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Brides of Pemberley #1
His Good Opinion: A Mr. Darcy Novel
Mr. Darcy Speaks from the Heart:
Pride and Prejudice from his Point of View
Though tired of Society's manipulations, Darcy never thought to be enchanted by a country maiden. Yet on a visit to rural Hertfordshire, Elizabeth Bennet captivates him. Lovely and vivacious, she is everything he is not, and everything he longs to have.
Unfortunately, her connections put her decidedly beneath him, and the improprieties he observes in her family do not win his favor. Putting her firmly out of his mind, Darcy returns to London, but Elizabeth is not so easily forgotten.
When chance throws them together, Darcy can no longer deny his love, but Elizabeth, put off by his manners, refuses him. To change her mind, he must set aside his proud ways and learn how to please a woman worthy of being pleased. It takes a serious incident for his true character to shine, and for Elizabeth to learn just how valuable is...
His Good Opinion
Includes an excerpt of Caroline Bingley by Jennifer Becton
Pride and Prejudice from his Point of View
Though tired of Society's manipulations, Darcy never thought to be enchanted by a country maiden. Yet on a visit to rural Hertfordshire, Elizabeth Bennet captivates him. Lovely and vivacious, she is everything he is not, and everything he longs to have.
Unfortunately, her connections put her decidedly beneath him, and the improprieties he observes in her family do not win his favor. Putting her firmly out of his mind, Darcy returns to London, but Elizabeth is not so easily forgotten.
When chance throws them together, Darcy can no longer deny his love, but Elizabeth, put off by his manners, refuses him. To change her mind, he must set aside his proud ways and learn how to please a woman worthy of being pleased. It takes a serious incident for his true character to shine, and for Elizabeth to learn just how valuable is...
His Good Opinion
Includes an excerpt of Caroline Bingley by Jennifer Becton
376 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 20, 2011
124 people are currently reading
2130 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 187 reviews
December 27, 2020
I love Pride and Prejudice and this was a re-telling from Mr. Darcy's perspective. I was entertained although nothing compares to the original. There were a few lapses where modernism inadvertently broke the historical plane and removed me from the early 1800's.
Good holiday read-I didn't want ro read about murder on Christmas.
Good holiday read-I didn't want ro read about murder on Christmas.
November 23, 2011
In His Good Opinion, author Nancy Kelley sets out to tell the story of Pride and Prejudice from Mr. Darcy’s point of view. Although Darcy is the hero in Pride and Prejudice, for the first part of the book he comes across to Elizabeth (as well as everyone else in Hertfordshire) and the reader as proud and aloof. In the second half of the novel, Austen shows us how Darcy changes and Darcy himself admits to flaws in his behavior. But why was Darcy seemingly so proud? Why did he refuse to be easily pleased, withholding his good opinion more often than he bestowed it. And why would someone like Darcy fall in love with a girl like Elizabeth – someone open and vivacious and not at all concerned with securing his good opinion?
Told from Darcy’s point of view, this novel follows Darcy from London where he has become increasingly turned off by the artifices of society, to the country where he meets Elizabeth for the first time. As he become enchanted with her the reader is similarly enchanted by this version of Mr. Darcy. The blow of Lizzy’s rejection of Darcy’s proposal is felt more keenly than ever before because we as readers find ourselves rooting for Darcy. His heartbreak is real and touching, and frankly, makes him irresistible. As he comes to term with the rejection and takes Lizzy’s criticisms to heart, he endeavors to become a man worthy of her love – even if he can never have her.
The book follows the timeline of Pride and Prejudice, but because it is told from Darcy’s point of view, readers are treated to scenes that we have previously been imagined, such as Darcy’s hunt of Wickham and his eventual confrontation with him in London. We are also get to see the relationship between Darcy and his sister Georgiana, as well his relationship with his cousin Colonel Fitzwilliam. All of this serves to flesh Darcy out and make him an even more desirable hero.
And here is where Nancy Kelley’s genius really shines. Darcy is already an incredibly loved, and if we are all honest with ourselves, desired, hero. She has managed in this story, to make him even more desirable while also injecting levels of sensitivity and vulnerability that are absolutely heart-wrenching. While this book could be given a G rating based on it’s content, Ms. Kelley manages to raise the reader’s temperature with a look or a gesture. In fact, every time Darcy loosened his cravat I melted into a tiny puddle of goo.
The tagline of this novel is “Mr. Darcy speaks from the heart,” and in the end that is what endears readers the most to this incarnation of Mr. Darcy. Yes, he’s tall, dark and handsome (and has ten thousand a year), and yes he is very, very hot. But in this retelling of Pride and Prejudice it is his heart that truly shines through. And I think it is that heart that will make readers fall in love with him all over again and wish that they too could be a woman worthy of…
His Good Opinion.
Five Stars
Told from Darcy’s point of view, this novel follows Darcy from London where he has become increasingly turned off by the artifices of society, to the country where he meets Elizabeth for the first time. As he become enchanted with her the reader is similarly enchanted by this version of Mr. Darcy. The blow of Lizzy’s rejection of Darcy’s proposal is felt more keenly than ever before because we as readers find ourselves rooting for Darcy. His heartbreak is real and touching, and frankly, makes him irresistible. As he comes to term with the rejection and takes Lizzy’s criticisms to heart, he endeavors to become a man worthy of her love – even if he can never have her.
The book follows the timeline of Pride and Prejudice, but because it is told from Darcy’s point of view, readers are treated to scenes that we have previously been imagined, such as Darcy’s hunt of Wickham and his eventual confrontation with him in London. We are also get to see the relationship between Darcy and his sister Georgiana, as well his relationship with his cousin Colonel Fitzwilliam. All of this serves to flesh Darcy out and make him an even more desirable hero.
And here is where Nancy Kelley’s genius really shines. Darcy is already an incredibly loved, and if we are all honest with ourselves, desired, hero. She has managed in this story, to make him even more desirable while also injecting levels of sensitivity and vulnerability that are absolutely heart-wrenching. While this book could be given a G rating based on it’s content, Ms. Kelley manages to raise the reader’s temperature with a look or a gesture. In fact, every time Darcy loosened his cravat I melted into a tiny puddle of goo.
The tagline of this novel is “Mr. Darcy speaks from the heart,” and in the end that is what endears readers the most to this incarnation of Mr. Darcy. Yes, he’s tall, dark and handsome (and has ten thousand a year), and yes he is very, very hot. But in this retelling of Pride and Prejudice it is his heart that truly shines through. And I think it is that heart that will make readers fall in love with him all over again and wish that they too could be a woman worthy of…
His Good Opinion.
Five Stars
August 12, 2018
Pride and Prejudice from Darcy's point of view has been done many times but I absolutely loved this version. Staying close to canon, it never felt like rehash and I heartily appreciated that the author did not make excuses or gloss over the insults and offences...
Masterly done and very well written. Austenesque in its execution.
Heartily recommend this book!
Masterly done and very well written. Austenesque in its execution.
Heartily recommend this book!
May 21, 2017
P&P retellings are pretty hit and miss for me, but this one was a hit! I felt like it realistically represented Darcy's point of view, and it was fun to see the scenes from a male perspective. One I plan to re-read in the future.
February 20, 2015
His Good Opinion is, in brief, Pride and Prejudice from Darcy's point of view. What exactly did he say to Bingley to keep him away from Netherfield? What was he thinking when he made that bone-headed first proposal to Elizabeth? How exactly did he track down Wickham? Here it is.
