The Strange Marriage of Anne de Bourgh: and Other Pride and Prejudice Stories

I read P&P about once a year. I love the characters, and always wanted to know what happened to poor Anne after Mr. Darcy chose Elizabeth.When Skylar Burris appeared on my blog to pitch The Strange Marriage of Anne de Bourgh to me, I snapped up the sample right away, and I enjoyed it so much I bought the book. Without further dawdling...From a Reader's Perspective:What I love most about Pride and Prejudice is the language. I get caught up in the flow and rhythm of Austin's words on the page. While this is a collection of short stories based on the P&P characters, it doesn't have the same cadence (which I firmly believe is one of the major reasons so many of us love the root story). Even so, I enjoyed the easy banter between Lizzy and Mr. Darcy, further rooting their odd relationship as one that works. Both were overly witty in P&P, and that was both a blessing and a curse. My favorite short was the letters the couple exchanged, as it displayed a lot of their nature and gift with words. There was no backstory, so if you aren't familiar with the original, you probably won't enjoy these short tales. Writing was well done and flowed smoothly, but was missing that je ne sais quoi I was looking forward to.From an Editor's Perspective:There was one instance where the author lost her character's name (Jonson became Johsnon), but there were only three or four other errors.Rating:1 Star for giving me laughs with some of my favorite P&P characters1 Star for the letters short (which was very well done)1 Star for giving Anne a happily ever after1 Star for writing that had few errors- 1 Star for not capturing me with prose that had cadenceOverall 4 out of 5 stars. Enjoyable read with fun shorts that'll keep you entertained.

Enjoyable short stories about the Darcy family including the de Bourgh branch. The Collins family moves on to a better offer, and the new Rector seems to have designs on Anne for all the wrong reasons. Darcy to the rescue. The Battle of Wits was particularly impressive. While Darcy was in London on business, the first letter was to Elizabeth was just that - business. Elizabeth response letter informed he husband that was not that interested in business, but would be expecting a love letter. The verbal sparring is always great, but the exchange of sparring letters was well written. Very short quick read book.

This short novel contains many of the original characters created by Austen, but Anne de Bourgh and Lady Catherine do not follow the original pattern. Fitzwilliam Darcy and Elizabeth do, though, so the story is satisfying if unbelievable.It is amusing to read of Lizzie's saucy ways and Darcy's efforts to seem unaffected.A Battle of Wits, which follow The Strange Marriage . . . is of little merit and seems strained.Mr. Darcy's Homecoming which follow is nearer the mark and fun to read.

After reading the initial story I was a little disappointed but, after that, things definitely picked up. The one chapter having to do with the letters between Elizabeth and Darcy is priceless. I went back to re-read it just for the enjoyment of it--it was that good.

This writer is really a cut above most P&P variation writers. The story that is a series of letters between Elizabeth and Darcy is wonderful. Her book titled Conviction is very good, too.

Authors need to tread carefully when continuing or reimagining any of Jane Austen’s works. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. Unfortunately, this book does not have the right tone of a continuing or reimagining of an Austen tale. The ideas for each continuing story are interesting, but the characters and storyline are not completely realized, leaving the reader unsatisfied. Some of the actions of the characters simply didn’t make sense in the context of the original works. With editing, I think this would be a good book.

By the time I became interested in the story it was over. No development of characters and too focused on The Darcy's. Was not impressed!

For Austen fans this kind of literature has popped up because Austen herself did not live to publish a great body of work. She left us characters we are loathe to relinquish, so others write 'sequels' concerning them. This one is mildly amusing, with a nice twist at the end. Worth reading, if you have the time and inclination. The latest in sequels are the zombie novels, written by men cashing in on that recurring fascination teens have with things occult and disgusting to their elders.