cover image PostScript from Pemberley

PostScript from Pemberley

. Sourcebooks Landmark, $14.99 (306pp) ISBN 978-1-4022-2432-4

In book seven of a well-researched ten-book sequel series to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, Australian writer Collins examines two couples' long march to the altar. Although the book lacks the sprightly wit of the incomparable Austen, Collins does successfully capture U.K. courtship rituals of the 1860s. The first match runs rather smoothly: Jessica Courtney, Reverend James Courtney's daughter and manager of the Pemberley Parish School, falls in love with widower Julian Darcy, whose unfaithful wife, Josie, died after a scandalous affair. Julian, a scientist headed for Africa on a research trip, courts her with frequent letters. The second couple is more problematic: wealthy Darcy Gardiner, Julian's 26-year-old nephew, is a sought-after bachelor besotted by school teacher/governess Kathryn ""Kate"" O'Hare. Not only is Kate from a lower class, but she has a secret connection to Gordon Hartley-Brown, the cousin of her former employer Lady Denny, that could threaten her future with Darcy. Collins painstakingly recreates pitch-perfect Austen period notes which her fans will relish, though her story can drag.