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Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife

What readers are saying

"Whoa, Darcy!"

"Some parts are hilarious and some a walk on the wild side for Austen characters. Curl up and enjoy!"

"Tells the tale I always wanted to hear...how the Darcys lived happily ever after..."

"The only fault I found with this book was that it ended."

Every woman wants to be Elizabeth Bennet Darcy—beautiful, gracious, universally admired, strong, daring and outspoken—a thoroughly modern woman in crinolines.

And every woman will fall madly in love with Mr. Darcy—tall, dark and handsome, a nobleman and a heartthrob whose virility is matched only by his utter devotion to his wife.

Their passion is consuming and idyllic—essentially, they can’t keep their hands off each other—through a sweeping tale of adventure and misadventure, human folly and numerous mysteries of parentage.

Hold on to your bonnets! This sexy, epic, hilarious, poignant and romantic sequel to Pride and Prejudice goes far beyond Jane Austen.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Excerpt

Excerpt

Preface

The renowned (if occasionally peevish) lady of letters, Charlotte Brontë, once carped of fellow authoress Jane Austen’s work, “…she ruffles her reader by nothing vehement, disturbs him by nothing profound: the Passions are perfectly unknown to her…what throbs fast and full, though hidden, what the blood rushes through, what is the unseen seat of Life and the sentient target of death—this Miss Austen ignores.”

It is forever lost what Jane Austen might have made of Jane Eyre, hence we shan’t dally with such a conjecture. And however we are moved to defend Miss Austen’s unparalleled literary gift, we cannot totally disregard Miss Brontë’s observation, for it was quite on the money. Jane Austen wrote of what she knew.Miss Austen never married, it appears her own life passed with only the barest hint of romance. Hence, one must presume she went to her great reward virgo intactus.

As befitting a maiden’s sensibilities, her novels all end with the wedding ceremony. What throbs fast and full, what the blood rushes through, is denied her unforgettable characters and, therefore, us. Dash it all!

We endeavour to right this wrong by compleating at least one of her stories, beginning whence hers leaves off. Our lovers have wed. But the throbbing that we first encounter is not the cry of a passionate heart. Another part of her anatomy is grieving Elizabeth Bennet Darcy.

Part One

As plush a coach as it was, recent rains tried even its heavy springs.Hence, the road to Derbyshire was betimes a bit jarring. Mr. Darcy, with all gentlemanly solicitousness, offered the new Mrs. Darcy a pillow upon which to sit to cushion the ride.

It was a plump tasselled affair, not at all discreet. His making an issue of her sore nether-end was a mortification in and of itself. But, as Elizabeth harboured the conviction that she had adopted a peculiar gait as a result of her most recent (by reason of matrimony) pursuits, her much abused dignity forbade her to accept such a blatant admission of conjugal congress. Thus, the cushion was refused.

Dignity notwithstanding, the unrelenting jiggle of the carriage demanded by the puddles bade her eye that same pillow wistfully as its soft comfort lay wasted upon the empty seat opposite them. As she clung to the handgrip, she knew it was indefensibly foolish not to admit to her husband that he was justified in suspecting that she needed it. But at that moment, not making a concession to him was a matter of principle.

Suffering both from the road and from knowing herself unreasonably miffed, she submitted to the silent chastisement that she must learn to accept the perversely quixotic turns of her new husband.

As each and every muddy mile they travelled diminished the distance betwixt Elizabeth and the awesome duty that awaited her as mistress of such a vast estate as Pemberley, she became ever more uneasy. It was not that she had only then fully comprehended what awaited her, for she had. At least as comprehensibly as it was possible.

Hitherto, there had been the excitement of the wedding, and moreover, the anticipation of connubial pleasures with Mr. Darcy that buffered her from the daunting devoir that lay ahead. In soothing her newly appreciated trepidation, her husband was of no help whatsoever. Indeed, they had no more than stepped from their matrimonial bedchamber before he had reclaimed his recently relinquished mask of reticence. And with it, that maddening hauteur. One peculiar only to him.

It was only subsequent to their engagement that he had ceased addressing her as “Miss Bennet” in lieu of her Christian name. Delightful as that transfiguration was, her previous understanding in regards to her name was usurped in the throes of passion. For in the considerable heat generated the previous evening, he had repeatedly
murmured “Lizzy” in her ear.

To her dismay, their re-emergence into company bade the Master of Pemberleyserve compunction by abandoning that much-appreciated endearment. This disappointment would have been less egregious had he not insisted upon addressing her as “Mrs. Darcy” not only to the help, but privately as well. Her alteration from Lizzy to Mrs. Darcy had been vexatiously abrupt. Therefore, Mrs. Darcy was profoundly aggrieved and sat in petulant silence much of their trip.

