The Other Mr. Darcy

"Mean girl" Caroline Bingley gets a makeover and a romance

The Other Mr. Darcy is a new Pride and Prejudice sequel with a unique premise. Spotlight Caroline Bingley, a minor character who we all loved to hate in the original novel, and somehow make her into a likeable heroine. Impossible you say! And so it would seem. Add into the mix Robert Darcy, the unconventional American cousin of Mr. Darcy, and you have an intriguing concept that could challenge the most accomplished writer. Let's hope author Monica Fairview's fairy godmother mojo is stronger than Caroline's predilection to snark.

After attending the marriage of Fitzwilliam Darcy to Elizabeth Bennet, the distraught Caroline Bingley uncharacteristic breaks down. Unbeknownst to her, she has a witness to her emotional outburst, Robert Darcy, Mr. Darcy's American cousin. Shocked and embarrassed to be seen in such a state, their first meeting gets off to a very bad start. When they meet again a year later, Caroline is horrified to see him. Will he keep her secret, or use it against her? As they travel together from Hertfordshire to Derbyshire, complications delay their journey in Nottingham and their party takes refuge at a local estate. While there, Caroline will receive two surprising marriage proposals. One from Colonel Fitzwilliam who she suspects is motivated by her dowry, and the second by the last man in world she would be prevailed upon to marry, Robert Darcy. To save her honor, he has gallantly stepped forward offering a fake proposal to quell rumors of her engagement to the wealthy and distinguished Sir Cecil Rynes, the one man she truly aspires to marry. Dumbfounded and numb with shock, the proper Caroline has no choice but to temporarily play along with the scheme to save her own reputation. Also included in the ensemble are many familiar characters from the original novel: The Bennet's, the Bingley's, Louisa Hurst, Lydia Wickham, and of course Mr. and Mrs. Darcy, all ready to offer help or hindrance to the couple.

Cleverly crafted and humorously engaging, The Other Mr. Darcy will delight Austen fans as they travel with Caroline Bingley on a journey of self discovery to Pemberley and her heart. Monica Fairview is a skilled storyteller, creatively continuing Jane Austen's characters, presenting a captivating but un-haughty version of the iconic Mr. Darcy in his American cousin Robert Darcy, and a Caroline Bingley who clings to her structured propriety sparking brisk repartees between them. Surprisingly, this Caroline has evolved beyond that snobby and gossipy "mean girl" that we remember in the original. I did not object to her change in attitude, but I think it would have been a tad more interesting if Caroline was that "mean girl" at the beginning, and grew away from it with new experiences. Despite this small quibble, I commend Monica Fairview for waving her magic wand and cleverly transforming Caroline Bingley into a human being worth knowing!

Laurel Ann, Austenprose

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

Very Good

I got this because it was free. I am so glad I did. You get the chance to see Elizabthe and Fitzwillaim Darcy after they are married, but Caroline Bingley, and the other Mr. Darcy. Very fun and light reading. I agree with one of the other reviewers that the typo's is VERY distracting but did not take away from a very nice twist to an old story. B&N I hope you can fix this in your books, I have seen this another book but cannot remember which one at this time. Please look into this, I realize this is a less expensive way for readers to obtain books, but the quality in the text should be just as high as a printed book. If you love Jane Austen but are not a purist, you will love this wonderful story.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Review of The Other Mr. Darcy

I should have known better. Honestly, I don't know what came over me when I requested this book. If you are anything like me though, Mr. Darcy and anything connected with him holds this fascination grip over you and it's impossible to resist.

So I didn't resist. Now, don't get me wrong - Monica Fairview did a decent job of writing and preserved most of the spirit of the characters in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Eliza was a sassy as always, Lydia as silly as always and Mary as pious. Mr. Darcy came off as harsh, unforgiving to others and completely indulgent toward his wife. The character I had the most issue with was one of the main ones, Caroline Bingley.

I thoroughly detested Caroline in P&P so I was curious as to how I would react to seeing a more softer side of her. What I got was a character full of contradictions. At one moment she seemed to be Austen's Caroline and at the next Monica's. And the two didn't mesh well and it made for much confusion and an unclear picture of who this character really is supposed to be.

As for the rest of the story, it was predictable. A typical romance, mysteries that were easily seen through and nothing that really reached through and touched me - but again, this isn't Austen here.. it's a knock-off using the same characters and I couldn't expect more from it.

