These Three Remain: A Novel of Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman

-else the detail might drive a listener crazy, but I found all three parts of this Darcy novel a very relaxing listen. By part three, I even enjoyed the narrator's style, almost.

If you have the time or inclination for only two parts of the series, part 2 could be skipped.
Part one covers the period up to the departure from Netherfield to prevent the Bingley-Jane alliance; part 2 sees nothing of the Bennets except the knowledge that Jane is in London and cut by the sisters Bingley; it then diverges into a gothic mystery entangling Darcy as he tries to find a society wife; part three picks up at Darcy's encounter with Elizabeth at Rosings and and follows the P&P plotline and past to the wedding (I think the author ought to have ended where the P&P plot did, but then again, if she produced a part 4 that imagined the Darcys' married life, I still probably would listen.)

The biggest faults in the listen for me were the overwrought "romance speech" scenes and the quick references to stereotyes of Irish rebels and misunderstood Celtic spiritual traditions. But there are gems of imagination to compensate, such as Darcy's valet portrayed as a bit of a Jeeves character.

If you want some good chick lit for listening, you might as well get this homage to the ultimate work of chick LITERATURE. Now can someone re-write P&P from the servants' viewpoint?

These three remain, faith, hope and love and the greatest of these is love. Saint Paul's Letter to the Corinthians goes on to enumerate the qualities and variations of love as well as what love is and isn't. Beginning with the visit to Rosings, Ms. Aidon shows his struggles with himself while Miss Austen only alludes to them.
In addition to his Elizabeth problem, he has to come to terms with his evolving relations with his sister Georgiana and his friend Bingley.

In Mansfield Park, Edmund Bertram said of his long infatuation with Mary Crawford, that the woman he had been dwelling on for so long was in fact a creature of his own imagination. Until that dramatic and angry confrontation at Huntsford Parsonage, Darcy was in love with the Elizabeth he had created in his mind. Elizabeth detested the Darcy she had created. After Huntsford and The Letter, they begin to know themselves and each other. In that most satisfying of all Jane Austen movies: Pride and Prejudice with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle, the beginnings of Darcy's evolution is shown as he writes The Letter. Elizabeth begins her journey toward Pemberly as she reads it. All she has to do is reverse all of her opinions of Darcy.

Poor Darcy, after Huntsfords, he is more in love than ever with no hopes. He examines himself in light of Elizabeth's charges and begins to see some justice in them. At the inn at Lambton when Elizabeth discloses the contents of Jane's letter revealing the disgrace Lydia brought to her entire family, she realized that Darcy is exactly the man she wants and understands that Lydia's behavior made a marriage with him impossible. Ms. Aidon made me understand that Darcy's actions were far more noble and Wickham's behavior was much more wicked than I had previously understood.

In addition to being a fine work by a gifted author, the thought and care taken by the production staff is obvious. Audible should be proud.

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

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.

Yes, it's good fun and a lighthearted easy listen. It may not hit the highs of the original, but there are plenty of quotes.

The narrators "posh" voice wasn't terribly convincing and sounded more like the sycophantic, sniveling Mr Collins.

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.

Ms Aidan did a great job on this book! It's not Austen, but a fine romance with a gothic spin. More intrigue and political background than Austen would have included. That said, the narrator destroyed it. Darcy was not masculine, struggling to reform his character. Rather, he became a whining fop. The servants were obsequious, and the ladies were drag queens. Not to mention the pacing, which was far too slow, and the misplaced emphasis. I realize the author is not well known, but couldn't they dredge up any better narrator than that?

Good Darcy's perspective.

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

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.