Colonel Brandon's Diary

Jane Austen Heroes #5

by Amanda Grange

A vibrant retelling of Sense and Sensibility , Grange's sweeping epic breathes new life into another of Austen's best-loved novels.

At the age of eighteen, James Brandon's world is shattered when the girl he loves, Eliza, is forced to marry his brother. In despair, he joins the army and leaves England for the East Indies for the next several years. Upon his return, he finds Eliza in a debtor's prison. He rescues her from her terrible situation, but she is dying of consumption and he can do nothing but watch and wait. Heartbroken at her death, he takes some consolation in her illegitimate daughter, who he raises as his ward. But at the age of fifteen, his ward goes missing. Devastated by the thought of what could have happened to her, he is surprised to find himself falling in love with Marianne Dashwood. But Marianne is falling in love with the charismatic Willoughby...

Genres: Romance, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Historical Romance, Regency, Retellings

304 pages, Paperback

First published July 31, 2008

About the author

Amanda Grange was born in Yorkshire and spent her teenage years reading Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer whilst also finding time to study music at Nottingham University. She has had twenty-five novels published including six Jane Austen retellings, which look at events from the heroes' points of view. She has also had two books published under different names: Murder at Whitegates Manor (as Eleanor Tyler; a Regency cosy crime murder mystery) and The Rake (as Amy Watson; a very light and frothy Regency romance).

Woman said of Mr Darcy's Diary: "Lots of fun, this is the tale behind the alpha male," whilst The Washington Post called Mr Knightley's Diary "affectionate". The Historical Novels Review made Captain Wentworth's Diary an Editors' Choice, remarking, "Amanda Grange has hit upon a winning formula."

Austenblog declared that Colonel Brandon's Diary was "the best book yet in her series of heroes' diaries."

Amanda Grange now lives in Cheshire. Her profile photo was taken at the Jane Austen House Museum, Chawton. The museum is well worth a visit!

You can find out more by visiting her website at http://www.amandagrange.com You can also follow her on Twitter @hromanceuk and find her on Facebook

Reviews

[Jennifer Gentry · Rating 4 out of 5]

WHAT YOU WON'T FIND IN THIS BOOK - Sex scenes. Many of the Austen continuations have them, making them unreadable for me. I appreciate Ms. Grange for NOT including them in her book!

[Stacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book starts off with an 18 year old Brandon being desperately in love with his father's ward, Eliza, who shares his feelings. Alas, they cannot marry due to his greedy father's plan of marrying Eliza to his older brother Harry instead.

Shocked and heartbroken, Brandon enlists in the army. After a few years he returns to find that his brother has divorced Eliza, who in turn has no choice but to rely on empty promises of other men. When Brandon finds her, she is dying of consumption. She has a daughter, also named Eliza, who will become Brandon's ward and later fall under the spell of Willoughby.

This part of the book is a fairly believable account of Brandon's past. As a young man he is passionate, strong, level-headed, romantic... and these qualities only get more refined as he gets older.

With Eliza settled in school, Brandon returns to the army. Over time he is promoted to Colonel. He has inherited Delaford upon the death of his elder brother, and decides to leave the army after a successful 9 year career. A few years later, Eliza runs away with Willoughby and the Dashwoods move into Barton Cottage.

So begins his love of Marianne. He is besotted with her from their very first meeting. Add compassionate patience to his admirable list of qualities, as he waits for her to get over her infatuation with Willoughby. He understands Marianne better than she herself does. Being the strong, silent type that he is, he waits, wanting to give her the world and loving her all the while. When she finally does come to her senses we are left without a doubt that these two people were made for each other. I closed the book feeling warm with their happiness!

Colonel Brandon is my third favorite Austen hero, and this book did not disappoint. The author captured the essence of Brandon very well. I liked getting a glimpse into his early years as well as his tragic first romance that would mold him into the perfect match for Marianne.

Captain Wentworth's Diary remains my favorite.

[Mummy Cat Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have a terrible confession to make. It has been a very long time since I have read Sense and Sensibility.


I know! I know!

I loved what Grange came up with. She kept true to all the characters that Austen created. I liked how the reader was able to get to know Col. Brandon better. His relationships were well developed, easy to follow and make sense.

I wanted to read this book. I had to know what happened next. At first, I thought this book was going to be more about his relationship with Eliza and less about Marianne but I was so wrong. There was a bit of a slow start to the book but by the end of the book I was so happy to have read everything.

