Short Takes: 13 Jane Austen Variations

Jeanne Bogino, New Lebanon Lib., NY -- Library Journal, 01/09/2009

And then what happened? 

This is the question that spawned the literary spin-off phenomena—a plethora of prequels, sequels, parallels, continuations, and variations that precede, conclude, complement, retell, and sometimes redesign our best loved books.

Spin-offs are not new. For as long as there have been stories, there have been retellings. Shakespeare borrowed Homer’s plot and Chaucer’s characters for Troilus and Cressida, then was spun off himself by John Dryden. The list of the retold includes authors as divergent as L. Frank Baum, Margaret Mitchell, Arthur Conan Doyle, Mary Shelley, and more, but few have been spun off as relentlessly as the Queen of Regency romance, Jane Austen.

The first Austen sequel, Sybil Brinton’s Old Friends and New Fancies, appeared in 1913. Since then, the spin-offs have come in a steady stream. In recent years, the stream has become a flood, prompted by the enormous popularity of the 1995 BBC/A&E miniseries of Pride and Prejudice. If my 13 Short Takes and Extra Credit are any indication, this flood shows no signs of drying up. Looking to get even more deluged? See LJ Managing Editor Bette-Lee Fox's excellent "A Jolt of Jane Austen" (she also contributed a Short Take below).

Aiken, Joan. Eliza’s Daughter: A Sequel to Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility. Sourcebooks Landmark. 2008. 336p. ISBN 978-1-4022-1288-8. $14.95. F
Originally published in 1984, this Sense and Sensibility spin-off is the story of the illegitimate daughter of Eliza Williams and the caddish John Willoughby. Young Eliza, reared in a rural backwater reserved for the bastard children of the upper class, manages to overcome her circumstances and travel the world to solve the mystery of her parentage. This darkly compelling read is more Dickensian than Austenian in tone, so much that devotees of S&S may be dismayed by the unflattering depiction of some of Austen’s most beloved characters.

Altman, Marsha. The Darcys & the Bingleys: A Tale of Two Gentlemen’s Marriages to Two Most Devoted Sisters. Sourcebooks Landmark. 2008. 424 p. ISBN 978-1-4022-1348-9. $14.95. F
Picking up right where Pride and Prejudice left off, Altman’s debut novel commences just two days before the double wedding of Darcy and Bingley to the Bennett sisters. When Bingley confides some misgivings about the upcoming wedding night, Darcy presents him with a special wedding gift: a magnificently illustrated edition of The Kama Sutra. This light, humorous return to Austen’s key characters is an engaging read, but it may take too many liberties for Austen purists.

Bonavia-Hunt, D.A. Pemberley Shades: A Lightly Gothic Tale of Mr. and Mrs. Darcy. Sourcebooks Landmark. 2008. 336 p. ISBN 978-1-4022-1438-7. $12.95. F
Several years after the marriage of the Darcys, the sudden death of Pemberley’s rector disrupts their happily-ever-after. When Mr. Stephen Acworth replaces him, mysterious events take place; the Darcys suspect their new rector isn’t quite who he says he is. First published in 1949, Bonavia-Hunt’s work holds the distinction of being the second P&P sequel ever published. While not particularly gothic in tone, the book holds a special historical place in the Austen sequel canon.

Collins, Rebecca Ann. Netherfield Park Revisited. Sourcebooks Landmark. (The Pemberley Chronicles, Bk. 3). 2008. 288p. ISBN 978-1-4022-1155-3. $14.95. F
This third installment in the series (see Book 4, below) centers on Jonathan Bingley, son of Charles and Jane. Jonathan has grown into a fine man, father, and politician who has made an unfortunate choice of a wife, Amelia-Jane Collins (yes, the daughter of Charlotte and the pompous William Collins). This sobering story of a crumbling marriage set against a background of political and cultural change will captivate readers, although the original P&P characters are little more than bit players.

Collins, Rebecca Ann. The Ladies of Longbourn. Sourcebooks Landmark. (The Pemberley Chronicles, Bk. 4). 2008. 320p. ISBN 978-1-4022-1219-2. $14.95. F
In this fourth installment of "The Pemberley Chronicles" (see Book 3, above), the Bingley women take center stage. They are the recently widowed Anne-Marie Bradshaw, granddaughter of Charles and Jane Bingley; her stepmother Anna Bingley; and Charlotte Collins, now a widow, as well. In what is arguably the best book in the series, author Collins delves into the role of women in Victorian England and how these ladies in particular struggle to break through those boundaries. Both Austen fans and fans of the series will be delighted.

Collins, Rebecca Ann. Mr. Darcy’s Daughter. Sourcebooks Landmark. (The Pemberley Chronicles, Bk. 5). 2008. 352 p. ISBN 978-1-4022-1220-8. $14.95. F
Number five in the series casts the spotlight back on the Darcys; the main character is Cassandra Gardiner, daughter of Fitzwilliam and Elizabeth Darcy. When Cassy’s brother Julian abdicates his role as Pemberley heir, it’s up to Cassy to manage the estate, raise Julian’s son, and deal with the problems of her own family, which include a murder investigation and a mysterious American to whom Cassy’s daughter Lizzie has formed an unsuitable attachment. A worthy addition to this popular series.

