REVIEW: The Darcys Give a Ball
Review by Allison T.
“The romantic attachments of one’s children are a constant distraction,” says Mrs. Darcy to her sister Mrs. Bingley, and such is the theme of Elizabeth Newark’s The Darcys Give a Ball (Sourcebooks, 2008). Originally published in 1997 as Consequence, the book’s subtitle is “A Gentle Joke, Jane Austen Style,” and indeed this work is both gentle and amusing. As for the children, well! Fitz Darcy (Mr. and Mrs. Darcy’s eldest) is in love with his cousin Amabel Bingley, while Henry Darcy is falling for Eliza Collins (the youngest of their children, described as a “changeling,” not exactly pretty, but possessing a pair of fine eyes). Meanwhile, spoiled Juliet Darcy is angling for the handsome and dashing Gerard Churchill.
In an effort to distract Henry, the Darcys decide to give a grand ball in Juliet’s honor. And who should they invite? (Take a deep breath here.) Well, the lovely Dorothea Brandon, of course, and her cousin Nell Ferrars, the two young Tilneys, Priscilla and Frederick, and Alexander and Paul Wentworth (their father has been made Admiral, we are happy to note). Mrs. Darcy, who confesses to always having had a slight tendre for George Knightley, takes care to invite the Knightley twins, Colin and Christopher, and the two Bertram girls (their father is now Sir Thomas) as well as their cousins Pamela and Angelica Yates. Of course, they must invite Georgiana’s daughter, Lucy, as well as Colonel Fitzwilliam’s two red-haired children, Torquil and Catriona (he married a Scottish lady).
Fortunately, Mrs. Darcy does not need to invite the eldest Collins boy, who has married Eugenia Elton and is now vicar of Highbury. And, also fortunately, the Wickhams are all in Ireland (it is apparent that Lydia is being Irregular again). But trouble looms when Miss Caroline Bingley—a nifty combination of her old self further soured by an added soupcon of Mrs. Norris’ personality—steps in to try to manipulate Lucy and keep her away from Jonathan Collins, a pleasant young man who is interested in insects and natural science. And worse is yet to come when Walter William Elliot, somewhat older than the others in his generation, and Selina Ferrars, daughter of Robert and Lucy, show up.
Newark’s work is charming—though it is challenging to keep all the kids straight—and The Darcys Give a Ball is an enjoyable way to pass a few Austen-related hours. I have two quibbles: the book is set in the year of Queen Victoria’s marriage (1840), but the dances mentioned—the polka, the cotillion and redowa-mazurka—were not yet popular in England. However, while inaccurate, mentioning these dances does serve to mark the book as being in a later period than most sequels admit to being. Similarly, the cover illustration (over which the author probably had no control) shows a gentleman bowing to a row of ladies attired in gowns of 1810: obviously the cue to us simple-minded Austen fans that this is an Austen sequel (like we can’t do the math when we learn that the Darcys’ eldest boy is 25). These quibbles aside, The Darcys Give a Ball is a welcome addition to the Austen sequel bookshelf (or bookcase, depending on how many sequels you indulge in).
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This Book was renamed from “Consequences: or whatever became of Charlotte Lucas, I loved it when I readed it and I think it is one of the best done sequels I have read. Question if Elizabeth’s daughter would be that changed but I love the Lucas children. It is a nice read!
I also enjoyed this book very much indeed, and have on subsequent re-readings since then. The only thing I wondered about was whether it was really necessary to get all of the next generation to the ball. Cute, cute, but it seemed a bit forced. Still – I also think this is one of the better sequels, if only because – aside from the guest list – it doesn’t try that hard. It lightly focuses on a period of about a month, and is amusing and very entertaining in its own right. I was also comforted to see that despite the trials of being Mr Collins’ wife, Charlotte Lucas was still tranquilly satisfied with the decision she made.
I read this review and said “Gee, this sounds familiar!” Then I find that I had already read it under its previous title. I did enjoy it as “Consequence” and hope that other people get to read it too.
Lydia is being Irregular again
You mean she now has a husband/signif in a different branch of the Service, or this is some kind of Women’s Trouble?
Robin, men can be irregular too, you know.
robin: Lydia had been widowed and found a new man, with whom she had a new child, but, well, she’s Lydia! She can’t do anything in a proper fashion. (And it’s not important to the plot, just mentioned in passing).