This lack of conversation he did nothing to mitigate.

Indeed, it was a repetition of the ride from their wedding to their London honeymoon nest the day before. She had convinced herself hitherto that his quiet could be attributed to nerves (owing to the compleat lack of reserve that night). Presently, she had not a clue.

Upon thinking of that lack of reserve and the resultant kindness done upon her person, it bade her not to think so meanly upon her husband, silent or no. If he had truly been disquieted in apprehension of their wedding-night, might not his present reticence come from unease? It occurred to her that the more firmly he seemed in his own charge, the greater was his perceived threat to it. Hence, his wall of defence. At one time, she might have been amused to think herself such a disconcertion to the arrogant Mr. Darcy. But no more.

Impetuously, she took his hand. In no manner did she want him to believe her a peril to his well-being.

The carriage, evidently unhindered by the weightiness of her ruminations, endeavoured on. Hence, she wrested her attention from them and peered out the window as they ambled down the fashionable avenues of Mayfair. There, even so fine a carriage as theirs excited few heads to turn and watch as they passed.

But once upon the road north, a legion of staring eyes could be detected through the obfuscatory yellow fog that clung persistently to the streets.Unaccustomed as she was to being the occupant of such an elegant coach, Elizabeth was a little off-put to be the object of such general scrutiny. Mr. Darcy, however, as was his habit, practised an impervious gaze just at the horizon, reflecting neither distaste nor notice of the gawking.

They broke their journey for a spare midday meal at a plain but tidy inn. This rest occasioned the innkeeper and his wife into whimpering subservience, thus enlightening Elizabeth to the extreme deference she must weather as Mr. Darcy’s wife.

The brevity of their stop was in all probability ultimately a good thing, blessedly truncating as it did the publican couple’s display. The next fit of veneration from a person of lesser birth than the Darcys (i.e., just about everyone) would not be so unexpected. Elizabeth promised herself that she would practise Darcy’s patrician inscrutability and elude the urge to tell those servile persons they had undoubtedly mistaken her for someone else.

Whilst still partaking of their meal, Darcy apologised unnecessarily upon the austere winter dressing of his county.

Reviews

Reviews

PopSyndicate.com E.M. Effingham
Mr. Darcy Takes A Wife: Pride and Prejudice Continues by Linda Berdoll
Books: 0 comments: 07/09/2008

By E.M. Effingham


Mr. Darcy Takes A Wife masterfully alligns Jane Austen’s characters, taking us further into their lives and intrigue. Linda Berdoll, I am in awe.

Nearly ten years hence, my friend Debbie Beckwith and I established a connection over all things Austen. We formed our own society and came together for an exchange of cards, crumpets and empire waist dress designs. Of course, we also came together to view movies based on our beloved author’s novels. To say that we love Jane Austen would be an understatement. Debbie went so far as to name her daughter Elinor, but alas I had all sons. When Debbie recently sent a list of novels she had been perusing based on Jane’s dear characters, I was not tempted. Not as a true fan. But then came an irresistible curiosity toward the novel Mr. Darcy Takes A Wife by Linda Berdoll. Debbie revealed it to be saucy. Hmmmm.

Not being one to read the bodice rippers and not able to face buying something so debaucherous in my own B&N, I decided to wait until a trip to Springfield to pluck the book from the shelf in anonymity. I fought back a blush as I browsed the pages in the quiet of the store, but couldn’t put it down. Indeed! Henry Fielding is sniggering somewhere in an English grave.

Mr. Darcy Takes A Wife picks up where Pride and Prejudice gave way. Mr. Darcy has just proposed to our dear Lizzy. Since Elizabeth Bennet is a chaste lady of her time, she must discover first what it means to ignite passion and then what it means to be the Mistress of Pemberly. We get a closer peep than the servants as Lizzy moves from virginal miss to passionate madame, baudy enough to set Darcy’s hounds to howling.

Home again, I read into the night by the soft glow of my lamp, my eyes wide with intrigue. The regular Jane Austen community is in an uproar over this scandalous enlightenment, but not I. Not when I also count Isabel Allende as another of my favorite authors. Now I shall include Linda Berdoll on that same list.