It's more like a writing exercise than a novel, in some ways. It becomes a little pedantic – it reads like every single thought in Darcy's head is revealed, and his reaction to nearly every line of dialogue to which he is privy. It becomes a little repetitive – there is a fair amount of Reality Show-Style Recapping (the I know – it was five minutes ago, and I was here sort of summing up); and it becomes a little claustrophobic. I never thought I would protest being stuck alone with Fitzwilliam Darcy for a whole book.
This version of Darcy makes me think of an anxious stallion trying to rule over a herd of unruly mares. (Not in a good way, I have to add, thinking of how that would read in a romance novel.) Heaven forfend any other male intervene with any of his wimmenfolk. He runs off Wickham after the blackguard trifles with Georgiana, and then has to try to beat off Miss Bingley (who's a bitch, not a stallion, but you get the idea). He attaches himself to Elizabeth whether she knows it or not, and figuratively bares his teeth and puts his ears back when anyone approaches her – Bingley, Col. Fitzwilliam, doesn't matter how much he loves the other man, he's ready to draw blood every time she as much as smiles at anyone else.
In other ways he reminds me of a teenaged boy with his first big crush. He blushes; she blushes; one or both blush again. (I wish my Kindle would allow me to use the search function without freezing up – I'd love to see how many times "blush" is used.) He stumbles over his speech because she discombobulates him so. (Side note: Word spellcheck has no problem with "discombobulates".) He completely misreads her, taking her slightly acid politeness as approval. Now, this is reasonable enough – love makes everyone act like an idiot, right? But all together, it's just amazingly adolescent, and not remotely the Darcy I'm accustomed to. I don't much like the intensity of his self-centeredness as shown here, with almost every kind or thoughtful thing he does having its origin in what Elizabeth will think of him, from Georgiana's piano to his respect for the Gardiners. That degree of change in a grown man isn't entirely believable.
Odd quote: "For the first time he noticed a dimple that winked in and out of existence." - Um, no? Unless I'm thinking of another book, he spent a whole conversation earlier in the story zoned out watching that dimple appear and disappear.
I wish the author had used a lighter touch on the story. There was no real need to expound on nearly every possible original Darcy line. Anyone reading this book is probably a fan of Austen and familiar with Pride and Prejudice – odds are good that anyone reading it will be very familiar. It becomes tiresome to have large tracts of The Book recycled into this, often verbatim. It's inevitable, I suppose, with the premise, but I could wish the situation had been handled more creatively. Again, the actual execution of this comes off more as an exercise: "let's see what the picture looks like when you move the camera over there", rather than "let's put the subject under a different-colored light and change the lens and see what it looks like".
Another major drawback to using original dialogue is that it forces comparisons between Nancy Kelley's writing at the top and bottom of a page and Jane Austen's in the middle. This is what Anna Elliott successfully avoided in her Diary of Georgiana Darcy – she was able to use Jane Austen's characters without opening herself up to the stark contrast. This is the point when I feel impelled to place bits of text from Kelley and Austen side by side to illustrate what a very, very, very bad idea it is … but do I even have to? Really?
Changing the viewpoint of the book is a fun idea. There's a lot that is never really clarified in P&P, and lots of room for creativity and expansion. But once the story reached Darcy's deal with Wickham, I started to realize why it is Jane Austen didn't include all of that. Yes, there's the legend that she did not feel comfortable writing scenes between men – but, also, it's depressing. The tenor of at least the first half of the book is light and funny, and fun. This … this is not light, nor funny, and certainly not fun. It's queasy-making, especially here and now, to read of Wickham's … evil? Is that too strong a word to use for a pedophile set in a time and place that considered fifteen years old old enough?
It's hard to read a more detailed account of Lydia's intense stupidity and frivolity, and Wickham's intransigence, and what Darcy had to do to force the latter to marry the former. That their marriage was the solution to the situation has always been a difficult thing to reconcile, and here more than ever. The story is told well enough – although I did find it odd that Darcy bargains with Mrs. Younge for whatever information she can give, but does not try to negotiate with Wickham. Wicky names the sum it will take to make him marry the little bimbo (just as Elizabeth and/or her father says, depending on which film version you go by), and Darcy just agrees.
P&P glided over the details of Lydia's ruin, as I recall – it was understood, not explicit, that Lydia was Living In Sin with Wicky. By the time Jane Austen brought the little tart and her big disgusting husband back into the picture resigned relief was allowing the tone to lighten back up again. From this angle it becomes a much more serious novel, of one sweet teenaged girl who has been badly injured and one brainless and thoughtless girl ("Foolish, headstrong girl!") who doesn't even notice the damage she leaves in her wake, and a man who, having been forced into marrying the featherbrained bint, will take it out on her for as long as they both shall live.
I'm not laughing. Not even smiling.
There are two questions that have lingered in my mind after watching the two more recent film adaptations of P&P: why did Wickham run off with the worthless Lydia, and where did the rumor start that Lizzie was engaged to Darcy? Kelley fields the first one, and answers it well – it's really the only explanation that makes sense.
Lately it seems like for each book which teeters on the border of "meh" and "ARGH" there is a single line which pushes it over into "ARGH" territory – with a complement of exclamation points as required. For His Good Opinion, at the 72% mark, the line was "Oh, no. Do not go there." Really? In, what, 1813? "Don't go there"?? Oh. It hurts. Even more than it did when Darcy "called [Lizzie] on" something.
"Make him do the right thing, Fitzwilliam. Make sure Elizabeth's sister is the last young lady he ensnares with false promises." … Though he knew these vows would not keep Wickham from dallying with other females, at least he would not be able to promise marriage to innocents.
Okay, first of all, this is one of those moments when I am glad it's 2013, a time when marrying the S.O.B. would not be an option, much less the only one. And secondly – Says who? What's to stop him? If he approaches another feather-brained fifteen-year-old girl, one who lives in another town where he's encamped, or shortly after they move into wherever they're going to be living, before Lydia has made a name for herself – or simply in another circle where no one knows anything about the Regulars – what's to stop him doing the exact same thing again? I don't see Wickham balking at bigamy. (There's a cozy mystery title for whoever wants it: Balking at Bigamy.)
It's more like a writing exercise than a novel, in some ways. It becomes a little pedantic – it reads like every single thought in Darcy's head is revealed, and his reaction to nearly every line of dialogue to which he is privy. It becomes a little repetitive – there is a fair amount of Reality Show-Style Recapping (the I know – it was five minutes ago, and I was here sort of summing up); and it becomes a little claustrophobic. I never thought I would protest being stuck alone with Fitzwilliam Darcy for a whole book.
This version of Darcy makes me think of an anxious stallion trying to rule over a herd of unruly mares. (Not in a good way, I have to add, thinking of how that would read in a romance novel.) Heaven forfend any other male intervene with any of his wimmenfolk. He runs off Wickham after the blackguard trifles with Georgiana, and then has to try to beat off Miss Bingley (who's a bitch, not a stallion, but you get the idea). He attaches himself to Elizabeth whether she knows it or not, and figuratively bares his teeth and puts his ears back when anyone approaches her – Bingley, Col. Fitzwilliam, doesn't matter how much he loves the other man, he's ready to draw blood every time she as much as smiles at anyone else.
In other ways he reminds me of a teenaged boy with his first big crush. He blushes; she blushes; one or both blush again. (I wish my Kindle would allow me to use the search function without freezing up – I'd love to see how many times "blush" is used.) He stumbles over his speech because she discombobulates him so. (Side note: Word spellcheck has no problem with "discombobulates".) He completely misreads her, taking her slightly acid politeness as approval. Now, this is reasonable enough – love makes everyone act like an idiot, right? But all together, it's just amazingly adolescent, and not remotely the Darcy I'm accustomed to. I don't much like the intensity of his self-centeredness as shown here, with almost every kind or thoughtful thing he does having its origin in what Elizabeth will think of him, from Georgiana's piano to his respect for the Gardiners. That degree of change in a grown man isn't entirely believable.