Grange did an excellent job in organizing her book. I love the way she took the diary form and developed her story. Grange had a talent with writing in Diary form. I don't know the technical term but she so good at it. Even though I know Col. Brandon from the original, Grange is capable of extending him. He comes to life again through her pages. Grange did an excellent job at writing this book. I have come across several books, written like this one, that are not well written. The difference is substantial.

Out of all the characters of Austen's, I am the most like Marianne. I really found several similarities to myself in this book and I love what Grange added to it.

Overall, for all Austen fans, I highly recommend this book. I can't say it enough. Things make so much sense and it really feels like a REAL extension to the original. Loved it! I have read Mr. Knightly's diary as well and would recommend that, too. I really, really need to read Sense and Sensibility again.

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was entertaining. It was interesting to read the prequel events that made Col. Brandon an Austen hero worth rooting for.

[Rebecca May · Rating 4 out of 5]

OK, to begin with I just want to make a couple of things clear. One – the fact that I gave this Diary four stars does not mean that it won't be worth five stars to some people; it just didn’t live up to my expectations, which were admittedly high. Two – the fact that some of the other Diaries are rated higher does not mean that Colonel Brandon is not my favourite Austen hero. WHICH HE IS. (OK, on a good day Henry Tilney is his equal, but I don’t need to admit that, do I?) And three – this review will contain spoilers for Sense and Sensibility, but I don’t know why you would read Colonel Brandon’s Diary if you hadn’t read the original to begin with. Right. Now that we’ve cleared that up I can get on to actually reviewing the book.

From what I have observed of Amanda Grange’s writing, I am of the opinion that she works best when she has a pretty good idea of what happened behind the scenes. Because of course, in stories like Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion, or Emma, we essentially know from the original what must have happened behind the scenes. As you will see from my other reviews of the Diaries, Amanda Grange handles those back-stories unbelievably well. But Sense and Sensibility is a little more ambiguous in its background, and I think that Amanda Grange floundered slightly when faced with that challenge.

So then, to the first section of the book, showing Brandon as a young man in love with his father’s ward, Eliza. I think what Amanda Grange did best in this Diary is showing us how young Brandon was still the same Brandon we’d always known, but how something inside him was lost when he lost Eliza. Grange does a beautiful job of showing James Brandon’s and Eliza’s time together, but it felt brief and a little hurried to me. The whole sequence where Eliza is taken away from Brandon was very sad, yes, especially as we had been shown how awful James’ father and brother were. But again, I didn’t feel that the parting was the heart-wrenching affair it could have been with better quality and more confident writing.

The next section is probably the part of the book that I have the biggest problem with. Grange deals with Brandon’s time in the West Indie’s with diary entries that are few and far between, and seem rather superfluous, only put in to briefly show the reader how James becomes friends with Sir John Middleton, and puts in little bits of news that we need to know. Though I do not pretend to be a better nor more experienced writer than Ms Grange, I would have thought that it would have been more constructive to skip those intervening years, and have Brandon pick up another diary upon his return to England, with a longer introductory entry to catch us up on the few essentials we’ve missed. I mean, did we really need to know how Brandon saw an elephant? Gosh, how exciting.

The part where Brandon finds Eliza dying in a poor house is beautifully written, but again I felt it did not reach its full potential. For example, when Eliza died, there was a very short entry, something along the lines of; ”Eliza is dead. She died in my arms. Oh God, Eliza!” Yeah, that was all, in essence. I personally felt a bit robbed at that point. It would have been far more powerful to have a painful, beautiful, sad, tear-ridden entry of Brandon’s, an outpouring of his emotions upon her death. Brandon is a very deep character, and - particularly in the instance of Eliza’s death - I felt that Grange was not entirely capable of portraying his depth at times.

The second half of the book improves considerably as Grange is on more solid ground in terms of back-story. She does a wonderful job of showing us how the “young Brandon” fits into the “older Brandon” – he doesn’t become a new person, which is good. The other great job that Grange does in terms of characterization is the villain, Willoughby – something she consistently does well in the other Diaries as well. She manages to show us how despicable Willoughby is through the eyes of Brandon, yet how he can be such a knight in shining armour for Marianne for a time. One of the most touching and perhaps chilling scenes of the book is the duel between Brandon and Willoughby – and (spoiler alert) Brandon very contemptuously spares Willoughby’s life for Marianne’s sake, by firing his gun into the air. Amazing scene – you realize that Brandon has probably killed in the Army before, and was entirely capable of killing Willoughby for how he treated Eliza and Marianne. And yet his love is stronger than his anger, which is what makes the scene so touching.

