The Confession of Fitzwilliam Darcy

I tried to order this book for two years from AmazonUK without success. Each time it was on backorder for 6 weeks, then I would get a notice that it was not available. Eventually I just stopped trying. I was very happy to see that it was finally released in the States. This book was originally written in 1999. That by itself was probably a very adventureous undertaking for Ms Street. At that time the flood of Pride and Prejudice look-alikes had yet to hit the market. Now, if you love Jane Austen and her books, you can find plenty of authors who have tried to explain or expound on those original treasures.

I have read many, many variations on the Pride and Prejudice novel. Some are much better than others, some are absolutely dreadful. This book rated four stars from me. It did have its faults but it also had quite a few reasons for enjoyment. This book follows Pride and Prejudice completely. You could actually read them simultaneously if you wanted to perform such a feat. What I wanted to see the most was what Darcy was doing during the times he is absent from Elizabeth. I got some of what I wanted but not in enough detail. This book is written in first person and yet there are no conversations with anyone outside the characters written by Jane Austen. Why not? This device would have been wonderful for letting the reader see Darcy from a whole different viewpoint. A true opportunity missed, from my perspective.

The characters fell somewhat flat for me. Ms Street apparently didn't want to deviate from the narrative established by Ms Austen for Elizabeth, especially, so we don't get any new discourse between her and Darcy. I realize this is a fine line for an author to walk but expanding on the established interactions between Darcy and Elizabeth would have been an acceptable thing. Elizabeth's words are quoted but in italics as rememberances by Darcy. Not as direct, while they were standing toe-to-toe intercourse. Definitely a disappointment for me. Often Darcy could not even gauge Elizabeth's reactions because her bonnet hid her face.

If you've read this far you probably wonder why I gave this book four stars at all. I enjoyed what I was reading. Yes, it did have some problems but I also liked what WAS there. Darcy struggled with his inclination to fall in love with Elizabeth and I was able to believe the change in his personality which made it possible for him to be willing to accept her and her family. When Elizabeth rejected his marriage proposal she spared him absolutely nothing in her criticism. It took a while for him to get over the initial hurt of her rejection but after a while he began to look at himself from her perspective. He had never once questioned his own character and personality. No other person had ever had the courage to point out his flaws, not even his parents. Suddenly he began to know that she was right, he did present himself to the world as arrogant, conceited, stand-offish. He didn't like himself as seen by Elizabeth and others. I liked the interaction between Darcy and Bingley. I thought it was a wonderful moment when Darcy realized that Bingley was probably slightly afraid of him. That was warmer and more personal as was his relationship with Georgiana. I also really liked his reactions to Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst. Those were right where I wanted them to be.

Was this the best Pride and Prejudice variation I've read? No. Was it the worst? Good heavens, no!

I cannot usually bear to read expansions, continuations, revisions, or prequels of Jane Austen -- I tend to hurl them down before I reach page three. They all fail miserably to sound like Austen, and I'm appalled at the hubris the authors exhibit in attempting it.

But this book sneaked around my prejudice by being -not- in the voice of Austen, but in the voice of Darcy, and I enjoyed it very much. It was funny; it followed the original, but from a different point of view; it sounded like Darcy to me -- young, proud, passionate, uncertain, and a little humor-challenged.

Street even came up with a reason for Darcy to have attended that first ball, though he doesn't enjoy it or expect to: he knows that if he stays home, Caroline Bingley will find an excuse to stay home too!

Get it. Read it. Enjoy it.

Pride and Prejudice is mostly Elizabeth Bennet's story. We may hear of events that took place out of her view but only when these events are told to her. So, Mr. Darcy's thoughts, feelings, and actions outside of Elizabeth's view are unknown to us or only known by shrewd guessing. There's also the additional problem that Elizabeth, in the manner of Mr. Darcy, is not a reliable narrator. She has her own prejudices about him and his behavior and it colors her view of him and all his actions. So, we're left wondering what Mr. Darcy thought of Elizabeth Bennet. What could make this man of wealth, education, and position fall so in love with Elizabeth that he'd go against his family and his social connections to marry her.

Luckily, Mary Street has given us a Mr. Darcy's side of the story in The Confession of Fitzwilliam Darcy. Street retells Pride and Prejudice from Darcy's point of view. Where the two books overlap, Jane Austen's version is paramount as to action and conversation but with the added interest of Mr. Darcy's thoughts and insights. Where events take place out of Elizabeth's view (not in Austen's work but hinted at, such as the events in London after the ball at Netherfield and the conversation with Wickham about Lydia) the narration and action matches what we'd expect of a gentleman of Darcy's station. Street keeps well within the canon of story and characterization.

What is missing is the passion of the characters. Elizabeth is engaging and exciting the most often when the book intersects Pride and Prejudice and there is a blueprint to follow. Darcy's character, even though we are often in his thoughts, is still wanting. This is a man that is comfortable in the highest levels of society, yet his passion for Elizabeth Bennet is such that he willing takes the chance that he and his new wife could be shunned by society because of the disparity of their socio-economic status. He is gentleman and she is a gentleman's daughter, but there is still a gulf between them of more than an obnoxious mother and wild sisters. There's no sign here of a love or passion that could account for Darcy's proposing marriage not just once but twice to the same woman.