Odd quote: "For the first time he noticed a dimple that winked in and out of existence." - Um, no? Unless I'm thinking of another book, he spent a whole conversation earlier in the story zoned out watching that dimple appear and disappear.
I wish the author had used a lighter touch on the story. There was no real need to expound on nearly every possible original Darcy line. Anyone reading this book is probably a fan of Austen and familiar with Pride and Prejudice – odds are good that anyone reading it will be very familiar. It becomes tiresome to have large tracts of The Book recycled into this, often verbatim. It's inevitable, I suppose, with the premise, but I could wish the situation had been handled more creatively. Again, the actual execution of this comes off more as an exercise: "let's see what the picture looks like when you move the camera over there", rather than "let's put the subject under a different-colored light and change the lens and see what it looks like".
Another major drawback to using original dialogue is that it forces comparisons between Nancy Kelley's writing at the top and bottom of a page and Jane Austen's in the middle. This is what Anna Elliott successfully avoided in her Diary of Georgiana Darcy – she was able to use Jane Austen's characters without opening herself up to the stark contrast. This is the point when I feel impelled to place bits of text from Kelley and Austen side by side to illustrate what a very, very, very bad idea it is … but do I even have to? Really?
Changing the viewpoint of the book is a fun idea. There's a lot that is never really clarified in P&P, and lots of room for creativity and expansion. But once the story reached Darcy's deal with Wickham, I started to realize why it is Jane Austen didn't include all of that. Yes, there's the legend that she did not feel comfortable writing scenes between men – but, also, it's depressing. The tenor of at least the first half of the book is light and funny, and fun. This … this is not light, nor funny, and certainly not fun. It's queasy-making, especially here and now, to read of Wickham's … evil? Is that too strong a word to use for a pedophile set in a time and place that considered fifteen years old old enough?
It's hard to read a more detailed account of Lydia's intense stupidity and frivolity, and Wickham's intransigence, and what Darcy had to do to force the latter to marry the former. That their marriage was the solution to the situation has always been a difficult thing to reconcile, and here more than ever. The story is told well enough – although I did find it odd that Darcy bargains with Mrs. Younge for whatever information she can give, but does not try to negotiate with Wickham. Wicky names the sum it will take to make him marry the little bimbo (just as Elizabeth and/or her father says, depending on which film version you go by), and Darcy just agrees.
P&P glided over the details of Lydia's ruin, as I recall – it was understood, not explicit, that Lydia was Living In Sin with Wicky. By the time Jane Austen brought the little tart and her big disgusting husband back into the picture resigned relief was allowing the tone to lighten back up again. From this angle it becomes a much more serious novel, of one sweet teenaged girl who has been badly injured and one brainless and thoughtless girl ("Foolish, headstrong girl!") who doesn't even notice the damage she leaves in her wake, and a man who, having been forced into marrying the featherbrained bint, will take it out on her for as long as they both shall live.
I'm not laughing. Not even smiling.
There are two questions that have lingered in my mind after watching the two more recent film adaptations of P&P: why did Wickham run off with the worthless Lydia, and where did the rumor start that Lizzie was engaged to Darcy? Kelley fields the first one, and answers it well – it's really the only explanation that makes sense.
Lately it seems like for each book which teeters on the border of "meh" and "ARGH" there is a single line which pushes it over into "ARGH" territory – with a complement of exclamation points as required. For His Good Opinion, at the 72% mark, the line was "Oh, no. Do not go there." Really? In, what, 1813? "Don't go there"?? Oh. It hurts. Even more than it did when Darcy "called [Lizzie] on" something.
"Make him do the right thing, Fitzwilliam. Make sure Elizabeth's sister is the last young lady he ensnares with false promises." … Though he knew these vows would not keep Wickham from dallying with other females, at least he would not be able to promise marriage to innocents.
Okay, first of all, this is one of those moments when I am glad it's 2013, a time when marrying the S.O.B. would not be an option, much less the only one. And secondly – Says who? What's to stop him? If he approaches another feather-brained fifteen-year-old girl, one who lives in another town where he's encamped, or shortly after they move into wherever they're going to be living, before Lydia has made a name for herself – or simply in another circle where no one knows anything about the Regulars – what's to stop him doing the exact same thing again? I don't see Wickham balking at bigamy. (There's a cozy mystery title for whoever wants it: Balking at Bigamy.)
August 13, 2016
Initially I was reticent to read the Mr. Darcy perspectives of P & P, I'm not really sure why. This is a brilliant re-imagining of Prider & Prejudice. Beginning with Darcy's visit at Ramsgate we are shown precisely how Elizabeth Bennet stole his heart.
The author masterfully intertwines passages from the original novel with a fresh perspective. This is a wonderful book suitable for all ages.
The author masterfully intertwines passages from the original novel with a fresh perspective. This is a wonderful book suitable for all ages.
March 16, 2012
In the same manner as Pamela Aidan, Amanda Grange, and Maya Slater, debut author Nancy Kelley pens a novel that tells the story of Pride and Prejudice from Mr. Darcy's perspective. Giving readers something they will all find extremely agreeable: more time alone with the handsome, illustrious, and brooding Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy! Ms. Kelley's tale begins just before Georgiana's imprudent elopement attempt and closes soon after Darcy and Elizabeth become engaged. Through these pages readers get to witness Darcy's inner thoughts and reflections, and observe the close relationships he has with Georgiana and Colonel Fitzwilliam.
Want to get into Darcy's head? Want to spend some more time with him? (Silly question, right?)
I just love reading novels that focus on the hero! Being inside their head is so enlightening and oftentimes very entertaining! What I enjoyed most about this retelling was Ms. Kelley's depiction of Darcy's gradual transformation from selfish arrogance and poor manners to painstaking civility and polite consideration. I like how at first he couldn't comprehend Elizabeth's low and unjust opinion of him. But later, when Darcy hears her words echoed by Colonel Fitzwilliam and his tenants, he realizes he must give Elizabeth's reproach credence. I took great pleasure in the journey through Darcy's transformation; it was interesting to witness him go from tortured despondency to anxious longing.
To continue reading, go to: http://janeaustenreviews.blogspot.com...
Want to get into Darcy's head? Want to spend some more time with him? (Silly question, right?)
I just love reading novels that focus on the hero! Being inside their head is so enlightening and oftentimes very entertaining! What I enjoyed most about this retelling was Ms. Kelley's depiction of Darcy's gradual transformation from selfish arrogance and poor manners to painstaking civility and polite consideration. I like how at first he couldn't comprehend Elizabeth's low and unjust opinion of him. But later, when Darcy hears her words echoed by Colonel Fitzwilliam and his tenants, he realizes he must give Elizabeth's reproach credence. I took great pleasure in the journey through Darcy's transformation; it was interesting to witness him go from tortured despondency to anxious longing.
To continue reading, go to: http://janeaustenreviews.blogspot.com...
January 12, 2012
In publishing His Good Opinion, Nancy Kelley joins a long line of authors who have written Pride and Prejudice from the viewpoint of Fitzwilliam Darcy. When I first heard about this novel I was intrigued; what could Kelley have written that hasn’t been done before? Interested enough to take the plunge and see Darcy from another’s perspective I dug right in.
