Mr. Darcy's Diary

Jane Austen Heroes #1

by Amanda Grange

Monday 9th September
""I left London today and met Bingley at Netherfield Park. I had forgotten what good company he is; always ready to be pleased and always cheerful. After my difficult summer, it is good to be with him again. ...""

The only place Darcy could share his innermost feelings was in the private pages of his diary...

Torn between his sense of duty to his family name and his growing passion for Elizabeth Bennet, all he can do is struggle not to fall in love.

Mr. Darcy's Diary presents the story of the unlikely courtship of Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy from Darcy's point of view. This graceful imagining and sequel to Pride and Prejudice explains Darcy's moodiness and the difficulties of his reluctant relationship as he struggles to avoid falling in love with Miss Bennet. Though seemingly stiff and stubborn at times, Darcy's words prove him also to be quite devoted and endearing - qualities that eventually win over Miss Bennet's heart. This continuation of a classic romantic novel is charming and elegant, much like Darcy himself.

Pride and Prejudice has inspired a large number of modern day sequels, the most successful of which focus on the rich, proud Mr. Darcy.

Genres: Romance, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Historical Romance, Classics, Regency

329 pages, Paperback

First published August 31, 2005

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

[Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

July

-Tried to find Georgiana a house in London

-Went to a dinner

-Went to another dinner

-Bingley said he wanted to rent an estate in the country. Pff! He'll be leaving it in a few weeks!

-Went to another dinner

-Decided to surprise Georgie in Ramsgate, but oh my gosh, I was the one who got surprised! And a terrible surprise at that. Wickham is on my black list forever.

August

-I did nothing interesting in August, but still wrote many entries.

September

-So, Bingley was serious about this estate-in-the-country-thing, and I went with him to see Netherfield in Hertfordshire.

-The neighbourhood sucks and the neighbours are tedious.

October

-Went to the Meryton assembly and nearly died...OF BOREDOM!!

-I hate the country.

-Country folks are so...so...ARGH, so....I just can't even. I'm so above them, that I don't even know why I'm here!

-Bingley got a new flirt. Wow, didn't take him long.

-They almost made me dance with Elizabeth Bennet. *shudders* I'm so way too good for her.

November

-Went to another horribly tedious party. UGH. THESE PEOPLE ARE SO BELOW ME!

-That Lizzy Bennet is so smug. She's actually a little bit pretty though. Her eyes are quite fine. Actually, yeah, she's passably good-looking.

-Her performance on the pianoforte is good though, let's all admit it.

-She is intelligent.

-And witty.

-And...cute.

-I stared at her the whole time today.

-OH GOD SHE CAME TO NETHERFIELD!!!!

-ELIZABEEETHHHHHHHHH!!!!

-Bingley hosted a ball today and I DANCED WITH ELIZABETH!!!

-Wait. WHAT THE HECK AM I DOING??! I can't be with Elizabeth!! I can't admire her! Her mother is a harpy, her youngest sister is a slut AND SHE HAS AN UNCLE IN CHEAPSIDE!!

-Bingley, let's get out of here. NOW. Jane doesn't love you. Listen to me. WE NEED TO LEAVE.

December

-Pheewwwwww crisis averted. Now let's forget Elizabeth Bennet. Should be easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy, because a man of my standing could never become allied to such a family as hers.

-Is Bingley still thinking about Jane? No, right? I mean, she was just his flirt. She didn't expect anything from him. Why should she? WE ARE SO MUCH ABOVE THEM!!

-Elizabeth.

-Elizabeth.

-Elizabeth.

January

-What is Elizabeth doing.

February

-Is Bingley still thinking about Jane? No, of course not. HE NEEDS TO FORGET HER, OKAY???

-I miss Elizabeth's fine eyes.

April

-ELIZABETH IS AT MY AUNT'S HOUSE!!!!!!!!

-I totally lied, I HAVEN'T FORGOTTEN HER.

-OOOOOOHHHH she looked at me today.

-She must be SO happy to see me! ME! THE DARCY OF PEMBERLEY! Who wouldn't want me around?!

-She's probably expecting my proposal. Probably has been expecting it for a loooonnggggg time. I WILL DO IT TODAY. I wonder how she'll say yes.

-WWHHHAAAAAATTTTTT IN THE WORLD JUST HAPPENED????!!! SHE DARED TO REFUSE THE DARCY OF PEMBERLEY?! I don't get it. Her LOW connections. My AWESOMELY HIGH connections. Her STUPID family. My prestigious one. I LOVE HER AGAINST MY PRINCIPLES AND MY CHARACTER, AND EVEN TOLD HER AS MUCH, AND SHE REFUSES ME??!

***

OKAY, NO. I love Amanda Grange, and so far have enjoyed every book by her that I've read. I usually LOVE her take on Austen heroes. But THIS. WHAT WAS THIS???! Darcy was portrayed as the most pompous, vain, conceited being ever imagined. He was as bad as Mr. Collins! When he wasn't saying how much better he was than everyone else, he was either trying to convince himself that loving Elizabeth was a big no-no, or that Bingley and Jane could never happen. And when it wasn't that, it was listening to Caroline and not being annoyed by her, AND TELLING HIS COUSIN FITZWILLIAM THAT SHE WAS AN ADMIRABLE WOMAN HE SHOULD CONSIDER MARRYING. What on earth.

It could have been amusing had it not also been tediously filled with pointless dinners and walks around parks, and if I hadn't set out reading this with the intention of falling for Mr. Darcy in the first place. This book gave me such a disgust of Darcy that I'm tempted to take back all I just wrote about him in my review of P&P. NO MORE SWOONY. Do not talk to me of Darcy for now, or I shall say something I regret.

I mean, Caroline Bingley a woman worth marrying his cousin? Granted, Caroline was hilarious in this book with her snarky little comments, BUT DARCY IS SUPPOSED TO DISLIKE HER. He didn't even see until almost the end that she was trying to win him and his Pemberley! Not only was he super arrogant and a major d*ck-head, but he couldn't even see what was going on under his very nose half the time.

