Review - Fitzwilliam Darcy, An Honourable Man by Brenda J. Webb

RATING
Story - 9.5/10
Characters - 7.5/10
Overall - 9/10

Wow this was quite the gothic tale. Definitely not like most of the Austenesque novels I have read but it was riveting right from the beginning.

The Story:
The story begins with Darcy returning back to the country after he has been away for two years abroad licking his wounds from Elizabeth's harsh rejection. He is of course still in love with her but he has resolved to break free from her hold. Before leaving he had told Bingley the truth and consequently Jane and Mr. Bingley are married. While he was away for those two years though things were not all happiness for the Bingley's. They have a big secret that nobody can know and Elizabeth's life depends on their success. Mr. Darcy is the only one that can help them but will he?

Characters:
Things are definitely different in this novel. One of the things that struck me the most was that Georgiana is not the shy young miss in this book. Instead she is a married woman living near Pemberley as Mrs. Ingrahm. Mr. Darcy is very much Mr. Darcy though there were some elements that struck me as odd. One major oddity was his leaving his responsibilities for 2 years. I don't think Jane Austen's Mr. Darcy would have done that no matter what the circumstances but it did feel like less of an issue considering Georgiana is older and settled in this variation. Elizabeth is nothing like Austen's Elizabeth but this can be mostly attributed to her circumstances throughout the novel. I also found Mrs. Bennet's actions to be shockingly bad though mostly believable. In a lot of ways this novel is only loosely connected to Austen's characters as a large majority of the characters are original creations or fairly different from their Austen counterparts. The characters are all interesting though and well fleshed out and I enjoyed the Austen universe that the author created.

Overall:
This book had a very original (and gothic) storyline that gripped my attention from the very beginning. There is murder, intrigue, and deception throughout the book. This is quite the page turner! Despite its loose Austen connections it is a really good read and I highly recommend it! If you are an Austen purist though you probably will not enjoy this novel as a lot of the characters either behave in questionable ways or they have been greatly changed (like Georgianna).