In His Good Opinion, Kelly treads familiar ground. In a wonderful retelling of Pride and Prejudice, Kelly sights Darcy in her cross-hairs as she details his progress through the novel in a new and refreshing light. Still as arrogant as ever in the first portion of the book, we view Lizzy’s rejection of his proposal from a new angle, feeling more for Darcy as (from his point of view) the proposal seems genuine and honest, and his feelings of rejection and despair are more apparent than we ever thought before. Later, we are able to view Darcy’s self-doubt that leads him to change in such a drastic way in order to win Elizabeth’s affections back. In addition, Darcy’s relationships with Georgiana, Wickham, and Col. Fitzwilliam are all expanded, with new information regarding each that allow for a more detailed observation of his personal life that helps to bring new light to what went on “behind the scenes” during Pride and Prejudice. In all, Kelly gives us a detailed biography of Darcy’s actions and thoughts that really help to support the original work and provide new questions and discussion.
Wow. Nancy Kelley is an author to definitely keep on your radar. Her writing easily transitions into Austen-like prose, giving her novel a feel of elegance that is difficult to find in the Jane Austen fan fiction world. I’ve read a LOT of Pride and Prejudice retellings from Darcy’s viewpoint and find many of them choppy. Choppy in the sense that you can tell where the split between Austen’s original text and the author’s new ideas begin. Kelley does a fantastic job of seamlessly transitioning her interpretations of what Darcy’s feeling with Austen’s original story text. Kelley’s interpretations of Darcy’s thoughts and misconceptions are all excellently thought out and written. Rarely have I felt like I was reading Austen’s own version of P&P told via Darcy instead of Elizabeth.
I truly enjoyed when Lady Catherine came to Darcy’s townhouse, revealing the outcome of her meeting with Elizabeth. The joy that Darcy feels upon hearing Elizabeth’s remarks are entirely palpable to the reader. My heart was ready to leap out of its chest as he made his anxious return to Hertfordshire. Kelley’s ability to translate his despair, anxiety, depression, happiness, etc to the written word is one that must be highly commended.
My one complaint was that I felt like the ending was cut short. Granted, it was beautifully written, but it just felt abrupt. I would have enjoyed a bit more story, but that’s just me. I can’t get enough of Lizzy and Darcy’s story. Maybe Kelley has more in store for us? Time will tell. We can only hope that her subsequent work is as exciting and as detailed as His Good Opinion is!
Kimberly (Reflections of a Book Addict)
http://wp.me/p18lIL-KE
In His Good Opinion, Kelly treads familiar ground. In a wonderful retelling of Pride and Prejudice, Kelly sights Darcy in her cross-hairs as she details his progress through the novel in a new and refreshing light. Still as arrogant as ever in the first portion of the book, we view Lizzy’s rejection of his proposal from a new angle, feeling more for Darcy as (from his point of view) the proposal seems genuine and honest, and his feelings of rejection and despair are more apparent than we ever thought before. Later, we are able to view Darcy’s self-doubt that leads him to change in such a drastic way in order to win Elizabeth’s affections back. In addition, Darcy’s relationships with Georgiana, Wickham, and Col. Fitzwilliam are all expanded, with new information regarding each that allow for a more detailed observation of his personal life that helps to bring new light to what went on “behind the scenes” during Pride and Prejudice. In all, Kelly gives us a detailed biography of Darcy’s actions and thoughts that really help to support the original work and provide new questions and discussion.
Wow. Nancy Kelley is an author to definitely keep on your radar. Her writing easily transitions into Austen-like prose, giving her novel a feel of elegance that is difficult to find in the Jane Austen fan fiction world. I’ve read a LOT of Pride and Prejudice retellings from Darcy’s viewpoint and find many of them choppy. Choppy in the sense that you can tell where the split between Austen’s original text and the author’s new ideas begin. Kelley does a fantastic job of seamlessly transitioning her interpretations of what Darcy’s feeling with Austen’s original story text. Kelley’s interpretations of Darcy’s thoughts and misconceptions are all excellently thought out and written. Rarely have I felt like I was reading Austen’s own version of P&P told via Darcy instead of Elizabeth.
I truly enjoyed when Lady Catherine came to Darcy’s townhouse, revealing the outcome of her meeting with Elizabeth. The joy that Darcy feels upon hearing Elizabeth’s remarks are entirely palpable to the reader. My heart was ready to leap out of its chest as he made his anxious return to Hertfordshire. Kelley’s ability to translate his despair, anxiety, depression, happiness, etc to the written word is one that must be highly commended.
My one complaint was that I felt like the ending was cut short. Granted, it was beautifully written, but it just felt abrupt. I would have enjoyed a bit more story, but that’s just me. I can’t get enough of Lizzy and Darcy’s story. Maybe Kelley has more in store for us? Time will tell. We can only hope that her subsequent work is as exciting and as detailed as His Good Opinion is!
Kimberly (Reflections of a Book Addict)
http://wp.me/p18lIL-KE
November 23, 2011
I have read a couple of Pride and Prejudice retellings from Darcy's point of view and I must say I loved this one!
His Good Opinion starts out just before Ramsgate where Darcy surprises Georgiana with a visit and ruins Wickman's plan to elope with her. Nancy Kelley is able to expand on some of the conversations that I always wished Jane Austen would have done.
Can I just say, I love this Darcy! I love being in his head, knowing his thoughts. We see him reflecting on what Elizabeth said when she refused him. He begins to notice how he treats people beneath him. I also like the relationship he has with Georgiana, he confides in her more.
Another favorite of mine is Colonel Fitzwilliam. I delight in the banter between him and Darcy. This is the Colonel Fitzwilliam that I like! He's funny, charming and loves to tease Darcy. There were times he had me laughing out loud.
This is Nancy Kelley's first novel and a beautiful story. A definite must read! She is currently working on another story about Colonel Fitzwilliam that I can't wait to read!
His Good Opinion starts out just before Ramsgate where Darcy surprises Georgiana with a visit and ruins Wickman's plan to elope with her. Nancy Kelley is able to expand on some of the conversations that I always wished Jane Austen would have done.
Can I just say, I love this Darcy! I love being in his head, knowing his thoughts. We see him reflecting on what Elizabeth said when she refused him. He begins to notice how he treats people beneath him. I also like the relationship he has with Georgiana, he confides in her more.
Another favorite of mine is Colonel Fitzwilliam. I delight in the banter between him and Darcy. This is the Colonel Fitzwilliam that I like! He's funny, charming and loves to tease Darcy. There were times he had me laughing out loud.
This is Nancy Kelley's first novel and a beautiful story. A definite must read! She is currently working on another story about Colonel Fitzwilliam that I can't wait to read!
September 21, 2021
Good Book
Had read before but enjoyed it. I don't
Like the variations when Lydia and Wickham marry thats like rewarding them both for bad behavior
Had read before but enjoyed it. I don't
Like the variations when Lydia and Wickham marry thats like rewarding them both for bad behavior
May 17, 2021
I heard about this book from Modern Mrs Darcy and knew I would enjoy it. I have previously read and loved Unequal Affections with also tells the Pride and Prejudice story from a new perspective. I bought this book when I couldn't find it at my library or on my library apps. I really enjoyed it!
Jumbled thoughts:
*Getting inside Darcy's head is so fun and actually surprising as well. I enjoyed how Kelley built his affections for Elizabeth and how his pride really does get in the way of how he sees the world. The fact that he really thinks she will accept him the first time is very well developed. I loved how he misreads many things she says and the looks she gives him. But that second half is pure enjoyment. I loved how Darcy really seeks to change for the better. To connect with his tenant farmers and to actually listen to his friends. To apologize when needed and be truthful upfront. To get to know people rather than judging them by their station in life. Darcy's transformation held many good lessons for us all.
*It was fun to read so many lines from the original in this story. I enjoyed seeing the scenes that I have loved retold from his point of view. The first half was a bit slower for me. Perhaps just the action is a bit slow but Darcy's first visit to Netherfield was not as engaging as later visits to Rosings and of course to Pemberley. I did find the very start of the book to be very intriguing with Darcy discovering Wickham's design on his sister Georgiana. That background was very helpful in shaping his character and actions throughout the book.