I'm sorry, but this book just did not work. It was boring, and Darcy was seen in a truly awful light.

[Jamie Collins · Rating 1 out of 5]

Mildly entertaining to P&P fans in a couple of spots, but not really worth reading. I enjoyed one overheard conversation between Lady Catherine and Mr. Collins, and I enjoyed Col. Fitzwilliam's reaction when Darcy describes the manner in which he proposed to Elizabeth: essentially, "You said what to her?"

But the writing is terrible. Shallow, dull and repetitive - I hope I never see the word "satirically" again. It's not that great an adverb to begin with; why would you use it a dozen times in a short novel? And the author beats you over the head with recognizable phrases from P&P.

The diary framework was unrealistic and inconsistently crafted. Some entries were written as if Darcy were recalling the day's events, but others were written as if the action were happening real-time.

I was annoyed that the author went to the trouble of making Lydia Bennet practically malicious, rather than only stupid and thoughtless.

[Simona B · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read this for one of my classes! (Which is actually a sort of Jane Austen and Charlotte Brontë fan club. Best class ever.)

“Elizabeth, Elizabeth, Elizabeth.”

Chances are, if Jane Austen is your goddess, you'll probably read this, reluctantly enjoy it, and wrinkle your nose at it afterwards, because of course nobody expects anyone to equal Jane Austen and, mathematically, every attempt to do so is bound to fail. I recommend to dive into the book light-heartedly and with light expectations. In doing so I was indeed able to find it quite entertaining; there's no comparing it to the original, but that is something I don't even need to spell out for you. Mr. Darcy's Diary is an innocent retelling that does no harm, though it's just as true that it could have done so much more good.

•My first complaint concerns the format. The fact that the book is written as a diary only accomplished the task of making me wonder time and again who on earth would ever copy in his diary a letter he's about to send to a woman commenting on every single paragraph with such abundance of details, and then have the audacity to go to bed saying he's too tired to neatly write a fair copy. (My friend Chiara, who attends the aforementioned class with me, just read what I wrote over my shoulder and gave her approval.) It's just, it killed my suspension of disbelief. I think no one would ever keep a diary this way.

•The other thing that in my opinion left a lot to be desired is the characterization. If there was one truly interesting thing about re-writing Pride and Prejudice from Darcy's POV, it was the opportunity to dig deeper into the feelings that accompanied him throughout his growth as a person (why, I think that was entirely the point, wasn't it?), but I think Grange didn't portray (let alone truly convey) Darcy's development and crucial change of mind well enough. Basically, right before leaving Rosings he writes to Elizabeth that arrogant letter we all know, then, when he's with Bingley and Caroline again, he hears her speak ill of Elizabeth and her family, he gets kind of mad, he changes his mind. That's it. His transformation felt too sudden, and even though it's obvious that he was being a presumptuous ass, not adequately motivated. (Though it was so satisfying to have him admit he had been and still was inconsistent with himself. Chiara's contribution again here.)

•This is rather unimportant compared to my other points, but Elizabeth was a completely secondary character. Again, I ascribe it to the drawbacks of the diaristic form, and there's not really anything to be done about it.

➽ All in all, I must say it was unexpectedly enjoyable, even if only for allowing me to re-experience the favourite moments of one of my all-time favourite novels. I think I'll also try out some of the other books in the Jane Austen Heroes series -I'm especially curious about Wentworth's and Knightley's. Also Edmund's doesn't sound bad at all, though...

[M— · Rating 2 out of 5]

My Dear Readers,

It is with grave misfortune that I dissuade you from whatever excitement you may have upon learning of the existence of this novel. Jane Austen, the wonderful authoress that she is, has created such a wealth of characters and a story so beloved that more modern writers cannot help but continue to revisit the story and attempt to interpret it in a new way, but to no avail.

Mr. Darcy's Diary is a straight retelling of Pride and Prejudice, even directly quoting the original during key points in the plot. Grange has done a very admirable job of spinning the story from Darcy's point of view, but she hasn't been able to do it in an interesting or original way. Her efforts to recreate Darcy's formal and reserved personality within this diary-as-a-novel format have resulted in a very bland and wooden book where every twist of the story is predictable. Please take my assurance that it would be much more entertaining to reread Austen's original yet again.

In short, Grange's rendition of Mr. Darcy's side of Pride and Prejudice never inflamed my passions. And for all its formality in tone, the book is so familiar that it can only cause a brief entertainment. I'd recommend this book only to particular friends of the original story.

Kindest regards,

An Opinionated Lady

[Peggy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, maybe AMAZING is a strong word..it's not like it's a timeless piece of literature, but it was so great! Like Mr. Knightley's Diary, it's so interesting to read the story from a different perspective. Again, I have to say that you should only read these books if you won't be offended that it's NOT Jane Austen. I didn't find it to be a huge departure from the original work but it's clearly not Austen.
So pretty much if you have a crush on Mr. Darcy and want to solidify said ridiculous crush, read this book. You'll swoon!

[Lady Gabriella of Awesomeness (SLOW) · Rating 5 out of 5]

“In vain have I struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.”



Mr.darcy's diraies is an excellent read, that gives us a brief glimpse into our favourite brooding hero's thoughts and his rich world.

With the Bennetts making only a few brief appearances along the way, this book otherwise,solely revolves around Mr.darcy, and his relationships with Mr.Bingely (his best friend ),Caroline (his best friend's sister and finally both,his sister Georgiana & Mr. Wickham ..



I loved the way,the author, actually took her readers back to the past, (to young Georgia's almost envelopment with her dear Wickham)...before gliding into the present while bewitching us with the future.

