Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell

Synopsis: Wives and Daughters
is the last and unfinished novel of Elizabeth Gaskell, who (according to the notes in the back) was more well known in her time, but was overshadowed by her contemporaries, George Sand and Charles Dickens. It was originally written as a serial, and perhaps this is the reason it is so long. My edition (Barnes and Noble Classics, 2005) is 649 pages! Anyway, on to the plot – this is the story of Molly Gibson, the daughter of a well-respected country doctor in the little town of Hollingford. She and her father are perfect friends, and everything is going on in its own quiet way until Mr. Gibson decides to remarry, partly for his own comfort, and partly for a suitable mother for Molly, who is of the age to attract the eyes of young men. The new Mrs. Gibson has many good qualities, but is perhaps not the best match for Molly and her father in the end. However, they get along as they can, and the addition to their family party of Mrs. Gibson’s daughter, Cynthia Kirkpatrick smooths the way a bit. Cynthia is bright and charming, and ends up engaged to Roger Hamley, the son of the neighborhood squire, while secretly engaged to a Mr. Preston. Oooo, intrigue! Now, I will not spoil the rest of the book for you, but proceed to tell you why you should read this book.

Rating: I (heart) Elizabeth Gaskell!

Opinion: If you like Jane Austen’s writings, you will enjoy this book immensely. Molly is a very sympathetic character – she is so loyal and sweet, the reader feels for her, especially when she ends up helping Cynthia out of her secret engagement, to the detriment of her own character. Cynthia does not have as high a moral code as Molly and Mr. Gibson, but she has a way about her that endears her to everyone. Mrs. Gibson will get under your fingernails, but she does care about Molly and Mr. Gibson, which redeems her in a small way. The descriptions and language are beautiful, and the dialogue and descriptive passages are well balanced. Incidentally, I saw the Masterpiece Theater movie before I read the book, and was extremely pleased with the accuracy of the movie, finally having found a copy of the book to compare. Their resolution of the unfinished part was extremely satisfying, even though they did tweak the book a little. I cannot tell you how very satisfying and pleasurable this book was to read. I absolutely loved it!

Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife by Linda Berdoll

I probably shouldn’t be trying to write this while watching The Joy Luck Club (hm, maybe I should read that one again, too!), but I am. Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife is a contemporary book written in the style of Jane Austen, and continues the story of Pride and Prejudice, which is my favorite book. It starts with Mr. & Mrs. Darcy’s trip home to Pemberley. While not Jane Austen, it is well written and a pretty good story. And quite risque! There are several sex scenes in the book, which I actually thought quite funny, as they are written in J.A.’s style. For example:

“She was only sensible that his shirt and small-clothes clung to him, hindering her hands from sliding across his body. Evidently, this was an irritant to him as well. For he rose from her and begat a fierce struggle to divest himself of them.”

Anyway, most of the book (and it is a lengthy 465 pages) is not sex. The plot interweaves the Darcys’ story with the Bingleys’ and the Wickhams’, and is rather convoluted. There is the bastard son of Darcy or Wickham, we’re not really sure, the kidnapping of Elizabeth, the sudden and unfortunate demise of a certain clergyman, and the disappearance of Miss Darcy in the company of said bastard son. The characters are written more emotionally, and the novel seems more melodramatic to me than P&P. J.A. excelled at observation and finding humor in other’s follies, and Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife seems almost an action novel in comparison (this kind of makes me thing of Eddie Izzard’s description of A Room with a View and what would happen should Hollywood get a hold of it).

Berdoll also develops the characters from P&P – especially Wickham, who turns out to be quite the rogue. Miss Darcy surprised me as well. I liked that she allowed the characters to grow. I think I will put Darcy & Elizabeth, the next one, on my reading list.