My last complaint is that I think at one point Amanda Grange slightly misjudged Marianne’s character – but perhaps that’s just me. For the most part she got Marianne’s character right, but I honestly do not believe that Marianne is rude enough to tell Colonel Brandon to his face just how cold and unfeeling she thought him before he helped her – or words to that effect. And I think it was also slightly out of character for Brandon to not feel any pain at all at Marianne’s description of him. However his immediate forgiveness of her, or his ignoring of her faults, is certainly in character.

Aside from that instance, Grange’s characterisation was great on all fronts. Her description was also beautiful – not to mention the cover of the book, which was also very pretty. The Diary was well set out and dated (aside from the Unfortunate Incident of the Elephant in the West Indies).

Colonel Brandon’s Diary was a beautiful book, fully deserving of the four stars I have given it. But I just didn’t feel that the Diary lived up to the wealth of depth, sentiment and beautiful romanticism present in Colonel Brandon, and for that reason - for me at least - the book does not deserve five stars.

[Callixta · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://blue-moon.fr/spip.php?article7955

Avis de Callixta

Dans les innombrables auteures qui ont voulu écrire la suite d’un livre ou le point de vue de l’un des personnages de Jane Austen, voilà sans doute une qui atteint son but, surtout dans ce roman qui présente un des personnages secondaires les plus émouvants et réussis de l’oeuvre de la célèbre romancière britannique qui n’a jamais été aussi en vogue qu’en ce moment. En effet, Amanda Grange nous propose le point de vue du colonel Brandon dans Raison et Sentiments, cet homme loyal, silencieux et follement amoureux de la sœur de l’héroïne, Marianne Dashwood.

Il n’est pas besoin de connaître l’oeuvre de Jane Austen pour apprécier ce livre, il y a sans doute même une forme de découverte de son histoire que n’éprouvent pas les lecteurs qui ont lu le roman de Jane Austen. Sachez cependant que l’histoire respecte scrupuleusement le texte original et ne permet que de faire surgie ce personnage peu charismatique apparemment et qui n’avait qu’un rôle secondaire mais pourtant indispensable. Le talent de Jane Austen est tel qu’elle a laissé la place au développement de telles histoires inspirées d’un personnage qui n’avait pourtant pas cette vocation.

Amanda Grange va peu à peu faire surgir cet homme de l’ombre qu’il affectionne car le Colonel Brandon n’est pas expansif, pas un grand séducteur comme d’autres hommes dans l’oeuvre de Jane Austen. Il est d’ailleurs le parfait contrepoint du séduisant et creux Willoughby, vil suborneur de jeune fille et dont s’éprend la romantique et sensible Marianne. Amanda Grange revient sur la jeunesse de cet homme qu’on découvre déjà mûr dans le roman de Jane Austen et nous conte les grandes étapes de sa vie, au fil d’un journal qui commence aux alentours de ses dix-huit ans et se terminera, avec le roman Raison et Sentiments alors qu’il approche la quarantaine.

Le Colonel Brandon est un personnage si romantique et touchant sous la plume de Jane Austen qu’Amanda Grange a beau jeu de nous conter sa si belle et émouvante histoire. Ses qualités apparaissent d’autant plus que nous avons cette fois son point de vue : sa patience, sa gentillesse , son attention aux autres qui le fait courir à l’aide des femmes de son entourage. Dans cette période où le déshonneur, la ruine, l’abandon voire les violences faites aux femmes sont si nombreux, il est une sorte d’ange-gardien, silencieux et discret que Jane Austen avait très bien mis en valeur. Nous le découvrons donc ici dans toute sa splendeur. Amanda Grange écrit bien, utilise remarquablement bien ce format du journal pour développer le point de vue de Brandon et met en pleine lumière ce personnage. Elle ajoute juste ce qu’il faut pour combler ce que nous ne savons pas de lui, s’appuyant sur Jane Austen et sa connaissance impeccable de son œuvre.

