Like most women, I enjoy Jane Austen's classic novel Pride and Prejudice, and not just for the images of Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy it brings to mind. Since I enjoy the story so much, I am typically eager to read any new books that tell more of the Bennet/Darcy tale. I've purchased many and borrowed just as many from my mom, who is responsible for this aspect of my character. Imagine my surprise then, when browsing the ebooks online, to find Lydia Bennet's Story: A Sequel to Pride and Prejudice available for free. It is on Barnes and Noble for free here, Kobo is also free here, and Amazon here.
This is not exactly a sequel, as it begins during the story of Pride and Prejudice. It tells Lydia's side of things from the time that Elizabeth is visiting Charlotte Collins and Jane is with their aunt and uncle in London. To see Lydia's logic behind her choices makes for a new and different twist on the classic. Odiwe's novel continues beyond the marriage to Wickham and on in the future, continuing the stories of the rest of the family as well. This is worth reading if you enjoy Pride and Prejudice.
I will point out that Ms. Odiwe tried to write in a style similar to that of Jane Austen, but she was unable to completely achieve that goal. While remaining completely clean, she was not able to be as completely innocent as writers in Austen's time were. However, most of these incidents of impropriety were from Lydia herself, which is appropriate given her character. One other observation is that, when mentioning locations, Odiwe wrote out the full name, as opposed to Austen and her contemporaries who would use the first letter followed by a line (H--). While nice to have the full name to read, I found I missed the discretion of the original. That's a personal preference, though, and had no bearing whatsoever on the novel itself.
Overall, I would encourage you to download a copy of Lydia Bennet's Story: A Sequel to Pride and Prejudice while it is still free. Much like Pride and Prejudice can be read at any time, this can also be read and enjoyed just about anywhere. I have classified it as a vacation book because it is light and silly and has romance and comedy, but is serves as a mental vacation on it's own. I will warn you, though, once you read this you will want to pick up your copy of Pride and Prejudice and read it again! (it's available for free from all the major ebook sites: Barnes and Noble, Kobo, and Amazon.)
I hope you enjoy this one; please let me know what you think!
Allyson
No comments:
Post a Comment