These Three Remain

A Novel of Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman

By: Pamela Aidan

Narrated by: George Holmes

Length: 18 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

"You could not have made me the offer of your hand in any possible way that would have tempted me to accept it."

His proposal of marriage to the lovely, but socially inferior, Elizabeth Bennet thoroughly rejected, Darcy must come to terms with her evaluation of his character and a future without her.

Book Three, These Three Remain, recounts Darcy's painful journey of self-discovery in his quest to become the gentleman he always hoped he would be and the kind of man of whom Elizabeth Bennet would approve.

A chance meeting with her during a tour of his estate in Derbyshire offers Darcy a new opportunity, but the activities of his nemesis, George Wickham, interfere once more in a way that may ruin everyone's hopes for happiness, unless Darcy succeeds in putting his new-found strengths to the test.

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.

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

Not Austen, but a Wonderful Darcy Transformation

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.

Rich portrayal of character & plot

What made the experience of listening to These Three Remain the most enjoyable?

George Holmes dramatized the characters fluently.

What other book might you compare These Three Remain to and why?

The Count of Monte Cristo. It keeps action moving while exploring the motives of characters. It resolves multiple plots deftly.

Which character – as performed by George Holmes – was your favorite?

Darcy

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Darcy and Georgiana's mutual recognition of their pride and what it cost them in terms of relationships.

Any additional comments?

The book explains the match between Elizabeth and Darcy more thoroughly than Pride and Prejudice, written from Elizabeth's perspective.

Darcy and Elizabeth, meant to be!

If you're a Pride and Prejudice fan then you will DEFINITELY enjoy this read from Darcy's perspective.

Very lovely finale

I loved the conclusion to this book/series. It was fun to see how everything comes together at the end and finally seeing how Darcy may have done it was fantabulous. I seriously thought this was a great construction of a "what if" Pride and Prejudice. It's also kind of fun to see what influences some of the parts of this story that aren't really touched on in the original classic.

Enjoyable

I am a devout Jane Austen fan and will almost never read a sequel to her books written by another author. The concept of this work intrigued me, writing Pride and Prejudice from Darcy’s point of view rather than Elizabeth’s. I was not disappointed. The storyline was credible and the development of the characters surrounding Darcy was very good. I enjoyed all three volumes. I also enjoyed the narrator. I would listen to them again.

Could have been Jane Austen herself who wrote it

I thought Pamela Aiden did a fantastic job of telling the P&P story from Darcy's point of view. As for the narrator - I thought he did a fabulous job -- odd pauses and all. He had a comforting voice

Audible books

I love audibles! Can do other things while having my book read to me! Thank you for audibles!

great story terrible narration

a very good insight into the mind and world of mr darcy etc. however, the narrator was absolutely terrible, weird pauses and a horrible whiney voice. in the hands of a decent narrator this would have been a much, much better listen and would have deserved 5 stars.

The Scarlet Pimpernel makes an appearance!

Best Pride and Prejudice spin-off I’ve ever read. Clean/PG which is nice because there are many spin-off that are not! The narration was excellent, but I didn’t love the voices he used for Darcy and Elizabeth. They weren’t awful, just not to my liking. The added characters are actually my favorite part of this series: Darcy’s man Fletcher and also Darcy’s friend Brougham (sp?) who is a Scarlet Pimpernel if there ever was one! I’m really looking forward to the next book A Proper Darcy Christmas where, according to the synopsis, he reappears to save the day.

Enchanting and engaging continuation of P&P

Not really a continuation, Aidan's three books are a refreshing take on P&P from Darcy's perspective. These Three Remain is the final in the trilogy & my favorite-I would give the story 4.5 Stars. Aidan fleshes out many of the characters and backstories, yet remains remarkably true to Austen's classic.


The second book can be skipped entirely-a darker turn of events for Darcy, largely unrelated to the ultimate story, devoid of Bennets - and its events are only referred to in passing one or twice in These Three Remain.
The narrator of this production is not among my favorites. He is dry and monotone, but the story propells itself in spite of him. If you are not ble to sit down & read Ms. Aidan's 'Novel in Three Parts,' then I heartily recommend the audio version.