Undressing Mr. Darcy, by Karen Doornebos – A Review

Literature Jane Austen challenge – E Aston

Mr Darcy’s Christmas

This felt like the wrong title for this short novel. To my mind it would be better titled Georgiana Darcy’s Christmas but maybe that did not feel so catchy or so saleable and maybe this is the cynic in me.
As in any case I really enjoyed this last read of the challenge my 14th book this first comment is a bit of a blind alley. That this challenge is coming to an end is a great sadness and next month this challenge will be over for ever. I owe a huge thank you Laurel Ann for starting the ball rolling and giving me such an amazing reading year.
Back to this book – It begins with Georgiana Darcy getting ready to go to Pemberley for Christmas with Mr Darcy. Maybe that is my clue to the title as it is definitely Georgiana Darcy at Pemberley with Mr Darcy the host si I should stop nit picking but of course there is also a houseful of other people.
All sorts of questions buzz in Georgiana’s head including will she marry the safe Mr Francis Moresby and be speeding next year in a coach to Moresby Hall in Sussex the family seat for Mr Moresby instead of going off to Pemberley. The thought of joining the Moresby family does not seem to fill Georgiana with joy and anticipation at all so from the first page doubt is also sown in this readers mind about whether Georgiana will marry this correct safe good man.
There is much to recommend Mr Moresby as he is highly regarded a clever man and the heir to a noble title but he also lives by a strict moral code and lacks humour.
Will he be the right man for Georgiana? Will he set her heart a flutter as she gazes across the room to look for him and he in turn searches the room with his eyes for her only but will he even do this? Georgiana declares she wants a reliable husband someone very different from George Wickham. This is the infamous George Wickham from Pride and Prejudice about whom Jane Austen writes that he had tried to get Georgiana to elope with him while they were both in Ramsgate far from Mr Darcy and his steady brotherly influence. In the nick of time Darcy appears and Georgiana can pour her heart to him and explain what is about to happen with Wickham and be safe from this rogue. Will Mr Moresby prove to be the one for Georgiana?
The world was waiting for the announcement of the betrothal but to whom would Georgiana give her hand. There are other suitors beside Moresby and I found myself enjoying the swings and roundabouts of the story as first one suitor and then another gains favour in Georgiana’s eyes. The final twist in the tale comes when another character from Jane Austen’s story of Pride and Prejudice appears. This is the seemingly friendly Caroline Bingley.
I was surprised by the ending and I think it was a good read as I was kept guessing which way the story would go right to the end.
As to Mr Darcy’s and the rest of the Pemberley household they are fully able at the close of the story to enjoy the Christmas festivities with Georgiana happily decided on whom she will marry.
So what next for me – plenty to read as usual – I have a few Jane Austen related books on my to be read list and of course as I live in the UK I will have the adaptation of Death Comes to Pemberley to watch in the Christmas television schedules.

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Here are my entries for December, I really can’t believe it’s been a whole year. Of course, as a result of this challenge my ‘to-read’ list is longer than when I started! What I really want to say though is Thank You. I’ve really enjoyed taking part in this challenge and reading all your reviews, keeping us up-to-date with all things Austen.
Happy New Year!

This month I read:

Darcy’s Tale, (Volume I: Into Hertfordshire) by Stanley Michael Hurd https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/793783673

And I watched the 1980 adaptation too:

“Where natural beauty had been so little counteracted by an awkward taste.” Elizabeth Bennett in Pride and Prejudice

Fay Weldon’s beautifully portrayed 1980 BBC Classic has long been my favourite adaptation of Jane Austen’s most famous novel. Everything about it from the costumes and sets to the music and the theatrical acting style add to the atmosphere and give it an air of refinement that is so lacking in later versions.

One of the things I love is that the script is very close to the original book, it often uses Jane Austen’s own narrative text to fill in the gaps in conversation, and even the dialogue that cannot be traced back to the original seems to be in keeping with the time.

Just as the book unfolds the characters by their words and deeds, so do the actors in this version convey all of the meaning with grace and subtlety. The lines sound natural, there is no doubt that they understand what they are staying and the added nuances, such as the shared looks between Mr and Mrs Gardner when in company with the Hurst’s add to the warmth and help convey the depth of the characters.

Elizabeth Garvie and David Rintoul make the perfect Elizabeth and Darcy, with the right mix of dignity, pride and humour on both sides. Likewise this version’s Jane and Bingley come over as good natured but not at all stupid, the ideal companions. Lydia is the right mix of silliness and obliviousness without being hideously vulgar, Judy Parfitt as Lady Catherine de Bourgh is a force to be reckoned with and the somewhat frog-like Mr Collin’s a pleasure to watch.

As much as I love it this adaptation is, of course, not without its flaws. The Actors are older than their characters, though they are in proportion to each other so I do not think it stands out too badly. Mary is totally unable to play and sing, though she tries, rather than simply having no real taste or natural ability. Sir William and Maria Lucas don’t go to Hunsford with Elizabeth, but the far worse omission is that we do not see the conversation between Elizabeth and her father after Darcy’s successful proposal, and that I think is a shame.

The one very wrong, and to my way of thinking, inexplicable change, is that when Elizabeth reads Jane’s letter about Lydia’s elopement she literally runs to Pemberley in search of the Gardners.

Though I know that not everyone agrees with me, even with its faults, I truly believe this mini series has yet to be beaten as the definitive adaptation of Pride and Prejudice.

I don’t keep a blog but I do haunt the Jane Austen forums on GoodReads.com and my Pride and Prejudice related book reviews can be found here (I still have a few more I picked up to read): https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/9298304-louise-sparrow?shelf=austen-challenge-2013

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