*I loved the added scenes that give us a fuller picture of Darcy. Certainly these are all fictitious themselves. But seeing those early interactions between Georgiana and Darcy after he saves her from Wickham's deceptions were so endearing. And his private conversations with Colonel Fitzwilliam and the Gardners were also so enjoyable and helped create a fuller understanding of him. His search and discovery of Wickham and Lydia is very well done. From the details with Mrs Younge and the way he convinces Wickham to marry her were very true to Austen's story I thought. I enjoyed seeing how much he was willing to do for Elizabeth. And perhaps the best part of all was the ending. When Elizabeth finally accepts his proposals and they are both so deliciously happy. I loved their conversations and the elaborated ways they discuss how much they mean to each other. I love that he is so protective of Elizabeth and all he does to protect her from his family (the connections between Lady Catherine's and Mrs Bennett's manners were fun in this one as well!)
I would call this the best type of escapist literature. The characters are familiar and the added point of view gives a richer picture of them rather than a totally new and unconnected one. I appreciate that it was true to the original and I loved the ending. I really enjoyed this one! And I bought the sequels so I can't wait to get back into Kelley's version of the Pride and Prejudice world :)
Jumbled thoughts:
*Getting inside Darcy's head is so fun and actually surprising as well. I enjoyed how Kelley built his affections for Elizabeth and how his pride really does get in the way of how he sees the world. The fact that he really thinks she will accept him the first time is very well developed. I loved how he misreads many things she says and the looks she gives him. But that second half is pure enjoyment. I loved how Darcy really seeks to change for the better. To connect with his tenant farmers and to actually listen to his friends. To apologize when needed and be truthful upfront. To get to know people rather than judging them by their station in life. Darcy's transformation held many good lessons for us all.
*It was fun to read so many lines from the original in this story. I enjoyed seeing the scenes that I have loved retold from his point of view. The first half was a bit slower for me. Perhaps just the action is a bit slow but Darcy's first visit to Netherfield was not as engaging as later visits to Rosings and of course to Pemberley. I did find the very start of the book to be very intriguing with Darcy discovering Wickham's design on his sister Georgiana. That background was very helpful in shaping his character and actions throughout the book.
*I loved the added scenes that give us a fuller picture of Darcy. Certainly these are all fictitious themselves. But seeing those early interactions between Georgiana and Darcy after he saves her from Wickham's deceptions were so endearing. And his private conversations with Colonel Fitzwilliam and the Gardners were also so enjoyable and helped create a fuller understanding of him. His search and discovery of Wickham and Lydia is very well done. From the details with Mrs Younge and the way he convinces Wickham to marry her were very true to Austen's story I thought. I enjoyed seeing how much he was willing to do for Elizabeth. And perhaps the best part of all was the ending. When Elizabeth finally accepts his proposals and they are both so deliciously happy. I loved their conversations and the elaborated ways they discuss how much they mean to each other. I love that he is so protective of Elizabeth and all he does to protect her from his family (the connections between Lady Catherine's and Mrs Bennett's manners were fun in this one as well!)
I would call this the best type of escapist literature. The characters are familiar and the added point of view gives a richer picture of them rather than a totally new and unconnected one. I appreciate that it was true to the original and I loved the ending. I really enjoyed this one! And I bought the sequels so I can't wait to get back into Kelley's version of the Pride and Prejudice world :)
October 17, 2022
Darcy is at times obsessive and possessive in this one. He seems more like a teenage boy than an almost thirty year old man. There was a LOT of blushing, eyes fluttering, and jaw dropping between the him and Lizzy. My favorite part was when he was getting rejected and had to grip the mantle to avoid toppling over. Get a grip Darcy.
I loved the secret agent cousin Fitzwilliam thing going on but it was so random and not expanded on. I wish we got more context on that; it was brought up so abruptly and then never mentioned again (which was just funny but I don’t think that was the intended effect). Also I don’t like him with Georgiana, and it seemed like that was where this book was going with them. He is her *guardian* and looked after her like a brother… it’s just weird.
I will say I was a bit happier with the Lady Catherine scene than I was in the other book. I think how well the angry Lady Catherine scene is done is my ultimate litmus test to how much I enjoy these retellings. But I don’t think this one was really worth it.
I loved the secret agent cousin Fitzwilliam thing going on but it was so random and not expanded on. I wish we got more context on that; it was brought up so abruptly and then never mentioned again (which was just funny but I don’t think that was the intended effect). Also I don’t like him with Georgiana, and it seemed like that was where this book was going with them. He is her *guardian* and looked after her like a brother… it’s just weird.
I will say I was a bit happier with the Lady Catherine scene than I was in the other book. I think how well the angry Lady Catherine scene is done is my ultimate litmus test to how much I enjoy these retellings. But I don’t think this one was really worth it.
June 17, 2024
This retelling of Pride and Prejudice from Mr. Darcy's viewpoint is incredibly well done!
The author paid homage to the original book by scrupulously sticking to the timeline and events, while only telling the parts of the story of which Mr. Darcy would have knowledge (ie, not things that occurred in the Bennet household when he was not present). It also includes events in Mr. Darcy's life that were not told in the original, and these additions are consistent with the times, the lifestyles and the scruples of a man of his ranking in that society.
I enjoyed this book very much and recommend it to any fans of the original!
The author paid homage to the original book by scrupulously sticking to the timeline and events, while only telling the parts of the story of which Mr. Darcy would have knowledge (ie, not things that occurred in the Bennet household when he was not present). It also includes events in Mr. Darcy's life that were not told in the original, and these additions are consistent with the times, the lifestyles and the scruples of a man of his ranking in that society.
I enjoyed this book very much and recommend it to any fans of the original!
May 5, 2021
I stumbled upon this book on a list created for the Modern Mrs. Darcy blog that recommended 30 books for Jane Austen fans. It's a retelling of P&P from Mr. Darcy's perspective, and it was good fun to get into Darcy's head this time around. If you're an Austen fan and still upset with her for only writing 6 novels, give this light and easy read a try.
Read
October 20, 2024it did exactly what it needed to, by which i mean that i enjoyed how fluffy and light-hearted it was. i wouldn't say its a great book, but it is a guaranteed fun time. mr darcy is a complete simp and i just kept thinking to myself "how can i get one of those for myself".
March 3, 2013
I've never much bothered with Jane Austen sequels/prequels/spinoffs/variations, besides to pick them up in bookshops and be amused by their premises for a few minutes before I got annoyed with the writing style and quality. But for various reasons I decided to go looking for one, determined to read it all the way through, and found this one consistently highly rated both here and on Amazon. And I read it, didn't hate it, and even finished it!
I went back and forth on it a lot while reading it, sometimes snorting out loud when something struck me as improbably and sometimes sighing and giggling at some particularly apt or delightful turn of phrase or observation on Mr Darcy's part. I liked the author's style quite a bit, for reasons that I believe can be distilled down into these two main points:
1) Having written fanfiction myself, I know how blasted difficult it can be to incorporate verbatim dialogue into a scene from a different point of view from the original, and I admire how she managed it in "His Good Opinion." I thought that the transitions from original scenes into scenes we already knew were handled gracefully, without seeming too abrupt, like "Where did this come from?" or too obvious, like "Oh I totally know where this is going." Although we all, of course, knew where it was going, it didn't seem to me to be a foregone conclusion.
