The Plight of the Darcy Brothers: A Tale of Siblings and Surprises

The Plight of the Darcy Brothers was a great sequel to The Darcys and the Bingleys. It was humorous, dramatic, romantic and touching--all things I love in a Jane Austen sequel. I also love when sequels attempt to delve into the past of the very mysterious Darcy family and/or take the reader away from Pemberley. I was very happy to find that this novel does both. I began reading with extremely high expectations. I loved The Darcys and the Bingleys and could not wait for more. I loved the humor and wit of the first book and was expecting the same of the second. The humor definitely lived up to expectations in the form of little Gregory, Darcy and Elizabeth's son. He is such a little scamp and he runs Darcy ragged. My favorite escapade is when he dyes Georgie, Jane and Bingley's daughter, and himself blue. I couldn't stop chuckling. He is adorable. This sequel also adds more drama in the form of a foolish decision made by Mary Bennet. I know! Mary Bennet! Shocked me too. I love Mary and, trust me, I never anticipated her making a Lydia-style folly but Altman was convincing in Lydiafying my innocent Mary Bennet. I love how she didn't make Mary look foolish even through her mistakes but simply unfortunate. I would have loved to see a more typical happy ending for Mary in this one. I have always wanted her to find someone to love her and I suppose she did, in a way. She, for some reason, is my favorite character apart from Lizzy and Darcy. I suppose I identify with her. The canon and new non-canon characters were treated well by Altman. Gregoire was an amazing addition to the Jane Austen group of characters. I was quite unsure as to how a monk would work in relation to Darcy but he did have a great chemistry with Darcy and Elizabeth and I loved watching them travel together. I loved watching Darcy take care of and worry over Gregoire when he learned that he was fasting and flagellating himself. Maddox, one of my favorite character from The Darcys and the Bingleys, acts like the reader's eye into the outside world of Regency England, that Austen would never have shown us. He takes us from whorehouses to the Prince Regent himself. He also shows us the realities of childbirth before advanced medicine made it safer. Even Wickham is treated well. He gains a bit of humanity. Not a lot but enough so I don't want to strangle him till his eyes pop out. This is an excellent sequel. I would read The Darcy's and the Bingley's first before picking this one up. I will read any Jane Austen sequels that Marsha Altman writes. This goes on the shelf with my favorites.

Liked this book a lot. It had warmth and family and most of all not too many new characters. I loved reading about "Geoffrey Darcy". There was just not enough of him. He was so real and a great addition to the Darcy Family.

Darcy and Elizabeth are disappointed when Elizabeth loses a baby, but unexpected news comes rather quickly, sending the couple on an unpleasant trip to the Continent. While away from home they meet an unusual young man who has a major impact on their lives, and gives them some startling information that sends Darcy into a tailspin. There is a surprise on almost every page of this book. It is well-written, exciting, and certainly intriguing. In my opinion, this sequel is the author's best yet.

As usual, when I read one of Ms. Altman's books, I love the humor that appears throughout, even when dealing with sorrow. In this particular story, Darcy discovers he has two brothers that he has to deal with. Also, he has a son, Bennet, who with the Bingley's daughter, Georgiana, can create more havoc than 25 other children put together. Even so, they are delightful and their antics are fun to read about. I definitely recommend this book.

This book continues where Ms Altman left off in book 1 and we get to see our favorite characters get into more mischief. Elizabeth is not emotionally well after suffering a miscarriage, but when Mary comes to her with a problem, she and Darcy set off for Italy to help and hope they can make it back in time. They also reconnect on a more personal level and grow closer in their own marriage. Along the way Darcy discovers more and more about his own family's past and discovers his father had a tendency to stray in his marriage when his wife was in confinement. Darcy's newfound brother is just a bit younger than Georgiana and he is living the life of a poor, French, Catholic monk although their father had set up an annual allowance of a proper gentleman. This of course irritates the proud Darcy when he sees he is not living the life Darcy feels is due him and talks his new brother into being their guide to Italy in hopes of getting to know him more, but ends up learning so much more than he bargained for! We also get to see Bingley deal with mischievous children and their hilarious antics while Caroline and her husband make an unexpected but extremely advantageous connection that will change their family dynamics forever. Dr. Maddox is extremely well written and fits in flawlessly with Austen's original characters. This book is a wonderful addition to any P & P fan's library. It may not be written just as Austen herself would have written, but frankly there is only one Jane Austen and I wouldn't want to read someone "trying" to write like her, but I do love reading about the characters she created and seeing where others can take them! This book is full of humor, love for family, conflict and a duel where someone will not survive!