What I've Read This Week

What I've Read This Week . . .

Mr. Darcy's Dream by Elizabeth Aston -- Austenesque
In this latest book in the Mr. Darcy's Daughters series, 20 year old Phoebe Hawkins, daughter of Georgiana Darcy and a Sir Giles Hawkins, has found love in her second season. After a whirlwind night of dancing and falling in love, Mr. Stanhope informs Phoebe he is going to call on her father to ask leave to pay his addresses. Sir Giles is against the match for two reason: one, Mr. Stanhope and his family are Whigs while Sir Giles is a Tory. Whigs are thought to be immoral and they marry their own kind. The other reason Sir Giles objects is because Mr. Stanhope as a lady in keeping and a reputation as a rake. She is crushed by her father's decision but determined to see Mr. Stanhope again because she doesn't believe the gossip. Unfortunately, Phoebe happens to see the dashing Mrs. Vereker leaving Mr. Stanhope's apartments shattering all Phoebe's hopes and dreams. Phoebe knows just enough about unfaithfulness and the unhappiness it causes within families to know she does not want to be married to such a one as Mr. Stanhope. She is packed off to Pemberley where she meets with her cousin Louisa Bingley (daughter of Jane Bennet and Mr. Bingley). Mr. Darcy has hired an up-and-coming young landscape architecht, High Drummond, to modernize the Pemberley grounds and to build a new, large greenhouse for the tropical plans Elizabeth has collected on her travels. Once the renovations are complete, Mr. Darcy is to hold a ball and leaves Phoebe in charge of all the arrangements. Phoebe and Louisa's only other companion is a Miss Verney, a French emigree, forced to work as a governess for Mr. Darcy's grandchildren. Phoebe dislikes and mistrusts Miss Verney, but lkike her parents, Louisa refuses to see bad in anyone. Meanwhile, Mr. Stanhope learns that Phoebe is in the country and dashes off to see his married sister who lives in the neighborhood. He senses unhappiness all around him with his sister, with Phoebe and the mysterious Miss Verney. Phoebe spends a lot of time and energy trying to avoid Mr. Stanhope while Louisa becomes closer to Mr. Drummond. George Warren steps in to try to make trouble but this time everyone is suspicious and determined he will not make trouble for the Darcys again. Everything cultminates at Mr. Darcy's ball where under the moonlight futures will be made and everything changes. This is another rewrite of Pride and Prejudice featuring the next generation. It was a little confusing to keep everyone straight and follow the plot. The mystery and villianry are hinted at and then dropped and then picked up again only to be resolved quickly and easily. The romances are predictable and come off as I hoped but there wasn't much of solid conclusion to Phoebe's story. Though of all Aston's spinoffs, this one comes closest to actually being a story that a 19th century lady could have written. I enjoyed it and am sad that it seems to be the last in the series.

Pretty Polly by Marion Chesney -- Regency Romance

Beautiful, spoiled Mrs. Charlotte Manners, a wealthy widow, wants to ensnare the Duke of Denbeigh. Years ago, when he was a mere younger son, he proposed and she refused because she believed fortune was better than a title. Now she has fortune, Mrs. Manners wants a title and she is determined to be a Duchess and believes once the Duke sees her, he will be instantly smitten. The Duke has no plans to come to London for the Season, but Mrs. Manners thinks she can make him come by writing him wonderfully witty letters. Unfortunately, Mrs. Manners is neither witty nor clever, having always gotten by on her looks. She decides to bring an old schoolmate, Verity, daughter of a country lawyer, to town to write to the Duke. Verity quickly realizes she's being used by her old friend but Charlotte knows how to play on Verity's kindness and sensitivity to convince her to stay. Charity takes charge of Charlotte's pets, a dog, a cat and an unusual parrot and becomes noted in London for her kindness. Verity writes to the Duke of her visit to London and he is quite taken with the charming letter writer, whom he believes is Charlotte Manners. When the Duke shows no signs of appearing in London, Charlotte decides to settle for any gentleman with a fortune and title but every time a suitor comes to propose, he runs out the door never to be seen again. Unbeknownst to the ladies, the parrot can mimic their voices and repeats entire private conversations, revealing distasteful honest truths about Charlotte Manners and Verity. Verity falls in love with the Duke through his letters and when he finally does come to London, he quickly suspects the author of the letters is not Charlotte and the path to romance seems clear enough. However, jealousy rears it's ugly head and Charlotte destroys Verity's chance for happiness. It's up to Pretty Polly to save the day! I really liked this story because it was about an older, intelligent heroine and not some silly debutante. I also like the idea of courtship through letters and actually getting to know a person before marrying them. The parrot provided some comedic moments and served as an unusual plot device. This is one of Chesney's best.

My Lords, My Ladies and Marjorie by Marion Chesney -- Edwardian Romance c. 1907
A different time period, similar story. Seventeen year old Marjorie Montmorency-James lives in a backwater country village with her middle-class grandmother. There are no men at all in their village and Marjorie dreams of a nameless, faceless man to fall in love with. When she sees a picture of Lord Philip Cavendish in a picture in the newspaper, she falls madly in love with him and is determined her grandmother should give her a London Season so she may have a chance to see him in thr flesh. Marjorie's dreams come true when her grandmother asks an old friend for help launching Marjorie and that friend happens to be an old friend of Lord Philip's mother! At first Marjorie can't believe her good luck, but she is very young and nervous among her betters and tries desperately to mimic the behavior of the aristocratic young ladies. Lord Philip's childhood friend Hermione is intensely jealous of Marjorie and angry as Marjorie's too-acurate mimicry of Hermione's biting wit, so she sets out to destroy Marjorie's chances with Lord Philip and invites the other young aristocrats to have some fun at Marjorie's expense. Hermione's practical jokes go too far and the joke turns out to be nearly deadly for Marjorie. Marjorie manages to find true love and happiness in the end from a very unexpected person. I really didn't like this book. The only character I found likeable is the Marquess and he is such a paragon of virtue he is as cliched as that statement. I felt bad for Marjorie in the beginning but her naivity and stupidity brought on the rest. I would only recommend this if you're looking for something different from all the typical Regency romances.

The Princess and the Bear by Mette Ivie Harrison -- YA fantasy

This wonderful fairy tale is a companion to The Princess and the Hound. After Prince George uses his magic to switch back the princess and the hound to their rightful bodies, Prince George and Marit go on their way to happily ever after, but what about the hound? The hound that was a princess forms an odd pack of two with the bear who was a man and a king, despite the lac of ability to communicate. The hound feels that only the bear understands how it feels to be two things at once and will do anything to keep her bear and their home safe. The hound discovers a strange wild cat man who spreads his evil unmagic, destroying the forest and all that lives in it. He will destroy the world and every living thing if there is no one to stop him. Prince George is unable to help, so the bear decides to take it upon himself to confront the wild man who is said to be the only one who can stop the umagic; the same wild man who turned him into a bear. The hound refuses to be left behind even after the bear takes measures to ensure her safety. Together, the two go on an incredibly dangerous journey up a mountain to the wild man and back in time to the moment when King Richon was made a bear. It's up to Richon and the hound to right the wrongs of the past and prevent the wild cat man from destorying the world. This is a beautifully written story filled with rich details, exciting adventure and a budding romance. I enjoyed it even more than the first book. I think the story flows more smoothly and the adventure is more coherent and exciting. I really liked the emotional turmoil of the bear and the hound who both knew what it was like to have been human and animal and only they could understand each other which made their relationship deeper and more meaningful. I want to know what happens to Prince George and Marit now!