Great addition to the world of Pride and Prejudice
Charlotte is a wonderful addition to the world of Pride and Prejudice. We meet Charlotte Lucas when she is dealt a devastating blow at the death of her son and this novel deals with her grief. She also has to accept the wider implications that come with her son’s death; the inheritance of Longbourn, and what will become of her daughters. Charlotte questions the constraints put upon women in this time. Just as Pride and Prejudice examines the unfairness of the entail which excludes the Bennet daughters from their father’s estates, so does this novel
Charlotte was more pragmatic than other characters in Austen’s original, she married Mr. Collins because she knew it would secure her future, and take the burden off her father and brothers, and we see her reasonings, as chapters flashback to the events in Pride and Prejudice. In present day she is a sensible woman, who has taken control as mistress of Hunsford, and we are treated to some lovely ways in which she runs her house
We meet characters Austen created in Catherine de Bourgh, her daughter, Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth, who is dealing with her own grief. The character who suffered the most from Austen’s novel, is the sickly Anne de Bourgh, who is shown to be much stronger and wittier. She is almost the opposite to Charlotte, her mother has already secured her inheritance of the Rosings estate, but her illness prevents heirs. Again the question remains what will happen to the estate after Anne’s death. I renjoyed Anne’s character; she was a lot more independent than Austen shows her to be. Some of my favourite sections were the conversations between Anne and Charlotte
At Pembroke, Charlotte meets Herr Rosenstein, a musician employed by the Darcys. I enjoyed his character and their relationship as it developed into a love and mutual longing, I found the final outcome a little jarring, it seemed out of character for the sensible Charlotte.
The writing and language fits well with Austen’s world, and fans of the original will surely love Charlotte
Thank you to Readers First for the early copy of this book.
Charlotte was more pragmatic than other characters in Austen’s original, she married Mr. Collins because she knew it would secure her future, and take the burden off her father and brothers, and we see her reasonings, as chapters flashback to the events in Pride and Prejudice. In present day she is a sensible woman, who has taken control as mistress of Hunsford, and we are treated to some lovely ways in which she runs her house
We meet characters Austen created in Catherine de Bourgh, her daughter, Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth, who is dealing with her own grief. The character who suffered the most from Austen’s novel, is the sickly Anne de Bourgh, who is shown to be much stronger and wittier. She is almost the opposite to Charlotte, her mother has already secured her inheritance of the Rosings estate, but her illness prevents heirs. Again the question remains what will happen to the estate after Anne’s death. I renjoyed Anne’s character; she was a lot more independent than Austen shows her to be. Some of my favourite sections were the conversations between Anne and Charlotte
At Pembroke, Charlotte meets Herr Rosenstein, a musician employed by the Darcys. I enjoyed his character and their relationship as it developed into a love and mutual longing, I found the final outcome a little jarring, it seemed out of character for the sensible Charlotte.
The writing and language fits well with Austen’s world, and fans of the original will surely love Charlotte
Thank you to Readers First for the early copy of this book.