What if There Were TWO Mr. Darcys?!?
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Source: Review Copy from Authors
TYPE OF AUSTENESQUE NOVEL: Pride and Prejudice Variation
TIME FRAME: Just before Easter, Darcy’s arrival at Rosings.
MAIN CHARACTERS: Fitzwilliam Darcy, Theo Darcy, Elizabeth Bennet, Anne de Bourgh, Georgiana Darcy, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, Colonel Fitzwilliam, George Wickham
WHY I WANTED TO READ THIS NOVEL:
- It’s a multiple-author-collaboration! Last book I read like this was Pride and Prejudice: The Scenes Jane Austen Never Wrote, and I loved it!
- I was super interested in this premise: What if Mr. Darcy had a younger brother?
- As a big fan of the authors working together on this project…of course I wanted to read it!
WHAT I LOVED:
- THEO!: Oh yes! It should come as no surprise that Theo’s character is one of my favorite elements of this novel! A fun-loving, charming, and presumed ne’er-do-well, who excels at getting under his big brother’s skin! Perfect! He brought a lot of mischief and levity to this novel which was fun to witness. But at the same time he has a lot of depth and dimension. I greatly enjoyed learning more about his life as a barrister and seeing him in action in court, something you don’t often see in an Austenesque novel.
- Family History and Complex Relationships: With Theo comes a different Fitzwilliam Darcy. He is the older brother to more than one sibling and a family tragedy that occurred years ago greatly shapes these siblings and their relationship with each other. Darcy carries much more weight and responsibility, he is even more overly protective and controlling. He is often very harsh with Theo – always misunderstands him and assumes the worst of his carefree sibling. At the same time, Theo doesn’t see his brother’s concern for what it is, and believes Fitzwilliam doesn’t trust or have any faith in him. Theo feels the need to prove himself and painfully craves approval or a kind word from his older brother. Both brothers carry guilt from the past and their contrasting personalities make their relationship very complex and challenging. Wow! I most definitely enjoyed this look at sibling relationships and the emotional effects they can have on a person.
- Harmonious Writing: I really could not tell this book was written by five different authors! The characters were aligned and consistent, and the writing style and voice very much in accord throughout the whole story! What’s even more surprising is, even though I’ve read multiple works by these authors individually, I was often not able to decipher who wrote each chapter. Truly a harmonious and well-blended collaboration! And when you consider that this was written in serial format as a reader’s choice project, it is all the more an impressive and admirable feat!
- Original and Developed Characters: It is always interesting when new players enter the ring! Besides Theo, readers are introduced to Sir Montgomery Preston, Theo’s closest friend. (Would love to see a sequel about the exploits of Theo and Monty together! Full of scrapes and a mad-cap adventures. 🙂) In addition, the character of Anne de Bourgh receives a good amount of attention and development in this variation. The direction these authors took with Anne was very interesting to see, I could definitely understand her having a similar personality to her mother underneath that sickly constitution. 🙂
WHAT I WASN’T TOO FOND OF:
- Very Eventful: Introducing a new key-player was most effective in changing the course of Pride and Prejudice. But there were many additional elements and alterations that also took place in this variation, such as a shooting accident, a plan to entrap a couple in a compromising situation, and many hastily decided journeys and departures. Sometimes it felt a little too eventful or helter-skelter for my taste. I wouldn’t have minded more time with just Theo and Darcy. (Who wouldn’t, right?) 😉
CONCLUSION:
An inventive and enthralling tale of family, forgiveness, and reformation! Much applause and praise to this talented team of writers who collaborated together so splendidly on The Darcy Brothers! This is a definite must-read for readers who can never get enough Pride and Prejudice variations!
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Check out The Darcy Brothers Virtual Book Tour in progress now!
Very interesting indeed. Two Mr. Darcy’s!!! Another book to go on the never ever TBR list!! Thanks Meredith, another excellent review.
Thank you, Michelle! Hope you get the chance to read it soon! Definitely a very original take!
I followed and voted along in the writing of this so I’ve bought it and will be looking forward to reading through it as a cohesive story. I think knowing HOW it was put together is very important when you look at the constant going/doing/being action. We the readers didn’t give them a moment of peace and kept the drama high. LOL
That must’ve been such a fun experience! I imagine it was a lot of fun to see the story come together that way! LOL! I’m sure the drama was hard to resist! 😉
Just finished reading this really wonderful book last night. I thoroughly enjoyed it! I too would like to read more about Theo and Monty! And Anne DeBourgh cannot get some ‘coming out’/finishing school lessons soon enough! Her character and storyline was really ingenious!
