About the book: (From Goodreads):
This prequel to Pride and Prejudice begins with George Wickham at age 12, handsome and charming but also acutely aware that his friend, Fitzwilliam Darcy, is rich, whilst he is poor. His mother encourages him to exercise his charm on the young Georgiana Darcy and Anne de Bourgh in the hopes of establishing a stable of wealthy social connections. At university, Darcy and Wickham grow apart. Wickham is always drinking and wenching, whilst Darcy, who apparently has everything, is looking for something he cannot find. Wickham runs through the money Darcy gives him and then takes up with the scandalous Belle, a woman after Wickham's own greedy, black heart.
My Thoughts:
I have to admit that I was disappointed in this one. No two ways about it. I thought and hoped that the author would develop Wickham's character and really give us (her idea why) the reason why he turned out to be such an abuser of women! Alas, I was wrong. He seems to have just been a bad egg, which he came by honestly enough from his manipulative mother. I'm glad that this one was short ,so I didn't feel too terrible about the time I spent reading it.
Recommend? Only to the die-hard Austen fans out there that feel they must read all of the variations available. I would, however, recommend Mr. Darcy's Diary, which Grange wrote and that I totally loved!!
Rating: 4/10
Please visit Austenesque Reviews for her thoughts on this one!
Disclaimer:Thank you to Beena @ Sourcebooks for sending me a review copy. I was not compensated for my review. My thoughts on this book were in no way influenced by the author or publicist.They are my personal reflections based solely on MY experience while reading this novel
Published: March, 2011Publisher: Sourcebooks Pages: 198Genre: Pride and Prejudice VariationISBN: 9781402251863*Uncorrected Advance Copy © 2011, Staci of Life in the Thumb. All Rights Reserved. If you reading this on a site other than, Life in the Thumb or Staci's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.
Thanks for your review - I think I'll skip this one.
ReplyDeleteShoot! Oh well, is there anyway for us to like Wickham?
ReplyDeleteAw...that's a bummer about this one... it sounded promising! :):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):)
ReplyDeleteI'll be giving this one a miss but I do love the cover :)
ReplyDeleteHmm I know how much you love all things Austen so I can see why this one disappointed you. I always love reading your reviews of these books though and enjoyed this one too.
ReplyDeleteThat's too bad. With all of the Austen adaptations you read you are lucky you like most of them!
ReplyDeleteI have such high hopes for this book, and was so excited to see one devoted to Wickham. I'll be reading it soon, so I guess I'll find out for myself. I loved Mr. Darcy's Diary and Captain Wentworth's Diary, though.
ReplyDeleteToo bad this wasn't great for you. I like the cover
ReplyDeleteI am gonna say no, I do love JA variations but I am not that keen on reading about him
ReplyDeleteWell, I love Austen but not this much. I'll skip it too.
ReplyDeletewell they can't all be good :)
ReplyDeletei'm a big austen fan but i'm kind of a purist--i avoid almost all the austen variations except for the YA contemporary retelling of p&p and others. i'm sorry it didn't work out for you. but i love the cover on this one.
ReplyDeleteAww, love the idea behind this. Too bad it didn't really work...
ReplyDeleteYeah, I think I will skip this one, but I always love reading your reviews!
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