A Single Woman Saddled with a Family Estate and a Ancient Legacy IS in Want of a Husband

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Source: Review Copy from Author

TYPE OF NOVEL: Contemporary Austen-Inspired

THE PREMISE: Being the eldest of Baron of Lankford’s five daughters comes with its fair share of privileges, responsibilities, and struggles. With the burdens of the preserving her family’s legacy and the estate always being very cash poor, Eleanor jumps at the opportunity for it to be the film site for a new Pride and Prejudice adapted series. The question is, will the arrival of cast and crew create more chaos, drama, or romantic opportunities for Eleanor…or all of the above?

MY THOUGHTS:

I loved the idea of spending time on a modern-day English estate with an aristocratic (but poor) family of five daughters. Since there are only a few parallels with characters and one or two plot events, I would hesitate to label it a modern-day Pride and Prejudice. It is very much more its own original tale that has some ties and nods to Jane Austen and Pride and Prejudice. In fact the heroine of this story made me think of Caroline Jane Knight – Jane Austen’s fifth great niece who grew up in Chawton House. It’s fascinating to see the privileges, responsibilities, and challenges of modern-day estate life.

The story was an interesting mixture of Eleanor’s work and life on the estate and the drama and diversion of a film crew taking up residence in her backyard. It was fun to see the cast interact with the family and see some of the different personalities at play. I enjoyed learning about Eleanor’s estate management responsibilities – she is very poised, competent, and pragmatic. Definitely an Elinor Dashwood/Charlotte Lucas type. In addition, I appreciated the uniqueness of her being a character living with epilepsy, and how that challenged and impacted her life.

Not only does Eleanor feel the pressure to preserve her family estate from crumbling into disrepair, she feels the pressure to secure its future. Marriage and children is a must. And for some reason, at the young age of 27, she is feeling she must succeed with theses goals in the next few years. Eleanor, like Elizabeth Bennet, wants to of course marry for love. And it appears Eleanor might be in luck, as there are some interested parties that she maybe would deem to be eligible.

Unfortunately, this is the part of the story that didn’t sit well with me – Eleanor’s relationships with various marital prospects felt inconsistent and unsupported. She had previous history with two of the men, but it never felt like we really understood the dynamics and feelings of their pasts. Eleanor in general often felt very detached when concerning the men in her life. It felt very analytical. I think it may have been the author’s intent to increase our interest by suspense and have Eleanor’s true feelings be revealed only at the very end, but I didn’t love how changeable and unclear Eleanor’s inclinations felt. She seriously laments the loss of man who she had only a few conversations with, yet seems unmoved when someone from her past confesses to loving her for nine years. It just felt too disconnected.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

🐑  I like seeing a woman in the role of estate manager – reminded me a bit of Lady Mary Crawley from Downton Abbey.

🎩   Can you imagine the cast of Pride and Prejudice coming to your village and staying on your property – such a dream, right?

💞 It looks like this is to be a series – while Eleanor’s heart was a little hard to decipher, maybe the other sisters’ won’t be.

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