'Marry in haste repent at leisure'

-
Bad Miss Bennett: A Novel (Pride and Prejudice) by Jean Burnett 
Thus Lydia describes the adage that fits her three years of marriage with Wickam after he perishes at Waterloo.
I really found it difficult to read this novel. Not because of anything the writer did, but because of my cherished vision of Austen novels. How can I blame an author for my disillusionment?
I felt that the novel certainly confirmed my opinion about the thin social veneer that Lydia Wickham entertains as a member of polite society and exposes even more the hedonistic romp that she is. Lydia has no trouble falling from one outré situation into another.
I felt that the novel diminished my idea of Elizabeth and that Darcy appeared as an elderly bigot, which upon reflection he might grow into but I'd rather hoped that Elizabeth would be a softening influence.
So I will give the book 3 stars even though I personally did not enjoy it. 
3 stars because It is my problem that I found the treatment of the subject matter not to my liking. This is the problem when one's long loved literary denizons are exposed by new voices. It took me a long time to finish.
Fans of this genre will enjoy it more than I.

 A NetGalley ARC

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Things aren’t as they seem!

-
Image
A Murderous Tryst  (Beatrice Hyde-Care Mystery #11) by Lynn Messina    ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Oh my! Bea certainly has a lot to contend with. Bea’s rattled! The Duke has been missing from their bed for a night. When a distraught Bea come downstairs the next morning she finds her beloved husband Damien clasped in the arms of a glamorous female. A female who turns out to be Kesgrave’s first mistress, Mrs. Penelope Taylor! What?! Of course Bea’s heart sinks and she falls back on her painful memories of Aunt Vera’s responses to such a situation. Bea is both shaken and traumatised, but determined not to show it.  It seems Penny has been accused of murder. Actually  Penny’s desperately trying to avoid Newgate.    As a former mistress Penny does the unthinkable thing in society’s eyes. She asks for help from Bea. Bea’s response is just as shocking. She says yes. Kesgrave is as usual inscrutable. Of course this is the beginning of a harebrained chase, complications between Bea  and Amien,  and an investiga
Read more

Women in war—Internment by the Japanese 1942-45.

-
Image
Sisters Under the Rising Sun  by Heather Morris    ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ A fitting tribute to the women interred by the Japanese in Indonesia and Malaya during 1942 until liberation in 1945. Amongst the internees are a group of Australian Army nurses who were not given recognition by the Japanese as members of the armed forces and therefore not prisoners of war according to the Conventions of war.  Sister Vivian Bullwinkle is the only survivor of the massacre of a group of soldiers and nurses on Radji Beach, Bangka Island near Sumatra  in 1942, after the sinking of  HMS Vyner Brooke. There are a number of civilian prisoners in the camps like Norah Chambers and her sister Ena.  Combined, the story of these women interred under terrible conditions, their struggles and achievements are monumental.  Their gifts to their fellows beyond speech. Music plays an important part in uplifting the prisoners’ spirits. It’s truly a privilege to read about their plight, their vows to each other, and their braver
Read more

Unusual thriller!

-
Image
Dogboy v Catfish by Luke Gracias      ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Wow! Multilayered, unusual and thoroughly engaging story about a rather different man’s journey and those he pulled along with him. This Australian crime/mystery/noir novel was just so unusual. It’s a real page turner. Four people who’d been students together at Melbourne University are pulled back together again after one of them, ‘Dogboy’ Lindsay Kramer goes missing.  His wife, Katherine Kelly Fisher ‘Catfish’ walks into a family lawyer’s chambers. Freya Keogh is  known for her merciless divorce settlements. Katherine is seeking help to divorce her husband. Katherine doesn’t know that Keogh knew Lindsay when she was a student. Keogh feels right away that something is off. A month later Katherine decides not to go ahead with the separation. The catch? Lindsay has disappeared. Further reveals show that Katherine’s former husband Darren Berrington had died unexpectedly whilst on a trip to Bangkok. Two members of Crime Command Victoria, I
Read more