Wickham has been dead for over a year but Lydia remains subdued, consumed by delayed guilt for the selfish behaviour that almost cost her family its respectability.
At a loss to know how to restore her sister’s spirits, Lizzy Darcy encourages Lydia to start a journal and record her earliest memories of life in Hertfordshire. But Lydia can only recall acts of rebellion on her part and falls into … into an even deeper depression.
Patrick Shannon returns to Derbyshire after a ten year absence, determined to discover what caused the demise of his late father’s thriving silk manufacturing business. Offering to help Lizzy’s enigmatic new neighbour, Lydia finds herself drawn into a web of secrecy and lies that threatens the safety of them both.
Meanwhile, Caroline Bingley has set her heart on winning Patrick’s affections and this time no member of the Bennet family will stand in her way…
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Lydia Wickham reforms, enjoyed this book so much read in one day.
“Guilt is anger directed at ourselves – at what we did or did not do. Resentment is anger directed at others – at what they did or did not do.” Peter McWilliams
This is Book 5/5 in the Mrs. Darcy Entertains series. [Book 1/5 Miss Bingley’s Revenge] [Book 2/5 Colonel Fitzwilliam’s Dilemma], [Book 3/5 Miss Darcy’s Passion], [Book 4/5 Kitty Bennet’s Despair]. I have posted reviews on each book.
I have been waiting for this book, since about book three. We have seen a dramatic change in Lydia as she was forced to grow up after facing the atrocities and lies of her husband George Wickham. How horrible to realize the handsome man she so violently loved and adored [or thought she did], was forced [paid] to marry her. Then, to learn that nearly every word from his mouth had been lies in his attempt to manipulate everyone to his cause. His unrealistic hatred of anything Darcy and his demand that he was due recompense was unrealistic and unreasonable. And now, he was dead. At first, she wore black and then the gray of half-mourning, but she did not mourn him. She was not clear exactly on the circumstances surrounding his death. She had been too ill, and they wouldn’t discuss it, for fear of over-setting her. At the time, she was recovering from an assault that resulted in the miscarriage of their child… and that… she did mourn.
After another of Mrs. Darcy’s house parties, Lydia decided to stay behind at Pemberley. She needed to get away from Hertfordshire and her mother. Lizzy, concerned about her sister, suggested that she write in a journal as an exercise to express her feelings. Lydia soon realized that most of her early memories were not pleasant ones [due to being a horrid child who acted badly in order to gain attention]. She was soon thrown into a deeper despair over her past actions and behavior.
Patrick Shannon had returned to the district after a 10-year stay in America. He wanted to restore his home place and discover the cause of the failure of his father’s mill. Lydia tried to ignore him, despite his handsome features. She was too aware of her previous actions in the presence of a handsome men and was determined to be under control and good regulation.
Caroline Bingley realized that Patrick Shannon’s estate [located within easy distance to Pemberley] was an answer to her pressing desire to be near Darcy. We are in her head and know her thoughts [shudder]. This was one crazy wicked b-witch. She had learned how to fool everyone into thinking that she was under control and was perfectly fine. However, she still harbored resentment for Eliza Bennet and was convinced that [after three years of marriage and three children], Darcy was now bored with his wife. She had a plan, that she just knew he would approve of, as they were destined to be together.
Caroline soon discovered that Mr. Shannon’s eyes were on the young widow [wearing the gray of half-mourning] living at Pemberley. Caroline seethed with rage at yet another Bennet in the way of her plans. She somehow needed to capture his attention away from the brazen sister of her enemy Eliza Bennet.
There was a lot going on in this story and I think it fell apart under the weight of it. As the author attempted to draw the story line to a conclusion, the mystery behind Mr. Shannon’s father was confusing and concluded in a strange and convoluted way. It didn’t make sense, people were hurt, poison suspected, secrets revealed, fortunes lost, revenge enacted, and, after such a build-up, it simply fizzled out. It felt like there were too many loose ends and the author couldn’t decide how to end it.
I liked the page time between Lydia and Patrick. I really liked him, although I soon grew tired of Lydia’s attitude and her self-defeating, self-conscious feelings of low self-worth. It took her too long to ‘get over it’ or get over herself. It really made me dislike Mr. & Mrs. Bennet all the more. I think Lydia resented them also as she looked back over her life and realized what she had gotten away with as a child. However, I also felt for that child, growing up with such latitude from her parents.
Every adult, at some time or another, has to deal with their past. For better or worse, ‘we are who we are because of… or in spite of past experiences.’ Lydia had such an epiphany. She delved deep into her character to discover what made her tick, to uncover what drove her actions as a child so she could understand who she was as an adult. With her soul, raw from the discovery, she was now able to proceed into the new dynamic of who she really was as a person. Her very being was changed due to her experiences. She was now treading in new territory and had to learn to live in this new realm and get to know who she was as an adult. What did she want from her life? What interested her? What was she good at? This road to discovery was interesting. However, it became tedious as we dwelt too lone in one section of her evolution.
I liked how Lydia interacted with her elder sisters. To see Jane and Lizzy come together and embrace her as a cherished sister [after all the trouble she had caused them] was humbling and disconcerting to her. With the wisdom of her elder sisters, she began to make progress toward living again. She had to learn how to behave as an adult [albeit a widow] and she knew this would take time.
I enjoyed the page time between Lydia and Mr. Shannon. I really wanted more of this. This story felt like it lost its way. It had such potential.
This was a clean story, it would still need a PG-13 due to violence in places but nothing too graphic. I was impressed when the author used mouth-to-mouth resuscitation in a drowning incident. The use of EAV [expired air ventilation], using the mouth-to-mouth method, goes back to the mid 1700’s. It went on to say that the method was also used in North America [remember Shannon had lived in America] as early as the late 1700’s. I found it interesting that the author would use this devise.
Other reviews mentioned the editing problem with the ‘no spaces’ between words. It was a mess.