Book review: Captain Wentworth's Diary
The heroes diaries of Amanda Grange are among the most popular 'Austenesque' novels, books inspired by the works of Jane Austen. I Captain Wentworth's diary, it is the turn fo Persuasion o be retold from the male perspective.
Interestingly, this novel does not start with the incidents o Persuasion, but eight years before, when the, then Lieutenant, Frederic Wentworth stays with his brother in Somerset for a while after his first successful campaign of the Napoleontic Wars. Wentworth, young and somewhat hotheaded, is determined to enjoy his time on land as much as possible in the company of many pretty girls. He was not at all planning to fall in love, but when he meets sensible and kind Anne Elliot, his plans quickly fly out of the window. The young couple decide to get married, but will they be able to win over the opposition of their family and friends?
Everyone who has ever rea Persuasion ill now how the story of Anne and Wentworth continues (and if you haven't, I urge you to do so, because it's really a wonderful book!) Captain Wentworth's diary s already the fourth of the heroes diaries I've read. It's always a pleasure to rediscover one of Austen's works via a new perspective, especially as Amanda Grange's prose feels close to Austen's without being too contrived and her description of Jane Austen's characters is always spot-on. An Captain Wentworth's diary as something extra over the previous of Amanda Grange's works, as it expands on the story of the original novel and gives us a look into something ever Persuasion an has wondered about: how did the relationship between Anne and Wentworth first start? The result is a sweet love story of two young people who simply cannot help but fall in love, as they are so well suited. In addition, it is a great pleasure to get to know some new characters, only hinted about in the pages o Persuasion, mostly the dry and funny character of Frederick Wentworth's brother. It was also very interesting to see the subtle differences in character Amanda Grange crafted between the younger and the 'eight years later' Wentworth and Anne. Wentworth, already brave and gallant as a young men, is somewhat brash in the first part of the story, while Anne as a 19-year old girl shows her intelligence and kindness, but is also quite naive.
The only downside of the extended story i Captain Wentworth's diary s the fact there is less space for the 're-telling' o Persuasion, which therefore feels a bit rushed in places, as the book is not thicker than the other heroes diaries. Also it occurred to me (and not for the first time with these heroes diaries) how some parts of the book were quite boring. That only goes to show what a genius Jane Austen was, that she could write books in which so little actually happened without ever boring us. No, no matter how much pleasure the books of Amanda Grange give us 'Janeites' in extending our reading in the world of Jane Austen, she can never replace the real genius!