"Vanity and pride are different things, though the words are often used synonymously.... Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves, vanity to what we would have others think of us."
- Jane Austen: Pride & Prejudice
Georgiana Darcy’s Diary: Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice continued, is a compelling continuation of Jane Austen’s world expressed through the diary of Fitzwilliam Darcy’s younger sister, Georgiana. Georgiana was one of the background characters in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, a character who continued to haunt you, begging to have their own voice, to tell their story; Anna Elliott did just that cleverly through journal style narration giving Georgiana a voice.
Georgiana flits around the edges of society like a silent butterfly, living in her own shadow living at Pemberley with her brother Fitzwilliam and his new bride Elizabeth. Her bothersome Aunt Catherine de Bourgh has arranged a small party to stay at Pemberley along with all the eligible young bachelors she knows determined to see Georgiana wed. Georgiana is quite content to remain unmarried for she fears the one man she has loved since a child simply sees her as he always has, as a child and although she tries to give others a chance, she simply finds that she doesn’t hold that same connection, she doesn’t feel that spark. It is the little romantic moments that she often witnesses between her brother and Elizabeth that makes her desire her own happily ever after, to seek the love they share.
Through Georgiana’s determination to see her frail cousin Anne, who (unbeknownst to Anne), has been manipulated since a child into believing that she will always remain a spinster suffering from some malady or another. Georgiana encourages Anne to come out and assist her with handing gifts to the poor and also successfully manages to teach Anne to dance and further her relationship with one of the many bachelor’s chosen by her Aunt for Georgiana; through Anne’s self discovery, Georgiana discovers herself; she feels empowered and learns to stand up to the people in her life whom previously suppressed it.
I simply love Jane Austen’s world and Anna captures it as I remember it; the fashion, the scandal, the etiquette, the deception, the love story. It’s all there! I also thoroughly loved that she also incorporated little sketches throughout the journal, it added another layer to Georgiana’s character; you could just imagine her pouring her thoughts into the diary by candlelight, or sitting out in the sunshine shaded by her bonnet with charcoal in hand. It made her journal seem more real. I loved Georgiana’s character, so thoughtful and selfless. This was such an easy, enjoyable read, infact I enjoyed it so much that I read it within hours, I didn’t know I could read something so quickly on my little iPhone, but I did. Highly recommended.
4/5 stars
- Jane Austen: Pride & Prejudice
Georgiana Darcy’s Diary: Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice continued, is a compelling continuation of Jane Austen’s world expressed through the diary of Fitzwilliam Darcy’s younger sister, Georgiana. Georgiana was one of the background characters in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, a character who continued to haunt you, begging to have their own voice, to tell their story; Anna Elliott did just that cleverly through journal style narration giving Georgiana a voice.
Georgiana flits around the edges of society like a silent butterfly, living in her own shadow living at Pemberley with her brother Fitzwilliam and his new bride Elizabeth. Her bothersome Aunt Catherine de Bourgh has arranged a small party to stay at Pemberley along with all the eligible young bachelors she knows determined to see Georgiana wed. Georgiana is quite content to remain unmarried for she fears the one man she has loved since a child simply sees her as he always has, as a child and although she tries to give others a chance, she simply finds that she doesn’t hold that same connection, she doesn’t feel that spark. It is the little romantic moments that she often witnesses between her brother and Elizabeth that makes her desire her own happily ever after, to seek the love they share.
Through Georgiana’s determination to see her frail cousin Anne, who (unbeknownst to Anne), has been manipulated since a child into believing that she will always remain a spinster suffering from some malady or another. Georgiana encourages Anne to come out and assist her with handing gifts to the poor and also successfully manages to teach Anne to dance and further her relationship with one of the many bachelor’s chosen by her Aunt for Georgiana; through Anne’s self discovery, Georgiana discovers herself; she feels empowered and learns to stand up to the people in her life whom previously suppressed it.
I simply love Jane Austen’s world and Anna captures it as I remember it; the fashion, the scandal, the etiquette, the deception, the love story. It’s all there! I also thoroughly loved that she also incorporated little sketches throughout the journal, it added another layer to Georgiana’s character; you could just imagine her pouring her thoughts into the diary by candlelight, or sitting out in the sunshine shaded by her bonnet with charcoal in hand. It made her journal seem more real. I loved Georgiana’s character, so thoughtful and selfless. This was such an easy, enjoyable read, infact I enjoyed it so much that I read it within hours, I didn’t know I could read something so quickly on my little iPhone, but I did. Highly recommended.
4/5 stars
I'm so glad that we read this at the same time, as I think our opinions of it are pretty much identical. It was such a quick, fun read!
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Thanks so much for the lovely review! :-)
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