Old Friends and New Fancies by Sybil G. Brinton

Synopsis: The first Jane Austen sequel ever written!

Originally published in 1914, this charming and original sequel to the novels of Jane Austen intertwines the lives of the most beloved characters from all six Austen novels with new characters of the author’s devising. Inventive matchmaking leads numerous pairs of lovers through the inevitable (and entertaining) difficulties they must encounter before they are united in the end.

Old Friends and New Fancies is a gratifying read for any Jane Austen enthusiast.

Review: When I saw the release of this book, I admit that I was very curious. I’m a fan of everything related to Pride and Prejudice and now that I’ve read Emma, ​​I was intrigued by the fact that we find some of the characters from this story as well as others. However, I think that the fact of not having read more novels by Jane Austen removed a little appeal to the history as I could not really locate anyone in the story.

Even if we meet many people, it is true that in the end we mainly follow the heroes of Pride and Prejudice. So we meet Elizabeth at the beginning of the story who is trying to manage the future marriage of Georgiana who does not seem very happy about it in fact. All this happens several years after the end of the book, where our heroes already have children and are happy in marriage. Thus we follow the trials and tribulations of each, their meetings and their love. It’s pretty funny because the characters really keep the same spirit as those we know about, especially Emma who is always trying to assemble couples and is always mistaking about that.

As I said I had a good time with the story and it was interesting to find all these characters but it’s true that some passages may be a bit long for me. I think I would have had more fun if I had a little more understood who all the characters were exactly too. In any case it was nice to be immersed in the world and to find the first sequel of the famous novel.

3

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27 thoughts on “Old Friends and New Fancies by Sybil G. Brinton

  1. Gosh. So it sounds like you couldn’t connect with these characters as much? It’s a shame you couldn’t enjoy this book as much as you thought. That’s the whole point of reading, right ? When I first saw the cover it didn’t strike me as “interesting.”

  2. Trying to write a “sequel” to a classic is always going to be tricky, and I don’t envy anyone trying to do so with the novels of Jane Austen. So much can be lost in the characters because they’re not technically “theirs” and I think I would have trouble connecting, even if I had read a lot of Austen books.

  3. I am not the biggest fan of authors making sequels for famous works, they just don’t ring true to the original for me. Still it sounds like this one was satisfactory enough for you. Glad you enjoyed.

  4. I love that cover! I have to admit that I don’t read many variations and add-ons to classics, though I can certainly understand the allure. This one sounds really exciting 🙂 Great review <3

  5. Glad it was a good read. I’ve not read any of the Pride book remakes or the original. Shame on me. Oh well.

    • It was to her cousin, Col. Fitzwilliam. They just didn’t suit. The author gives them other (better for them) partners in the book.

  6. It was to her cousin, Col. Fitzwilliam. They just didn’t suit. The author gives them other (better for them) partners in the book.

    BTW, I don’t recommend this book unless you’ve read all of Austen’s 6 novels. You won’t know some characters and will surely not enjoy it as much.

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