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Assumed Engagement Kara Louise 9781435732827 Books

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Assumed Engagement Kara Louise 9781435732827 Books

This is an annoyingly inconsistent book. I very much enjoyed one of the author's other books, Something Like Regret, and got this one with high expectations. I'm sorry to say, I was very disappointed.

While the premise of the story is interesting and promising, and the writing style is competent, the execution is severely flawed to the point of being unpleasant.

The first problem is that the personality of Jane Austen's characters has altered. These "new" characters might not be a problem if you were inventing them from scratch or presenting them to a public who doesn't already "know" them. But this isn't the case. Jane Austen fans will accept some tinkering, but leave Lizzy and Darcy fundamentally similar, at least. It's one thing to tinker with the plot, but don't significantly alter the characters.

Lizzy lacks her usual maturity and sparkle; Col. Fitzwilliam is almost obnoxious; Georgiana ranges from timid to decisive and back with perplexing speed; Charlotte is more assertive than Austen intended; and Darcy behaves like a man who has suffered a blow to the head (which he has although, supposedly, it didn't harm him). Lady Catherine, at least, is true to form. (As are Jane, Charles, Mr. Collins, and Caroline Bingley).

The introduction of 21st century social consciousness is totally out of place, and smacks of sloppy research. This just wasn't one of the Regency period's best qualities, but it was what it was and you can't revise it retroactively. Having Darcy host a wedding reception at Pemberley for the gardener's son (who he has never laid eyes on) is irrational. Maybe, the sponsoring of a school for the deaf is believable (noblese oblige, after all), but not socializing with the help and all their friends and relatives. There was a very strong division between upstairs and downstairs, and Darcy is upstairs to the core.

The therapy regimen that Georgiana implemented to modify Darcy's personality is another example of getting ahead of the times. That Darcy should actually obey and go along with the treatment his little sister prescribes is a bit hard to swallow. The concept of self-improvement is timeless and Darcy's wish to change is believable, but the book's methods are questionable. And, it's a bit silly to have Darcy carrying around a security hankie for so long.

So, basically, the IDEA for re-plotting the way that Elizabeth and Darcy's story reached its happy conclusion was interesting, original, and generally well thought out. But the changes and compromises the author chose to make in order to bend the original to fit the new plot lines were a bit heavy-handed, at best.


Tags : Assumed Engagement [Kara Louise] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. This story continues after Chapter 36 in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. On his return trip to Pemberley from Rosings after his offer of marriage was refused by Miss Elizabeth Bennet,Kara Louise,Assumed Engagement,lulu.com,1435732820,FICTION Romance General,Fiction,Fiction - Romance,Romance,Romance - General,Romance: Modern

Assumed Engagement Kara Louise 9781435732827 Books Reviews

I really loved the premise of this book but the actuality left me very disappointed, to the point that I could not finish it.

Lizzy and Darcy were far too altered for me even to really like them. For instance, when Elizabeth receives word that Darcy has been injured in a carriage accident and that the doctor was beginning to think that nothing could be done, there is no immediate feeling of dismay or sympathy. Instead, her first thought is that she may be able to get Jane and Bingley back together because Georgiana tells her in her letter that she has also contacted Mr Bingley and that he also is coming to Pemberley. Now I know that Elizabeth has turned down Darcy's offer of marriage, and has no real regard for him (despite the fact she has found out Wickham's true character). But the Elizabeth Bennet we know and love so much is a caring, compassionate person who, upon hearing that an acquaintance is likely near death and that said acquaintance's sister would dearly love Miss Bennet to attend her essentially moribund brother (though the reasons why Georgiana has even contacted Lizzy are very obscure), Lizzy would have been horrified that Mr Darcy is so very ill, and she would have acceded to Miss Darcy's request just to see if she could help.

This version of Elizabeth does not even think of Mr Darcy's pitiable plight, at least not at the beginning, and those occasions that he does obtrude into her consciousness are few and far between. After it is clear that Bingley and Jane are as much in love as ever, Lizzy spends most of her time admiring Pemberley's many beauties and comforting Georgiana. Seeing the man who proposed to her in such a vulnerable position does not affect her opinion of him and she leaves Pemberley with no alteration to her feelings for its master.

And Darcy, once he awakens from his coma and finds Elizabeth in his home, does not set about trying to address those faults she found so abhorrent in him, but goes on deluding himself that he is a perfectly good and charitable man. He is also upset and angry that Elizabeth is at Pemberley (also confused as to how she came to be there, but then, he has been very ill) and one might think that having her so close to hand again, and supposedly still being madly in love with her, that he would try to at least pretend to have addressed some of his deficiencies.

It is Georgiana who makes him wake up to himself and he is then led around by the nose by her until he reluctantly sees the error of his ways. This is not a man who was humbled by a worthy woman, a man deciding that he will become a better person so that he might make himself worthy of being loved by a woman who is his superior in every way. Instead this is a man who is dragged kicking and screaming into a world where he is forced to improve himself but who does not really want to change.

Georgiana too is two different people we see the painfully shy and very tearful and easily offended girl turn into her older brother's instructor on how he should operate in the world...a very big change indeed.