2) I appreciate that she did not try to emulate Jane Austen's style in general, but the dialogue still felt authentic.* The movie version of Abe Lincoln: Vampire Hunter displays to perfection the trap this book did NOT fall into; where the well-known speeches are kept in tact, but between the intervals of historically accurate oration, the characters talk and behave anachronistically. Well done.
In all, this work was clearly born of a deep-seated love of the original, which is I think the root its success (where "success" is understood to mean "my own personal enjoyment of it"); it honored the original story and didn't deviate from the events or spirit of that story at all that I could find. I am amused and intrigued by AUs as much as the next fangirl, but I prefer something like this that offers a different take on an already-known story. I particularly loved the end when Darcy returned to Netherfield with Bingley; knowing how painful those few visits were for Eliza and frequently wanting to yell at Mr Darcy over the course of those few pages, I felt very silly for never having considered how she was coming across to Darcy, and now heartily forgive him for being so reserved. He was embarassed, poor man! And some of the ways in which he began to recognize his pride and vanity after his proposal was rejected - such as his tenants surprise when he called on them, etc - were spot on a very interesting. I loved getting to see more of his home life.
In conclusion, I really enjoyed this book. I haven't quite hammered out my own rating system yet, but I marked it as 3 stars for a few reasons.
I did enjoy it, but I also found myself skimming a fair bit; it seemed like the book could really have benefitted from a bit more brutal editing than it got - Darcy tended to repeat himself, especially in his raptures about Elizabeth, and I frequently found myself thinking, "Didn't Darcy just have this same thought a page or two back?" I appreciate and accept that the purpose of such a book is to explore Mr Darcy's motives and thoughts and make him less of a mystery to us than in the original, but the result in some places was tell-don't-show exposition. There were also a few - not many but a few - points where a word or phrase struck me as potentially modern or out of place. I try to give the author the benefit of the doubt and assume that everything she put in was well-researched, but it leads me to my next stumbling point.
The asterisk above where I said the dialogue felt authentic: For the most part that was true, but I had trouble envisioning and believing some of the interactions between Darcy and Fitzwilliam, particularly, and to a lesser extent Darcy and Bingley. The author mostly has my forgiveness for this, however, as we really don't have access to any examples of interactions between men in her writings. The case is, though, that I both balked at their use of each others' first names while feeling like their interactions were uncomfortably formal. I have a hard time explaining my objections any clearer than that, though, so I guess for now I'll assume that some of the problem is on my end; maybe I'm too much used to the original novel that anything outside of the scope of it just strikes me as odd, and maybe I'd get over it if I read more JA-offshoots and accepted that that's just how these things are.
All in all, I'm glad to have read "His Good Opinion."
I went back and forth on it a lot while reading it, sometimes snorting out loud when something struck me as improbably and sometimes sighing and giggling at some particularly apt or delightful turn of phrase or observation on Mr Darcy's part. I liked the author's style quite a bit, for reasons that I believe can be distilled down into these two main points:
1) Having written fanfiction myself, I know how blasted difficult it can be to incorporate verbatim dialogue into a scene from a different point of view from the original, and I admire how she managed it in "His Good Opinion." I thought that the transitions from original scenes into scenes we already knew were handled gracefully, without seeming too abrupt, like "Where did this come from?" or too obvious, like "Oh I totally know where this is going." Although we all, of course, knew where it was going, it didn't seem to me to be a foregone conclusion.
2) I appreciate that she did not try to emulate Jane Austen's style in general, but the dialogue still felt authentic.* The movie version of Abe Lincoln: Vampire Hunter displays to perfection the trap this book did NOT fall into; where the well-known speeches are kept in tact, but between the intervals of historically accurate oration, the characters talk and behave anachronistically. Well done.
In all, this work was clearly born of a deep-seated love of the original, which is I think the root its success (where "success" is understood to mean "my own personal enjoyment of it"); it honored the original story and didn't deviate from the events or spirit of that story at all that I could find. I am amused and intrigued by AUs as much as the next fangirl, but I prefer something like this that offers a different take on an already-known story. I particularly loved the end when Darcy returned to Netherfield with Bingley; knowing how painful those few visits were for Eliza and frequently wanting to yell at Mr Darcy over the course of those few pages, I felt very silly for never having considered how she was coming across to Darcy, and now heartily forgive him for being so reserved. He was embarassed, poor man! And some of the ways in which he began to recognize his pride and vanity after his proposal was rejected - such as his tenants surprise when he called on them, etc - were spot on a very interesting. I loved getting to see more of his home life.
In conclusion, I really enjoyed this book. I haven't quite hammered out my own rating system yet, but I marked it as 3 stars for a few reasons.
I did enjoy it, but I also found myself skimming a fair bit; it seemed like the book could really have benefitted from a bit more brutal editing than it got - Darcy tended to repeat himself, especially in his raptures about Elizabeth, and I frequently found myself thinking, "Didn't Darcy just have this same thought a page or two back?" I appreciate and accept that the purpose of such a book is to explore Mr Darcy's motives and thoughts and make him less of a mystery to us than in the original, but the result in some places was tell-don't-show exposition. There were also a few - not many but a few - points where a word or phrase struck me as potentially modern or out of place. I try to give the author the benefit of the doubt and assume that everything she put in was well-researched, but it leads me to my next stumbling point.
The asterisk above where I said the dialogue felt authentic: For the most part that was true, but I had trouble envisioning and believing some of the interactions between Darcy and Fitzwilliam, particularly, and to a lesser extent Darcy and Bingley. The author mostly has my forgiveness for this, however, as we really don't have access to any examples of interactions between men in her writings. The case is, though, that I both balked at their use of each others' first names while feeling like their interactions were uncomfortably formal. I have a hard time explaining my objections any clearer than that, though, so I guess for now I'll assume that some of the problem is on my end; maybe I'm too much used to the original novel that anything outside of the scope of it just strikes me as odd, and maybe I'd get over it if I read more JA-offshoots and accepted that that's just how these things are.
All in all, I'm glad to have read "His Good Opinion."
December 31, 2013
Review Tally - based out of 5
OVERALL: 5 STARS (actually, it came out to 4.7, but let's round up)
Story/Plot: 5 - This is again, another version of Pride and Prejudice told through Mr. Darcy's POV. The gaps between the original P&P and the scenes added to explain more about Mr. Darcy are not as noticeable as in similar works. I will point out, and apologize if you consider this a SPOILER, the story actually opens up with Mr. Darcy leaving to go to Ramsgate and surprise his sister, Georgiana.
Re-read Value: 4 - I am always reading or re-reading P&P retellings/variations/sequels and I think this is one I will gladly come back to over and over again. I highly enjoyed it.
Continue Series: 5 - You might think that is so high a number, but since I have Loving Miss Darcy up on my Nook to read, and sitting right next to it, is Against His Will. I think we can safely agree I am reading the next one in the series. ;D
Characters: 5 - These are the same beloved characters from P&P but seen from the view point of Mr. Darcy. I rather like this version of Col. Fitzwilliam and am looking forward to reading his story in the next volume. It is my belief that Ms. Kelley might have finished this series with these three books and I believe at the end I might be sad about this. After reading Anne de Bourgh in this volume, I have a huge sympathy for her and would like to see a spin off tale where she is rescued from Lady Catherine by some hot sexy man. But you know, in a regency way, not a historical romance way.
Cover: 5 - I like this cover. If I saw it in the store or while glancing through P&P retellings, I would give it a second glance. I would KNOW it's a P&P retelling and grab it. BTW, that's exactly what I did!
Genre Fulfillment: 5 - P&P retelling, through the eyes of Mr. Darcy, check.
