A rare meeting of literary genius: P. D. James, long among the most admired mystery writers of our time, draws the characters of Jane Austen’s beloved novel Pride and Prejudice into a tale of murder and emotional mayhem. It is 1803, six years since Elizabeth and Darcy embarked on their life together at Pemberley, Darcy’s magnificent estate. Their peaceful, orderly world seems almost … almost unassailable. Elizabeth has found her footing as the chatelaine of the great house. They have two fine sons, Fitzwilliam and Charles. Elizabeth’s sister Jane and her husband, Bingley, live nearby; her father visits often; there is optimistic talk about the prospects of marriage for Darcy’s sister Georgiana. And preparations are under way for their much-anticipated annual autumn ball.
Then, on the eve of the ball, the patrician idyll is shattered. A coach careens up the drive carrying Lydia, Elizabeth’s disgraced sister, who with her husband, the very dubious Wickham, has been banned from Pemberley. She stumbles out of the carriage, hysterical, shrieking that Wickham has been murdered. With shocking suddenness, Pemberley is plunged into a frightening mystery.
Inspired by a lifelong passion for Austen, P. D. James masterfully re-creates the world of Pride and Prejudice, electrifying it with the excitement and suspense of a brilliantly crafted crime story, as only she can write it.
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I love all things Jane Austen, especially Pride and Prejudice, so I throroughly devoured this continuation of her beloved story and characters. PD James does a masterful job at being true to Austen’s characters all the while spinning an intriguing mystery. Great entertainment!
Pride and Prejudice was a surprise favourite of mine. Having been forced to read it (I use the term “forced” rather liberally here) as part of my university education, I was delighted with it once I finally decided that I ought to read it if I wanted to perform well in my exams. What a great romantic story with all the twists and turns and hidden information! What a read.
So, when my mother recommended that I give Death Comes to Pemberley a go, I launched myself into it with relish. And then, came down to Earth with an ungracious thump.
I tried to get into it but I just couldn’t. I felt like there was a lot of extraneous material that was trying to be in the style of Austen but just didn’t quite ring true. Austen’s narrative is lively and witty and I just didn’t get that from this at all. Generally, my rule for a book that I am not enjoying is to give it until I am 100 pages in and then, I ask myself the question, “Do I care?”, meaning “Do I care what happens to these characters or can I live with not continuing to read this book and never knowing what the outcome is?” Well, with this book, that decision was very easy to make.
I didn’t feel like Darcy and Elizabeth were really revisited. To be fair, they may have featured more in the parts of the book I never read but it didn’t feel like the book was heading that way. I don’t remember much about any of the characters really and that is telling for me because if I have a woolly knowledge of the people I have been reading about and I do not have a clear picture of them or remembrance of them, then that tells me something about the way it has been written.
For me, this was a shame. I loved Pride and Prejudice and I have loved other Jane Austen authorial spin-offs like Longbourn, regarding them warily until they win me over. But with P.D. James, I felt safe. I have read her murder mystery books before and been captivated especially the Adam Dalgleish stories and so, this almost felt like a betrayal. But it just couldn’t excite me and I viewed reading it as a chore and that can never be a good thing.
Some very good twists and turns in this mystery with Austen’s characters by one of the queens of mysteries – P. D. James
Well-written, if a little lacking in action. James is always a pleasure to read.
A decent mystery novel. This has none of the wit or charm of Austen’s work.
Death Comes to Pemberley by P.D. James – I need to reread this one because I wasn’t really into mysteries when I read it. I like them better now! Happy Reading!
The characters from Pride and Prejudice remain true to their original descriptions and there is a solution to all the difficulties.
PD James has done a grand job of capturing the essence from Jane Austin’s original story.
Lydia is just as annoying, Jane just as lovely! It was delightful to read more about Mr & Mrs Darcy and their loving relationship.
The thrilling murder mystery has been woven well with the characters we already know and unfolds in an exciting journey that keeps you guessing throughout.
You never can figure out how this woman thinks. She is a master of twists !
I thought this book was a little slow. Mysteries aren’t really my thing, so that’s probably a big part of why I wasn’t into it. However, a friend of mine who loves Pride and Prejudice as much as me but who also likes mysteries loved it.