Title: Mr. Darcy’s Great Escape
Author: Marsha Altman
Product ISBN: 9781402224300
Pages: 496
Publication Date: February 2010

ABOUT THE BOOK

Hilarious and action-packed, this installment brings the Darcy and Bingley families to the year 1812 and the intrigues of the Napoleonic Wars. Darcy and Dr. Maddox go in search of Darcy’s missing half-brother and land in a medieval prison cell.

Much to his dismay, Charles Bingley is left to hold the fort at Pemberley while his sister Caroline, Elizabeth, and Col. Fitzwilliam traverse Europe on a daring rescue. Meanwhile, Lady Catherine de Bourgh kicks up a truly shocking scandal.

One never knows what might happen next between the estates of Rosings and Pemberley.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Marsha Altman was born in New Jersey. She has lived in Jerusalem, Israel and currently resides in New York City. She has a B.A. in History from Brown University and a MFA in Creative Writing from The City College of New York. She does not own any cats.

MY THOUGHTS
I like that this book is not a re-hash of the original Pride and Prejudice. Many P&P purists criticize the sequels for diverting too far from the original. But if everyone stuck to the writing style of Jane Austen and did not go far from the original premise of the book, than what fun would there be in reading the same thing over and over again?

I liked this book because the story did go off the main road but the characters somewhat remained the same. At the same time, the story didn’t go too far off left field either. It’s not like Darcy suddenly became a vampire or that the vibrant young hero we all know is suddenly reduced to male enhancement treatments; Elizabeth did not suddenly grow a second head either nor did she turn into a witch. Those ideas may become quite fun under the mastery of a gifted author, but still… that’s when I say too far.

Mr. Darcy’s Great Escape is not that far fetched although there are some elements in it that come close. In this story, Darcy and Dr. Maddox become captive in a medieval castle in the Transylvania. Don’t worry, no vampires here but there were some fun allusions to it. Elizabeth, Caroline and Bingley then travel to Eastern Europe to go after them and rescue them, running into various adventures and mishaps along the way. In this story, Darcy’s brother Brian is also introduced along with his love, the princess of this medieval castle that he ran away with her from. I know, it’s kind of convoluted. But I thought they were two of some of the more interesting characters in the book as they run across Europe and somehow make their way to Japan. Yes, this book goes to Asia too. Isn’t that fun?

The story lines can get convoluted and complicated but in the end they all come together nicely. It was an enjoyable read for me.