The Second Mrs. Darcy

By: Elizabeth Aston

Narrated by: Phyllida Nash

Length: 11 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

The next adventure of the Darcy family from the author of Mr. Darcy's Daughters - the story of a reluctant heiress who has been left a widow by Darcy's cousin Christopher.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single woman in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a husband. So say the friends and family of impoverished widow Octavia Darcy when she unexpectedly inherits a fortune, but she has a different view and looks forward to a new life of independence. Escaping from the efforts of her half brothers and sisters to marry her off, Octavia goes to Yorkshire to find out more about the family she never knew, and while she is there she meets and crosses swords with landowner and politician Sholto Rutherford.

When she returns to London to share a house with the dashing Lady Susan, Octavia, now secure in her new life, becomes caught up in the romantic problems of her niece. Then, the shadow of George Warren, the old nemesis of the Darcy family, falls over her, and she is threatened with the loss of both inheritance and reputation.

©2007 A.E. Books, Ltd. (P)2015 Audible Inc.

Fantastic! And Nash is amazing

I have enjoyed this series more than I thought possible. It is written so well, and I am very surprised that there aren’t more reviews. I am so glad that I came across Aston’s books. Now that phyllida Nash narrates them, the little touches I wished for are polished to perfection. Nash rocks.

Surprisingly Good

Jane Austen fanfic can be hit or miss. I'm pleased to say this one was a hit with me.

Phyllida Nash is the best narrator! Good book!

This was the first Elizabeth Aston book that I've listened to on Audible.com and I thought the story was well written! Elizabeth Aston forwards the stories of the Darcy family and their friends very well! It's an interesting plot, and I love the independence of, not only the main woman character, but almost all the women characters. Once Octavia got her fortune, I kept wondering how that would be resolved if she married Sholto Rutherford, but I was happy in the way he worked it out at the end of the story. Phyllida Nash is the perfect narrator for ALL these English romance-type novels. She knows just the tone to take and how each character's voice should be read. I don't think there is any novel that she's narrated that I do not like. And the narration in audible books makes all the difference - no matter how good the written word. No one wants to listen to someone with an irritating, grating voice, or one who does not know how to correctly read each character. I am glad to have listened to this book, and would highly recommend it.

Heyer-esque and Well Done

Ms. Aston has succeeded in authoring a book closer to the language and spirit of Georgette Heyer than any other I have discovered. The hero and heroine, as well as their friends and allies, are complex enough to be likeable and believable. The evil-doer Warren is despicable and also believable. The heroine takes a long and interesting journey - both physically and emotionally - to her HEA - and I believed that her ending would, in fact, be happy.

I listened to this twice and liked it even better the second time as I felt the author was drawing on the spirit of the joyful endings in some of Shakespeare's most successful Rom-Coms.

The narration of Phyllida Nash is just exactly right for this period.

Delightful

Loved this book. It’s characters were engaging and fun. The reading was very good and the story lively.

Charming story

Not a fan of the narrator. There was not enough change in the voice to distinguish any of the characters. Especially the ladies, who all sounded exactly alike. Oh and the men, ghastly.
The story is charming. I liked the references to characters from Pride and Prejudice.

Loved it!!

Great narración and a story meant to take you away!! calgon has nothing on this story.

Most Excellent

Ahh...reminiscent of Georgette Heyer. I enjoyed this book so much. Phyllida Nash is one of my favorite narrators.

Absolutely great!

Where does The Second Mrs. Darcy rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This was the first of the Darcy series that I listened to and I just loved it! There is something really wonderful about a spirited smart woman who is treated badly by her family who manages to turn the tables on them in such fantastic style. The performances by Phyllida Nash are wonderful - from the brothers and sisters (the worst pack of bullies) to the interesting social contacts such as the Wyttons, Pagoda, the Rutherfords (mother, sister and brother) and the servants, she really gets the whole array of people and performs them perfectly. There were a number of laugh-out loud moments along with the cringe-making moments provided by the nastiness of the members of the heroine's family, Carolyn Bingley and her horrible stepson George Warren (glad to see his nasty plans scuppered in the book).

Any additional comments?

Can someone please organise for Phyllida to perform the story of Alethea as it's the only one missing out of the audio series. The book is utterly wonderful and I'd love to hear it performed.

Surprisingly good

Her earlier works weren’t so great, but she’s improving with every book. Her later works get even better. I think as long as she can stay away from Jane Austin’s own characters she will be all right. My only real complaint with this was her constantly harping on feminism. Have a strong independent female character, just quit being so 20th century about it in an Austin fan/fic book