An Assembly Such as This
by Pamela Aidan

For the First in a Series, Back to History and A-Z reading challenges.

English
256 pages
Touchstone
ISBN: 978-0-7432-9134-7

First line: Fitzwilliam George Alexander Darcy rose from his seat in the Bingley carriage and reluctantly descended to earth before the assembly hall above the only inn to which the small market town of Meryton could lay claim.

Back cover blurb:
“She is tolerable; but not handsome enough to tempt me.”

So begins the timeless romance of Fitzwilliam Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen’s classic novel which is beloved by millions, but little is revealed in the book about the mysterious and handsome hero, Mr. Darcy. And so the question has long remained: Who is Fitzwilliam Darcy?
In An Assembly Such as This, Pamela Aidan finally answers that long-standing question. In this first book of her Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman trilogy, she reintroduces us to Darcy during his visit to Hertfordshire with his friend Charles Bingley and reveals Darcy’s hidden perspective on the events of Pride and Prejudice. As Darcy spends more time at Netherfield supervising Bingley and fending off Miss Bingley’s persistent advances, his unwilling attraction to Elizabeth grows—as does his concern about her relationship with his nemesis, George Wickham.

Thoughts: Unlike Darcy’s Story, which I read in December, this book really captured me from the first chapter. Here is Mr. Darcy as I have always pictured him. The other characters, some of which are original characters, are well-written as well and especially Fletcher, Darcy’s valet, won my heartfelt approval.

On the whole, it felt as though it was written very much in the spirit of Austen herself, and there was much giggling and squeeing from me as I read it.

The only negative thing about it is that it’s the first in a series and I hadn’t realised that the whole series would make up the events in Pride and Prejudice. In fact, I thought the following two books would relate the events after Darcy’s and Lizzy’s wedding. As I found it was not the case, I shall simply have to hunt down the following two volumes at my earliest convenience, as I will not rest until I know what happens next (shut up! Yes, I know I know what happens next, but I don’t have Aidan’s Darcy’s take on it, so there!).

For now, it’s a B grade. If the rest of the series proves to be as good as this, I might bump it up to an A in the end.

Not too many hours left of this year now—just over twenty-five here, actually.

I’ve looked over the challenges for next year and finally got around to joining two more I’ve been meaning to sign up for for a while. All lists are now set in stone (with the possible exception of the Decades challenge, which gives a little more leeway when it comes to changing one’s list).

• The Back to History challenge, where you are to read twelve books, mixing both fact and fiction, set in historical times, during the year. My list is here, or under Challenges in the top navigation.
• The To Be Read challenge, where the goal is to read (at least) twelve books that have been in your to be read-pile for at least six months (though this time limit is optional, I still chose to go with it). You also have the option to pick twelve alternates and I have done so. My list is here or, as always, under Challenges in the top navigation.
• I will also be reading the Bible as a challenge during 2008, but that will be more behind the scenes, as I don’t think I will post much about it. The challenge is hosted by Caroline, though, and here is the challenge post itself. Like her, I shall be reading three chapters every day, except Sundays, when I shall be reading five. Unlike her, I will be reading a Swedish translation.

As you might also have noticed, in the last couple of reviews I’ve posted I’ve said that I read the books for the End of Year Mini Challenge, which is a personal challenge I came up with as a last minute thing to spur me on to manage 140 books this year. I only have one book to go now, so it seems likely I shall reach my goal.

I’m a ridiculous little book geek and every year I look forward to summing up the reading year that’s just passed, so expect one of those posts as soon as the bell tolls midnight on the thirty-first.

Happy New Year, everyone! (And by everyone I mean those who read this blog, which is a small set of everyones. All the same!)