This book may have lacked the depth I expected Darcy's thoughts to have,But nevertheless This book is an excellent read for ALL P&P fan's craving for a Bit more Lizzy and Darcy AFTER,the final proposal scene.
(Yep !You read me right !This book has the longest epilogue I've ever been delighted to have read,going far after THE END and into the HEA , from where Miss Jane stopped hers..)

RECOMMENDATION :This book really deserves to be in your TBR ifyour an Austen fan.One tie read though mostly.

[Alaina · Rating 2 out of 5]

UGH!

I've said it before and I will say it again. If there is anything P&P related - I will find it and read it. I don't care if it's amazing or complete shit. I will probably still end up reading it.

I was so freaking excited that I go Mr. Darcy's Diary because I just love that freaking character. Although not as much as my homegirl Elizabeth Bennet.

Now I'm kind of torn on how to write this review because even though I freaking love P&P and I might have a slight obsession with it. I didn't really like this book. I tried - I really did. But the writing was so boring and repetitive. Not even wine, food, or puppy snuggles could make this book more likable to me. I don't know - it could be due to a mood or sleepiness or SOMETHING but I just didn't really like it.

I will of course try to reread this again later this year maybe? Maybe in a couple of years. I feel like I owe it to my love for P&P and I should try to see if I could end up liking it later in life. I promise I will try to reread it guys - I just have no idea if my opinion would change..

I guess I'd just rather read the OG Pride and Prejudice than this..

[Ashley · Rating 2 out of 5]

After reading Pamela Aiden's "Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman" trilogy a few months ago, I found this to be merely a much simpler version. Grange doesn't go much beyond the events we already know of from the original novel, and Darcy himself doesn't seem to have much depth at all. He switches from being determined to stop thinking about Elizabeth to suddenly proposing without almost any explanation at all. His feelings seem to flip flop to quickly throughout the novel with no basis. Overall, I knew exactly what was going to happen - there were no surprises. Nothing happens to Darcy that we don't already know about to some degree.
The book was enjoyable for the story itself, and of course I found myself smiling when Elizabeth finally accepted. The glimpses of their life after marriage were cute too. If you really want an in-depth look at Darcy, I recommend the Pamela Aiden trilogy. Although it can be a little far-fetched a times, she adds a slew of new characters for Darcy to interact with, and really shows the way his mind works.

[sophie ⚘ · Rating 4 out of 5]

the first proposal from elizabeth's pov was already embarrassing to read but from Darcy's pov? hilarious . there's no way in hell he thought "yup, insulting everything she loves is gonna win her over" but apparently he did 💀😂

also bingley and darcy are best friends and i would read a little fun adventure novel about them. at this point i will eat up everything about them so like yeah

darcy and col. fitzwilliam's scenes were funny as well, especially darcy telling him how he proposed and fitzwilliam being absolutely shook about it because same bro, same

[The Phoenix · Rating 3 out of 5]

Most of this book didn't really say much more than what was already said in Pride and Prejudice.
I was a little disappointed that Mr Darcy's tone of speech didn't really sound as much like him as I expected it would. I'm not sure if it's just because it's hard to capture the tone of so great a talent as Jane Austen, or if it was supposed to sound less like he would be in conversation since it's a diary.
I did enjoy reading the imagination of the author for after the wedding. The Christmas celebration and the visit from the Collins family were entertaining.
As far as recommendation, I would say it's a filler book. Something to read in between reads.

[Vlada · Rating 3 out of 5]

it was mid, got a bit better towards the end

[Tereza · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know not everyone loves P&P the way I do, but the author follows the encouters between Darcy and Elizabeth authentically, keeping many aspects of the original in tack. It makes the book so wonderful, and because it's from Darcy's perspective so the author adds wonderful scenes like the discovery of Wickham in Ramsgate, Lady Catherine's diatribe to Darcy after speaking with Elizabeth, and some very satisfying scenes that round out Austin's original epilogue.
The novel is written in modern English making it a quicker read than the original P&P, but she keeps enough phrasing from the original to appeal to Austen fans.

[Indah Threez Lestari · Rating 4 out of 5]

139 - 2012

Well written fan fiction

Cocok untuk dibaca sebagai pendamping novel P&P, karena in-line dengan cerita aslinya, dan banyak mencomot dialog asli. Tapi dari gaya bertuturnya, mungkin lebih baik novel ini bukan dalam bentuk diary, tapi hanya novel dengan POV orang pertama saja.

Bagi penggemar novel Pride and Prejudice, alur cerita novel ini bukan hal yang baru, dan endingnya juga bukan spoiler, berakhir dengan adegan yang umumnya ditunggu-tunggu para pembaca novel roman :


Mbok ya jangan tegang gitu Mas Darcy...

Novel Mr. Darcy's Diary bukanlah cerita baru, boleh dibilang mirror-story dari masterpiece Jane Austen tersebut. Bedanya, novel ini bertutur dari sudut pandang Fitzwilliam Darcy. Berhubung yang bersangkutan pelit bicara, jadi penasaran apa sih yang terlintas di benaknya sepanjang novel P&P. Kapan dia mulai jatuh cinta pada Elizabeth Bennet, setelah di pertemuan pertama dengan entengnya bilang "She's tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me" yang membuat Lizzie ilfil tralala kepadanya sejak awal. Kalau menonton miniseri BBC 1995-nya mungkin bisa tertebak mulai kapan Mr Darcy mulai terpesona pada Lizzie Bennet, yang tampak pada tatapan matanya yang mengguncang iman itu setiap kali melihat Lizzie. Tapi tetap saja, apa sih yang dia pikirkan? Para pembaca P&P bebas menerka-nerka sendiri, tapi Amanda Grange menuangkannya dalam bentuk novel.

Aku sendiri bertanya-tanya, apa yang dirasakan Mr Darcy setiap kali memandang Lizzie Bennet? Apakah dia fall in lust seperti dalam interview Colin Firth di novel Edge of Reasons-nya Bridget Jones?