Evidemment, il ne s’agit pas d’une romance historique classique même s’il s’agit bien de trouver l’âme sœur pour le Colonel Brandon qui pensait l’avoir trouvé au début de sa vie d’adulte. Pas de passion exacerbée, ni de grandes aventures mais la vie de la Régence dans cette petit noblesse britannique qui était celle de Jane Austen. C’est autant l’histoire de ce personnage que son histoire d’amour mais c’est un superbe moment de lecture qui ne pourra que vous donner envie de lire ou relire Raison et Sentiments ou d’autres livres de cette auteure qui garde un petit air de modernité tout à fait étonnant aujourd’hui.

[Livresse de Lola · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,25/5, c’était vraiment vraiment une super bonne lecture !

Autant le journal de Mr Darcy m’avait déçue, autant celui-ci est une vraie réussite à mon goût.

J’ai été très rapidement prise dans l’histoire et j’ai trouvé que le temps passé sur chaque intrigue était très bien équilibré. Qu’il s’agisse d’Eliza, l’autre Eliza ou encore Marianne, on a pu approfondir chacune des péripéties s’en jamais s’ennuyer.

Le colonel Brandon est assez peu présent dans le roman original, avec son caractère qui semble un peu froid et effacé, mais j’ai trouvé qu’Amanda Grange était resté fidèle au personnage de l’intrigue principale et à ce que je m’en faisais comme idée. C’est vraiment mon personnage masculin préféré de Jane Austen, un véritable héros byronien !

J’ai enlevé des points car je n’ai pas eu de papillons dans le ventre comme j’ai pu en avoir pour le journal du Capitaine Wentworth, mais c’était quand même une superbe adaptation.

[Meredith (Austenesque Reviews) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Do you find Colonel Brandon romantic? Do you sometimes think he is better suited for Elinor than Marianne? Do you think he fell in love with Marianne because she resembles Eliza? Perhaps you'd like to get to know Colonel Brandon a little better and discover the answer for these questions yourself... If you are unfamiliar with this series, it is the retelling of Jane Austen's novels from the perspective of the male hero. No, it isn't all new and original material, but there is much understanding to gain by hearing the same story from another person's point-of-view. In “Colonel Brandon's Diary,” Amanda Grange brings us new insight and comprehension for the seemingly silent and grave Colonel Brandon. In addition, she illustrates a heartrending backstory of his tragic love affair with his father's ward, Eliza.

As a young man studying law at Oxford University, James Brandon is looking forward to only one thing on his holiday from school, and that is spending time with his beloved Eliza. He anticipates spending hours in her company, basking in their love for each other, and discussing future plans of marriage together. When his father announces that Eliza is to marry his libertine and alcoholic brother, James desperately seeks for a way to save Eliza from this fate and unsuccessfully attempts to elope with her. Unfortunately, James is unable to stop the marriage and in his anguish decides the best course for him is to join the army and leave England.

Fourteen years later Brandon returns to England and inherits Delaford since his father and brother have both passed away. The only family he has remaining is Eliza's orphaned daughter, also named Eliza, who spends most of her time away in a boarding school. Colonel Brandon takes on the position of estate owner with adroitness and determination, and he works on restoring and improving Delaford and the land surrounding it to its former state before his mother died. He establishes a nice quiet life for himself with friends, tenants, and a ward. Yet this quiet life of his he will soon discover is not complete...

Having read all the other books in this series, I was very eager to read “Colonel Brandon's Diary.” Although “Sense and Sensibility” is not my most favorite Austen novel and Colonel Brandon is not my most favorite hero, I was looking forward to seeing him in a new light and acquiring a new sense of appreciation for him. Ms. Grange did not disappoint, just like with “Captain Wentworth's Diary,” she created a viable and enlightening history for Colonel Brandon. I was delighted that she spent one third of the book outlining his life prior to meeting Marianne Dashwood, and I took pleasure in witnessing the emotional and poignant journey he experienced as a youth and observing how it impacted his character.

In “Sense and Sensibility,” Colonel Brandon is portrayed as a quiet and unassuming hero, not a dashing, passionate, and Byronic hero like Willoughby. However, after reading “Colonel Brandon's Diary,” the reader will conceive that Colonel Brandon, with his strong character, devotion, patience, and yearning for Marianne is one of the most romantic heroes Jane Austen created. I enjoyed the accurate characterization of Colonel Brandon as well as the seamless integration of “Sense and Sensibility” with Ms. Grange's original material. Ms. Grange always approaches Jane Austen's novels and characters respectfully and knowledgeably and I admire her creativity and perception. My only wish is that she would dig deeper into these characters, tell their story a little more leisurely with more specifics and details.