Amidst the passion is a dear story of Darcy and Lizzy’s struggles together as man and wife: their relentless hopes for an heir to Pemberly, to marry off Miss Georgianna Darcy, to endure the continual absurdity of the Bennets at large, and to avoid any contact with Elizabeth’s brother-in-law, the infamous Mr. Wickham, still ever determined to glean scraps from the Darcy table while sawing away at the legs of that same table. The book is written with Jane’s flair, language and humor, a gifted achievement in and of itself. Yet Berdoll has dispensed with some of Jane’s rambling style that dated her as a pen and quill author (pre-computer). Berdoll masterfully edits her work so that the story keeps your eyes moving forward without having to reread bits and pieces as I sometimes must with my beloved Jane.

At the crux of this novel, Mr. Darcy, the king of pride and prejudice himself, strives to both please his wife and put at ease the ghosts in his closet. Yes, ghosts. His disapproval of a local lord and lady who have claimed an illigitamate heir is tempered only with his own misgivings that he himself may have fathered an illegitimate now working on his own estate. Unfortunately, the young man may well be Mr. Wickham’s unclaimed heir instead, since the mother in question had seduced them both at very early ages before the late Mr. Darcy had discovered the servant’s mischief and sent her from Pemberly, well away from his young son Darcy and charge Wickham.

And then, why did the late Mr. Darcy take such a keen interest in the boy Wickham to begin with? In dealing with his ghosts, the current master of Pemberly may discover more family ghosts than previously anticipated.

Mr. Darcy Takes A Wife: Pride and Prejudice Continues is a literary work of monumental proportions in its own right, taking up the mantle of Austen with distinguishment. Should Austen have been unbound by particulars of society, I believe she would have relished this endeavor herself. I am already on the hunt for Linda Berdoll’s sequel to the sequel.

CurledUp.com
In an ambitious project, author Linda Berdoll tries to, and does, an amazing job of writing a befitting sequel to the ever-popular Jane Austen novel Pride and Prejudice. The story picks up right where the original novel ended, with Miss Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy getting married. As a bride, Elizabeth gradually learns of the delights of the connubial bed and slowly but surely a deep bond develops between her and Darcy, and this journey is fascinating to read about, filled with erotic encounters, villains and such.

At the same time, readers are given a fascinating glimpse into what exactly motivates Darcy and the circumstances of his past which helped shape him into the introspective and outwardly cold man. Other continuing characters also get their share of the limelight. Jane and Mr. Bingley’s marriage is different from the passionate one that Lizzy and Darcy share, but they too go through their share of upheaval. Mr. Collins and Charlotte, Wickham and Lydia, Mr. and Mrs. Bennett – the author incorporates them all, and introduces many interesting new ones.

Devoted fans of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice are advised to keep an open mind about reading this novel. This is not Jane Austen of a bygone, refined era, but rather Linda Berdoll, a writer of today, who’s continuing Austen’s legendary story and as such brings her own style of flirty and fresh approach to the saga. That said, in its present form this story is equally robust and appealing on various points. Berdoll’s imagination knows no bounds, and while Lizzy and Darcy’s amatory exploits may put a startled blush on an unsuspecting reader’s cheeks, the intertwined elements of danger, suspense and adventure add an unexpected edge to this otherwise very romantic story. By turns passionate, bawdy, witty, audacious, dreamy, heartrending and entertaining, Berdoll’s narrative holds to the principal tenets of Austen’s work while taking a look beyond the microcosmic doings at Longbourn and Pemberley, at the brewing war with Napoleon and other societal goings-on of that particular era. In short, with this book, Linda Berdoll proves herself to be a worthy novelist, and her continuation of Austen’s evergreen tale will live long in readers’ memories, perhaps even as long as the original.

This Gaudy Gilded Stage
For each of the last few summers, I’ve read a Jane Austen novel. I usually take whichever one I’m reading with me on the plane to Europe: Emma to London, Pride and Prejudice to Spain. Later this summer, I’ll be teaching Persuasion, so I was going to read that, but I decided to vary the routine a bit this year and read one of the recent books that either continues or rewrites Pride and Prejudice instead.

I chose Linda Berdoll’s Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife, a continuation of Pride and Prejudice. It’s quite long, 465 pages, so I read it before we left for Paris rather than take it with me.

The novel begins the day after Mr. Darcy’s wedding to Elizabeth Bennett. As they ride in a carriage from London, where they spent their first night together, Elizabeth is in some discomfort but too embarrassed to accept her new husband’s offer of a pillow. We then enter Elizabeth’s memory as she recalls how she came by her discomfort.

This recollection points to what distinguishes this book: Berdoll more than peeks behind the Darcys’ bed curtains; she gives us graphic account (after graphic account) of their love making. It turns out that Darcy and Elizabeth are quite enthusiastic in their marital union. Anyone looking for a steamy rewriting of Austen need look no further: Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife is very much a romance novel set in the social world created by the decidedly non-sexy Austen.