CF: Because I think it was very important to Andrew Davies that Mr Darcy had the most enormous sex drive.
BJ: (Gasps)
CF: And, um ...
BJ: I think that came across really, really well with the acting. I really think it did.
CF: Thank you. At one point Andrew even wrote as a stage direction: "Imagine that Darcy has an erection."
BJ: Which bit was that?
CF: It's when Elizabeth's been walking across the country and bumps into him in the grounds in the early stages.
BJ: The bit where she's all muddy?
CF: And dishevelled.
BJ: And sweaty?
CF: Exactly.
BJ: Was that a difficult bit to act?
CF: You mean the erection?
BJ: (Awed whisper) Yes.
CF: Um, well. Andrew also wrote that I don't propose that we should focus on it, and therefore no acting required in that department at least.

Ups, melenceng deh... XD.
Tapi tidak, tidak... novel ini masih sesopan P&P, tidak ada deskripsi mengenai "penderitaan fisik" seperti yang ada di novel-novel historical romance modern di mana para heronya hampir tak kuasa menahan nafsu setiap kali memandang love interest-nya. Yang ada hanyalah pergulatan batin antara tertarik setengah mati pada Lizzie, tapi ilfil setengah hidup pada orang-orang di sekeliling gadis itu: Mrs Bennett yang memburu calon mantu yang berharta (wajar sih...), adik-adik Lizzie yang vulgar dan liar, etc etc...

Mengikuti cerita dari sudut pandang Mr Darcy, aku sungguh sangat memahami sikap yang diambilnya di Hertfordshire. Memasuki lingkungan baru, di mana masyarakatnya "norak" dan "vulgar" (sebut saja kampungan), di mana para bujangan eligible dipandang dari penghasilannya dan diburu-buru sebagai calon mantu secara terbuka, bagaimana tidak ilfil dan bete? Belum bahan percakapannya yang tidak bermutu. Pantas saja kalau Mr Darcy lebih memilih banyak diam dan hanya bergaul dengan orang-orang yang sudah dikenalnya dengan baik.

Terus terang, mungkin di kampungku di Cirebon aku juga bisa jadi dianggap sombong seperti Mr Darcy, karena jarang gaul dan ngobrol dengan tetangga. Bukan apa-apa, habis kalau mendengarkan obrolan mereka, yang dibicarakan tidak mutu (menurutku), sebagian besar malah gosip, baik gosip lokal maupun gosip interlokal (artis selebriti whatever). Lebih baik nggak usah ngobrol sekalian deh.

Jadi, sekagum apapun Mr Darcy terhadap Lizzie Bennet, satu-satunya gadis yang tidak terintimidasi olehnya dan tidak peduli pada kekayaannya (yang disadarinya karena gadis itu tersinggung oleh komentarnya di pertemuan pertama mereka), ia sama sekali tak mau memikirkan kemungkinan untuk menjadikan Lizzie sebagai Mrs Darcy. Tapi meskipun demikian, ia cemas waktu mendengar kabar tentang lamaran Mr Collins kepada Lizzie (lalu lega setelah tahu Lizzie menolaknya) dan cemburu kalau melihat dan mendengar Lizzie dekat dengan laki-laki lain, terutama George Wickham!

Mr Darcy sendiri, seperti halnya para makhluk Mars lainnya, kurang sensitif terhadap perasaan perempuan. Ia tidak sadar kalau Caroline Bingley berminat menjadi the next Mrs Darcy, meski tanda-tandanya sudah tampak dari awal. Ia baru ngeh waktu Caroline mulai sengit mengejek dan menghina Lizzie. Ia juga begitu pede dan yakin lamaran orang yang berasal dari kalangan terhormat dan setaraf dirinya bakal langsung diterima oleh Lizzie yang berasal dari "kalangan rendah".

Pengen rasanya nyekek Mr Darcy ini, baik saat baca P&P, nonton miniseri BBC, maupun baca novel ini, waktu dia menambahi pernyataan cinta ujug-ujugnya "You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you" dengan pidato ketidakrelaannya, karena Lizzie berasal dari golongan bawah, karena ia tidak suka pada ibu, ayah, dan adik-adik Lizzie, bahwa logika dan akal sehat membuatnya berusaha melupakan Lizzie tapi tak bisa, dan akhirnya ia terpaksa menyerah dan merendahkan dirinya sendiri dan keluarganya dengan meminta Lizzie menjadi istrinya.

Ini ngelamar atau ngehina sih, Mas! Yakin jawabannya iya lagi!
Sama aja kayak lamaran Mr Collins ini mah... *tendang!*

Tapi kasihan juga sih waktu dia merasa syok karena ditolak, apalagi dasar penolakannya setengahnya karena fitnah Wickham, bajingan yang pernah nyaris melarikan adik perempuannya. Sampai sini malah jadi ingat jawaban Mark Darcy waktu dituduh membawa lari tunangan Daniel Cleaver dan mematahkan hatinya, padahal yang terjadi sebaliknya. "No. My wife. My heart." Hiks...

Eh, maaf ngelantur lagi. Sampai mana tadi? Oh, ya... setelah itu kita akan dibawa simpati habis-habisan pada si kaku ini, dengan usahanya memperbaiki diri dalam bersikap lebih gentleman, bernegosiasi dengan musuhnya demi menenangkan pikiran Lizzie, ikut harap-harap cemas menunggu perubahan hati Lizzie, sampai akhirnya ikut berbahagia mendengar jawaban Lizzie, "My feelings are now different... that I am humbled to think that you can still love me... now I receive your assurances with gratitude and pleasure".

Huzza! Peduli amat keluarga Lizzie macam apa, dia kan bukan nikah dengan keluarganya. Seperti kata lagunya Frank Sinatra:

For nobody else give me a thrill
With all your faults, I love you still
It had to be you, wonderful you
It had to be you....