[Francesca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Colonel James Brandon, you're a sweetheart. <3

[Romanticamente Fantasy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Emanuela - per RFS
.
“…esiste ancora poesia nella vita, anche se l’ho trovata dove meno la cercavo. Ho imparato a guardare oltre la superficie delle cose e adesso credo che la nostra differenza di età non sia più tanto profonda, anzi, gli anni che ci separano sono un bene, perché voi avete molto da mostrarmi, non soltanto passeggiate e feste, per quanto mi siano gradite, bensì cose di gran lunga più significative. Willoughby era uno stagno poco profondo, mentre in voi ho trovato un fiume in cui nuotare. Non credete che alla nascita mi sia stato assegnato un destino straordinario?”





Sembra sorprendente come a distanza di più di duecento anni, i personaggi e le storie create dalla mente di una piccola donna vissuta nella provincia inglese che aveva sperimentato poche esperienze ma che le sapeva ben narrare, continuino a far sognare i lettori e producano festival, eventi ed emuli continui (con più o meno fortuna).

Perché è certo che eguagliare il fascino sottile delle storie di Jane Austen è diciamocelo, quasi impossibile, eppure in questa impresa riesce sempre e stupendamente Amanda Grange, che ci ha entusiasmato con il Diario di Mr Darcy e ora rende protagonista di una cronaca intima e profonda il Colonnello Brandon.

Nell’immaginario collettivo egli ha il volto di Alan Rickman e tale rimane; leggendo questo bel romanzo si rimane folgorati dalle sfumature, della storia e dai personaggi che l’autrice ci fa scoprire dimostrando una sensibilità e una perfetta conoscenza dell’opera della Austen.

L’amore cortese, modesto e immensamente profondo del Colonnello Brandon, uomo che ha tanto sofferto e che ha molto amato, si rivela in tutto il suo potenziale e si inserisce in un parterre di personaggi che racchiudono le piccolezze, la povertà spirituale e i grandi sentimenti della società britannica del 1800.

Non perdetevelo!

[Brenda Daae Destler · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very enjoyable read! I thought it was super interesting to be able to get Colonel Brandon’s perspective, and it was fun getting to read about the events that happen in between the periods when he’s present in Sense and Sensibility. Overall, I really enjoyed it, and I would definitely recommend it if you’re a fan of Sense and Sensibility!

[Terry Southard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable fluff. I like Austen fan fiction. I like the idea of the "heroes" backstories. I thought this one was well done, bringing a character that we don't really know much about in the original book to life. I don't think the diary format always works well, because it reads too much like a novel than real diary entries, but it's a different way to attempt what others have tried to do in more straightforward ways.

I liked it enough to check the next two out of the library. That says something!

[Gofita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amanda Grange pulls me in again. She's a great writer with a great feel for her source. And who hasn't wanted to know more about Col. Brandon and the love he lost and how that all brought him and Marianne together in Sense and Sensibility. Thank you, Ms. Grange, for letting me read fan fiction with pleasure!

[Elisewin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tutto sommato, mi è piaciuto. Non è male come ricostruzione del personaggio del colonnello Brandon, anche se non sono riuscita ad apprezzare proprio tutto. I dialoghi mi hanno dato l'impressione di essere troppo "moderni" e poco adatti alle persone che li pronunciavano.

Lo stile non era proprio tutto diaristico. Non riesco a capire se il titolo di diario venga affibbiato solo per far intendere quale sia il pov della storia o se intenda annunciare un vero e proprio diario nel quale il proprietario fa fluire pensieri e accadimenti della giornata. Da come vengono scritte alcune entry, pare che sia proprio un diario, ma ci sono varie parti che fanno dubitare di questa convinzione. Come può uno ricordarsi tutti i dialoghi che ha avuto o che ha sentito durante la giornata e trascriverli con dovizia di particolari? Il discorso indiretto non sarebbe più indicato per un diario? Capisco riportare alcuni dialoghi, ma tutti tutti? E lunghissime riflessioni e pensieri detti da altre persone?

