I’ve already mentioned that I’m a huge Jane Austen fan so it’s no surprise that I would pick up a book with the subtitle Pride and Prejudice Continues (there are dozens of them, but, dismissing the old adage, I picked this one because of its cover art). Not all characters are interesting enough to follow after their story has ended but Elizabeth and Darcy are certainly two that are. One can imagine a future relationship of adventure, love and shared wit. Something interesting was happening there, which surely would continue. But what exactly did their happily ever after include?
According to the author – lots and lots of sex.
One of the characters in this book, (and I’m getting the feeling she will add to the intrigue later in the story) is Juliette Clisson, daughter of a French Viscountess. She is the unofficial mistress and well paid escort of Mr. Darcy for many years before he weds. She is rich, beautiful and decidedly high class despite her profession.
Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife (and yes, I can only imagine the title is meant to be ironic, because it seems like all he does is take her – in the bath, in the carriage, on the grounds of Pemberly) is similar to Ms. Clisson in many ways, but mostly because they are both high brow smut. Don’t get me wrong, this book does not aim to hide the nature of its story, in fact it’s likely the book’s main selling point. Alas, however, I expected a story in there somewhere.
Instead I find myself reading excerpts about marginal characters (which are indeed interesting) in between the latest bout of sexual exploration for Lizzy and Darcy (for while he is experienced, she definitely is not). We are even let in on marital activities of Jane (also recently deflowered – do people still use that word?), something that would shame that honorable woman endlessly.
However I may be giving the wrong impression here. I like romance novels, particularly period pieces, as much as the next gal. They just have to be interesting. Victoria Holt has always done an amazing job of keeping the romance flowing while adding a bit of a mystery (egads, a plot? Yes, yes, oh yes!!!) to keep other parts of the brain working. (Full disclosure: I have a tattered, well read copy of Pride of the Peacock by Ms. Holt at home). The sex scenes in Mr. Darcy aren’t bad (though I did stop counting the number of times the word “member” has been used, each time making me giggle. There is also an inordinate amount of heaving bosoms.). They are actually quite good – not terribly well written nor written terribly. They are a bit, well, distracting from what little story is actually within the pages (you have to look for it, but there is one).
This outrageously sexualized version of Darcy and Elizabeth’s relationship is a stark reminder that these two actually have an interesting and complex relationship. What’s going on in their brains is just as sexy as what is going on between their bodies – isn’t that how they came to fall in love after all? Which is why it’s so frustrating to think that minus some of the sex (though I’m not arguing all) there could have been a legitimate and interesting book here. Somewhere in the middle of the book, either the characters or the author run out of sexual steam and though melodrama ensues, it’s far more intriguing then repeated coitus in the various rooms of Pemberly.
It’s just sad that no one told the author that because as it is, Mr. Darcy will grace the shelves merely as a brief, exciting romp, pleasant for the duration, but quickly forgotten once it is over.
18 comments
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May 17, 2008 at 10:00 pm
morgan
was it really that bad i was thinking of reading it
May 19, 2008 at 10:39 am
Jessica
It’s not bad, it’s pleasant and mildly interesting. It’s just mostly about sex.
I think you should read it and then post a comment with your opinion here on this blog!
Enjoy!
October 20, 2008 at 6:08 pm
Natalie Yera
mmmm well i am only 13 and i read P and P a couple of months ago and i really loved it but i was woundering does this book still have the Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy we see in the first book or have they changed because of the writer?
October 21, 2008 at 12:57 pm
Jessica
Hi Natalie, Thanks for reading. I think it’s wonderful that you are reading Pride and Prejudice!! It is indeed the same Darcy and Elizabeth in this book. I don’t know however, if it’s appropriate for someone your age, so check with a parent or teacher to see what they think. It’s a pretty adult book in that it deals pretty graphically with sex.
I would recommend that you keep reading Jane Austen. Northanger Abbey or Mansfield park are great too!
Good luck and happy reading.
February 8, 2009 at 4:19 pm
Alexandra
I almost fell of my chair from laughing. The Bridget Jones’ interview of Colin Firth popped into my mind.
February 12, 2009 at 2:29 pm
Jessica
Glad you enjoyed it!
April 16, 2009 at 6:28 pm
Claudia
I just read P&P and it was awesome!! I can’t wait to read the sequel, but I’m afraid it will ruin my view of Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth. Does the author stay true to the Austen view of the characters? Could it be said that it is so well written that (were she alive to day) Austen herself could have written it? Taking into account modern day views on….er….relationships, of course.
April 28, 2009 at 9:51 am
junebugger
Ah, I remember this book well. I remember I ordered the self-published version of her book, which was under the title “Bar Sinister,” through Amazon. I was so excited to read it. It was likely due to my high expectations for this romance that I was left so disappointed. To me, ‘Mr.Darcy takes a wife’ was nothing more than a bawdy Harlequin romance with its flat characters replaced by Darcy and Elizabeth. But this isn’t to say that it was no fun to read…!!
Regards,
June
April 28, 2009 at 11:01 am
Jessica
I couldn’t agree more! It was indeed fun to read, but a little ridiculous!
