An Assembly Such as This

A Novel of Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman

De: Pamela Aidan

Narrado por: George Holmes

"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.

It’s great!

I didn’t have the same issues with the reader. It’s a great way to enjoy from Mr. Darcy’s perspective!

Take the title seriously

I know this is a trilogy so I will have to continue with the next book to feel real progress through the P&P story outline but this first book was a real slog getting through. I nearly gave up and I rarely do that. The voices are rather grating at times. Darcy comes off as a real horse’s behind scheming to keep Bingley away from Jane Bennet and especially her family. The scenes after they leave Hartfordshire after Bingley’s ball are a series of boy’s club activities and this is where I started to zone out. It felt like it went on and on. Darcy comes off like he has an enormous stick up [somewhere in his body] and has zero sense of humor. He meanly takes his valet to task for tying a new fancy cravat that garnered attention at one of the said boy’s club appearances. I looked at the time left after that and was relieved in was almost over. I rarely if ever give bad reviews but I can’t recommend this one, especially to new readers of Jane variations who have been exposed to brilliant authors and plots.

Wonderful book; breath-challenged narrator

As I began to listen to this book, I was VERY distracted by the narrator -- I swear he breathes every 4-5 words. Either he has COPD or some other chronic respiratory issue, or a VERY affected reading style.

After about an hour, though, as another reviewer noted, I was so caught up in the story, that I stopped noticing the narrator.

But....every time I resume listening, I have to get used to it all over again.

it's fine

this book was ok, only one party made me actively roll my eyes but overall more saccharine than I like. a bit fan-fic-y perhaps but like I said, fine.

Spoiled by the reader.

This is potentially quite an enthralling book - and maybe it is in the print version.

The problem is that.

It is spoiled by quite inappropriate.

Pauses which can even change the sense.

Of what was written.

By the author and so there is continuing.

Irritation.

I would like to listen to the other 2 volumes, but am not sure that I can handle the stress.

Too long and covered just a 1/3 of the story

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Less musings, and I am not in for buying the 2 more parts of the book to get to the end... yawn

Love the Story! Hate the narrator!

Would you consider the audio edition of An Assembly Such as This to be better than the print version?

No. Worse. Much worse! I love audiobooks, and I love this book. I had the print editions, and wanted to listen to it as well. Unfortunately, the narrator all but ruins it. He sounds prissy, whiny, and in my opinion he totally gets the whole thing wrong, start to finish - in all three books. I'm glad I read the print version first, as it allowed me to

What did you like best about this story?

The author did her research, and it was a very enjoyable story. Love, love, love the story. Great job, Ms. Aidan! I really enjoyed the author's take on Pride and Prejudice from Darcy's point of view. She does a great job staying very true to the story, missing very few details. Well done.

Would you be willing to try another one of George Holmes’s performances?

No! Not a chance.

Decent read

The story was good, a wonderful companion to P&P though a bit long-winded, awful narrator.

Great Story, Poor Performance

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

While the story was fantastic, the narrator did a poor job. Had I not previously read the book. I would have stopped listening after the first five minutes. It is bad enough that at times I felt as if I was suffering through the telling of it.

What did you like best about this story?

The story is compelling and well written. The author breathes life into the popular, but enigmatic character of Fitzwilliam Darcy and does a fantastic job of rounding out the original novel by giving readers a look at the equally important, but largerly unknown, hero.

What didn’t you like about George Holmes’s performance?

His narration was inadequate. He spoke too fast and flatly at times and made mistakes in mispronunciation of words and referring to people by the wrong name. The performance was grating on the nerves and only worsened by the introduction of overly loud music played over the narration at the beginning and ending of the book.

Did An Assembly Such as This inspire you to do anything?

It inspired me to want to re-read the book rather than listen to it in audio format.

Any additional comments?

The book itself is fantastic but with the disadvantage of a poorly narrated audio version, it is likely to suffer.

Interested in Mr. Darcy's perspective from P&P?

Would you consider the audio edition of An Assembly Such as This to be better than the print version?

Never read the print version but I truly enjoyed the audiobook. Mr. Holmes did a nice job of bringing the characters to life. I must say that 'seeing" life from Darcy's perspective was interesting, heart warming, heart breaking and always amusing. When I read P&P again I found myself thinking about the way Pamela Aidan related Mr. Darcy's character in accordance to some of the events. It was also nice to be introduced to new characters such as Darcy's Shakepeare quoting valet Fletcher and Lord Di Broom, Darcy's closest friend.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Mr. Darcy of course!! Who hasn't had a crush on this guy? It was amusing to see how he simply viewed his interactions with Elizabeth as witty banter and looked forward to seeing her while she on the other hand, viewed their interactions as cumbersome.

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

I enjoyed all of his character portrayals but my favorite of course, was Darcy since the story is told from his perspective.

If you could take any character from An Assembly Such as This out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Obviously Darcy but then again, maybe Mr. Bingley since he is good natured and adored by all who meet him.