Anche la scelta dei periodi delle entry sembra poco adatta a un diario. Che il lettore sia interessato a due momenti essenziali della vita del colonnello è palese. Eliza e Marianne sono la nostra unica preoccupazione. Della prima abbiamo pochissima conoscenza e siamo naturalmente curiosi di scoprirne la storia, della seconda sappiamo anche troppo, ma vogliamo riviverne la storia con gli occhi di Brandon e andare anche un po' più in là (temporalmente parlando) di quanto è scritto nel romanzo originale.

Ora, la storia di Eliza ci viene spiegata, anche se il tempo sembra scorrere velocissimo; la storia di Marianne prende la maggior parte del libro e scorre in maniera più tranquilla (la scrittrice ha già i dettagli della di questa narrazione). La storia di Eliza invece è una sua invenzione e quindi non ha pensato ad approfondirla meglio? Nel mezzo delle due storie il vuoto nella vita militare del colonnello, durante la quale non ha sentito la necessità di affidarsi alle pagine del suo diario. Tenere un diario non è come avere un agenda in cui segnare gli appuntamenti importanti. Al giorno d'oggi, ora che ci penso, potrebbe anche esserci la possibilità di tenere un diario utilizzandolo come un block notes per appuntarci solo le cose di rilievo, ma non penso fosse il caso nel contesto storico in cui l'opera è ambientata.

Di questa collana di diari, quello del colonnello Brandon è il quinto, ma l'ho voluto leggere per primo perché vorrei seguire l'ordine dei romanzi originali e il primo è proprio Sense and Sensibility.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed reading this I know Sense and Sensibility inside and out and reading this from Colonel Brandon’s perspective is excellent and I imagined Alan Rickman the whole time 😍🥰👏

[Katie Love · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful! I couldn’t put it down, and cannot wait to read the others in the series.

[Daysfly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This Diary wasn't all hearts and rainbows. When you think about all the Colonel Brandon went through, it's actually quite sad. This book isn't a sob story but does give a fairly realistic view to the situations faced by Brandon. His patience is amazing when you get through the story. Grange does a wonderful job at expanding on Austen's already amazing story and giving it the ol' Amanda Grange spin. She's an awesome author!

[Jessi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved Amanda Grange's other Austen retells, and this was no exception. I'm glad she chose to write from Colonel Brandon's point-of-view, rather than Edward's, because 1) I think Brandon's back story is more interesting, and 2) I really, really enjoyed picturing Alan Rickman as Brandon while I was reading it. (Yes, yes, I know: "He's too old to be Brandon!" I don't care. It's ALAN RICKMAN.)

The story begins when Brandon is a student at Oxford; he reveals his feelings for Eliza, their plans to elope, and the tragic end to their affair. It also covers Brandon's time in India and his military (naval?) career, his relationship with Eliza's daughter (also called Eliza), his friendship with Sir John, and his eventual introduction to the Dashwoods, culminating in the requisite happy ending. I liked the first half of the novel more than the second, I think. It's nice to read such a fleshed-out story about a situation that was mentioned briefly in Sense and Sensibility - it's very similar to what Grange was able to do with the Wentworth/Anne backstory in her retelling of Persuasion. It also sets Brandon up as a big ol' romantic, something that helps make his attention to Marianne more realistic. That's the main reason I really enjoyed this book: the idea of impulsive, wild Marianne settling down with prim and proper Brandon always seemed a bit strange to me. Some of their interaction in the back half of the novel seems a bit off (a sure sign it's time for a re-read of S&S), and Grange's characterization of Brandon (a reciter of poetry and part-time matchmaker!) is...maybe not exactly how I pictured him, but it works.

