Review: Mr. Darcy's Dream by Elizabeth Aston
Mr. Darcy’s Dream
by Elizabeth Aston
In 2003, Elizabeth Aston launched Mr. Darcy’s Daughters, a sequel to Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice. The book did quite well, and she’s been merrily expanding the series ever since. Her latest book, Mr. Darcy’s Dream, is the sixth book in the series.
A distraught Phoebe Hawkins retreats to her Uncle Darcy’s estate after her father forcibly ends her romance with handsome Mr. Stanhope. She is joined at Pemberley by her beautiful cousin Louisa Bingley, a kind girl in no rush to marry, in spite of the fact she’s been “on the market” for three seasons already. The two girls plan to spend their time rusticating in the country, planning a great ball for Mr. and Mrs. Darcy. But even in the country Phoebe can’t escape Mr. Stanhope, and as construction begins on Mr. Darcy’s fancy new glasshouse, romance blossoms amongst the hothouse plants for Louisa and Phoebe.
I don’t think it’s necessary to read the previous books in this series, but it definitely helps. I have only read the first book, Mr. Darcy’s Daughters, several years ago, and I was able to navigate the story well enough. That said, there is little information given for the supporting characters, and it was difficult to keep track of the relationships between the various Darcy relations. Generally, the older characters (the ‘parent’ generation) are from Pride & Prejudice while the various children and cousins are inventions of Aston’s from previous books. Detangling this web was frustrating, but it did not interfere with the story.
Plot-wise, there was a little too much going on. The main romance between Phoebe and Mr. Stanhope moved in fits and starts; perhaps if more time had been spent developing the characters the romance would have flowed a little more smoothly. Their problems resolve suddenly, literally the last event in the book (sorry if I spoiled it for anyone, but Aston’s fans know that she has a happy-ending formula) and even though you know the reconciliation is coming, it appears out of nowhere.
There are a few sub-plots that should have been developed more or dropped entirely, because they add very little to the story. Mr. Stanhope’s brother-in-law is having an affair, a plot that becomes entangled with George Warren (a villain character that I *think* has appeared in previous novels) and his own plots to humiliate the Darcy clan. Other plots, like Louisa’s budding romance, don’t get the page-time they deserve and I feel short-changed for it. I feel like this book was really rushed, and didn’t get the thorough editing it might have needed, and as a result it is not nearly as entertaining as it had the potential to be.
To read more about Mr. Darcy’s Dream, but it or add it to your wishlist, click here.