Comments on: REVIEW: The Darcys Give a Ball

By: Elizabeth Newark

Elizabeth Newark — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 22:30:26 +0000

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

By: Julie P.

Julie P. — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 19:05:16 +0000

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.

By: robin

robin — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 18:17:59 +0000

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.)

By: robin

robin — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 18:05:59 +0000

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.

By: Julie P.

Julie P. — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 18:42:46 +0000

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.

By: Mags

Mags — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 15:44:33 +0000

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.

By: robin

robin — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 13:19:08 +0000

$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.

By: Julie P.

Julie P. — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 11:01:38 +0000

$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!

By: Jeanette

Jeanette — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 16:59:44 +0000

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.

By: robin

robin — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 13:43:09 +0000

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.