[Christina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn't wait for the U.S. release so I again, like previous Amanda Grange "diaries", ordered it from Amazon U.K. As soon as it arrived, I started reading it and hardly put it down until it was finished. I believe this is her best yet -- yes, even better than Mr. Darcy's and Captain Wentworth's! Her Colonel is everything I imagined: passionate, honest, melancholy, honorable, thoughtful, heartbroken over his loss of his first love, Eliza... a romantic hero of the highest order. The first half of the book is entirely pre-Sense and Sensibility and dwells on his relationship with Eliza and the horrible events leading to her demise and his finding her. Knowing what is to come, all his happy entries were so bittersweet and every page seemed full of my self-inflicted angst. This part of the diary has an almost impending gloom about it. When he finally meets Marianne, well I wasn't sure how Grange was going to make the Colonel love her because until this point, the author has done an excellent job in getting me invested in his past relationship with Eliza and his resulting remorse. His soul really seemed lost, as if he were living only for the sake of living. Well, he does fall in-love with her, as we all know, and not because she is a substitue for Eliza. Unknowingly, she captivates him by her own natural charms -- and I believe, Grange successfully translates Austen's S&S through the eyes of the good Colonel. I wish there had been a few more entries after the marriage but all in all, a satisfying read that I happily recommend.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up. This book is entertaining, enjoyable, and sweet. I'll probably buy it and reread it. Every book gets Eliza Williams' age wrong. She was 15 not 16 or 17. There were other details that she got wrong, but the spirit of the book is Austen. The duel was well done. I wish this book was longer. The ending feels very rushed and par for the course for several other books of this sort have Marianne fall in love with Colonel Brandon before marrying him. The biggest problem I have with this book is that I never had a strong emotional reaction to what happened. Colonel Brandon goes through the wringer and I have yet to read a book from his perspective that makes me feel like I got dragged through hell with him. I want his story to eviscerate me and then bring me to the sense of his joy.

[Summer Kinard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Amanda Grange's style. She keeps very true to Regency writing in this series on the hero's side of Jane Austen's novels. With Colonel Brandon's Diary, we get to dislike Willoughby more than ever, which is cathartic in itself, but we also see the source of his patience with Marianne. The whole saga of his lost love Eliza is laid out, as are the particulars of the young woman seduced by Willoughby. (She gets a happy ending.) Even knowing how it would all end, I found the happy finale very satisfying. Brandon understands much more of what is going on around him than the young ladies in the original. He has a corresponding depth of emotional development and awareness. I very much liked the way virtues and vices were examined in this volume. The original novel exposed characters; this one plumbs them.

I should warn others that I'm a serious Jane Austen fan, so my high rating has at least a bit to do with my love of the characters in Sense and Sensibility. If you don't like the Austen novels, you may not like the spin off.

[Dina Batista · Rating 4 out of 5]

Depois de já ter lido alguns livros baseados nas obras de Jane Austen, são "Os diarios de..." de Amanda Grange que mais gosto e acho mais fiel as histórias. Depois de ler o diario de Mr Darcy et o do Capitão Wentworth, foi a vez do Coronel Brandon de Senso e Sensibilidade, onde ele conta a sua trágica história de amor com Eliza aos 18 anos e mais tarde o seu encontro e amor por Marianne. A história é fluida e interessante, dando-nos uma visão mais intíma deste homem e a razão pela qual ele é tão sério. Para quem gosta de Jane Austen e gostaria de ver as histórias pelo ponto de vista dos homens do universo de Austen, então recomendo "Os diarios de..." de Amanda Grange. Agora espero por as mãos no Diario de Mr Tilney de Northanger Abbey.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great, easy read for anyone who loves Col. Brandon and Sense & Sensibility. I would even recommend it to anyone who hasn't read S&S. It's fun to read about what may have been happening in his life while the girls (Marianne and Elinor) were dealing with their own troubles. I thought the storyline was very believable. But then, I like anything by Amanda Grange...I'm sure even she can make Edmund Bertram interesting (that will be my next "Diary" to tackle).

[T.A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Please tell me I’m not the only person who has read this hoarding Alan Rickmans voice in their head.

I’ve always had a soft spot for colonel Brandon for this very reason and I felt that parts of this book captured him well other parts not so much. Another reviewer called it Austen lite and that is a great description.

A enjoyable fast read possibly closer to 3.5 than 4 but you always round up.

[Leigh Statham · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a genius idea! To take Austen's most loved stories and retell them from the point of view of the men! So fun and entertaining to revisit these classic stories from a different angle. I started with my favorite Austen hero and I can't wait to work my way through the other ones. Well done Ms Grange! Well done!

[Rose Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was truly Austen-lite, no question. Not badly written, filled in a few of the gaps of the Colonel's life. I particularly liked the duel scene (which I had missed in S&S - it was such a passing reference that it was easily skipped). Would I read this one again? Probably not. But I'm interested enough to see what the author does with other Austen characters.

[Amber Guyton-Baran · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had some trouble getting into it, but that may just have been because I knew that it would be sad at the beginning. Also, the writing felt a bit off at the beginning (possibly the author trying to show us a less mature Brandon?), but it definitely improved. An enjoyable read.