Senangnya, melihat Mas Darcy akhirnya bisa tersenyum lepas seperti manusia biasa. Congratulation!



Um, buat yang penasaran kapan Mr. Darcy mulai jatuh cinta pada Lizzie, Lizzie juga menanyakan hal yang sama. Dan begini jawabannya:

I cannot fix on the hour, or the spot, or the look, or the words, which laid the foundation. It is too long ago. I was in the middle before I knew I had begun.

Co cweet...

Catatan: Aku menulis review ini cukup panjang sebagai permohonan maaf atas review P&P, yang terus terang saja, hampir tidak ada reviewnya, karena terlalu berfokus pada oh-look-mr.darcy-is-so-cute-and-adorable-and-I-fall-in-lustlove-with-him.

[Rebecca May · Rating 5 out of 5]

As with most of Amanda Grange’s Diary’s, I was absolutely, absolutely delighted with Mr Darcy’s Diary. Though I wouldn’t call it better than the original (as unfortunately I have had to say with others of the Diaries), it was certainly amazing, and definitely as good.

Again, I think part of the brilliance of this Diary can be attributed to the fact that the backstory from Pride and Prejudice is pretty well known – Amanda Grange wouldn’t have had to make many events up. That being said, the fact doesn’t detract from the quality of the Diary at all.

Mr Darcy is well known to be – at least to begin with – the snootiest, most aloof of Jane Austen’s heroes. None of the others have his reputation for being immediately disliked by the heroine – except perhaps Colonel Brandon, but he was more ignored rather than disliked, and through no fault of his own. In any case, this Diary was a beautiful read, but more importantly it was fun. Probably more fun than any other of Amanda Grange’s Diaries that I have read so far. This is because we get to see the reasons and the man behind the snootiness.

As we all know, Elizabeth Bennet’s wit and vivacity have been entertaining Jane Austen readers for years. And now I discover that her wit and vivacity entertained Mr Darcy just as much… along with irritating him immensely, confusing him, and drawing his attention to her “fine eyes”. Behind the cool exterior we see how much he enjoys the verbal sword-play, so different to the flattering, fawning annoyance he is usually subjected to by Miss Bingley.

That is another thing that is amazing about Mr Darcy’s Diary; his slow realization that being well-bred with good connections does not mean you are a good person, and vice versa. He realizes that while Ms Bingley is “civilised” or “well-bred” – whatever you want to call it – that she lacks sincerity is cunning and scheming rather than intelligent. Furthermore he is ashamed to realize that his own aunt, despite being of a very high station, does not have the basic courtesy to be polite to guests in her own home.

I also found it quite fun to get to know Colonel Fitzwilliam a bit better through the Diary, and witness Darcy’s horror as he realizes how Elizabeth found out about his interference in Jane’s affairs. We see that Mr Darcy is not uncaring – far from it – but simply has a set of very strict rules and values that he has gained through his sheltered upbringing.

However, the Diary starts at the point when Darcy’s sheltered upbringing ends – with Wickham trying to steal away Georgiana. This is an incredibly touching beginning to the book. Mr Darcy’s righteous anger on behalf of his sister is sweet, as is her loyalty to him. But Wickham is such a bastard. While in Pride and Prejudice you had time to be wooed by Wickham’s easy manners, here you are plunged right into the truth of what an awful, insolent rogue he is. Not only when he attempts to elope with Georgiana, but when he has the nerve to kiss and caress Lydia in front of Darcy right after he finished admitting to Darcy that he didn’t really care for her at all. Oooh, I want to slap him. So bad.

Darcy, for the rest of the Diary, goes through an extremely bad case of what I’m beginning to think of calling Grangeitis; of course, he is totally in love, and has no idea of it, even while admiring Elizabeth’s fine eyes and wit, despite her lack of suitable family and fortune. Here’s my abridged version of his thought progression throughout Mr Darcy’s Diary;

Netherfield: ”Nah, she’s not pretty enough for me. Wait, actually, I quite like those eyes… No, I shouldn’t associate with people like her… She looks remarkably pretty after that walk. What do you mean her hem was dirty? Never mind… Damn I love her conversation. Right, enough, I gotta go, I’m sure I’ll forget about her soon enough. Oh, and, by the way, Bingley, her sister isn’t good enough for you."

Rosings: "Ooooh, look, there she is again! I don’t care, I don’t care, I don’t care… Wait on? How did I get in this room? I’m proposing? Hold on, take a step back here – I thought I didn’t love her? Dammit, I’m so confused. Whatever, I’m sure she’ll accept me. Ah crap, she knows about Jane. WHAT? SHE SAID NO? But I'm perfect, and a perfect gentleman, of course. What a bitch. That’s OK, I’ll write her an awesome letter and it’ll all be fine.”

Pemberley: "Oh, woe is me! I’ve lost her. Dammit, why does she keep turning up? Must be nicer, Must be nicer, Must be nicer, Must be nicer, Must be nicer, Must be nicer…. Hey, she actually has some cool relatives! Hmm, I would never have guessed. Hey, Georgiana, come meet this young lady who refuses to marry me, I’m sure you’ll like her. WOAH, Elizabeth, why are you upset? Oooooooohhhhhhhhhhhh… jees, Wickham, stay out of my life! Hold on a moment, I can fix this, I don’t want Elizabeth unhappy. Off I go." *skips off*

London: "Screw you, Wickham. Yes, OK, we might end up as brothers, and I’m giving you money, but screw you anyway. Oh, by the way, don’t tell Elizabeth."

Netherfield/Longbourn: "Dammit, I was wrong. Bingley, you can totally marry Jane now, I was just kidding before. No, seriously. Besides, I want to see Elizabeth again. WHY ARE YOU IGNORING ME ELIZABETH! :’( She hates me. Oooh, hey Aunt, what are you doing here? Wait, she didn’t promise to not marry me?! Let me work that one through, there are too many double negatives here… Oooh, *happy face* Bye bye, Auntie, I’m off to propose to Elizabeth."