Personal Involvement: 4 These are the characters I love. You're reading this review, but I have to be honest with you. Over the last few days, I have read 5 or more P&P variations/retellings/sequels and if you read my comment up in the continuing series box, you know I am jumping into the second volume of this series. I love P&P and I do need to admit, I am a little biased when it comes to reading these books. Mainly because I love this world and characters. Sometimes, like after reading this book here, His Good Opinion: A Mr. Darcy Novel, I left feeling euphoric, almost how I feel reading P&P itself. Sometimes it is a little less and sometimes I am left disappointed.
OVERALL: 5 STARS (actually, it came out to 4.7, but let's round up)
Story/Plot: 5 - This is again, another version of Pride and Prejudice told through Mr. Darcy's POV. The gaps between the original P&P and the scenes added to explain more about Mr. Darcy are not as noticeable as in similar works. I will point out, and apologize if you consider this a SPOILER, the story actually opens up with Mr. Darcy leaving to go to Ramsgate and surprise his sister, Georgiana.
Re-read Value: 4 - I am always reading or re-reading P&P retellings/variations/sequels and I think this is one I will gladly come back to over and over again. I highly enjoyed it.
Continue Series: 5 - You might think that is so high a number, but since I have Loving Miss Darcy up on my Nook to read, and sitting right next to it, is Against His Will. I think we can safely agree I am reading the next one in the series. ;D
Characters: 5 - These are the same beloved characters from P&P but seen from the view point of Mr. Darcy. I rather like this version of Col. Fitzwilliam and am looking forward to reading his story in the next volume. It is my belief that Ms. Kelley might have finished this series with these three books and I believe at the end I might be sad about this. After reading Anne de Bourgh in this volume, I have a huge sympathy for her and would like to see a spin off tale where she is rescued from Lady Catherine by some hot sexy man. But you know, in a regency way, not a historical romance way.
Cover: 5 - I like this cover. If I saw it in the store or while glancing through P&P retellings, I would give it a second glance. I would KNOW it's a P&P retelling and grab it. BTW, that's exactly what I did!
Genre Fulfillment: 5 - P&P retelling, through the eyes of Mr. Darcy, check.
Personal Involvement: 4 These are the characters I love. You're reading this review, but I have to be honest with you. Over the last few days, I have read 5 or more P&P variations/retellings/sequels and if you read my comment up in the continuing series box, you know I am jumping into the second volume of this series. I love P&P and I do need to admit, I am a little biased when it comes to reading these books. Mainly because I love this world and characters. Sometimes, like after reading this book here, His Good Opinion: A Mr. Darcy Novel, I left feeling euphoric, almost how I feel reading P&P itself. Sometimes it is a little less and sometimes I am left disappointed.
December 29, 2011
A classic retold through the eyes of the sometimes pompous and often prideful Darcy Fitzwilliam. His Good Opinion answers the question, what was Darcy’s side of the story? Pride and Prejudice leaves much to the imagination. Was Darcy truly has prejudiced as he seemed and what were his intentions in his first proposal to Elizabeth Bennet? A true and timeless love story now told through the eyes of the undeniably dreamy Darcy.
Truth be told, I’m not a huge fan of classic literature. Sadly, I think my high school years ruined any hope I had of loving these timeless tales. One exception to this would without a doubt be Pride and Prejudice. Jane Austen is quite possibly the original “Queen of Chick Lit” and as such perfected the art of romance. Any reader who has read and fallen in love with the journey of Darcy and Elizabeth has at one time or another wondered what exactly was going through his head during that first proposal? Not to mention the countless other occasions they met and perplexing situations arose. To have the opportunity to peek into the mind of our leading man is priceless indeed.
His Good Opinion was surprisingly well written. Had I not known previously I would have assumed this was a hidden gem originally written by Jane Austen herself. Nancy Kelley has perfected the language, setting, time and feeling of this most treasured novel. Of course, as a fan of the original my most anticipated scenes were the first & second proposals as well as the occasion when Darcy leaves to rescue Elizabeth’s sister Lydia. Each of these scenes were beyond perfect and exactly what I was hoping for.
Reading His Good Opinion by Nancy Kelley is similar to having the opportunity to re-read an old favorite classic all over again for the first time. Readers of Pride and Prejudice will fall in love all over again as your venture into the mind of the beloved Darcy. His prejudice, pride and pompous behavior are exactly what one would expect, but it’s his journey falling in love with Elizabeth that makes His Good Opinion a must read. This is a quintessential companion to the original “Chick Lit” novel Pride and Prejudice, and I’m certain long time fans as well as new readers will absolutely adore this new take on a classic love story.
Originally reviewed and copyrighted at my site, Chick Lit Reviews and News.
Truth be told, I’m not a huge fan of classic literature. Sadly, I think my high school years ruined any hope I had of loving these timeless tales. One exception to this would without a doubt be Pride and Prejudice. Jane Austen is quite possibly the original “Queen of Chick Lit” and as such perfected the art of romance. Any reader who has read and fallen in love with the journey of Darcy and Elizabeth has at one time or another wondered what exactly was going through his head during that first proposal? Not to mention the countless other occasions they met and perplexing situations arose. To have the opportunity to peek into the mind of our leading man is priceless indeed.
His Good Opinion was surprisingly well written. Had I not known previously I would have assumed this was a hidden gem originally written by Jane Austen herself. Nancy Kelley has perfected the language, setting, time and feeling of this most treasured novel. Of course, as a fan of the original my most anticipated scenes were the first & second proposals as well as the occasion when Darcy leaves to rescue Elizabeth’s sister Lydia. Each of these scenes were beyond perfect and exactly what I was hoping for.
Reading His Good Opinion by Nancy Kelley is similar to having the opportunity to re-read an old favorite classic all over again for the first time. Readers of Pride and Prejudice will fall in love all over again as your venture into the mind of the beloved Darcy. His prejudice, pride and pompous behavior are exactly what one would expect, but it’s his journey falling in love with Elizabeth that makes His Good Opinion a must read. This is a quintessential companion to the original “Chick Lit” novel Pride and Prejudice, and I’m certain long time fans as well as new readers will absolutely adore this new take on a classic love story.
Originally reviewed and copyrighted at my site, Chick Lit Reviews and News.
July 30, 2013
Ever since the first time I read Pride and Prejudice, I have wondered what was going on behind Darcy's enigmatic expressions and silent staring and what happened during all those times he was away from Elizabeth. I know I was not the only one and I am so glad to see that someone with writing talent took up their pen to tackle this. I allowed myself to have high expectations when I realized that this Pride and Prejudice story was going to stick close to the original. I was not disappointed. Nancy Kelley's Darcy was convincing as the man whom Jane Austen wrote.
I will not summarize the plot as it is familiar to all of us, but highlight where there were differences. This one began at the point that Darcy discovers Wickham's treachery in Ramsgate with Georgiana and continues with Darcy and the Colonel trying to help Georgiana through this trouble. It takes him through his stay at Netherfield and back to London. It took us to his stay at Hunsford and what happened from his perspective and back to London and then to Pemberley for the second fateful meeting with Elizabeth and back to London to rescue Lydia. It wrapped up at Netherfield again.
Each moment is like reading a new story, but not because Darcy's perspective is so different from Lizzy's. Even knowing what would transpire, I was struck by the freshness that having silent and yet warmly sympathetic Darcy's point of view was. Kelley's Darcy felt spot on and I was so into him that at times I was irritated with Elizabeth for not seeing the good man he really was, but at the same time this story offered up such a wonderful perspective on his growth arc that I was in charity with her once again to see how she was a significant part in making him a better version of himself.
The extra time with Georgiana, Col. Fitz and even the Bingleys was just icing on the cake.
All in all, this was a fab read and I highly recommend it for all the Austeneque lovers out there and even those who tend toward being purists.
