Mr. Darcy's Decision

A Sequel to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice

By: Juliette Shapiro

Narrated by: Polly Lee

Length: 8 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

In Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen brought together one of the most beloved literary couples of all time - Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy. Now, Mr. Darcy's Decision continues the story of these passion-filled newlyweds as they enter London’s glamorous high society. This pause-resisting novel finds Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy entangled in the frivolity and ferocity of social intrigues. Although Elizabeth makes a powerful friend in the Marchioness of Englebury, the rivalry and jealousy among her ladyship’s prestigious clique threatens to destroy the success of her new marriage. Written in the style of Jane Austen, full of humor and sardonic wit, Mr. Darcy's Decision brings Regency society vividly to life and continues the romantic, sometimes tragic, stories of other popular Pride & Prejudice characters including Georgiana Darcy and Kitty Bennet.

©2008 Juliette Shapiro (P)2014 Audible Inc.

Did not meet my expectations

While overall I think the writing was fair and in style, the different elements were overall lacking. The plot was so/so, the character development was not really evident, there were significant inconsistencies with how the original described the futures of the various characters. There was too much focus on Mrs. Bennett for a large portion of the book, which was utterly annoying to me. The beginning of each chapter has a quote from Pride and Prejudice, but I didn’t see any connection to it with the rest of the chapter, so it was just weird and unnecessary.

As far as the audio performance, while I truly enjoyed her normal voice and some of the characters, her male voices were not very good.

excellent job!

I admit I was a bit skeptical of the narration and story due to some of the reviews but I'm so glad I proceeded with the story! I could not stop once I pressed play! The way the author wrote each characters growth (except "lady" Katherine- ugh, still a vile woman) was superb! Definitely an excellent sequel to the original book!

Narration was agonizing

Thia could have been a good listen but the narration was so slow and ponderous that I found myself groaning out loud. Fun premise and would have been a quick read -instead was loooong and sloooow.

Brilliant

As a devout worshipper of Jane Austen and all things Pride and Prejudice, I can say that I was not disappointed. It was so good to be back with Darcy and Elizabeth although I do wish that there was more of Jane and Bingley.

I thought the narrator did a really good job. Although I didn’t like the low accent applied to the Gardners and Mr Bennet. It was what I expected for Mrs Bennet.

I really enjoyed it and will likely read it again.

Terrible Narrator

The storyline was of interest to me, but I didn’t make it to the second chapter because of the narrator.

A Long Epilogue

I have mixed feelings on this book. Usually a sequel has its own storyline, intrigue and twists, and can stand independently as a book. This book could NOT stand alone, as it merely summarizes and extends the storylines from P&P. Admittedly, I enjoyed hearing a happy ending for the characters, but there was too much regurgitation of P&P lines and passages. In all, this book offered nothing truly new... The narration was terrible. She read as if the book were an aggressive action/adventure novel. Male voices were cringeworthy... Sorry, I wouldn't listen again, but I recommend it to those who desire an epilogue and can ignore narration.

Believable sequel, characters well written

I loved the story. It surprised me a lot, while still being in line with the characters of the original. it has the wit of Austen in its description of characters. I especially loved the portayal of Miss Bennet, I was either laughing at her, marveling at her ability to always portray herself as great or wincing at her behaviour. Lizzie is still smart and emphatic and Darcy becomes passionate and very selfless, but it feels believeble. There is only one character (in the centre of plot twist), that I dont buy the transformation, but maybe I am too much of a cynic. There is a happy ending as it should be in this story. Naration is fine, I was listening at 1,35 speed and it was lovely.

Loved it.

A wonderful continuation to the original story. Quite satisfying and enjoyable. the author really captures the essence of Jane Austen.

Enjoyable

The sequel story is very enjoyable and I nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon. :)

Only one major complaint....

I really enjoyed this sequel to a much loved classic. The pacing and characters are very like Austen’s, though not indistinguishable from the original style. For the most part the narrator does a decent job. The male voices come across as flat but not unbearable. My only major complaint is the accent used for Mr/Mrs Bennet and the Gardners. They stand out like sore thumbs in the narration. While everyone else has the classically clear, high born accents of the upper classes; they are rendered in a low, uncultured mode of speaking reminiscent of Eliza Doolittle from My Fair Lady pre-Professor Higgins. This makes no sense as, although not extremely wealthy, the Bennett’s are upperclass and the Gardner’s, though in business, are not shop keepers. It also creates a continuity issue because while Mr and Mrs Bennet sound this way none of their daughters do. This causes a disconnect among the characters and is disruptive to the flow of the story while listening.