The Charlotte who emerges from the book is loyal, honest, intelligent, an attentive, loving mother and wife. Above all, she’s a pragmatist, her aim being ‘to secure a future free of anxiety and material want’ for herself and her children. The author provides the reader with a different picture of the relationship between Charlotte and Mr Collins than might be imagined from Pride and Prejudice. Although a marriage of convenience initially, there is mutual affection and, at times, even desire between the pair. Yes, really. Granted, Mr Collins remains his overly talkative self and pathetically grateful for every favour that comes his way from his patron, Lady Catherine, but there are some touching scenes in which he and Charlotte are brought together by grief.
The author has some fun imagining “what happened next” to the other Bennet sisters and expanding the role of some of the secondary characters from Pride and Prejudice, notably Anne de Bourgh, daughter of the formidable Lady Catherine. There are also literary allusions to spot such as a first meeting on a moonlit road, a female character with a fondness for wearing men’s clothes and a wet-shirted emergence from water.
An invented character, Austrian musician and piano tuner Jacob Rosenstein, acts as a vehicle for Charlotte to recount, in a series of flashbacks, scenes from Pride and Prejudice (seen from her point of view) as well as details of the early part of her marriage. He also acts as a welcome distraction from her grief over a family tragedy.
The book is written in elegant prose reminiscent of, but not slavishly copying, Jane Austen’s style. Much tea is consumed, health-giving country walks are taken and musical evenings are enjoyed.
A repeated theme of the book is the inferior status of women whether manifested through inheritance laws, social conventions or the constraints of marriage. It leads Charlotte to reflect on ‘the swinging unfairness of the lot that made her a woman’ making her ‘little better than a parcel to be lodged where first a father and then a husband decreed’. Having said this, Charlotte proves herself adept at subtle manipulation and the end of the book sees her influencing the turn of events.
The author has some fun imagining “what happened next” to the other Bennet sisters and expanding the role of some of the secondary characters from Pride and Prejudice, notably Anne de Bourgh, daughter of the formidable Lady Catherine. There are also literary allusions to spot such as a first meeting on a moonlit road, a female character with a fondness for wearing men’s clothes and a wet-shirted emergence from water.
An invented character, Austrian musician and piano tuner Jacob Rosenstein, acts as a vehicle for Charlotte to recount, in a series of flashbacks, scenes from Pride and Prejudice (seen from her point of view) as well as details of the early part of her marriage. He also acts as a welcome distraction from her grief over a family tragedy.
The book is written in elegant prose reminiscent of, but not slavishly copying, Jane Austen’s style. Much tea is consumed, health-giving country walks are taken and musical evenings are enjoyed.
A repeated theme of the book is the inferior status of women whether manifested through inheritance laws, social conventions or the constraints of marriage. It leads Charlotte to reflect on ‘the swinging unfairness of the lot that made her a woman’ making her ‘little better than a parcel to be lodged where first a father and then a husband decreed’. Having said this, Charlotte proves herself adept at subtle manipulation and the end of the book sees her influencing the turn of events.