Happily Ever Afters for All Pride and Prejudice Heroines!
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Source: Review Copy from Author
In Sarah Courtney’s second release, Beauty and Mr. Darcy, she ambitiously takes on spotlighting nearly all the principal unmarried female characters of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice and illustrating their individual journeys to happiness and love. All five Bennet sisters plus Charlotte Lucas and Anne de Bourgh receive heroine treatment in this episodic Pride and Prejudice variation. In addition, as might be inferred from the title, each heroine’s story is lightly imbued with classic fairy tales, such as: Sleeping Beauty, The Frog Prince, The Little Sea-Maid, Rapunzel, and Beauty and the Beast. The parallels and references to these fairy tales are light and clever, whether it be a shared circumstance or a shared personality trait.
What a creative idea! I love fairy tales, and I enjoy seeing Pride and Prejudice blended with other stories! I loved Sarah Courtney’s first release – A Good Name – and I was so happy to see her bring the same ingenuity and uniqueness to Beauty and Mr. Darcy. I thoroughly enjoyed all the fairy-tale touches and details she added to her narrative – how she introduced each character as being cursed with something and how each chapter started with a telling epigraph. I loved how even though the stories weren’t exactly matching or closely following a specific fairy-tale, they were being told through a fairy-tale lens.
Another element I loved about Beauty and Mr. Darcy was the multiple story-lines. I love that many secondary characters were featured in this collection, and I loved how they were featured. The fairy-tale tie-ins for Charlotte, Jane, and Anne were some of my fairy tale choices in this story. They were fitting choices and the parallels just worked perfectly. And I loved the idea of the Darcy-Elizabeth-Wickham relationship correlating with the Beast-Belle-Gaston dynamic. Wickham is such a Gaston!
Mary, Kitty, and Lydia receive some lovely treatment in this collection. Readers who like to see development and improvement with these characters will be very pleased to see their growth and new awareness. It was a surprising conclusion to come to, but I think Kitty’s and Lydia’s stories were my favorite overall. I loved how Kitty started to think for herself, follow her own inclinations, and that she had a passion for the sea! And I loved that Lydia developed an interest in something other than fashion and flirting, and learned some hard consequences about her forward and heedless behavior. I was so happy to see that these two characters crossed paths with some new handsome and honorable acquaintances. These two storylines were not just the most rewarding and gratifying, but maybe also the exciting.
It is indeed a very ambitious endeavor to weave together seven different storylines and develop romances with seven different couples. And I think Sarah Courtney did a most admirable job with her organization and execution. But I did feel there were one or two minor drawbacks. Because of all the characters introduce it created a bit of a lengthy exposition/introduction of conflicts. In addition, even though Ms. Courtney created some terrific and compelling storylines full of creativity, Darcy’s and Elizabeth’s story sadly was not on that list for me. Perhaps it is because their story felt a little low-angst, or maybe because it wasn’t as new and gripping as the other storylines? It might just be my personal preference, but I wouldn’t have minded a little more emotion and tension to their storyline and a little more paralleling with Beauty and the Beast.
Beauty and Mr. Darcy is a charming collection of tales that show Jane Austen’s characters breaking free from their curses, finding their own path, and coming to the rescue of others. A delightful and engaging choice for readers who love Pride and Prejudice, fairytales, and spotlights on secondary characters!
Thank you Meredith! A really thought provoking, in depth review.
You know my favourite stories are mostly based on ODC so this might possibly not become one of my top ten, however it’s on my list so who knows?
Thanks for reading my review! You may end up liking the parts with Darcy and Elizabeth more than I did. They still do have quite a few scenes together. I think the reason I wasn’t as fond of them was because the other characters had more interesting stories.
What a delightful review, Meredith [hello to your Mr. Bingley]. I have this on my wish-list and am looking forward to reading it. Blessings and be safe and healthy.
Thank you, Jeanne. I hope you get the chance to read it soon!
Thank you so much for your insightful review, Meredith!
It’s exciting to discover such a mix of P&P and Fairy Tales 🙂
I understand your thoughts about Lizzy and Darcy’ story in comparison with the others that seem so original, new and captivating…anyway, I’ll give it a try!. I’ve liked very much what you said about:” Jane Austen’s characters breaking free from their curses, finding their own path”, it’s a lovely sentence 😉
Speaking of fairy tales that follow a different path from the usual we know, have you ever seen “Once upon a time” series? I’m about to finish the 7th (and last season) and it’s really thrilling, sweet and inspiring. I highly recommend it to you although you must be aware that there are many storylines connected!
Have fun this weekend!
Yes, definitely give this book a try! It may have been my own expectations that influenced my reaction a little.
Aw, thank you! I was inspired by Sarah Courtney’s writing, she had a lot of lovely touches like that.
I have seen Once Upon a Time series…I think I’ve only made it through season 3, but I’m willing to keep watching the rest. Glad to hear you love it!!
I admit I gave up on this books when I realised Mary Bennet’s solution, it didn’t interest me at all. A pity as I was enjoying the Charlotte story.
So sorry to hear that, Vesper. I enjoyed seeing Mary grow closer with her sisters.
sounds amazing
It was a really great idea!
I am just starting to read this story. I was disappointed to read that Darcy’s and Elizabeth’s story was not up to par but I will still read this book. I did read her other story. Thanks for sharing your thoughts here, Meredith. I was glad to have this review to read before getting into this story.
I wouldn’t say it wasn’t up to par, just that maybe I was expecting a little more.
Thanks so much for reading my review, Sheila. I am so glad you found it helpful!
I appreciated your review, Meredith. Well spoken, well thought out. Enough to entice and a head’s up for some weaker points. I’m interested in reading this, so on the wish list it goes.
Thank you, Michelle, for leaving such a kind comment! I am so glad this book interests you!!
I was honestly really looking forward to this collection, but I think the Darcy-Elizabeth story is likely going to be a deal-breaker for me. Thank you for the “warning,” although I may still get this for the other stories.
You might still want to give it a try, Jen. 🙂 Maybe you will like their story-line more than I did! And yes, the other stories, are definitely worth it!
Most likely I’ll buy the e-book because I realize that some of my favorite stories do not involve FD & EBD. I was thinking of The Clergyman’s Wife and other JAFF from other characters that I have found enjoyable. Thank you for helping me reconsider buying the book again 🙂