For everyone who loved Pride and Prejudice—and legions of historical fiction lovers—an inspired debut novel set in Austen’s world.Charlotte Collins, nee Lucas, is the respectable wife of Hunsford’s vicar, and sees to her duties by rote: keeping house, caring for their adorable daughter, visiting parishioners, and patiently tolerating the lectures of her awkward husband and his condescending … awkward husband and his condescending patroness, Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Intelligent, pragmatic, and anxious to escape the shame of spinsterhood, Charlotte chose this life, an inevitable one so socially acceptable that its quietness threatens to overwhelm her. Then she makes the acquaintance of Mr. Travis, a local farmer and tenant of Lady Catherine..
In Mr. Travis’ company, Charlotte feels appreciated, heard, and seen. For the first time in her life, Charlotte begins to understand emotional intimacy and its effect on the heart—and how breakable that heart can be. With her sensible nature confronted, and her own future about to take a turn, Charlotte must now question the role of love and passion in a woman’s life, and whether they truly matter for a clergyman’s wife.
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If you are looking for a rare Charlotte POV gem then I recommend “The Clergyman’s Wife” by Molly Greeley! It popped up on my Bookbub recommendations today and I couldn’t put it down! I felt as if I was Charlotte! (Of course I wouldn’t want to marry Collins but you can empathize with her and better understand why she made her choice.). Loved the story!
I gave this one 3 stars – but only because soon after beginning it, I realized it wasn’t my kind of story. It’s introspective, not too much dialogue, not lively, and – sad. It does paint a realistic picture of the plight of – not just women – but also the working class in that era.
This was an absolutely lovely, if somewhat melancholy, book detailing Charlotte Lucas’ life after she marries Mr. Collins. It takes place about three years after the events of Pride and Prejudice, and I found myself fully swept up in the author’s beautiful, simple storytelling and in the utterly compelling voice of Charlotte as a narrator. All the feeling of P&P is still there, but there is something softer and sadder about the story coming from this perspective, and I loved the alternate view.
The Clergyman’s Wife is a compelling, beautifully rendered view into the soul of Pride and Prejudice’s Charlotte Collins, and into the bittersweet realities of the life of compromise she chose when she married for security rather than love. Molly Greeley manages to tell Charlotte’s story in a refreshingly contemporary style while at the same time keeping the reader’s feet firmly planted in a time gone by.
This is a story about the marital life of Charlotte Lucas, Lizzie Bennet’s best friend in Pride and Prejudice– you know, the one who marries the annoying vicar who is heir to the Bennet’ s estate. The book captures country life and regency era social interactions with stifling accuracy which some readers will love to bits and others will feel restricted, perhaps even bored by after a while. I’m not sure the book goes anywhere. I’m not sure Charlotte’s epiphanies have any outcomes. There is no conflict. At the point at which there may be some conflict, she and her husband simply move away and the conflict issue disappears because of that. I think I would have felt more strongly about the story if Charlotte could have found the courage to re-make her marriage based on the things she learned from the friendship this story is centered around. I am not particular fan of all the Pride and Prejudice fan-fiction that seems to abound these days, so perhaps that skews my understanding of the intent of the story. I do think those who are deep in it will enjoy a walk through Charlotte’s early married life.