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.