Synopsis
In Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen created the ultimate romantic hero in Fitzwilliam Darcy. But until now, much of Darcy’s innermost thoughts have been hidden from the reader. The Confession of Fitzwilliam Darcy unveils the true motives and mysteries of Elizabeth’s suitor. Through Darcy’s eyes, we discover the reality of his relationships with his sister Georgiana, his cousin Colonel Fitzwilliam, the dastardly Wickham, his friend Bingley, and his formidable aunt, Lady Catherine. And of course, all his memorable encounters with Elizabeth, from that first view of her fine eyes to his disastrous proposal, and then to pride and arrogance tempered by an unquenchable love.
My Reaction
Oh, how I love a good Austen retelling. This time Mary Street takes the beloved story and retells it through the eyes of Fitzwilliam Darcy. I’ve read many retellings, but this is by far one of the truest to the original story. I commend the author for her insistence to keep true to the source material available. While a retelling may not keep the reader in suspense, it is unfair to see this as a defect in the writing. Especially since any reader of the source material will be familiar with the story. And I can’t really fault the author for not adding much to the original story; if the source material is great, one should not need to add much to it.
However, the author did add some insight into Darcy’s thoughts surrounding his feelings and actions towards Lizzie Bennet. Once an elusive character, Street has taken Darcy and has made his motives and actions all the more clear. Instead of questioning the motivation for Darcy’s first proposal, we now understand that he was overthinking everything. Street has made Darcy into an obsessive in this regard which explains the finer points of Darcy’s character. Points that may have previously been unintelligible to the reader. I also enjoyed that Wickham seemed remorseful for his actions, even though I don’t believe that this would have been the case.
I would highly recommend this to a friend if they had already read Pride and Prejudice. If you’re unfamiliar with it, you may find some of the plot points to be a little confusing. I understand why the author didn’t lift large sections of dialogue directly from the original text. Given the lack of dialogue in moments taken from the source material, the descriptions should have been clearer. There are moments where dialogue seems to be missing. But, since I’ve read Pride and Prejudice countless times, I was able to figure it out.
Check out our other Historical Fiction and Romance book reviews to help find your next read.
Rating
Now it’s your turn. Have you read The Confession of Fitzwilliam Darcy? Did you enjoy it as much as I did? If you want to chat about it please make sure to comment below or tag me on Instagram (@bookishkitchen #thebookishkitchen)! I love to hear from our followers.
