11th July 1784,
Fitzwilliam and I rode out early this morning. We raced down to the river and I won, beating him by a good two lengths, at which I laughed and called him a sluggard. He was annoyed and challenged me to a race back to the house.
Amanda Grange's latest Austen-inspired novel gives voice to George Wickham. Wickham's Diary is a prequel to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Readers get a glimpse of Wickham as a boy and young man. As someone who is playfully mischievous and ambitious, as someone who is plotting and manipulative, and, of course, someone who is selfish! Grange presents a Wickham who knows just what to say to women to get what he wants, what he needs. A confident Wickham who loves being wicked. And oh how Wickham can justify himself!
Did I enjoy this one? Yes. Would it have been my first choice for her next book? Probably not! I've never seen the appeal of George Wickham. And I would love to see Amanda Grange do all the *real* heroes before tackling the so-called bad-boys of Austen! I would LOVE to see, for example, Mr. Tilney's Diary. Then, perhaps, she can continue her series. I would be thrilled to see Mr. Crawford's Diary!!! He is my *one* exception to Austen's "bad boys." For as I mentioned in my review of Mansfield Park, I think he's been misunderstood! And then there's Mr. Willoughby, of course.
See also my reviews of Mr. Knightley's Diary and Colonel Brandon's Diary.
© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
5 comments:
For some reason I always shy around prequels. They seem to be written in an effort to explain a character or an event that has already happened. When I've already read the original and know what is going to happen in the "future," I have no interest in finding out what happened before.
Is that weird?
I agree with the above comment about not liking prequels..but since Wickham is not as big of a character and we don't know much about him, or his history or past, I'd love to read this still.
clarkmurdock.blogspot.com
Becky, thanks for the great review! I thought you might like to know that Henry Tilney's Diary will be out very soon. The UK hardback will be out next month and the US paperback will be out in December. I hope you enjoy it!
Oh I love anything Austen related so this is right up my alley! Great review! I love your blog!!!
Ebook Gratuit
Though each area is getting on with life, those rebuilds are still in significant progress; not even close to completed works, especially as individual lives are considered.
Post a Comment