Gardenias apart from my opinion that the scent of Gardenia would be wholly overpowering for a young woman, the whole handkerchief theft and Darcy ordering his man to buy gardenia scented toilette water was a little too out there. Darcy spends hours fingering the purloined hanky and even gets his man to go and buy some gardenia-scented toilette water to remind him of Elizabeth, but he makes no effort to keep her at Pemberley, nor indeed to even communicate with her beyond 2 meetings, after he regains consciousness, and during those meetings, he does not try to improve her opinion of him. He appears very outnofmsortsmwith her, so why keep the reminder?

And as for ripping up a garden bed full of hollyhocks and replacing them with gardenias, this seems the height of foolishness to me. I am sure gardenias would not do well in a garden bed in the Peak District because the winters would be too harsh for them to flourish. In a hot house perhaps, but not in the open.

Apart from disappointing character portrayals, the following are a few other annoyances. There are often poor choices of preposition for example, on the very first page Darcy, 'wonders of his cousin's tardiness'. Surely that should be 'at' his cousin's tardiness. there are several similar examples throughout the book

There is also a problem with logistics How did Jane and Lizzy get to and from Pemberley, in one day when in P&P it has always stated, even when the Gardiners and Lizzy are returning to Longbourn 'as expeditiously as possible', they have to spend one night 'on the road'. Even today, the trip from Derby (which is a fair way south of Pemberley, which is in the Peak District) to Hertfordshire on the train takes at least 2 hours.

This poor research annoys me intensely because distances and time spent travelling are covered quite extensively in P&P. it happens far too often in Austen variations.

At one point, Mr Darcy reflects upon how long it has been since he had been to church when he first attends a service after his recovery, but he would have gone to Hunsford church every Sunday with Lady Catherine whilst in Kent, so it really has not been all that long. He would also, I am sure, have attended church whilst staying at Netherfield.

Admittedly, I have not finished the book (and I am not sure I will be able to after reading a review where the reader said that she did not like being hit over the head with scripture and religion). This does not seem like a love story to me and apart from problems with lack of research and poor syntax, I did not like Lizzy and Darcy.

So for me, what seemed a wonderful premise did not live up to expectations.

Lesley
This review is a counterpoint to the many negative reviews of the book

I think this book is reviewed in relationship to the majority of accepted views about what the characters are agreed to be like in the majority of P&P variations. This book was first written in 2001 when not many fan variations existed.

In P&P Elizabeth is written as an ultra kind, not ultra romantically passionate character. She is written as smart, witty, very proper young lady. There is no talk of love for Darcy until the accidental meeting at Pemberley. This book really gets rolling about a week after the proposal when she still doesn’t think well of him at all yet.

Much has been made of the impropriety of Jane and Elizabeth traveling to Pemberley. This is not much different than Lydia going to Brighton. Both have Mrs Bennet’s approval and Mr. Bennet only wanting peace in the house. Lets us remember that Jane is over 21 so is a full fledged adult.

Our dear Colonel is well in bounds of acting given the very little time he is portrayed in original P&P.

I think the characters align closely to the originals.

The time compression of traveling can be overlooked, I think, if it was done to cut down the amount of verbiage about boring travel.

In summation this book, to me, is very interesting because the variation and characters are written about, before all the agreed upon history that P&P fandom now uses existed. This an unused branch of how P&P variation history could have been.
This is an annoyingly inconsistent book. I very much enjoyed one of the author's other books, Something Like Regret, and got this one with high expectations. I'm sorry to say, I was very disappointed.

While the premise of the story is interesting and promising, and the writing style is competent, the execution is severely flawed to the point of being unpleasant.

The first problem is that the personality of Jane Austen's characters has altered. These "new" characters might not be a problem if you were inventing them from scratch or presenting them to a public who doesn't already "know" them. But this isn't the case. Jane Austen fans will accept some tinkering, but leave Lizzy and Darcy fundamentally similar, at least. It's one thing to tinker with the plot, but don't significantly alter the characters.

Lizzy lacks her usual maturity and sparkle; Col. Fitzwilliam is almost obnoxious; Georgiana ranges from timid to decisive and back with perplexing speed; Charlotte is more assertive than Austen intended; and Darcy behaves like a man who has suffered a blow to the head (which he has although, supposedly, it didn't harm him). Lady Catherine, at least, is true to form. (As are Jane, Charles, Mr. Collins, and Caroline Bingley).

The introduction of 21st century social consciousness is totally out of place, and smacks of sloppy research. This just wasn't one of the Regency period's best qualities, but it was what it was and you can't revise it retroactively. Having Darcy host a wedding reception at Pemberley for the gardener's son (who he has never laid eyes on) is irrational. Maybe, the sponsoring of a school for the deaf is believable (noblese oblige, after all), but not socializing with the help and all their friends and relatives. There was a very strong division between upstairs and downstairs, and Darcy is upstairs to the core.

The therapy regimen that Georgiana implemented to modify Darcy's personality is another example of getting ahead of the times. That Darcy should actually obey and go along with the treatment his little sister prescribes is a bit hard to swallow. The concept of self-improvement is timeless and Darcy's wish to change is believable, but the book's methods are questionable. And, it's a bit silly to have Darcy carrying around a security hankie for so long.

So, basically, the IDEA for re-plotting the way that Elizabeth and Darcy's story reached its happy conclusion was interesting, original, and generally well thought out. But the changes and compromises the author chose to make in order to bend the original to fit the new plot lines were a bit heavy-handed, at best.