Summers at Pemberley

A Pride and Prejudice Retelling

By: Jennifer Kay

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

Length: 7 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

As a child, Elizabeth Bennet's years were split into two distinct segments: her normal life with four rambunctious sisters in Hertfordshire, and summers in Derbyshire on the estate of her father's friend Mr. Darcy. Summertime meant peaks to explore, horses to ride, a library full of books, and friends unlike anyone she knew at home. It was an idyllic escape - until the year that everything came crashing down and summers at Pemberley became no more than a fading memory.

When Fitzwilliam Darcy walks into the Meryton Assembly half a decade later, Elizabeth doesn't know how to reconcile the two worlds she's held separate for so long, and her decisions that night will set off a chain of events no one could have predicted. Because Mr. Darcy is not the only person from her past destined to reappear, and not all memories of Pemberley are pleasant....

Unexpected & Emotionally Satisfying

This retelling of a beloved story took me by surprise. I wasn’t sure at first how much I would like having Darcy and Elizabeth meet at Pemberly when she was 7 and he was 15, but the story just magically worked and kept me guessing in a good, interesting and highly enjoyable way. I loved disappearing into it throughout the days and was sorry when it came to an end. I highly recommend it to any fan of the original.

Worthy Reimagining of P&P

I enjoyed this variation and would recommend. It's one of the better ones I've listened to. The story was engaging and not completely outside the realm of possibility of context or spirit of the original. The virtual narration was surprisingly good - not quite as rich as a talented real narrator could produce with different voices for the characters, but the inflections were natural and punctuation /pauses were near spot on.

It’s ok

There is nothing offensive. There is also nothing original either. It’s not a bad read. It’s sweet, like empty calories I can’t really say anything horrible about it. Just don’t expected much. It’s pretty much like the Robo voice that reads it . It gets the job done. 

No matter how it’s told, the live story of Lizzy and Darcy will always find eachother.

The virtual voice kills it. I listened because it was free. Won’t buy it. I wish they’d have Stevie Zimmerman read it.

A 12th grader could have written this

Really awful. The story has no nuance, no verve, no wit, no psychological insights...nothing Jane Austen about it. Just a hack P&P variation, with lifeless narration by an AI voice.

It’s just fine. But the mispronunciation is so obnoxious!

I don’t think anyone double checked the virtual voice on this one. Anything that was beyond the most basic English was a struggle. The worst part of the narration is really the lack of life or personality. When someone is upset or frustrated it sounds just the same and joyful or excited. Also, there’s no attempt for any character to have their own “voice”. They also need to fix the Mama and Papa, uggg. It’s so annoying