Status Updates From A Cottage Near Lambton: A P...

“Mrs Younge sat near enough to assist without appearing to direct.”
Third time in three chapters we’ve been told something like this about Mrs Younge, with same sentence structure.

“…the danger lay in the flue, narrowed and drawing badly. The sweep meant to open it higher and clear it properly. Until then, no fire would be lit.” At last, an event! A chimney fire requires the girls to stay at Pemberley. But first we must endure a minute inventory of the smoke and water damage, and the state of the chimney, at least four times. No exaggeration.

“You are very kind,” Jane replied, with that calm warmth which never made kindness feel like a debt.
This sort of description is also lavished on each character, telling us how to interpret the repetitive, unimaginative dialogue as if that will make it interesting.

Almost halfway through, nothing has happened and I feel ready to scream. The author has a truck of phrase which anthropomorphises the houses, the weather, the furniture. “…the house itself seeming to have learnt quieter habits in mourning.” This kind of statement might be charming if rare, but it occurs on nearly every page.

The tone is gentle to a fault, and it does not feel at all like a P&P variation.

Stunning prose in this book so far!

We are told Darcy is struck surprised by seeing Elizabeth “in color” for the first time (at an asembly).

But we were explicitly told that from the first day the Bennet sisters left mourning attire, Darcy and Elizabeth have been together several times, at Pemberley (visiting Georgiana) and once on a day excursion to see Bingley’s new home.

Very ill advised for the author to name Bingley’s newly purchased home Haddon Hall — this is the name of a super important, well known, real-life historic building in Derbyshire. It’s a massive medieval castle, former seat of the Dukes of Rutland, still in the hands of the Manners family (the current Duke’s brother)

Bingley can’t afford this one !

There are several instances of editorial gaffes in which a scene is sort of retold in different/consecutive paragraphs with slight alterations or in a circular pattern that is confusing to read : a farewell that happens with similar words in two or three different places, Mary or Kitty saying the exact same words on different scenes reacting to similar situations.

Probably different drafts copy-pasted together

1) Darcy agrees to have Georgiana invite ALL the Bennet ladies to Pemberley, G goes to write the note asap

2) weeks go by and the Bennet household only see the Darcys at church

3) an eternity afterwards the note is sent to the Bennets with an invitation for Mary ONLY

Strange that…

Mr Darcy addresses Miss Darcy and says “with your mother’s approval” — WHAT IS THIS???

Is this a typo, an editorial misstep, or a new addition to this variation that we have not been told before ??

Funny how a trip from Meryton to Lambton includes commentary on the landscape near London (a usual geographical gaffe).