I have this under its old title and it is a pleasure to read. I like to imagine what happens to people so I enjoyed seeing all the children of the next generation–the only thing that somewhat bothered me was Lizzy and Darcy having allowed their daughter to become so self-absorbed. However, since she was their only daughter, and since it was necessary to the plot, I will allow it to be possible.
All of the original Austen characters are recognizable, and I love her portrayal of Charlotte.
Does anyone know if this new edition is exactly the same as the old?
I see the author, Elizabeth Newark, has also published a book called Jane Eyre’s Daughter.
Apparently the earlier edition, Consequence: Or Whatever Became of Charlotte Lucas is quite collectible now… a copy costs $179 or more. Apparently, it has Hugh Thomson illustrations, presumably from P&P. I also wonder if it’s the same as the new book.
This was the first Austen sequel that I read. I’ve had a hard time finding it again (I borrowed it from a library in the town I used to live in) and I am glad to see it is being published again.
$179?????
I couldn’t tell you how much my copy cost, but I can tell you it was a fraction of that! I dug into my JA bookshelf and there it was, in pristine condition. I don’t want to sell it (in fact, I think I’ll re-read it), but it’s nice to know I could do so for a rather hefty profit if I wanted!
$179?????
Probably the bottom will drop out of the market for the earlier title (Consequence: Or Whatever Became of Charlotte Lucas) now that the new retitled book is out. I’m guessing that the price went that high simply because folks wanted the book to read and it was scarce (I don’t think there are many copies of it in libraries), rather than bibliophiles wanting a collectible for the shelf.
That’s one of the reasons I like electronic books–they don’t go out of print. $179 for an Austen paraliterature title is ridiculous. It was the same way with The Confession of Fitzwilliam Darcy (also recently republished in paperback–we’ll have a review next week), which I like well enough but it was insane that it was being sold for $250. If the author actually got some of that money, it would be different. I just wonder if anyone actually *bought* the books for those prices, or the seller was just being especially hopeful.
For all those who asked: as far as I know, it’s the same book.
Pemberley Shades also goes for obscene amounts of money. Even the recently published “black market” paperback is going for $89 at one of Abebooks’ booksellers. I bought mine at JA Books in Chicago for $65, and only because it was a library copy. If it had been a privately owned copy, the price would have been much higher. Abebooks is showing copies ranging from US$ 125.13 all the way up to US$ 650.00. Yikes.
I just looked around on Google Books, WorldCat, etc. for D.A. Bonavia-Hunt, author of Pemberley Shades. It seems she published another novel, The Relentless Tide, published by Dutton in 1951 (no record of a UK edition.) She seems to have come from a literary family, as there is are dozens of books published by various Bonavia-Hunts in the period 1880 to 1960. The clan seems to have been founded by William Hunt, former private secretary to the Bishop of Jerusalem, who married Marietta Bonavia, the daughter of a Maltese doctor of Italian extraction. The most famous Bonavia-Hunt was their son Henry George Bonavia-Hunt (1847–1917) who has a profile in the Dictionary of National Biography. He was an Anglican clergyman, teacher, composer of sacred music, and a prolific author. I would hazard a guess that D.A. Bonavia-Hunt was his daughter.
I suppose that last sentence should read -
I would hazard a guess that D.A. Bonavia-Hunt was his daughter (or granddaughter, or niece, or grandniece or similar.)
Inspired by this post, I just started re-reading “Consequence” and notice that Ms. Newark really needed a good editor. I hope the new edition is, shall we say, cleaner.
Yes, Dear Readers, ‘The Darcys Give a Ball’ is exactly the same as ‘Consequence, Or, Whatever Became of Charlotte Lucas.’ I myself prefer my original title, but publishers will be publishers. ‘Consequence’ was my first effort at self-publishing. I sold 1,000 copies by word of mouth.
‘Jane Eyre’s Daughter’ will be out later this year.
I have also writen ‘Eligibility, being an Account of the Romance Between Miss Elizabeth Mouse and Mr. Fitzwilliam Souris,’ which I am hoping the same publisher will publish. It is the World’s only Mouse version of ‘Pride and Prejudice.’
Elizabeth