I must say, when I first heard about this murder-mystery "sequel" to Pride and Prejudice, Death Comes to Pemberley, I couldn't have been more uninterested. I'm not an Austen purist, but this just seemed like a really, really bad idea.
Then today arrived, and the book is now on bookstore shelves.
And I kinda want to run out and buy it.
Here's what Knopf has to say about Death Comes to Pemberley:
In a marvellous, thrilling re-creation of the world of Pride and Prejudice, P.D. James fuses her lifelong passion for the work of Jane Austen with her own great talent for writing crime fiction.
The year is 1803, and Darcy and Elizabeth have been married for six years. There are now two handsome, healthy sons in the Pemberley nursery, Elizabeth's beloved sister Jane and her husband, Bingley, live within seventeen miles, the ordered and secure life of Pemberley seems unassailable, and Elizabeth's happiness in her marriage is complete. But their peace is threatened and old sins and misunderstandings are rekindled on the eve of the annual autumn ball. The Darcys and their guests are preparing to retire for the night when a chaise appears, rocking down the path from Pemberley's wild woodland, and as it pulls up, Lydia Wickham, an uninvited guest, tumbles out, screaming that her husband has been murdered.
Death Comes to Pemberley is a powerful work of fiction, as rich in its compelling story, in its evocation of place, and its gripping psychological and emotional insight, as the very best of P. D. James. She brings us back masterfully and with delight to much-loved characters, illuminating the happy but threatened marriage of the Darcys with the excitement and suspense of a brilliantly crafted mystery.
And here's what the author, P.D. James has to say:
I owe an apology to the shade of Jane Austen for involving her beloved Elizabeth in the trauma of a murder investigation, especially as in the fi nal chapter of Mansfield Park Miss Austen made her views plain: “Let other pens dwell on guilt and misery. I quit such odious subjects as soon as I can, impatient to restore everybody not greatly in fault themselves to tolerable comfort, and to have done with all the rest.” No doubt she would have replied to my apology by saying that, had she wished to dwell on such odious subjects, she would have written this story herself, and done it better.
What do you think about this Austen "re-make?" Leave your comments in the doobly-doo below.
1 Comments on Trailer Tuesday: Death Comes to Pemberley - A Jane Austen Re-make?, last added: 12/6/2011
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I'm not a big Jane Austen fan, yet I can't help but be tempted by this intriguing mystery.