Netherfield: "Yippie! She said yes! No, don’t tell me what a twit I used to be, Elizabeth, I don’t want to hear. Heehee, her parents are so confused. Ah, well." *extremely happy face*

Pemberley: "PWND, Caroline. Being married to Elizabeth is awesome. I get to sleep with her now too. Oh, and by the way, Georgiana, have you ever thought about getting together with Colonel Fitzwilliam? I love being married! I love Elizabeth! I love my life!"

P.S: "Screw you Wickham. You aren’t coming to my house, even if we are brothers. EVER."

So yeah, that should pretty much sum up my view of Amanda Grange’s adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, Mr Darcy’s Diary. Vastly entertaining, beautiful, amazing, and perfectly capturing the essence of Mr Darcy.

[Fifi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an ok read but I got bored around the 100 page mark and really struggled to pick it back up again. I got distracted with other books but I wanted to finish it as the concept is quite interesting so I pushed through. Luckily it is a very quick and easy read so I was able to finish it in the space of two days.

Overall,

⭐⭐⭐

[Laurel · Rating 5 out of 5]

In 2005 author Amanda Grange gave Pride and Prejudice fans what they had been craving for centuries—Jane Austen’s classic story retold entirely from the perspective of its iconic romantic hero—Mr. Darcy. It was certainly not the first novel to explore this concept, but Mr. Darcy’s Diary remains, after many other attempts, the best in a very crowded field of Darcyiana.

I first read Mr. Darcy’s Diary eight years ago when it was released in the UK. I paid a fortune for the first edition to be shipped to the US. I did not regret it. My copy retains its place of honor on my Austen sequel bookshelf, along with the five other novels in her Austen Hero Diaries Series that Grange has since produced. She has a large international following for her work which she has earned through honest homage and clever craftsmanship.

Writing a first person narrative of a classic hero who is a bit of a prig in the original story has its challenges. In Pride and Prejudice the reader sympathizes with the heroine Elizabeth Bennet in her dislike of Mr. Darcy. We meet him and draw our conclusions of his personality from her perspective—he is a proud and disagreeable man—we see why she thinks so, but we do not know why.

Seeing the same events unfold from his eyes does not absolve him of his bad behavior, but as the narrative progresses, we are more sympathetic to his reasons. As we discover his inner thoughts and outward actions, our second impressions countermand his arrogant noble mien: we learn details of his chance intervention of the elopement of his sixteen-year old sister Georgiana with his nemesis George Wickham; we see his management of his soft-hearted friend Charles Bingley and learn why he is guiding him by the manipulation of his confidence and Bingley’s sisters; we see his attraction to Elizabeth Bennet spark and grow from his original cool intolerance to his admiration of her “fine eyes” and saucy impertinence—and his puzzlement of her brusque behavior to him.

"‘Oh,’ she said, ‘I heard you before; but could not immediately determine what to say in reply. You wanted me, I know, to say “Yes,” that you might have the pleasure of despising my taste; but I always delight in overthrowing those kind of schemes. I have therefore made up my mind to tell you, that I do not want to dance a reel at all – and now despise me if you dare.'

‘Did I really seem so perverse to her? I wondered. And yet I could not help smiling at her sally, and her bravery in uttering it.’" p. 40

Close readers of Pride and Prejudice will recognize lines of Austen’s original dialogue (like Elizabeth’s speech to Darcy quoted above) interlaced with Grange’s new text. This ingenious co-mingling is seamless and we partake in many of the important passages where Darcy interacts with Elizabeth in the original novel, and then his private reaction. This works for this reader because Grange does not try to write like Austen in Elizabeth head, but as Grange in Darcy’s.

For those who are a student of character (like our heroine Elizabeth) it is interesting to observe our hero Darcy’s view of events from a male perspective. The whole Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus theory plays out beautifully and Grange takes full advantage of the differences in the sexes and how they think and react to the same scene when Elizabeth arrives at the Netherfield Ball.

“I continued walking towards her. ‘I am glad to see you here. I hope you had a pleasant journey?’ I asked. ‘This time, I hope you did not have to walk!’

‘No, I thank you,’ she said stiffly. ‘I came in a carriage.’

I wondered if I had offended her. Perhaps she felt I had meant my remark as a slight on her family’s inability to keep horses purely for their carriage. I tried to repair the damage of my first remark.’” p. 51

Clueless! There is some hope of improvement. As Darcy’s admiration of Elizabeth grows, it begins to humble his pride. While he is in Kent visiting his aunt Lady Catherine de Bourgh, we begin to see the change as he reacts to Elizabeth’s explanation to Darcy’s cousin Colonel Fitzwilliam of his behavior when they first met at the Meryton Assembly.

“In her eyes, my refusal to dance became ridiculous, and I saw it so myself, for the first time. To stride about in all my pride, instead of enjoying myself as any well-regulated man would have done. Absurd! I would not ordinarily have tolerated any such teasing, and yet there was something in her manner that removed any sting, and instead made it a cause for laughter.” p. 78

Even though many will know the final outcome of the story, Grange keeps us in suspense by adding new scenes and inner thoughts that only Darcy would be privy too—and now we are too. What fan of Pride and Prejudice, and Mr. Darcy, could possibly resist reliving a cherished novel and walking a mile in his shiny, black Hessian boots? I couldn’t.

Laurel Ann, Austenprose

[Romanticamente Fantasy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Emanuela - per RFS
.
Sono veramente contenta che la Tre60 abbia ridato alle stampe questo delizioso romanzo, riportato alla ribalta dalle atmosfere Regency tanto care al pubblico sia letterario, che televisivo. Lo lessi molti anni fa in cartaceo e, oggi, posso confermare le mie impressioni di allora. Stavolta, però, ho la consapevolezza che l’autrice ha dimostrato il massimo rispetto per una monumentale opera come Orgoglio e Pregiudizio, entrandovi in punta di piedi: ci ha giocato un po’, raccontandoci particolari, espressioni e avvenimenti sui quali abbiamo solo supposto e fantasticato.

