Dear Mr. Darcy: A Retelling of Pride and Prejudice by Amanda Grange

Synopsis: In this imaginative retelling of Pride and Prejudice, Amanda Grange now tells the classic story through the eyes of its compelling romantic hero, Fitzwilliam Darcy—in a series of revealing letters that casts a sparkling new reflection on the manners and morals of the landed gentry in 19th-century England…

Here, for the first time, are the letters written by the exceedingly proud and stubborn Mr. Darcy, covering the life-changing events that defined him—from the death of his father, to his control of his Derbyshire estate of Pemberley to his conflicted courtship with the lively, intelligent, and delightfully willful Elizabeth Bennet. Try as he may, he cannot deny his attraction to this woman with fine eyes, a playful spirit, a mind of her own… and an embarrassing family that is frankly, and utterly, beneath him. But it is Elizabeth who controls both their destinies, and whose surprises will change Darcy’s life yet again.

Review: Although I’ve never read Pride and Prejudice, I always take a great pleasure in discovering some adaptations of the story. But I did not tell you that I actually own novel, but still I have to read it. Then I saw the movie, which is a good start, right? In any case it is a story that I like a lot and I’m never tired of discovering stories in the same context.

Amanda Grange presents here a novel a little different from others. Indeed, we do not really have a typical format or chapters but more a series of letters that allows us to discover the history of these mythical characters. I always enjoy reading various presentations like these, it’s a twist that I love. In addition, the story begins long before everything we know thus allowing us to show us the death of the Darcy’s father, how Bingley was able to find this house and the reason behind its inhabitation. It also goes well beyond the end of the history as we know it, featuring the marriage of the two sisters and the future of each character. The author notes early in the story that she will be able to tell us a little more thanks to the words Jane Austen said to her family as a result of the protagonists.

I took great pleasure in discovering everything and it was nice to see all these characters. Indeed, by correspondence, we follow a large number of existing players in the original story. This allows the reader to learn more about Georgiana, as well as the Darcy’s family. I found that everything was well respected and even if it is true that some letters interested me a little less than others, this was not a problem because the messages themselves were not very long.

In any case it was a good surprise and I was happy to discover a new adaptation such as this one. I am now curious to read another novel by the author about Darcy who received some very nice reviews.