Darcy's Tale, Volume I: Into Hertfordshire

OVERALL: 4 STARSStory/Plot: 3.5 - My thoughts on this story fall between both "liked it" and "really liked it." Primarily, this is Pride and Prejudice through Mr. Darcy's POV. Similar to An Assembly Such as This by Pamela Aidan, Stanley Michael Hurd breaks up the story into three volumes - as P&P truly is - & this, Darcy's Tale: Into Hertfordshire is the first volume. I enjoyed it, much as I do when reading & re-reading An Assembly Such as This, because although I know P&P by heart, I always long to know how Mr. Darcy thinks and feels during the same situations. Someday, I am going to try and alternate reading P&P at the same time as reading either Ms. Aidan's or Mr. Hurd's interpretations. The reason I didn't give this a 4 was the long thought provoking prose - which at times seemed to last 3 or 4 pages, when 1 or 2 would have done - and sometimes, my questioning if a man would really respond in that way and manner, especially towards his sister. The thing I value about this volume is it IS written by a male author, rather than a female author, who sees things more easily from a female perspective.Re-read Value: 3 - I am putting this at 50/50, but in truth, I have to admit I will probably re-read this series. Maybe when I finally make good on my challenge of re-reading P&P along with a reading another volume featuring the male perspective.Continue Series: 5 - I have already got Darcy's Tale: Into Kent ready to go on my kindle and have only stopped to write this quick review/note before I forget. I am highly anticipating both the second volume (mainly because I didn't rate Ms. Aidan's Duty and Desire very high and usually skim through it) and the third volume, which has yet to be released.Characters: 4 - I know, you're probably asking yourself, why didn't she give this a rating of 5, after all, these are the exact same characters from P&P and you would give them a HUGE 5. Primarily, my issue lies with my thoughts on Mr. Darcy. I know every woman in the world would probably say this, but I love Mr. Darcy - even at the beginning of P&P when he is so haughty and proud, offending everyone with his arrogance and insults. I cannot help myself and blame Colin Firth. More on this below in Personal Involvement if you care to know my reasoning. On this point though, I wonder sometimes at how Mr. Darcy thinks - or over thinks everything - and some of his thoughts and feeling expressed to his sister, Georgiana. One thing I did value in this volume is wherein P&P we hear and see so little of Georgiana Darcy, here, we see her and watch her growth from a young woman who was dealt a horrible blow to a young woman who will become a true Lady. I did enjoy the brother and sister interaction between the two and look forward to reading more in the following volumes. My other thought was on this and I apologize for the SPOILER if it is one, but Mr. Hurt christened Col. Fitzwilliam - another favorite of mine - with the first name Edmond. For some reason this irked me, but then that might just be me.Cover: 4 - The cover is very masculine and displays a gentleman - this case representing Mr. Darcy - and could at first glance be considered a biography on a gentleman for the past. Upon seeing the title, a reader would of course recognize it is a work featured in the world of P&P.Genre Fulfillment: 5 - P&P retelling, check.Personal Involvement: 4 - Another one where I feel I have to justify my lower rating than what I would have liked to put on here. I gave this a 4 because as mentioned above there was a lot of prose where my eyes just wanted to skim or slide over it and get back to the true story of P&P. Did I not think the prose was justified, no, actually I thought it was very thought provoking, but sometimes I thought to myself: Do guys really think so much about things, because this has not been my experience with them. And this was written by a male author, so indeed it must be true then right? Well that was me and my own personal bias. As mentioned up in the character comments, Mr. Darcy for me IS Colin Firth. I enjoyed the 2005 P&P interpretation very much, but the 1995 BBC P&P is my favorite. I had read P&P when I was younger - prior to HS - and I thought it was merely ok (shocking news for anyone who knows me now, but it's the sad truth). Then, a few years later, I watched the BBC production of P&P. Colin Firth had me from the first arrogant heated look. After watching the show, falling in love with Mr. Darcy and of course Lyme Park - where the outside scenes of Pemberley was shot - I dug out my copy of P&P and re-read it. I was hooked. I laughed, sighed and cried. I had a million "feels" and wondered why it didn't impact me as much when I read it the first time. Every year since then, I re-read P&P kind of like a tradition. I devour retellings and sequels. But above all this, every time Mr. Darcy graces the pages or is thought of, Colin Firth's portrayal of Mr. Darcy appears before my eyes. I admit this makes me shallow and I apologize.