Berdoll’s world is populated by all of the characters that make Austen’s novel such a treat. Besides Darcy and Elizabeth, we see Bingley and Jane (their wedding night and subsequent sexual activities are less competent than D&E’s), Wickham and Lydia (who almost immediately tire of one another’s company), the other Bennets, Mr. Collins and Charlotte, and even Lady Catherine de Bourgh (we don’t get any part of her sex life, fortunately!).

Much of Berdoll’s continuation fits well with Austen. Bingley, for example, is sexually inexperienced and rather incompetent at first in making love to his wife. This fits well with my vision of the character from Pride and Prejudice. Lady Catherine remains a dour figure staunchly opposed to her nephew’s marriage to his social inferior. Mr. Collins is still a buffoon, and Lydia and Wickham’s scenes perfectly match Austen’s foreshadowing.

But there are other parts that don’t quite fit with Austen’s creation. Darcy is not only sexually experienced when he first beds his wife but had had a few premarital affairs, has visited a brothel for several years, and might have fathered a child. This doesn’t seem at all like the character Austen envisioned. Her Darcy strikes me as too dutiful, too proud, and too correct to be fathering illegitimate children or visiting whorehouses.

Furthermore, one of the characters begins an extramarital affair during the novel. While this is no doubt historically realistic and perhaps even likely, it really doesn’t remain true to Austen’s creation. (I should point out that the novel is steeped in historically accurate details. In many ways, Berdoll’s vision of early nineteenth-century English society is far more realistic than Austen’s was. And that’s probably the rub: if you love Austen’s vision of society, you might object to Berdoll’s more realistic one.)

Likewise, Georgiana’s plot, which doesn’t really get going until rather late in the book, is just crazy. I won’t give it away, but I will say that I almost stopped reading it as a result of what happens to/with her, but by that time I was close enough to the end that I figured I might as well finish it. And finally, I really object to the way in which one of the peripheral characters dies — it turns the character into nothing but a joke. While Austen laughed at some of her creations, I don’t think she ever disrespected them by turning them into nothing but satirical butts.

But Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife succeeds or fails on the basis of its sexual scenes — they really are the core of the book. Everything else circles around and grows out of the sexual plot and activities. Here’s a sample of Berdoll’s language in these scenes, taken from the description of Elizabeth’s first night with Darcy:

Because she had felt of his body in full cry, and therefore appreciated the ampleness of his … credentials, Elizabeth had harboured a certainty she would not be taken unawares when she saw them. Yet, she could not help but stare (by reason of its tumescence, his torch of love just so happened to be trained directly upon her and it was difficult to disregard). When she finally wrested her eyes from thence, she raised on eyebrow slightly as if to question the viability of what nature insisted was, indeed, possible. ...

As you can no doubt see, the language her is rather clunky and cliched — “torch of love,” “tumescence,” “credentials.” This, combined with some of the aspects I’ve noted above, makes Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife difficult for someone like me not to get frustrated with Berdoll’s prose and departures from what I imagine to be a more authentic continuation of Austen’s novel.

But the sex scenes and overblown plot also make this novel a delight to read. It’s totally trashy and isn’t really trying to be anything else. On that level, it’s a lot of fun. Of course Darcy is well endowed. Of course Bingley isn’t. Of course we should know every detail of every time Darcy and Elizabeth have sex — in their bed, in a carriage, on a table, in the woods surrounding Pemberley.

If you’re a traditionalist, then this book isn’t for you. If you want to see what a romance writer can do with Austen’s characters, then Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife is an overheated potboiler of a bodice ripper that can’t fail to elicit a strong opinion one way or the other.

blogcritics.org Betty Wong
I have read Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice only once quite recently, and I have seen the movie starring Keira Knightley twice. So I’m not a die-hard fan, but I did love both book and movie. How can anyone not fall in love with the charming, bold Elizabeth Bennet and the mysterious and sexy Mr. Darcy? Their love story is so romantic and entertaining, and the rest of the cast of characters and their antics are hilarious. I, like every other person who loved the story of Elizabeth and Darcy, was glad that they ended up together, but sad that the story ended there. If you’re like me, you’d be hungry for a sequel to Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice because you’d just want to know what happens next.

Luckily for me, Linda Berdoll has written a beautiful sequel to Elizabeth and Darcy’s romance with her book, Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife. In Pride and Prejudice, we see Elizabeth as a girl flowering into a young woman under Darcy’s romantic pursuit of her. In Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife, we see Elizabeth’s flower positively blooming when she becomes Mr. Darcy’s wife.