McCullough, Colleen. The Independence of Miss Mary Bennet. S. & S. Jan. 2009. 336p. ISBN 978-1-4165-9648-6. $26. F
The acclaimed McCullough (“Masters of Rome” series) sets her Pride & Prejudice sequel more than 17 years later. Mama Bennet has died, and her caretaker, bluestocking middle sister Mary, decides to write a book about the ills of the lower classes, which doesn’t sit well with the priggish and now not-so-dreamy Fitzwilliam Darcy. Unfortunately, Mary runs afoul of those same folk and is held prisoner by a strange old apothecary. Though full of the expected Bennets and Bingleys, this tale is more malevolent and earthy than anything Austen penned. More for McCullough’s fans than Miss Jane’s.—Bette-Lee Fox
  
Pattillo, Beth. Jane Austen Ruined My Life. Guideposts. Feb. 2009. 288p. ISBN 978-0-8249-4771-2. $14.99. F
Professor Emma Grant has always had faith in the happily-ever-after depicted by her favorite author, Jane Austen. But where’s Emma’s happy ending when she discovers that, instead of a Darcy, she’s married a Wickham who both breaks her heart and destroys her career? Emma sets off for England on a quest to reestablish her academic credibility by tracking down the lost letters of Jane Austen and finds a romantic adventure of her own. Fun for Anglophiles and Austenites alike.

Reynolds, Abigail. Impulse & Initiative: A Pride and Prejudice Variation. Sourcebooks Landmark. 2008. 400p. ISBN 978-1-4022-1357-1. $14.95. F
We all know that Darcy abandoned hope of winning Elizabeth Bennett after she rejected his ham-handed proposal, but what if he hadn’t taken no for an answer? What if, instead, he’d swallowed his famous pride and pursued her? This compulsively readable novel, an entry in Reynolds’s "A Pride & Prejudice Variation" series, treats readers to an oh-so-spicy alternative story line. While there may be a little too much heat for proper Austenites, it’s sure to appeal to fans of lusty historical romance.

Reynolds, Abilgail. Pemberley by the Sea: A Modern Love Story, Pride & Prejudice Style. Sourcebooks Landmark. 2008. 432p. ISBN 978-1-4022-1356-4. $14.95. F
Another offering from Reynolds, this time an imaginative, 21st-century retelling of P&P set on Cape Cod. Despite her love for Austen-style happy endings, marine biologist Cassie Boulton wants nothing to do with the modern-day Darcy who shows up in her lab. But the taciturn and aloof Calder Westing will do anything to convince her they belong together, even if this means writing his own version of P& P. As enjoyable and sensual as any of Reynolds’s novels.

Shapiro, Juliette. Darcy’s Passions: Pride & Prejudice Told Through His Eyes. Ulysses Pr. Feb. 2009. 236p. ISBN 978-1-56975-699-7. $14.95. F
Darcy was the mystery man in Austen’s story, and author Shapiro attempts to shed some light on him by telling the story from his perspective. The plot is retold faithfully, so much that one must wonder, Why attempt this book at all? It doesn’t cover any ground not already trodden to death in other sequels; P&P aficionados may be annoyed by the author’s paraphrasing of Austen’s dialog. The book goes beyond the original’s conclusion, but these pages consist mainly of Elizabeth and Darcy rehashing their love affair. For hard-core Darcy devotees only.

Shapiro, Juliette. Sanditon: Jane Austin’s Unfinished Masterpiece Completed. Ulysses Pr. Mar. 2009. 236p. ISBN 978-1-56975-621-8. $14.95. F
Jane Austen began Sanditon in January of 1817 and died six months later, leaving the work unfinished. Had she completed it, the story of Charlotte Heywood and the seaside village of Sanditon would doubtless have garnered acclaim similar to the rest of Austen works. Shapiro’s novel, the latest offering from Sanditon "continuators," is an interesting if not particularly Austenian completion to this final work. Austen’s text is not included, and this makes it necessary to read the original book first.

Wilson, Barbara Ker. The Lost Years of Jane Austen: A Novel. Ulysses Pr. 336p. ISBN 978-1-56975-682-8. $14.95. F
Wilson has pieced together a convincing fictional account of Jane Austen’s activities during the early 1800s. The tale begins with a true event: the fraudulent arrest of Jane’s aunt for the theft of a piece of white lace worth 20 shillings. Events arising from this send Jane on a voyage across the sea to Australia and expose her to adventure and romance along the way. A convincing work of historical fiction, though Austen’s fans may find themselves clamoring for less about Jane’s relations and more about Jane.

EXTRA CREDIT: Elizabeth Aston (Mr. Darcy's Daughters) continues her series with Mr. Darcy's Dream (February, Touchstone, ISBN 978-1-4165-4726-6), which centers on Darcy's niece, Phoebe, who is brokenhearted over a bad romance. Then comes Sharon Lathan's Mr. & Mrs. Darcy: Two Shall Become One (March, Sourcebooks Landmark, ISBN 978-1-4022-1523-0), a continuation of Pride and Prejudice that portrays Darcy and Elizabeth's wedding day and beyond. Kathryn L. Nelson offers Pemberley Manor (April, Sourcebooks Landmark, ISBN 978-1-4022-1852-1), yet another take on Pride and Prejudice that reveals how Darcy and Elizabeth, now married, need to work on their communication skills.