Merry Wars and Peace Schemes
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Source: Review Copy from Author
TYPE OF NOVEL: Pride and Prejudice and Much Ado About Nothing Mash Up
THE PREMISE: After hearing Mr. Darcy’s insult at the Meryton Assembly, Elizabeth isn’t afraid to issue some stabbing slights of her own each time she is in the not-a-gentleman‘s company. Shocked and provoked by her sharp tongue and stabbing words, Mr. Darcy responds in kind until their dear friends and relations can’t take it anymore and hatch a scheme to force a truce of sorts against this verbally sparring pair…
MY THOUGHTS: I have long adored both Pride and Prejudice and Much Ado About Nothing, and I really love seeing bits of Shakespeare threaded into Jane Austen’s world. A crossover likes this is brilliant because Darcy and Elizabeth do have that hate-to-love relationship similar to Benedick and Beatrice, and Bingley and Jane counter this contentious coupling with their own sweet and gentle relationship (to some extent) similar to Claudio and Hero. I wonder if Much Ado About Nothing was one of Jane Austen’s favorite plays? 🤔
I love scenes between Darcy and Elizabeth where they are engaged in verbal swordplay and battles of wit. And author Riana Everly delivers plenty of poniards and barbed provocations in this story. Many of them were very clever and wittily composed. But sometimes these verbal skirmishes were ratcheted up to such an extreme level that it almost felt out of character and the “merry wars” lost some of their “merry-ness.” Like, you may need to have aloe on hand lest you suffer from some secondhand burns… 🔥
In addition to all the fun parallels with Much Ado About Nothing and combative repartee, there were several other twists implemented in this variation, such as Jane Bennet’s ankle injury, Colonel Fitzwilliam coming to Netherfield, and a different and devious storyline with George Wickham. These changes were the catalyst for some new and unique developments. My favorite being Colonel Fitzwilliam’s devious deception against Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy. It was fun to see the changes those overheard conversations produced.
However, one thing I didn’t love about this variation is that several of the characters at some points felt a little inconsistent or their behaviors shifted very suddenly. Elizabeth’s intense animosity towards Mr. Darcy seems to immediately transform into flirtatious charm, Mr. Collins is all over the place with his choice of bride, Mr. Wickam’s retaliation scheme feels like a massive misfire because it completely destroys the lives of a people who are not his target, and Bingley’s behavior gets a little outrageous and he is so thick-skulled that he repeatedly refuses to accept the truth when it is irrefutably presented to him several times. I’m all for new twists and exploring character deviations, but I think a lot of the ones executed in this tale occurred too suddenly or improbably for me to buy in. However, I might be in the minority on this.
Despite my quibbles, I enjoyed the eventfulness and creativity in Much Ado in Meryton. There truly is much ado in this story! And I think readers will delight in this entertaining comedy where the characters and themes of beloved works by Jane Austen and William Shakespeare come together!
Sounds interesting. Great review, Meredith. Too bad it is not available under KU.
Here is the review I wrote on Amazon about this book:
This was well done. Much has been said in other reviews that I agree with so I won’t reiterate what they said. But there is one thing I want to point out that made me truly love this book:
The Shakespeare story of Hero and Claudio is an excellent mashup for Jane and Bingley. And the depiction of it in this book made me very happy because both Claudio and Bingley are weak men. They are too easily influenced by others and will believe whatever they are told. They are trees with shallow roots and when the wind blows, they always fall. Claudio’s very public denunciation of Hero, in the Shakespeare play, is extremely cruel. It should never have been handled that way and showed how without honor Claudio was. He spends the majority of the play in love with the idea of being in love, but not actually IN love with Hero.
Bingley is the same, in canon and in this book. If he truly loved Jane, he would never have let his sisters and friend convince him to stay away from her. He is not capable of making a decision on his own.
I very much love how the story of Jane and Bingley ends. It is the most reasonable ending.
Darcy, like Benedick, is an honorable man. Bingley, like Claudio, is not. Plain and simple.
While I would love an epilogue telling everyone else’s story endings, Shakespeare never had those and he also left his comedies with open endings so in this, I am satisfied.
Well done.
I read this book a while ago and found it to be delightful. Jane Austen undoubtedly knew her Shakespeare, and Darcy and Elizabeth’s relationship definitely seems inspired by Benedick and Beatrice. Riana Everly is a wonderful writer and I have read many of her books.
Ooh. I’ve been meaning to read this one. Thanks for the review! 🙂