An Assembly Such as This

A Novel of Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman

By: Pamela Aidan

Narrated by: George Holmes

Length: 10 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

"She is tolerable; but not handsome enough to tempt me."

So begins the timeless romance of Fitzwilliam Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice. Jane Austen's classic novel is beloved by millions, but little is revealed in the book about the mysterious and handsome hero, Mr. Darcy. And so the question has long remained: Who is Fitzwilliam Darcy?

In An Assembly Such as This, Pamela Aidan finally answers that long-standing question. In this first book of the Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman trilogy, she reintroduces us to Darcy during his visit to Hertfordshire with his friend Charles Bingley, and reveals Darcy's hidden perspective on the events of Pride and Prejudice.

As Darcy spends more time at Netherfield supervising Bingley and fending off Miss Bingley's persistent advances, his unwilling attraction to Elizabeth grows, as does his concern about her relationship with his nemesis, George Wickham.

Setting the story vividly against the colorful, historical, and political background of the Regency, Aidan writes in a style comfortably at home with Jane Austen, but with a wit and humor very much her own. Aidan adds her own cast of fascinating characters to those in Austen's original, weaving a rich tapestry from Darcy's past and present. Austen fans, and newcomers alike, will love this new chapter of the most famous romance of all time.

©2006 Pamela Aidan (P)2008 Audible, Inc.

So disappointed in the reader

This series of three books by Pamela Aidan is one of my favorites from years ago, so I looked forward to listening to them. However, I found the reader almost impossible to listen to. He places breaks in sentences in the exact wrong spot each time. His highly “nose in the air” accent becomes unbearable after a few chapters. Darcy’s interest in Elizabeth sounds unappealing to me given the hoighty accent. It is almost like listening to Caroline Bingley reading all the parts. I am returning all three books that I purchased from the series as I have such a headache from listening to just the first few chapters of the first book. So disappointing. I am going to pull out my copies of the books and read them as listening just doesn’t seem an option.

Great trilogy in the Austen style!

Loved the books, delighted to find audio. Narrator too 'dandyish' for Darcy and other male characters except for Broughm ad a fop.

might be a great beach read

I'm a sucker for Austen spin-offs, and while I think this would have made a great backyard read, as a listen it falls short. The narrator sounds like he is new to the job and doesn't communicate a love (or even warmth) for Regency period or things Austen-y. On the positve side, the author's prose is better than some Austen pretenders and she supplies interesting suppositions for Darcy's behaviour (well, maybe too many since there are three novels) and there are lots of Regency setting details and some good humour.

Who COULD be the voice of Darcy, though? Even Colin Firth might not be able to pull it off in an audiobook if we weren't also looking at him acting Darcy. I would have been more satisfied with a woman narrator - Kate Reading or Prunella Scales might have transformed this four star summer read into a five star fun listen.

That said, will I download parts 2 and 3? I'd like to think that I have better things to do with my time, but I know that I will hit "add to cart" (and probably soon) in moments of weakness!

Very nicely done

A great story about Mr. Darcy that makes one appreciate character from a different light. I just wished the author would have put a bit more effort into the ending of an otherwise very good book.

Not Austen, But Delicious Nontheless

Granted this is not real Austen, but for all of us hungering for more to the P&P story, it certainly fills the bill in more ways than one. The style and structure are reminiscent of Austen, but more important, this book, or, rather, series, actually enhances the story and provides plausible explanations for the change in Darcy's thinking and behavior, something sorely missing in the original. It is always a delight to see a good story, originally written from one main character's point-of-view, from another POV. There are flaws, however. The first time I listened to the trilogy, the entire Norwycke section seemed a bit silly, superfluous and completely unrelated. However, the second - and subsequent - times through, I came to realize that it did several things. First, it anchored the events of Austen's story to its time tying it to the assassination of Perceval and other related plots of the period. It also fills in the story of Darcy's long absence from Austen's original.
And, finally, it delineates Darcy's processes by which he comes to think he loves Elizabeth, tries to forget her, learns to face his own weakness of character, and finally realizes her true value through his struggle to understand and help his sister, his realization of who his real friends are, and his failure to interest himself in other women. Austen's Darcy has always been considered one of literature's great romantic men. However, from a 21st century perspective, he isn't particularly likable, much less lovable. Much of that is due to the fact that Austen gives us no real, logical transition from his shocked anger at her refusal to his complete change of heart regarding himself and her family and lack of connections. This series provides us just that. I've listened to the trilogy 4 times so far and still find it fun. The narrator does an excellent job of delineating characters giving each one a distinct personality and voice. Not for Austen purists, however.

Marred by a breathless narrator with poor phrasing

The story is good but why oh why did they choose this narrator? He speaks in a fussy, odd way, with clipped phrasing like an old school marm. His voice rises 2-3 times in one paragraph as if he’s asking questions all the time. He sounds like he’s reading in the voice of a fussy old lady.
He’s only ever narrated the three books in this series and that’s three too many. One of the joys of audible is to have first rate actors reading the books but audible has severely short changed us here. Such a huge disappointment.

Narration took away from the story

I read these books years ago when they 1st came out and thoroughly enjoyed them-I thought the story and excellent and fairly true to Jane Austen. Unfortunately the narrator was not good and actually took away from the listening experience. I'm sad to be this negative but there it is.....

Too detailed

I have read a lot of JAFF and this did not hit high on my list. It was too detailed about such stuff that was not ODC. Sure this story is from mr Darcy’s perspective and his life outside meeting Elizabeth. But still. It is FanFictionnabout ODC :) don’t get me wrong. I did like it but I wanted more couple time. A different perspective. Still worth listening to.

Interesting perspective, painfully read

With P&P topping my list of all time favorites, I occasionally indulge in the “spin-off” novels that have mushroomed in recent years. I believe this to be a faithful representation of Mr Fitzwilliam Darcy, and I enjoyed the story very much. The reading, however, is distractedly affected. The readers awkward and invented pauses make the story hard to follow at times. I hope he is not “performing” the other two in the series.

Needs more masculine voice

It’s hard to take this seriously as the narrators voice is quite a flourish and not brooding or very deep. The beloved Collin Firth presentation , and the way i imagine Darcy would be better served by a lower less fanciful voicing.