Her distraction was such that Mr. Collins bestirred himself to ask if she were quite well, and to caution her on the dangers of bringing contagious illness into the presence of Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Elizabeth could not help thinking that Lady Catherine would likely prefer a grave illness to the knowledge that she harboured a competitor for Mr. Darcy’s affections!
(from A Pemberley Medley, “Such Differing Reports”)
Abigail Reynolds has written several variations of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice that I’ve enjoyed. Every time I think all the “what ifs” have been exhausted, Reynolds manages to surprise me. So I couldn’t wait to make time for A Pemberley Medley, a collection of five short stories that are basically all about Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy falling in love.
“Intermezzo” — Georgiana Darcy attends the wedding of Mr. Bingley and Jane Bennet determined to find the mysterious “Elizabeth” who broke her brother’s heart.
“Such Differing Reports” — While visiting Charlotte Collins at Hunsford, Elizabeth realizes Darcy likes her, averting his disastrous proposal. She hears different things about Darcy from different people and must piece these together to get a handle on the whole Darcy.
“Reason’s Rule” — An alternative ending to Reynold’s novel To Conquer Mr. Darcy. Elizabeth is already engaged to Darcy when the Lydia/Wickham scandal occurs, and she tries to break off the engagement to preserve Darcy’s reputation. Instead, Darcy, Mr. Bennet, and Mr. Gardiner put their heads together and come up with a solution to the Wickham problem — but it requires Elizabeth to make a huge sacrifice.
“The Most Natural Thing” — A dark story in which Elizabeth, having rejected Darcy’s proposal, is at his mercy when her father dies, Mr. Collins moves into Longbourn, and Lydia runs away with Wickham. Will throwing herself at Darcy save her family from complete ruin?
“A Succession of Rain” — A story without angst or misunderstandings. Only the rain keeps Darcy and Elizabeth apart.
Because they were short stories with more telling than showing, there were missed opportunities for some meaty description and dialogue. It really felt like I was reading undeveloped novel fragments, and I was left wanting more. The collection’s weakness is its focus on the romance and not what makes Darcy and Elizabeth such great characters, i.e. their strength, their fiery personalities, their witty bantering. It seemed that in every story, the two of them couldn’t stand in the same room together without nearly ripping their clothes off. That can work in a full-length novel where there are other things going on to further the plot, but there wasn’t much going on in these stories besides the romance and sex. Maybe I should have read the stories piecemeal and not one after the other.
Even so, I enjoyed the collection overall. A Pemberley Medley gave me a few hours of much-needed light, mindless reading with some of my favorite characters, and I liked that I could count on a happily-ever-after every time. Moreover, I admire Reynolds’ creativity in retelling Pride and Prejudice in so many ways. I was never bored, and watching Elizabeth and Darcy fall in love never gets old. I think I just prefer novels to short stories, so I hope Reynolds considers fleshing some of these out into full-length novels.
Disclosure: A Pemberley Medley is from my personal library.
© 2013 Anna Horner of Diary of an Eccentric. All Rights Reserved. Please do not reproduce or republish content without permission.
I am reading less PP these days, makes me sad
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Oh, you need to make time for it…especially if you’re sad! 😉
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Since the collection focuses on romance, it probably isn’t for me.
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I don’t mind romance, but I like a little meat to the story as well.
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I’m not sure this one would be for me if all they’re doing is ripping off each others clothes. I like a story too plus I prefer full length novels. The cover is really pretty though.
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I’m a novel kinda gal myself, but I can’t help myself when it comes to Austen.
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Sounds like some light and fluffy vacation reading to me.
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Most definitely!
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I love all the different angles and scenarios Abigail Reynolds dreams up! Who knew there were so many possibilities! Did you have a favorite story in the collection, Anna? My favorites are Intermezzo and The Most Natural Thing 🙂
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Those were my favorites, too! 🙂
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Isn’t it wonderful to have some light reading for those ‘heavy’ days? I often turn to a mystery/thriller type, but I think a Jane Austen escape would be ideal so I’ll keep that in mind. And it’s true, one never ties of Mr. Darcy falling in love, nor happy endings.
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Very true, you can never have too much Darcy! 😉
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A Pemberley Medley sounds like a nice collection. I agree, watching Elizabeth and Darcy fall in love never gets old.
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It was fun, Elizabeth and Darcy made it more so.
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Light reading is never a bad thing, most especially when it comes at a time when you can really appreciate it!
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Very true!
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Sex?!?! Say it isn’t so.
Short stories aren’t my thing but light summer reading is and I’d love to visit Elizabeth & Darcy.
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It is light and fun and great for summer!
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