Pride and Prejudice, WWI, Downton Abbey – these are
three of my favorite things and make for a winning combination. Darcy’s Hope:
Beauty from Ashes includes these three elements as it tells a Pride and
Prejudice variation set during WWI.
Captain Fitzwilliam Darcy has requisitioned the dower
house at Longbourn manor for the military during WWI and in doing so promised
Elizabeth Bennet’s father that he would take care of her if anything happened
to Mr. Bennet. After Mr. Bennet’s
untimely death, Captain Darcy proposes to Elizabeth only to be turned down.
After Mrs. Bennet turns to madness and Longbourn goes down in flames, Elizabeth
and Jane become nursing assistants, VADs, and are sent to France.
Elizabeth wants to become a doctor and take care of
herself, but working in a bloody field hospital, gives her pause. Darcy arrives at the field hospital she is
working to take over the general management of the hospital, but also to look
for undercover agents that could be linked to the despicable Lieutenant
Wickham. Is Elizabeth part of the
plot? Can Darcy keep his emotions reined
in throughout the turmoil of war?
I greatly enjoyed this novel. One of my favorite parts of the novel was the
mention of other great characters. For
example, John Thornton, mill owner and hero of Elizabeth Gaskell’s North and
South shows up as a batman for Captain Darcy and helps him to understand that
class boundaries don’t define people.
“He had maintained a comfortable distance from his men over their months
in the trenches, but remaining aloof from Thornton had been a challenge. Despite the mill owner being a man of trade,
Darcy liked him. Both possessed a
reserved temperament and generally preferred books to crowds.”
Captain Darcy also meets Robert Knightley, the
descendent of George and Emma Knightley of Jane Austen’s novel Emma. He like Matthew Crawley of Downton Abbey, has
inherited Donwell Abbey after the male heirs died away. He has a problem as a doctor trying to fit
into the life of a gentleman. I loved
his story and hope to see more of him in the follow up book, Darcy’s Hope: At Donwell Abbey.
I enjoyed that author Ginger Monette really seemed to
do her research on WWI and incorporated a lot of intriguing details throughout
the story. I also enjoyed that this variation
was set after most of the events of the original story so it was more of an
add-on to the story. What if Elizabeth
refused Darcy, but never received his letter?
I also liked that the novel really showed Darcy’s changing attitudes as
well as his pain from being on the front in the Somme. I will admit thought that I was dismayed by
the ending as I really want to know what is going to happen next? Who is behind the espionage? What does Wickham’s cryptic message mean?
My favorite quotes:
“Though she despised the man, she now needed him. Life had a cruel way of mocking her fate.”
“He startled, stunned as if struck by a bolt of lightning. All men were the same – equal in the sense
that they all had two arms and two legs.
What truly differentiated one man from another was opportunity and
character. The rest were merely
superficial presentations – like money and manners.”
“But war had a way of changing things. Sometimes beauty rose from ashes.”
Overall, Darcy’s Hope: Beauty from Ashes was an
engaging historical fiction story and intriguing Pride and Prejudice
variation. I look forward to the next
chapter in this saga.
For more on Darcy's Hope: Beauty from Ashes, read an interview with author Ginger Monette at this link.
Giveaway
Laura, this novel seems truly compelling. You've written another wonderful review! Darcy's Hope sounds like a unique and intriguing P & P variation, set during WWI. Thank you for hosting this terrific giveaway!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Laura, for the lovely post and review!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed pairing Darcy with Thornton. Wouldn't it be fun to read a full crossover story between P&P and North & South. Hmmm. Maybe I'll put some thought into that as a future story!