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| Genre/Form: | Historical fiction Mystery fiction Regency fiction Fiction |
|---|---|
| Material Type: | Fiction |
| Document Type: | Book |
| All Authors / Contributors: |
P D James; Jane Austen |
| ISBN: | 9780307959850 0307959856 |
| OCLC Number: | 757488817 |
| Notes: | Originally published: London : Faber and Faber, 2011. |
| Description: | 291 p. ; 25 cm. |
| Contents: | The Bennets of Longbourn -- The day before the ball -- The body in the woodland -- Police at Pemberley -- The inquest -- The trial -- Gracechurch Street. |
| Responsibility: | P.D. James. |
Abstract:
Reviews
WorldCat User Reviews (1)
Who murdered Captain Denny, and why?
On the eve of the annual Lady Anne Ball at Pemberley, an hysterical Lydia Wickham arrives by coach, sobbing that her husband and Captain Denny are lost in the woodland and possibly shot. Mr. Darcy and Captain Fitzwilliam mount a small search and rescue mission and discover a drunken Wickham kneeling...
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On the eve of the annual Lady Anne Ball at Pemberley, an hysterical Lydia Wickham arrives by coach, sobbing that her husband and Captain Denny are lost in the woodland and possibly shot. Mr. Darcy and Captain Fitzwilliam mount a small search and rescue mission and discover a drunken Wickham kneeling over Denny's body, saying he's killed his only friend. They return to Pemberley and summon the magistrate and constables. But is Wickham really guilty of murder?
James does a pretty good job of summarizing Pride and Prejudice and keeping faithful to the original characterizations. The chain of events seems plausible for the world of Jane Austen, although James' use of the term "police" seems out of place for the time period. (The word existed, but did the "police force" exist as such?)
The epilogue to this book is quite unnecessary, however. The superfluous explanatory scene feels like it should have been put at the end of the original Pride and Prejudice instead (or cut entirely). It really has almost nothing to do with the murder mystery but rather is a conversation between Darcy and Elizabeth that primarily rehashes their bumpy courtship--a conversation which should logically have occurred during the engagement or honeymoon periods, not 6+ years into a good marriage.
Still, it was an enjoyable read.
For readers' advisors: story doorway is primary, setting is secondary
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All user tags (10)
- 19th century england (by 1 person)
- duc--mystery (by 1 person)
- historical fiction (by 1 person)
- historical setting (by 1 person)
- jane austen (by 1 person)
- mystery (by 1 person)
- pride and prejudice (by 1 person)
- regency england (by 1 person)
- setting doorway (by 1 person)
- story doorway (by 1 person)
- 1 items are tagged with19th century england
- 1 items are tagged withduc--mystery
- 1 items are tagged withhistorical fiction
- 1 items are tagged withhistorical setting
- 1 items are tagged withjane austen
- 1 items are tagged withmystery
- 1 items are tagged withpride and prejudice
- 1 items are tagged withregency england
- 1 items are tagged withsetting doorway
- 1 items are tagged withstory doorway
Similar Items
Related Subjects:(9)
- Darcy, Fitzwilliam (Fictitious character) -- Fiction.
- Bennet, Elizabeth (Fictitious character) -- Fiction.
- Murder -- Investigation -- Fiction.
- Married people -- Fiction.
- England -- Social life and customs -- 19th century -- Fiction.
- Historical fiction.
- Darcy, Fitzwilliam (Fictional character) -- Fiction.
- Bennet, Elizabeth (Fictional character) -- Fiction.
- Homicide -- Fiction.
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