La storia d’amore tra Elizabeth Bennet e Lord Fitzwilliam Darcy ci riporta a un’epoca in cui per una giovane nubile non era semplice contrarre un buon matrimonio, e l’unica speranza era affidarsi alla buona sorte che avrebbe dato loro un marito gentile, affezionato e premuroso. Ma la Austen, che ha creato due personaggi molto diversi eppure complementari, sovverte queste caratteristiche, dando vita a una giovane donna intelligente e sagace, affascinante nella sua semplicità, illuminata da una profonda intelligenza. A questa ha poi contrapposto un nobile Lord con una rendita di “ben diecimila sterline all’anno”, preso dalla sua presunzione di una posizione inattaccabile, medievalista e arretrata, incapace di guardare al di là delle apparenze.

Amanda Grange ci racconta, con spirito e sensibilità, il punto di vista di Lord Darcy che nel suo diario annota fedelmente le proprie vicende quasi quotidianamente, raccontando se stesso e le vicissitudini delle persone a lui vicine. Tra queste troviamo la sorella Georgiana, a lui molto cara, sfuggita per un pelo a un matrimonio forzato con l’avventuriero George Wickam; a seguire c’è anche Bingley, il caro amico innamorato della dolce Jane (sorella di Elizabeth), e le sue sorelle, Caroline e Louisa. Non può mancare, ovviamente, tutto il parterre della famiglia Bennet, su cui spiccano la sciocca e petulante Mrs Bennet, il pastore Collins e tanti altri.

Fedele all’atmosfera della Austen, l’autrice ci regala uno sguardo sulle vite di personaggi immortali con garbo e spirito, rendendo il suo romanzo una vera chicca, imperdibile per tutti coloro grati alla scrittrice inglese di aver donato un così grande capolavoro.

[Hilary Moon Murphy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Pride & Prejudice Sequels, Mashups and Variants are one of my chief guilty pleasures, but I must say that I just could not get into this one. As indicated by the title, it's a diary of the events of Pride and Prejudice told from Mr. Darcy's point of view. While it retells the events of Pride & Prejudice fairly faithfully, I found this retelling somewhat lifeless and uninspired. I didn't get a sense of Darcy's unique voice. Even more damningly, the diary failed to show what was happening with Mr. Darcy much outside the scope of P&P. Mr. Darcy is a rich enough character that he deserves a complex life beyond that which we know through what Jane Austen already told us. After all, Elizabeth Bennet's world is full of concerns beyond Mr. Darcy in P&P; I would have liked to have the sense that Mr. Darcy had his own concerns outside of his relationships to Elizabeth and Georgiana.

For those who want a more insightful retelling of P&P from Darcy's viewpoint, I suggest: "An Assembly Such as This: A Novel of Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman" which I believe to be truer to Darcy's personality, and which gives his character a much wider scope.

I am embarrassed to say that I disliked this one so much that I failed to finish it. It was tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me.

[Lucia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dopo il mio incontro con la Austen, andai alla abbastanza disperata ricerca di scritti che me la ricordassero, nuove versioni e libri liberamente ispirati... Finora tutto quanto letto mi aveva lasciata indifferente e a volte proprio non mi era piaciuto.
Ma questo modo della Grange di rileggere questi classici dal punto di vista del protagonista maschile invece mi è piaciuto moltissimo, il testo è aderente al libro originale, scorgiamo solo ciò che prova l'altra parte.
Piaciuto nella sua semplicità, nessuno stravolgimento, erano pensieri che già potevamo intuire, ma è stato appagante vederli su carta.
Ora vado a vedere i pensieri che sono passati nella testa del mio preferito... Captain Wentworth.

[Sophie · Rating 5 out of 5]

AMAZING! So nice to see this epic story from the dashing hero's point of view!! The struggles he went through with Wickham among many things gives him a whole new side which we don't see very much in the novel! And the ending chapters of life after marriage were perfect; not silly and over the top, the right balance!

[TheReadingNest · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5
C’est vraiment la version cheap d’orgueil et préjugés

[Izoubooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

J’adore tout ce qui approche de près ou de loin Orgueil et Préjugés. Ce livre est une réelle pépite.
Avoir le point de vue de Darcy et comprendre l’évolution de ses sentiments est un tel plaisir

[Zain Otoom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not bad at all! I was pleasantly surprised!

[Genevieve Grace · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book managed to have almost no soul. It also hideously violated the character of Darcy in a way that makes you wonder if the author truly hates him.

The gimmick is that this book is not just Pride and Prejudice from Darcy's perspective, but it's his actual diary. From a diary format, I would expect a lot of exploration of Darcy's personal context: his wider circle of acquaintances, his business, the things that take up his thoughts day to day. Of this, we get almost nothing. It is mostly just a dry, shortform narration of P&P's main events.

The Ramsgate incident is directly covered, but in such a brief, shallow way that it's hard to believe it truly impacted Darcy or Georgiana as deeply as it's meant to. Everything is like that.

The one thing we DO get from Darcy's journal entries that isn't just regurgitation from the original is Darcy being a truly horrendous person. What seem to be the ONLY original touches on the book are constant, similar additions of Darcy's disgustingly arrogant, mean-spirited inner thoughts to every scene. Seriously, if Elizabeth had married this Darcy, she would have been in for a nasty surprise after the honeymoon period ended.

Now. There are some versions of Darcy that are completely woobified -- where he's simply awkward and shy, and never truly did anything wrong in his life. I want to make it clear that the original Austen Darcy actually was arrogant and stuck up, and occasionally mean. I'm in favor of adaptations that actually show Darcy's flaws, instead of making him a misunderstood sadboy.