I bought this for my new kindle just within the last several months so I was able to buy both Vol. I & II. I read this Vol. I twice. I do have at least two other authors' books written from the male POV, but it has been years since I read them. I did pull out Regina Jeffers' book so that I can compare that with this one, but have not yet re-read hers. I must say that I am very impressed with the excellent detail and development of characters done here. There are, of course, no real surprises since it is just a retelling from a different point of view. (Although I agree with another reviewer that Caroline's attempt to coordinate their wardrobes for the assembly was an interesting addition.) I read all the reviews and comments and was surprised to read Mr. Hurd adding to some of the comments. Generous of him to take that time as I am sure he is immersed in writing Vol. III. I can't add much to all of the reviews and comments. The second time through in reading the letters at the end I must say I skimmed them to just read the parts that mentioned Elizabeth. I, too, found Darcy so much more open with his thoughts to Georgiana in his letters and pondered whether of not I thought this realistic. But, then, I am not a man. I don't have a brother who would share his thoughts in that fashion. I kept thinking about the paper and ink used if it were in the regency period! LOL Mr. Hurd left no stone unturned in exposing all Darcy's innermost thoughts and feelings. I look forward to re-reading Vol. II and to the release of Vol. III.

I read P&P, S&S and Persuasion every year. (I find Emma annoying and Fanny boring, sorry. Lady Susan on the other hand is wicked fun.) Generally in audio, because that’s how Austen meant it to be— read aloud, as she so often did with her family.This feels truer in two ways: first, because it is the first that really feel as if they were written from a man’s perspective. He opens up only gradually.Second, because of the attention to detail, from word choice to clothing.

Although there is nothing here that is new, this account of the events in P&P presented from the pov of Mr. Darcy is true to the tone of the original story, and easy to accept as reasonable. There is some of Georgiana Darcys pov here and there, but this is because Darcy is corresponding with her frequently throughout this installment.As in the original book, it's hard to believe Darcy could be so oblivious to Elizabeth's attitude towards him, but it seems to be a factor of his deeply ingrained expectations of women he encounters. There are several times where it says he smiled when making conversation with her, yet from what I remember from the original, he is never seen to smile at much.This insight into his inner feelings is satisfying and believable. The book is well written and well edited. I recommend it highly.

Mr Hurd is obviously a fan of Dorothy Sayers, given how much he outright lifts from her books. It leaves a nasty taste in the mouth, how much else of what I would otherwise call well-written prose is stolen from other authors I am not familiar with? Of course, as a retelling of an original work, I do not include the austen references, but surely the author has enough imagination not to have to steal from other works, when the plot is already set for him!I could view this as a fascinating and plausible insight into Darcy's thoughts and feelings throughout pride and prejudice, but am not minded to give good rating to plagiarism, especially as it only becomes more blatant in later volumes.

Much of the fiction based upon existing literature is pretty dire, this however is completely different. Darcy is given a distinct tone and voice that feels very much as Austen wrote him and along with the fact that the book is well researched using appropriate language conventions, it feels tastefully in keeping without feeling contrived or attempting to imitate Austen. The letters between Darcy and Georgianna are nicely done. Also this has been decently proof read, which makes a pleasant change as normally a lot of kindle books are littered with mistakes. I am looking forward to having all three books so I can read them in parallel to P&P. Is there any indication of release dates for the other two?

I originally read these back in 2016 and decided to revisit them. They were just a good as I remembered and I would recommend them.

I like the fact that it is Darcy's story as written from a man's point of view. It is very engaging and I enjoyed reading it. The only thing that stopped me being disappointed with its ending was knowing there is a Volume II. I feel it should be all 1 book, as this volume doesn't really end, it just stops.... Chrissie

A good read, well thought out and giving the mans perspective. I am looking forward to the next instalment and will be very pleased if it is as good as this. If you love pored and prejudice you will enjoy this and the view that the letters from brother and sister give you.