[Book Worm · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.4 stars. This was very fun to read! I loved getting to see Colonel Brandon’s POV, but Mr. Darcy’s Diary was better.

[Sabrina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oggi sono qui per parlarvi di un'altra bellissima opera arrivata nelle nostre librerie.
Come sapete sono una grande amante del genere, quindi potevo mai farmelo scappare?
Assolutamente no.
Se ricordate, tempo fa vi parlai di un altro libro di Amanda Grange che amai: il volume dedicato alla storia di Orgoglio e Pregiudizio dal punto di vista di Mr Darcy.
Così come amai quello, sapevo che ormai fosse scontato avrei amato anche questo, tanto da sperare che escano molti più libri sullo stesso genere, sugli uomini di Jane.
La storia la conosciamo bene ma andiamo comunque a parlare un po' del nostro bel protagonista:
James Brandon è uno studioso di Oxford i quali desideri sono quello di diventare avvocato e sposare sua cugina Eliza, che ama da sempre.
Purtroppo però, il padre di James costringe la ragazza a sposare il figlio maggiore così, il nostro povero sfortunato, si unisce all'esercito per partire verso le Indie e sperare di dimenticare il dolore.
Non appena però viene a conoscenza della morte del fratello, torna subito a casa sperando di poter così avere una nuova opportunità con lei.
Ma poteva essere così facile? Ovviamente no, e chi ha già letto il romanzo originale da cosa succede: Eliza muore e James dovrà prendersi cura di sua figlia, anche lei di nome Eliza.
Dopo tutto questo dolore, diversi anni dopo James incontra un'altra giovane donna che gli ricorda la sua amata, non tanto nell'aspetto quanto nell'indole, e nonostante lo credesse impossibile, ha una seconda possibilità di amare... anche stavolta per nulla facile per tanti fattori che non starò a dirvi per non farvi spoiler qualora non abbiate mai letto Ragione e Sentimento.
　
" Non riuscivo a staccare gli occhi dal suo viso. L'emozione che si leggeva era alternativamente ombra e luce; tristezza e rimpianto; poi la stanza è scomparsa: ho visto Marianne solo fino alla fine della canzone. "
　
Questo libro è stato pazzesco, non avrei immaginato fosse possibile ma l'ho amato anche più del volume su Darcy.
È stato meraviglioso il modo in cui l'autrice è stata in grado di dare maggiore profondità alla storia di James, a tutto il suo dolore prima di incontrare Marianne e anche il suo successivo turbamento.
Ho amato ogni passaggio, ogni momento. Tantissimo. Una lettura leggera ed emozionante che non può mancare nelle librerie delle vere austeniane.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I whizzed through this at the speed of a racehorse. It perfectly filled in every gap Austen left to the imagination in terms of Brandon’s character, but was there if you mapped it out, which Amanda is so good at. This is 100% who I saw him as when I read the original book. This add-on was so heartfelt and the Colonel was so lovesick it made ME sick. I feel so desperately sorry for his past, for Eliza’s one two and three, and seeing it in excruciating detail made me even more upset that just hearing him retell it in S&S (which also made me cry.) I physically felt ill and kept screaming like a twat near the end. He was TOO MUCH sometimes. He sent me into illness with this:

“To look at her and listen to her, and to be with her: this is my sole delight. And, if she will allow it, to comfort her and to love her will be the sole purpose of my life.”

And so, after keeping it in for months, he explodes: ‘“Tell me truthfully, do you think she will die?’
“Oh God, I hope not!’ I cried, unable to contain my feelings any longer.“‘

I SCREAMED. I know he confesses but dear lord you could feel the build up throughout the book.

Mrs Dashwood is very right to say of him: “Willoughby was nothing but a tawdry tale bound in gilt and leather, whereas you, dear Colonel, have in you the poetry of Shakespeare, though your cover is not so fine.”

YES. EXACTLY. It’s why she’s also right in the original book when she says that his disposition is actually perfect for Marianne. I noticed that perhaps this was, in Austen, where Emma Thompson took the Shakespeare motif that Marianne has in the 1995 adaption from... and why mirroring it in the Colonel, in the film and here, is subtly showing how perfect they are for each other. Second love trope done RIGHT!!!!!