Yes!! I agree, Betsy! I’d love to see a continuation of this story…maybe they will write one in the future? *fingers crossed*
Excellent review, Meredith. Isn’t this a fun book? Don’t you wish you could eavesdrop on the brothers and watch them interact? Boy, I do.
Thanks, Joy! I greatly enjoyed reading and writing this book! 🙂 That would be so much fun! Loved their exasperation with each other!
I love this variation!, I never thought of a plot this way and, as you say, it must be very interesting. Exploring the sibling relationship between Darcy and Theo is a good way to deep into Darcy’s character because, although we have always seen him in his relationship with Georgiana, now we have a brother and we can see others aspect. Thanks for the recommendation and Bravo for these talented authors 🙂
And now Easter is coming, it’s a perfect reading!
Very true, Teresa! Seeing Darcy with a brother differs greatly from being a guardian and “almost parent” to Georgiana. I hope you get the chance to read this book soon! 🙂
A delightful read! I read it in installments first, and fell in love with Theo. Such a lovely character, naughty and nice, and a perfect foil to his much more solemn elder brother. And to see them resolve their differences, grow closer and finally make up for years of heartache and misunderstanding was very, very moving! I particularly liked the way Theo grew to be not only a man worthy of his elder brother’s respect, but also worthy of the respect of his peers. I found the inclusion of Mr Garrow, a well-known barrister of excellent repute, to be a wonderful touch. Congrats to the authors and thanks for the very detailed review, Meredith, it’s such a joy to read your opinions!
I agree, Joana! Seeing their relationship develop and improve was so heartwarming to witness! I didn’t know that about Mr. Garrow! How wonderful that they included a real historical figure in this variation as well! Thank you for such kind words, Joana! I greatly appreciate you sharing my review on Facebook! 🙂
just added the paperback to my amazon wish list
Excellent decision! 😉 The cover is striking, isn’t it?
Thank you for this lovely review, Meredith. I really enjoyed being part of this writing team! And yes, as StephanieL points out, the readers certainly kept us on our toes!!
My pleasure, Monica! I was excited for months about reading this collaboration! What a magnificent accomplishment for you all!
I was another one who read along last year and voted each week and it was the first online JAFF that I read. As you say, Meredith, the writing was seamless between all of the writers. I was particularly impressed on the occasions when two writers collaborated on one chapter.
Really looking forward to reading this in it’s entirety. Who wouldn’t fall for Theo? I really hope the plans for his further adventures come to fruition. Plenty of scope for adventures with Monty the Mountain! Maybe our authors can eventually find them both some “leg shackles” as Theo himself described on another blog.
Hi Anji! I didn’t know authors co-wrote chapters together! That is impressive! LOL! Monty the Mountain! He was so funny with Anne! 🙂 Yes, I’d love to see them both get their legs shackled!
Thanks for the lovely review, Meredith. So glad you enjoyed Theo’s story.
My pleasure, Susan! Thank YOU all for writing this story and sharing your talents with us readers!
Loved your review, Meredith! Sounds like Theo is a very interesting man! Can’t wait to meet him! 🙂 And I love it when different authors work together to make their readers super happy!
Thanks, Maria!! I hope you enjoy The Darcy Brothers!!
Thank you, Maria! He is interesting, complex and intriguing! Yes, seeing some of your favorite authors work together is a real treat!
I too read along last year as this story was being posted. I am so looking forward to reading it in its entirety. It is on my TBR.
Hope you get the chance to read it in its entirety soon, Debbie!
Thanks to your review I am very excited about this! Just ordered it today 🙂
Oh awesome! Happy reading, Shannon! I look forward to hearing your thoughts!
Now that I wrote & submitted my review (for guest review at Austenprose) I can now read yours. lol It seems we, unsurprisingly, concur on most things. 🙂 I love your style of reviewing.
Theo and Monty and Anne – they cracked me up. And “Fish”…sigh. I really hope to see more of them in the future.
How awesome, Monica! I can’t wait to read your review!!! YAY!
Me too! Lots of lols!!
Sorry, late to the party! I was travelling when this went live so wasn’t able to get a comment uploaded.
Thank you, Meredith, for the lovely detailed review. I am so pleased you enjoyed the book and, in particular, liked Theo! He was such fur for us to write.
We did indeed have some chapters split between two and sometimes three different authors. For myself, these were the ones I enjoyed working on the most because it was great ensuring we blended our ‘voices’ during any transitions.
I did smile when I read what you were not too fond of! I think there was more than one occasion when the Readers’ Choice for the upcoming chapter threw us off kilter or down a path we hadn’t intended!
Thank you again for taking the time to read the story and to share your thoughts with your great review!
Cassandra
Great review, Meredith! How amazing that five writers wrote this book together! It’s a must-read for me now. I just added it to my amazon wish list.