HOWEVER. When you go so far to make a Darcy that could reasonably inspire more reader hatred than Wickham, that's just not accurate.

Some highlights:

• This man genuinely seems to respect Caroline Bingley. Like... sure in P&P at the first assembly Darcy implies she would not be "a punishment to stand up with." But that's the ONLY specific instance of even vague pro-Caroline sentiment I can think of. She is absolutely venomous here, as usual, and the fact that he even sits through it with a straight face, much less PARTICIPATES?? Only a villain.

• Inner monologue literally calls Elizabeth ugly. Even after he's in love with her persists in referring to her over and over as "not beautiful." UM? All of this goes way further than "tolerable," which was only said in the first place in a fit of pique.

• Again, I will return to this. Refers to Caroline's "taking an affectionate leave of her friend," when Jane leaves Netherfield after being sick. It's written like he actually perceives Caroline as showing genuine love, and this is not the only instance either. What kind of MORON?

• "Caroline was charming this evening." No, I will not let this go.

• Darcy schemes to get Georgiana and Bingley together. L O L. Darcy's opinion of Bingley is positive, but he has a severe view of several of Bingley's flaws. He would never put someone he perceives as irresponsible or flighty in his affections in Georgiana's way as a possible suitor. You would have to write at least two years of Bingley growing notably more mature as a person and Georgiana growing up and "coming out" to make this even remotely within Darcy's character.

• Suggests that Colonel Fitzwilliam marry Caroline!!!!!!!!!! What the snick snack paddy wack! No!! I will not let it go!!!

• "The charades were very enjoyable." Listen. If you can write this sentence from Darcy's POV with a straight face, you have NO understanding of who this man is.

• Literally MCFREAKING consults Caroline as to the arrangements of social events he is hosting. In what world?

• One of the rare moments in which this book exercises its own creativity is done so specifically to make the Rosings proposal MUCH MUCH MUCH worse. It embellishes a lot of terrible things into the proposal, too much to put down here, but -- take a look at a bit of what his imagination conjured for Elizabeth's theoretical acceptance speech:

"My relatives' situation in life, their follies and vices, cannot be expected to bring you pleasure, and I am sensible of the honour you do me in overlooking their inadequacies in order to ask me to be your wife. It is therefore with a humble sense of obligation that I accept your hand."

Someone just please shoot this man. Put him out of his misery. The reason he likes Elizabeth at all is BECAUSE she is NOT like this.

Does he get better after Rosings? Yes, he ostentatiously learns very specific, articulated lessons in a sort of hamhanded way. He becomes less actively terrible, but pretty much remains dull and arguably a moron. Overall, this fanfiction is what we call truly, unforgivably OOC.

[Preetam Chatterjee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is the literary equivalent of sneaking a peek into the private journal of the man who has launched a thousand daydreams. It’s playful, earnest, a little swoony, and surprisingly sweet—like someone finally handed Mr. Darcy a pen and said, “Alright, king, explain yourself.”

And he ‘does.’ With all the bottled-up longing, prickly pride, and slow-blooming self-awareness we always suspected was simmering beneath his waistcoat.

Framed as the personal diary Darcy keeps during the events of ‘Pride and Prejudice,’ the novel gives us a front-row seat to his emotional circuitry.

We see his first impressions of Elizabeth Bennet, which are delightfully chaotic—admiration strangled by pride, attraction camouflaged as irritation, all narrated with the seriousness of a man who would absolutely overthink a handshake. Grange nails that subtle humour: Darcy is unintentionally funny, especially when dissecting his own flaws as if writing a personal audit.

What makes the retelling work is its affection for the original. Grange doesn’t rewrite Austen; she fills in the silences. Moments we only glimpsed from Elizabeth’s perspective now expand into full emotional chapters: Darcy’s growing jealousy, his protective love for Georgiana, his knife-sharp dislike for Wickham, and his crushing self-reflection after the rejected proposal. It’s like the whole emotional underbelly of the novel finally becomes text instead of subtext.

And Georgiana! She shines here—no longer a shadowy plot device but a tender, complicated younger sister. Darcy’s warmth toward her humanises him in a way that feels earned rather than engineered.

His friendships with Bingley and Colonel Fitzwilliam also have more texture: loyalty, inside jokes, and the kind of male camaraderie that’s both teasing and deeply respectful.

Grange’s prose is light, accessible, and charmingly sincere. She doesn’t attempt Austen’s irony — wisely — but instead gives Darcy a modern emotional clarity that still feels period-appropriate.

His diary voice is formal but intimate, restrained but vulnerable. And yes, delightfully dramatic in that Darcy way.

If there’s a limitation, it’s that the book occasionally polishes Darcy a bit too much, smoothing out some of the original’s sharper edges.

But honestly? It’s part of the fantasy.

We came here to witness the emotional blossoming of literature’s most famous introverted overachiever—and Grange delivers exactly that.

‘Mr. Darcy’s Diary’ is comfort-lit for Austen lovers: warm, romantic, low-stress, and irresistibly charming.

It feels like being handed the missing pages of a beloved classic—and finding, delightfully, that they read just the way you dreamed they would.

Recommended.

[Heather Moll]

-Pamela Aiden's "Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman" trilogy was better
-guilty pleasure read that was finished in one sitting
-didn't capture the style of Austen or the complexities of Mr Darcy's character

[The Books Blender · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recensione completa -> https://thebooksblender.altervista.or...

[Anna Fitzwilliam · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of JAFF I ever read. Probably opened a door of possibilities to me.

[Natasa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written, a good companion to Pride and Prejudice. Amanda Grange takes enough from the original to work well, without changing the tone, Mr. Darcy seems understandable.

[Zouaghi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well I do not think anyone would copy letters and recall full conversations in their diaries, but hey it is good enough to be appreciated.