I will not summarize the plot as it is familiar to all of us, but highlight where there were differences. This one began at the point that Darcy discovers Wickham's treachery in Ramsgate with Georgiana and continues with Darcy and the Colonel trying to help Georgiana through this trouble. It takes him through his stay at Netherfield and back to London. It took us to his stay at Hunsford and what happened from his perspective and back to London and then to Pemberley for the second fateful meeting with Elizabeth and back to London to rescue Lydia. It wrapped up at Netherfield again.
Each moment is like reading a new story, but not because Darcy's perspective is so different from Lizzy's. Even knowing what would transpire, I was struck by the freshness that having silent and yet warmly sympathetic Darcy's point of view was. Kelley's Darcy felt spot on and I was so into him that at times I was irritated with Elizabeth for not seeing the good man he really was, but at the same time this story offered up such a wonderful perspective on his growth arc that I was in charity with her once again to see how she was a significant part in making him a better version of himself.
The extra time with Georgiana, Col. Fitz and even the Bingleys was just icing on the cake.
All in all, this was a fab read and I highly recommend it for all the Austeneque lovers out there and even those who tend toward being purists.
July 5, 2012
"It is a truth universally acknowledged..." yadda yadda yadda...Now I love (like totally) Jane Austen. I have read each of her books MULTIPLE times and according to my GR book lists have read 42 "Jane-Austen-esque" books so it is no surprise that I read this. What is a surprise is that I actually liked it quite a bit.
Now don't get too excited though - there really isn't too much original material in this book. This is supposed to be Pride and Prejudice written from the perspective of Mr. Darcy. The whole point of books like this is for the author to be to explore the time between Darcy's 1st marriage proposal and meeting Elizabeth again during her tour of Derbyshire. In JA's original P&P this time in Darcy's life is not covered as she stays with Elizabeth's story. Rewriting the story from Mr. Darcy's POV provides an opportunity to reveal Darcy's true thoughts and personality during one of the most emotional and trying points in his life. Only Nancy Kelley doesn't really use this opportunity as much as she could. This part of the book felt like one of the shortest parts!! I just didn't really get that at all.
Also, it wasn't as in depth emotionally as I expected it. Yes we got glimpses into Darcy's thoughts and reasoning, but as it was supposed to be his POV I expected it to be much more detailed.
Otherwise she stayed very true to JA's original and really tried to portray Darcy in what I think JA saw him as. Unlike other P&P rewrites from Darcy's perspective like The Private Diary of Mr. Darcy which turns Darcy into a totally different character. So I still think JA fans would enjoy this version of P&P from his mind just because we all love a bit of Darcy and Elizabeth love fluff! LOL!
Now don't get too excited though - there really isn't too much original material in this book. This is supposed to be Pride and Prejudice written from the perspective of Mr. Darcy. The whole point of books like this is for the author to be to explore the time between Darcy's 1st marriage proposal and meeting Elizabeth again during her tour of Derbyshire. In JA's original P&P this time in Darcy's life is not covered as she stays with Elizabeth's story. Rewriting the story from Mr. Darcy's POV provides an opportunity to reveal Darcy's true thoughts and personality during one of the most emotional and trying points in his life. Only Nancy Kelley doesn't really use this opportunity as much as she could. This part of the book felt like one of the shortest parts!! I just didn't really get that at all.
Also, it wasn't as in depth emotionally as I expected it. Yes we got glimpses into Darcy's thoughts and reasoning, but as it was supposed to be his POV I expected it to be much more detailed.
Otherwise she stayed very true to JA's original and really tried to portray Darcy in what I think JA saw him as. Unlike other P&P rewrites from Darcy's perspective like The Private Diary of Mr. Darcy which turns Darcy into a totally different character. So I still think JA fans would enjoy this version of P&P from his mind just because we all love a bit of Darcy and Elizabeth love fluff! LOL!
September 5, 2016
I thought this book would be a fun way to pass the time...It was a fun read; it paralleled Pride & Prejudice very closely and I thought it did a pretty good job giving some believable insight into Mr. Darcy's point of view. Of course the writing style doesn't come close to the perfection that is Jane Austen - she sometimes uses cliches that are pretty anachronistic ("giddy as a schoolgirl" or "cut my losses and search for greener pastures") - but it was a page-turner and an entertaining re-telling of a story of which I will probably never grow tired. With expectations not too high, I enjoyed it.
March 25, 2012
Had the opportunity to catch this on my kindle as a one day special offer from author Nancy Kelley. Pleased I did ~
fun following Darcy's thoughts on the now well known actions and activities of his fellow characters from Jane Austen's P&P. Nancy gives us behind the scenes interpretations from Darcy's perspective or from the DIMH [Darcy in my head] as Nancy says :)
a few editing corrections would benefit reading ease, but ignoring them is your other option.
another addition to your Austenesque reading list for sure ~ EnJoy...
fun following Darcy's thoughts on the now well known actions and activities of his fellow characters from Jane Austen's P&P. Nancy gives us behind the scenes interpretations from Darcy's perspective or from the DIMH [Darcy in my head] as Nancy says :)
a few editing corrections would benefit reading ease, but ignoring them is your other option.
another addition to your Austenesque reading list for sure ~ EnJoy...
May 29, 2012
I honestly could not stop reading this book. I don't know what else to say other than I loved it! I loved seeing Mr. Darcys side of the story of when he meets his beloved Elizabeth.
Nancy Kelley, I sure hope you write more books relating to Pride and Prejudice, especially about the wedding. :) A lot of authors have attempted to write "sequels" to P&P, but I sure hope that Nancy Kelley plans on writing one *hint hint* :P
Nancy Kelley, I sure hope you write more books relating to Pride and Prejudice, especially about the wedding. :) A lot of authors have attempted to write "sequels" to P&P, but I sure hope that Nancy Kelley plans on writing one *hint hint* :P
December 9, 2011
Reading P&P from Darcy's perspective has always been enjoyable. Nancy Kelley does a fabulous job of carrying off Darcy's voice. She portrays him just the way I would feel we should view him. All the trials he feels in coming to the final truth is wonderful in his thoughts and how he overcomes his prejudices. Well done Nancy! Definitely a read that any Jane Austen fan should read.
May 23, 2023
I thoroughly loved this book. It was very well written and matched the character that we have grown to love. To imagine what he must have been thinking and going through gives us new insight into a part of the story we did not get before. We also get to see his awareness of his faults and his correcting them. If you love Pride and Prejudice you will love this book.
April 20, 2016
If you love Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, you will certainly enjoy Nancy Kelley's His Good Opinion.
The book follows the events and Pride and Prejudice but from Mr. Darcy's perspective. The scenes in Longbourn, Netherfield Park, Rosings, London, and Pemberley are enriched by this retelling.
The book follows the events and Pride and Prejudice but from Mr. Darcy's perspective. The scenes in Longbourn, Netherfield Park, Rosings, London, and Pemberley are enriched by this retelling.
September 9, 2016
This was a fun quick read. I loved reading the Pride and Prejudice story from Darcy's point of view. It was fun to see things from his perspective and have some of the gaps in the story filled in so to speak. The author did a fine job of writing like the period, even using "Austenisms" and sometimes quoting word for word from the original.
February 16, 2014
I love Pride and Prejudice, and of course Mr. Darcy. I thought this retelling from the viewpoint of Mr. Darcy stayed true to the language, plot and essence of the original. It was enlightening and refreshing to get in the mind of Mr. D, and I fell in love with him all over again ;) Elizabeth Bennett is a lucky woman!
April 30, 2012
I read this in 9 hours and loved it immensely.
dnf
January 22, 2016Not a dnf cos it was bad, but because it was the story from his POV. Meh
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