Last April, Jane Austen Today was favoured by a visit from Austen-esque author Diana Birchall as she channeled Jane Austen’s opinionated character Mrs. Elton, whose candid reviews of Cranford had us raising an eyebrow and snorting with laughter all through the three episodes. Ms. Birchall’s creative writing skills have been widely lauded, and her recently re-released novel Mrs. Darcy’s Dilemma has received waves of raves across the blog-o-sphere. Our recent contest winner Katie received a new copy of Mrs. Darcy’s Dilemma and has kindly sent us her comments.
"For starters, I was very ready to revisit the Darcy's and the other Bennets and see what one take on their lives after Pride and Prejudice was. I was very pleased with the book altogether. There were many witty dialogs, that if I were to have blinked I would have thought that Jane Austen had written this book herself." Katie Dugas, Book Reviews and MoreThanks for your feedback Katie. We are so pleased that you enjoyed what has become the hit of the Jane Austen sequel season! Here are some other opinions from around the blog-o-sphere.
"Reports of Jane Austen's death must have been greatly exaggerated -- she is obviously alive and well and living in California. And at last she has decided to publish her long-awaited sequel to Pride and Prejudice." Harriet Devine, Harriet Devine's Blog
"For the lover of Austen, some of the pleasures of the text also consist in Birchall’s frequent imitation of Austen’s style, turns of phrase, & cool jokes." Ellen Moody, Ellen and Jim have a Blog, Too"…to paraphrase Catherine Morland 'I have just learned to love a sequel!'" Janeite Deb, Jane Austen in Vermont
"The strength of the novel lies in Diana Birchall's writing. She has studied Jane Austen's writing style closely, and her fidelity to this style in both words and plot enables her to cross the line between merely writing 'fanfiction', and writing a worthy sequel to one of the great classics." Maria Elmvang, Armchair Interviews
"She catches the ironic tone and rhythm of Jane Austen's language beautifully, no gilding the lily or overdoing it and I found myself totally absorbed within five minutes of opening up this delightfully produced book." Elaine Simpson-Long, Random Jottings of a Book and Opera Lover
"As I finished reading this satisfying and entertaining novel by Diana Birchall, I knew that all was right with Jane Austen’s world again…Ms. Birchall does not disappoint her readers. The plot is fast paced, and the story believable." Vic (Ms. Place) Jane Austen’s World
"Anybody who loves Jane Austen and who is eager to find out what happened "after the day on which Mrs Bennett got rid of her two most deserving daughters" will greet this book with eagerness and joy. I loved it." Estella, Estella’s Revenge
"An American writer has had the audacity to take a revered chunk of our finest English literary heritage and plump up a sequel…we should award her Honorary British Citizenship for at least salvaging the precarious reading reputation of dgr [dovegreyreader]…, let alone writing a truly worthy Austen sequel." Dove Grey Reader ScribblesPosted by Laurel Ann, Austenprose
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