BiblioAddict The First Step on the Road to Recovery

On a Jane Austen spin-off:

A preface:  The folks at Simon & Schuster were kind enough to send me a copy of Elizabeth Aston’s The Darcy Connection months and months ago.  I put it in my ARC pile and then promptly forgot about it.  At the time, I wasn’t interested in reading any Jane Austen, much less an Austen spin-off.  But then, months later Pride and Prejudice happened.  And then Emma happened.  And so The Darcy Connection happened.  And I learned something new.

The Darcy Connection by Elizabeth Aston is the story of Eliza and Charlotte, the two daughters of the pompously annoying Mr. Collins from Austen’s P&P.  Charlotte, the oldest, has become a rare beauty and is therefore having her first coming-out season in London.  On the other hand, Eliza, her headstrong and traditionally unattractive sister, is being banished to London as punishment for forming an unsuitable attachment to the son of a local squire.  

Charlotte’s beauty soon becomes the toast of the town and draws the attention of a few unscrupulous characters from whom  Eliza vows to protect her sister.  In the meantime, Eliza learns that city life isn’t all that bad and that some men are better than they first appear.

So let’s get it out of the way, and start with the bad: I hated Charlotte.  Okay, maybe “hate” is a strong word, but I seriously disliked her.  While Eliza is clearly modeled after her namesake and godmother, Elizabeth Bennet (Darcy), Charlotte is certainly no Jane.  Jane might have been polite and reserved, but Charlotte is entirely devoid of personality.  What personality she does show is that of a mean, spiteful sister who frankly doesn’t deserve Eliza’s concern.  

Part of the problem is that Aston doesn’t give the reader the chance to really get to know Charlotte.  It was as if Aston herself didn’t like her, and preferred to spend as less time with her as possible.  The reader never learns what Charlotte really thinks and feels, not through a peek into her thoughts or her (few) conversations with her sister.  This does not do her any favors, especially when the rest of the characters are calling her the Ice Queen.   

The good news is that Eliza is the star of the show, as Elizabeth is in P&P.  As I said, Eliza is obviously Elizabeth Bennett redux. But she is also her own person, so she’s not boring.  She’s more headstrong than her namesake and more optimistic too.  It was okay that didn’t care for Charlotte, because I liked Eliza a lot.  Over the course of the novel she grew into someone who knew her own heart and understood her own mind.  She was spunky and smart, and her only failing was her perplexing attachment to Charlotte who clearly didn’t give a fig for her.  

I also appreciated the fact that Aston didn’t try to imitate Austen’s writing style.  I don’t think many writers could pull it off – after all, there can only be one Jane Austen, I don’t care how good you are – and I liked that Aston didn’t even try.  Her writing style is fairly modern, yet still very true to the historical period.  I also liked that The Darcy Connection was also told from the point of view of Eliza’s eventual love interest Bartholomew Bruton.  It was a good touch that probably made this novel more charming than it otherwise would have been.

The dialogue isn’t as witty as Jane Austen nor does it have any of the social commentary that Austen’s books are known for. But, you know what?  About a third of the way through, I accepted the fact that Aston is not Austen.  Which is good, because once I got past that, it was easy to see that Aston doesn’t pretend to be either.  What she is is a Jane Austen enthusiast who loves the romance of Austen’s books and wants to replicate it.  I can accept that.  And once I did, I was charmed by Eliza’s antics and her growing love for Bart.

If you had asked me months ago, I would have told you that The Darcy Connection is not my type of book.  Not only was it not the real thing, but I didn’t have an interest in even reading the real thing.  After I read a couple of Austen’s books, I still wasn’t all that interested because, again, there can only be One.  But thanks to Simon & Schuster I tried something new. And I learned that an Austen spin-off might not be the real deal, but it doesn’t have to be in order for you to like it.  

They cannot marry! It is impossible. Out of the question. I will not have it.”

The bishop, for once shocked into silence by the vehemence of Squire Diggory’s words, stared at his neighbour, his mind divided into alarm at the prospect of losing the goodwill of a man of consequence and influence, and displeasure at the folly of his younger daughter.

Ambivalently recommended.

The Darcy Connection by Elizabeth Aston
Touchstone Books / March 2008
$9.50 / 287 pps.

Here’s a video of Aston talking about her love for Jane Austen and The Darcy Connection:

Finally, a poem:

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