilian. Lilian is caught up in her first love, and Becky's marriage is troubled. But the story centers on dutiful daughter and wife Catherine, who has spent her entire life near Rosings, the palatial residence of the late, unlamented Lady Catherine de Bourgh. The book opens with a devastating fire that incinerates part of Rosings. The destruction dredges up twenty-five year old memories, which force Catherine to reexamine her experience as companion to the difficult Lady Catherine, and her valued friendship with Mr. Frank Burnett, who was then the great house's librarian. As Catherine tends her seriously ill husband, Frank returns as an advisor on conserving the remaining Rosings treasures. Their friendship resumes and she wonders if she felt more than friendship for him in the past, and if he felt the same. Ms. Collins keeps you guessing almost to the end before she reveals what happened between Catherine and Frank so long ago, including Lady Catherine's meddling, and what their feelings for each other are now. Both characters are finely drawn. And while I love Catherine, I adore Frank. Would that more romance novel heroes were like him. Since RECOLLECTIONS OF ROSINGS is Book 8 of THE PEMBLERLEY CHRONICLES, a lot of story has gone before. I haven't read Books 1 to 7 yet, but Ms. Collins has kept any necessary explanations of the past to a minimum. So, if you can't get enough of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, try RECOLLECTIONS OF ROSINGS. Book 9 is sitting in my TBR pile, and I can't wait to see how the story continues. ARC provided by Sourcebooks.

I received Recollections of Rosings by Rebecca Ann Collins from [...] to read and review. This is a work of fiction based on Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice novel. This book is the 8th in a series and takes place 40-50 years after Pride and Prejudice with a some of the characters like Mr. and Mrs. Darcy, Jonathan Bingley and his wife Anna, Rebecca and Anthony Tate. There are new characters as well , but the story revolves around Catherine Harrison and her sister Rebecca Tate. At this point in this series Catherine is married to Dr.Harrison , Reverand at Hunsford, who is alive at the very beginning of the story but dies shortly after. Catherine was invited to live with Lady Catherine de Bourgh and as a young woman befriends a young man in Lady Catherines employ at Rosings, Lady Catherine's estate. Frank Burnett is a intelligent young man working as archivist and librarian at Rosings. During that time before Catherine's marriage to Dr. Harrison, she spends a lot of time with Mr. Burnett. As the years go on Catherine has a happy marriage and has children. Frank Burnett goes to Europe to study. After Dr. Harrison dies, a fire breaks out at Rosings and destroys a wing of the estate and Jonathan Bingley hires Frank Burnett to be the librarian again. Catherine at this time is now a widow and with the permission of Mr. Darcy member of Rosings Park Trust which now manages the estate, moves into the Dower house on Rosings grounds and she starts to spend more time at the estate and over a period of time her friendship with Frank is renewed. Catherine also has aspirations of having a school on the Rosings for the children that live on the estate. Catherines daughter Lillian is engaged to be married to Mr. John Adams, who had been curator for a year or so at Rosings, but it is postponed after the death of Dr. Harrison and Lilian becomes severely ill and Catherine's sister Becky comes to the Dower house to assist Catherine in taking care of her daughter. Becky does not approve of the young man who wants to marry Lilian so she clashes with Catherine on this. Becky has a very influential friend, Lady Ashton, who proceeds to spread gossip regarding Mr. Adams heritage. As this happens Catherine and Frank find out in their conversations how they each felt about the other many years ago and because of an old ladies meddling , Lady Catherine de Bourgh, whose deceptions kept the young couple apart and to move onto their separate lives where they meet up years later. The story continues with Catherine and Becky confronting their own personal issues of the past and find out that love does in fact conquer all. At first I had a hard time getting into this book. I have #1 in the series but haven't read it yet and reading the 8th book of the series first was a bit confusing. I did a get character list along with the book so that helped immensely. At times I found the story repetitive in certain parts, especially when Catherine was reading her diary of her earlier y

"Recollections of Rosings" is a historical romance set in England around the 1860s and is the eighth book in this "Pride and Prejudice" sequel series. I haven't read the previous novels in the series, but I was able to easily follow what was going on and who was related to whom. (There's also a character list in the back listing who the characters are.) The original "Pride and Prejudice" characters played little part in this novel; it was primarily about their children and grandchildren. However, when the "Pride and Prejudice" characters and events were referred to or showed up, they were consistent with the information given in "Pride and Prejudice." The novel was in a writing style very similar to Austen's in word choice and phrasing. It also had the slightly slower pacing of those novels. The author focused on the historical events occurring at the time and how it influenced the main characters more than Jane Austen did in her novels. The characters frequently talked about the nation-wide events (like the movement to provide education for the poor), but few details were given about the character's clothing, houses, etc. The main characters tended toward modern sensibilities when it came to the new ideas emerging at the time. The characters were interesting, and I cared about what happened to them. However, this novel lacked the sharp conflict and heartbreak of Austen's novels. There was little excitement or suspense except in one scene near the very end. The few setbacks were too obviously mere delays rather than actual obstacles to the main characters' gratification. So it was a sweet romance read for the enjoyment of seeing nice characters achieve true happiness (with the added bonus of some interesting historical information worked in). There was a minor amount of swearing. There was no sex. Overall, I'd recommend this novel as enjoyable, fairly clean reading. I received a free review copy (ARC) of this book from the publisher. Reviewed by Debbie from Genre Reviews (genrereviews. blogspot. com)