October 13, 2009 at 8:28 am
Vessela
It’s a mercy that I have a chance to read this article. Absolutely agree with the opinion and review. I am obviously a fan of Ms Austen books and only recently enraptured with all the Pride&Prejudice sequels and variations, not because of their high quality but quite the contrary. However while reading all these “Harlequin romances” I was totally amused because of the odd characters, circumstances and stories sometimes so much fabricated in order to create a possibility to put our beloved Elizabeth and Darcy together in one bed. At least Linda Berdoll makes it far amusing than all the others and except the total sexual mania and not very original story I found that her Lizzy and Darcy are (in my opinion only) at most themselves and I think only Linda Berdoll could fairly use the name “witty” for her main characters and dialogs.
May 10, 2010 at 1:50 pm
Nina
Natalie I suggest reading Mr. Darcy presents his bride! it is truly a great book and great follow up, there were some tragedies along the way but i loved this book entirely, and there’s no described sex scenes. It hints at to let the reader know that they are romantic but doesn’t go into detail, which is more in Jane Austen’s class I would assume
July 16, 2010 at 4:23 pm
reba
I just bought this book online and was hoping it would be a great follow up to P&P, but it sounds like everyone here has concluded that its just about the sexual adventures and not so much the characters
April 5, 2011 at 7:03 pm
P&P<3
ahh thank goodness I found this review..
I was thinking about getting it !!
sounds kind of (actually, very) unloyal to the witty characters Austen depicted.
I absolutely loved “Pride and Prejudice” and really wanted the story to bo on.. but didn’t want to read some ruined twisted sequel……which it seems this would be.
I think “Pride and Prescience” (so far) keeps a much more loyal, clean and sweet portrayal of Darcy and Elizabeth, focusing more on their witty and charming conversations and innocent romance. 🙂
thanks again !
September 19, 2011 at 1:36 pm
Angie
Well-written review, and you’re certainly entitled to your opinion, but I don’t agree with your conclusions. Since Jane Austen was a clergyman’s daughter (which actually meant that she was likely to be a virginal girl growing up versus modern-day daughters of clergy who tend to be the most ‘experienced’ of any and all girls that I’ve ever befriended or known of) AND never married, she had no choice but to write about The Darcy’s sexual tension in hint-format only. This, of course, is perfectly acceptable because the story, the use of language and the humor is superior. At the same time, I am a red-blooded, straight North American female and now stay-at-home-mom who has always enjoyed a well-written book with a lot of sex included. I know I’m lucky to have found my own version of Mr. Darcy and I assure you, I can relate to all of the passion, much of the conflict and every last bit of the love. For me, the book is unforgettable for the aforementioned reasons as fairies, vampires, witches, warlocks, zombies, dysfunctional families, animal abuse, holocausts and time travel just don’t rank when deciding what to read between laundry loads. Just my two cents.
September 19, 2011 at 5:54 pm
Jessica
What I love most about Jane Austen (and reading about her is a bit of a hobby with me) is that though she was a creature of her time (i.e. a clergyman’s daughter in an age where unmarried women did not have sex), she knew a lot more than she should have. Being such a keen observer of human nature, she didn’t miss a trick (pun intended). She often made her version of bawdy jokes and sexual double meanings in her private letters to her family. This woman knew what was what and wasn’t afraid to tease and make fun. I’m not really sure though, what that has to do with this book, which is a artifact of modern day. Oh I know that Darcy and Elizabeth would have had a great horizontal (and vertical and hanging from the blinds if they so wished) sex life. They were a couple with it all, above and below the waist. But this book, I think, took away a little by putting TOO much emphasis on the bedroom (bathroom, carriage, stable) scenes. My point in this review was not that it was a bad book, but that readers should know that it’s also not a good one. And I actually think that with a bit of editing it might have been a good one. Well written sex scenes can last a reader a while, just like good sex can give you a glow well after the act itself. This book had so many acts it felt cheap and superficial to me. And this girl loves quality sex over quantity. I’m not saying don’t read it but I like my idea of Darcy and Elizabeth – which includes fireworks in AND out of the bedroom, a lot better.
October 1, 2011 at 11:07 pm
a Bang-up Spin-off « Kana's Notebook
[…] Linda Berdoll’s Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife. Or, as a fellow blogger ironically observed, “Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife: in the bath, in the carriage, on the dressing table…” I don’t have any aversion to steamy scenes in and of themselves, but for heck’s […]
January 7, 2012 at 2:47 pm
Heather Jeans
I wholeheartedly agree with your review and I was tempted to put this book down (however it takes a lot for me to not finish a book that I have started) because the sexual fixation was just too much. Don’t get me wrong…I want Darcy and Elizabeth to enjoy their married state but I don’t want them to have little else going for them. The book started to get more interesting as the initial fervor cooled but it still seemed very far fetched and full of cheap devices.
April 26, 2012 at 2:10 pm
Bonnie
I couldn’t disagree with your review more. As an avid Jane Austiner, I love her stories, but she was a woman of her time. Noone was writing about sex in the victorian era, but they were all having it, and lots of it. The sauciness of Lizzy vs Jane’s demureness is echoed in the bedroom. Their coming to terms with this aspect of their new duties couldn’t be more different (Lizzy enjoys it and Jane’s scared of it). These “congresses” in the carriage, the bath, and with the mirror, Wickem’s smarminess, Lady Catherine’s audacity, and (read the second in the set) Mr. Collins’ final fate are a joy to follow. The author writes with wit and cleverness and I recommend this book to all my JA lovers friends.