Honestly, I was a bit bored and really struggled with lack of desire to pick up the book and continue reading, even though it was easy to read. But for a book like it's supposed to be, it's good. Just not my cup of tea

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Another Great Darcy

How very pleasant to have another great Darcy. I could not believe I could really like another "Darcy" but I found I liked this one too and wanted Caroline Bingley to be happy. Wonderful book from beginning to end.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Okay if you're a die hard Jane Austen fan and particularly a fan

Okay if you're a die hard Jane Austen fan and particularly a fan of Pride and Prejudice you may not like this book. I too have read P&P MANY times and was not expecting to like this book very much, however, going in with the expectation that it would likely not be much like the original seemed to help quite a bit.

The author takes a lot of liberties with the original characters and it seems like the only ones who haven't changed much are Mary Bennet, Lydia Wickham, Mrs. Bennet, and Mr. Bennet. I was quite skeptical about having Caroline being the leading lady of this book and given how much I hated her in P&P I was expecting to not be rooting for her like I was for Lizzie. Somehow I got over that really fast and it likely had to do with the fact that her character was so altered it was nearly unrecognizable. After a while I started seeing the book as something new entirely only with names I recognized and could remember which made me more inclined to like it.

I think the one major thing that got on my nerves at the beginning of the book was the fact that there were 3 Mr. Darcy's that you had to keep track of and most of the time they were all referred to Mr. Darcy interchangeably. So pay attention! Aside from that it was a good read. It thoroughly kept my interest throughout and I finished it over one weekend which is very fast for how busy I tend to get. I think that if you take it for what it is rather than what it's based off of you will enjoy it much better.

I like both Darcys

Made me like caroline more

It was ok

Good a great story to read but a little slow at parts

Really good

I loved reading Pride and Prejudice, and I feel that the way Jane Austen portrayed Mr. Darcy's character was perfect. As I am reading The Other Mr. Darcy, the author has done a wonderful job in creating a charasmatic, outgoing character like Robert and I think that Austen would have approved. The character development is good, and I can feel the tension more between Caroline and Robert than I did with Eliza and Darcy. 5 stars.

Quite a suprise

I liked this book. Caroline is the main charater. There is a change to her personality.She grows as a person.

Enjoyed this book

I loved reading this book....

FREE?

it is not free. ????????

0 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Perfect

I have to say I couldnt stand Caroline Bingley in Pride and Predjudice. In this book we see a softer side of her and I fell in love with her. What a wonderfully written story Jane Austen would be proud.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Ditto Caution

I, too, have suffered the terrible avalance of typos between pages 60-75. This is VERY disturbing while reading. I would like to finish the book but don't know if I will make it through the next avalance of AU:;, where there should be quotations. B&N can this be fixed???????
I am happy that I got this book free. If I had paid for it I would have demanded a refund.

JANE AUSTEN WOULD HAVE BEEN PROUD

I got this book because it was free for the nook and Pride and Prejudice is one of my favorite all time books. I did not pay much attention to the title. When I started reading I realized that "The Other Mr. Darcy" is about characters from the original story but it is a brand new story. This is the story of Robert Darcy, who is Fitzwilliam Darcy's cousin and Caroline Bingley, Charles Bingleys' sister. It was so great to be able to read a story I had never read while still being able to realate to all the characters that you already know and love. The story is told so well in that language that makes you feel like it was written by someone long ago that you actually feel like Jane Austen herself wrote it. I was very pleasantly surprised and recommend it to Jane Austen fans and especially those who love Pride and Prejudice.

Highly recommend if you love the Jane Austen follow ons...

It was a great point of view from the witchtastic Caroline Bingley. This story really makes her human and you learn to love her. Loved it!

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

would recommend.

This book was fantastic! I've read it twice now. I love this one and AustenLand by Shannon Hale. Both are fabulous Austen born-again books!!! Wonderful!

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Caution Nook Readers

I was going along fine and all of a sudden around page 60 I started getting these "Au" with dots over the A on the pages and as I read they got worse and worse! AT chapter 7 they stopped, BUT than at page 130ish they started up again. Needless to say it's become too confusion to read, bummer. I was really looking forward to finishing this book:(

AMAZING

This book is amazing. Definitely would recommend this to anyone who loves Pride and Prejudice. I hope Monica Fairview writes more about the Darcy's. A modern day writing, which inspired my 15 year old daughter. Moncia, if you ever receive these reviews, please write more.