Fitzwilliam Darcy has successfully prevented his friend, Charles Bingley, from ever returning to Hertfordshire and thus be
thrown into the company of Ms. Bennet. Darcy is quite relieved himself that he will never again see
Elizabeth Bennet, although he cannot quite remove her from his thoughts. Only Darcy's duty to Pemberly and his family drives him to accept an invitation from Lord Sayre to spend a considerable time at Norwycke Castle, in the company of eligible females. With a resolution to look for a wife, Darcy travels to Norwycke Castle and finds himself intrigued and drawn to the enchanting lady Sylvanie. Amidst the flirtation is a danger which involves the darkest of rituals, putting Lord Sayre and his guests in peril and Darcy's resolve to waver.
The second instalment in Pamela Aidan's
A Novel of Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman gives us a glimpse into what could possibly have happened to Darcy during those times when he was silent in Jane Austen's
Pride and Prejudice. While the plot is exciting in itself, it is, in my honest opinion, a noticeable deviation from Austen's writing style. I see in this novel Aidan's independent style of writing and she seems to be more on the suspense genre. Except for the occasional mention of Elizabeth Bennet's name, I found it difficult to keep the novel in the context of
Pride and Prejudice, thinking more on the lines of an Agatha Christie work. It seems like a character in this second book just happens to be named Fitzwilliam Darcy. Suffice it to say that I enjoyed the book; although I can't wait to finish it, not exactly to know how the suspense ends, but more on finding out how, knowing that Darcy ends up with Elizabeth Bennet, his move to propose to Elizabeth was formulated. I still think that a trilogy was not necessary and Darcy's 'silent moment' need not have involved all this suspense. Enjoyable read, though; that much I will admit.