Berdoll’s sequel is a maturation of Austen’s Pride and Prejudice in every sense of the word. It isn’t just that the characters mature and evolve in this book (there are some exceptions, I fear Lydia will never mature), although I positively love Berdoll’s portrayal of all the notable characters. Berdoll stays true to Austen’s characterization, but she brings so much more. Pride and Prejudice is a flowering book, just as Elizabeth was a flowering girl in it, but Berdoll’s sequel has bloomed into a beautiful epic.

Everything is more mature, more serious, more dramatic, more adult, more, more, more. Berdoll’s sequel is just so much more of Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. If you’re an Austen purist and you’re reading this, you’re probably throwing rotten tomatoes at me in your head right now, but it’s true, Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife is more! In fact, I’d say it’s almost in the same league as Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With the Wind. I wouldn’t be exaggerating at all, and I would be covered in rotten tomatoes.

I guess this is one book where you will either love it or hate it. In my case, I loved it, which I think is great because it’s so much better when you love books than when you hate them, don’t you think? There were a few things which bothered me, like Berdoll’s use of the language which sometimes didn’t seem right to me, but it’s not enough to take away from my enjoyment of the book. I loved Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife, and I want more! And being the lucky girl I am, there’s more, because Berdoll has written a sequel to this sequel. I will be continuing the exciting story of Darcy and Elizabeth in Darcy & Elizabeth: Nights and Days at Pemberley. I can’t wait!

BooksWeLike.wordpress.com
I’ve already mentioned that I’m a huge Jane Austen fan so it’s no surprise that I would pick up a book with the subtitle Pride and Prejudice Continues (there are dozens of them, but, dismissing the old adage, I picked this one because of its cover art). Not all characters are interesting enough to follow after their story has ended but Elizabeth and Darcy are certainly two that are. One can imagine a future relationship of adventure, love and shared wit. Something interesting was happening there, which surely would continue. But what exactly did their happily ever after include?
According to the author - lots and lots of sex.

One of the characters in this book, (and I’m getting the feeling she will add to the intrigue later in the story) is Juliette Clisson, daughter of a French Viscountess. She is the unofficial mistress and well paid escort of Mr. Darcy for many years before he weds. She is rich, beautiful and decidedly high class despite her profession.

Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife (and yes, I can only imagine the title is meant to be ironic, because it seems like all he does is take her - in the bath, in the carriage, on the grounds of Pemberly) is similar to Ms. Clisson in many ways, but mostly because they are both high brow smut. Don’t get me wrong, this book does not aim to hide the nature of its story, in fact it’s likely the book’s main selling point. Alas, however, I expected a story in there somewhere.

Instead I find myself reading excerpts about marginal characters (which are indeed interesting) in between the latest bout of sexual exploration for Lizzy and Darcy (for while he is experienced, she definitely is not). We are even let in on marital activities of Jane (also recently deflowered - do people still use that word?), something that would shame that honorable woman endlessly.

However I may be giving the wrong impression here. I like romance novels, particularly period pieces, as much as the next gal. They just have to be interesting. Victoria Holt has always done an amazing job of keeping the romance flowing while adding a bit of a mystery (egads, a plot? Yes, yes, oh yes!!!) to keep other parts of the brain working. (Full disclosure: I have a tattered, well read copy of Pride of the Peacock by Ms. Holt at home). The sex scenes in Mr. Darcy aren’t bad (though I did stop counting the number of times the word “member” has been used, each time making me giggle. There is also an inordinate amount of heaving bosoms.). They are actually quite good - not terribly well written nor written terribly. They are a bit, well, distracting from what little story is actually within the pages (you have to look for it, but there is one).

This outrageously sexualized version of Darcy and Elizabeth’s relationship is a stark reminder that these two actually have an interesting and complex relationship. What’s going on in their brains is just as sexy as what is going on between their bodies - isn’t that how they came to fall in love after all? Which is why it’s so frustrating to think that minus some of the sex (though I’m not arguing all) there could have been a legitimate and interesting book here. Somewhere in the middle of the book, either the characters or the author run out of sexual steam and though melodrama ensues, it’s far more intriguing then repeated coitus in the various rooms of Pemberly.

It’s just sad that no one told the author that because as it is, Mr. Darcy will grace the shelves merely as a brief, exciting romp, pleasant for the duration, but quickly forgotten once it is over.

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Trade Paper Specfications

• Length: 9.00 in
• Width: 6.00 in
• Height: 0.00 in
• Weight: 21.00 oz
• Page Count: 476 pages