It seems that in trying so hard to maintain the tone and style of the original Austen novel, that the lively wit and by-play that are the hallmarks of Austen's work got smoothed out. So, while this book does fill a gap that so many of us want filled, it does leave us still wondering about Mr. Darcy's inner most thoughts and feelings.

Worth reading? Yes, definitely. The author did a remarkably good job with the material, it just left this reader wishing that the characters had a bit more life to them. Of course, I'll freely admit that the lack may be totally in the eye of the reader rather than the author, for I truly want to know the inner workings of Darcy and what makes him tick. Street gave me hints and teases but I felt unsatisfied but not dissatisfied with the book.

I devoured this book. It was witty, fun, and a very believable flip side of my favorite book in the world. It's so good, that I rather think "Mary Street" is a pen name (I notice there's no biography in the book), and could conceivably be Jane Austen herself, with the aid of a time machine. I highly recommend this.

This is a quick and entertaining read as Mr. Darcy tells his and Elizabeth's story from his point of view. The language and details follow Jane Austen's tale very closely and the author is very clever at reversing the action as Elizabeth sees it to what Mr. Darcy can know or see. For a real Pride and Prejudice fan, this book is fun and just the thing for a rainy day.

This would rate as one of the better "sequels." Interesting insight of Darcy's attitude and opinions, especially regarding his famous encounters with Elizabeth.

Very quick read, perhaps predictable in some areas, but overall one the the better ones. I would keep this one.

This one was a sleeper for me; I had seen the title but it never called to me. When will I learn that you can't judge a book by it's cover You are privy to the internal and external conversations and feelings that carry Mr D from the assembly at Meryton to the vastly improved Mr D at the conclusion of P&P. After first sighting Lizzy he begins to think she is using her wiles to catch him-my goodness, he sounded positively narcissistic! However, as time goes by, you realize that he is a man who feels overwhelmed with duty: duty as a Darcy, duty at Pemberley, duty as a caretaker for Georgiana. He has a very definite fear of failure! I began to understand why he was so standoffish and obsessed with himself. As we know the proposal at Hunsford went badly and we follow his gradual transformation to a man who can show his goodness, a brother who loves his sister, a good friend to Charles, and the man of Elizabeth's dreams. This is very well written, the language is a reasonable approximation of the original style, and it is a joy to read!

I give this book 3 stars in comparison to other Austen fan fiction, not as it relates to the book population as a whole. It is not a very good book, but it did not make me cringe or exclaim out loud as others in this genre have made me do. It wasn't painful.

But...it was very stiff and without spirit. It's about half the length of P&P, and it shows in that it feels like it is just moving from one event to the next...check, check, check. The period of time between Elizabeth rejecting Darcy at Rosings to his seeing her on the grounds of Pemberley are covered in a measly 10 pages - this is the time that Darcy changes from the man Elizabeth rejects to the man she loves, and it's covered in a heartbeat. The book is just going through the motions, but not expanding on what Darcy is thinking or feeling. It is hard to see how he fell in love with her in the first place from reading this book; he's just in love because he has to be to keep moving through the scenes in P&P.

Many Austen fans say that Mr.Darcy is one of their favorite Austen heroes. And why wouldn't he be? He is tall, dark, handsome, passionate, and does everything in his power to win a woman. It is not surprising that many have attempted to portray his feelings and thoughts during Pride and Prejudice. It is something every Darcy fan wants to know. When did he fall in love with her? What did he feel after her rejection? What did he do during the time in London? This attempt to retell Pride and Prejudice from Mr. Darcy's point-of-view was enjoyable and insightful, yet sometimes it fell short of the mark.

I recommend reading "Pride and Prejudice" before reading this story, as you will better appreciate how and where the author derived her story. The story starts with Darcy arriving at the Meryton Assembly and seeing Elizabeth for the first time. We hear the famous insult he says towards Elizabeth and from that point he can't stop thinking about her. I enjoyed exploring his feelings and hearing his thoughts.

However, I wish the author gave us more. I was wanting Darcy to be more passionate, I wanted to see more of the struggle he felt within himself. The Darcy in Mary Street's book did an immediate 180 after receiving Elizabeth's rejection. I would like to believe that as a proud and sometimes stubborn person, it might take Darcy a while to realize the error of his ways. Another thing that irked me was that Darcy seemed omnipotent or psychic sometimes. It was as if he could read Elizabeth's mind and knew why she did what she did, when it didn't seem probable. I didn't think that Jane Austen's Darcy was that insightful. In addition, I wish the author was more creative with adding new characters or creating what Darcy did in the period where he was away from Elizabeth and in London.

Overall, I am glad I read it as I enjoy reading aoubt Darcy and it is not the worst Darcy retelling I have read. Out of the ones I have read this is how I would reank them:
1. [[ASIN:B0013L4DLM An Assembly Such as This: A Novel of Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman (Fitzwilliam Darcy Gentleman)]]
2. [[ASIN:0425219909 The Confession of Fitzwilliam Darcy]]
3. [[ASIN:1402208766 Mr. Darcy's Diary]]
4. [[ASIN:0061148709 Darcy's Story]]

I recommend this book to fans of Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, and Mr. Darcy. It was an enjoyable, light, and easy read.

I liked this version of Darcy's side of the story. The author kept Darcy true to his Austen roots.