I picked up Mr. Darcy’s Diary by Amanda Grange since I was having trouble getting into the book I had decided was going to be #23. That book will still be read, but it will be appearing later in the cannonball. As for a return visit to Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett, there were definitely parts I enjoyed and parts I just got through.
I don’t generally go in for fan-fictionesque books. I tend to read the original and move on. I formed a deep and abiding love for Austen in high school and it has never failed me. My sister bought me this one, knowing of the Austen love and it sat on my bookshelf for quite awhile, because I just couldn’t imagine sitting and reading it. The book is literally written as a diary, and upon further investigation this is not Grange’s first foray into this format. It makes for a slow start to be sure.
The book starts before and extends after Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Grange captures the tone of Fitzwilliam Darcy well, and it’s nice to spend some extra time with beloved characters, and view the relationship between these two seemingly ill suited lovers, but I’m not sure I’d actually recommend this to anyone. My favorite parts were the ones which crossed over from the original novel and was Darcy telling the reader his impressions.
Read if you must, but be warned.
faintingviolet 