The Private Diary of Mr. Darcy: A Novel. I was sent this novel as an early reviewer book several months ago. I didn't open it right away, and now I'm regretting that fact because this book is a fun, fast read that should entertain any fan of Jane Austen's work. The novel tells the story of Pride and Prejudice from Mr. Darcy's perspective through the medium of his private diary. Slater does a good job of inventing Mr. Darcy's motivations and imagining his emotions as he moves through his relationship with Elizabeth. Slater sticks closely enough to Austen's text and characters to make her story believable. The main players - Elizabeth, Jane, Charles, and Mr. Darcy - don't depart suddenly from the personalities assigned to them by Austen. Slater saves her imaginative moments to flesh out the minor characters from Austen's novel - Georgiana Darcy, Colonel Fitzwilliam, and Ann De Bourgh all receive extra treatment. This book's one failing for me was the prominent role played by the poet, Lord Byron. I did not mind him as a friend of Darcy's but I did mind spending so much time with him (especially during Darcy's visit to his estate). The themes he represented - debauchery, irresponsibility, bachelor life - were important, but I would have preferred Slater to spend less time reconstructing Byron's life in the novel and more time on Darcy himself. Nevertheless, this was a very entertaining partner to Austen's novel, and I'd recommend it to anyone interested in hearing the "other side" of the story.

The Private Diary of Mr. Darcy by Maya Slater is supposed to be the long lost diary recording the events of Pride and Prejudice from Fitzwilliam Darcy’s point of view.

Essentially, the novel is just a long series of diary entries recording the life of Mr. Darcy from the first day he meets Elizabeth Bennet to shortly after his second proposal to her. To keep the entries from becoming too mundane, the author adds in a fictionalized friendship between Darcy and Lord Byron and little hints of what might have been going on historically at the time the diary year is supposedly set. She also makes use of some images that are more reminiscent of a Philippa Gregory novel than Jane Austen. Because of the diary form, not much effort has been put into character development.

I read the book in one sitting, and wasn’t very impressed with its depth. We get to see inside the head of Darcy, but the other characters aren’t very well developed, and Elizabeth ends up being a very minor character. The friendship with Lord Byron seemed contrived, and Darcy’s friendship with his cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam, wasn’t very believable. A little more was made of his friendship with Charles Bingley, but Bingley came across as kind of a namby-pamby and a patsy of Lord Byron’s. The historical details the author adds do not jive with the years in which Pride and Prejudice was originally written (1796-1797). Austen wrote Pride and Prejudice before the start of the Napoleonic Wars, and details from the diary would have set the novel at least ten years after Pride and Prejudice was originally written. There were also hints in the diary about the Luddite Riots (1811-1812), which also did not take place until well after the original dates of Pride and Prejudice. However, if these details weren’t in the diary, the book really wouldn’t have much at all going for it. A slightly better imaginary Darcy diary is Mr. Darcy’s Diary by Amanda Grange. A much, much better telling of the story from Darcy’s point of view is the trilogy of books by Pamela Aidan (An Assembly Such as This, Duty and Desire, and These Three Remain).

The imaginary diary of Mr. Darcy rests on historical facts thrown in that don’t really support Pride and Prejudice; however, they are what makes this book interesting. Finding out a little bit about Regency England while reading a mildly good book would make this book appealing to readers who like historical romances that are light and airy and don’t require a lot of knowledge about the era described. ( )

The Private Diary of Mr. Darcy is a companion piece to Pride and Prejudice, relating events in the life of Mr. Darcy from just before he meets the Bennets to shortly before he and Elizabeth are wed. It is written in the form of a personal diary, written in the first person. There are, of course, events in his life that have nothing to do with the Bennets and the tale of Pride and Prejudice, but I found them mostly uninteresting. I read The Private Diary of Mr. Darcy in parallel with rereading Pride and Prejudice and the styles are strikingly different. The former is often tedious and rarely funny. The latter is often funny and always engaging. ( )

Don't look at The Private Diary of Mr Darcy as a retelling or reimagining of Pride and Prejudice. It does tell the story from Darcy's point of view, but the whole idea that this "diary" was the basis that Jane Austen wrote Pride and Prejudice around just seemed a little far fetched. Not a bad book, just not something that I was able to really get into. Maybe if I give it another read through someday I'll fell differently about it. ( )

For those of us who love Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, this book is an excellent companion piece to that wonderful novel. This is Pride and Prejudice told entirely from Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy's point of view--written entirely in diary form. I liked this book because it gives more insight in to the character of Darcy...his inner turmoils and doubts. In his diary, he wears his heart on his sleeve and we are shown an even more caring character than we find in Pride and Prejudice and, therefore, a more suitable match for Miss. Elizabeth Bennett. We also are treated to a look at Mr. Darcy's friendship with the illustrious Lord Byron. Darcy's propriety and genuine character contrast nicely with Byron's debauchery, although Darcy is far from being of complete innocence--he is a single man after all. I found the addition of Lord Byron to the story very clever as it gives Mr. Darcy a place, so to speak, in the historical world. Some may be shocked by some of Mr. Darcy's actions in the book, but I find it refreshing as it seems an accurate portrayal of a well-to-do bachelor of the time period. What I do find ironic is the fact that the Bennett sisters are considered "unsuitable" for a high-born marriage because of their lower status in society and yet a wealthy bachelor could visit houses of ill repute, etc. and not fear for a lowering of his reputation. I guess it was certainly a man's world back then! In all, The Private Diary of Mr. Darcy is an excellent read. Ms. Slater has produced a novel that is smart and provocative. Austen enthusiasts should consider reading this, especially after reading the original Pride and Prejudice again. ( )

Had I liked the new characters that the author created in lieu of Mr. Darcy and his sister as written by Jane Austen, I would have enjoyed this book from the outset a little more than I did. The book was well written, although I did not feel a great affinity toward this new Mr. Darcy. His questionable morals (witnessing a girl getting raped and doing nothing), low self esteem (too many incidents to list), and disagreeable friendship with Lord Byron created a character that I did not like and was disappointed to see form an alliance with Elizabeth. Also, I did not see the necessity of Georgiana's character being changed either, but at least this character was much more likable than Mr. Darcy. In addition the relationship between the two siblings was not as it was portrayed in Pride and Prejudice. In The Private Diary of Mr. Darcy their relationship was not consistent. It seemed to vacillate based on the convenience of the author. The other characters like Elizabeth and Mr. Bingley were well portrayed, as was the language of that time. In the authors defense, I think it could be argued that she was portraying more realistic characters than the ones written by Jane Austen, utilizing common practices of the day. ( )

Before reading “The Private Diary of Mr. Darcy” by Maya Slater, I decided that I was due for a reread of “Pride and Prejudice” so it would be fresh in my mind when I read this book. I think that helped me enjoy “The Private Diary” more than I would have had I not done a reread, but unfortunately it also brought to my attention more inconsistencies than I would have noticed had I not had “Pride and Prejudice” fresh in my mind.

The main problem I noticed was in Darcy himself; I found him to be quite different from Austen's Darcy. Slater's version just seemed like far too much of a pushover lacking in self-confidence; I can't imagine Austen's Darcy ever going along with things someone like Lord Byron plans (yes, he was a character in this version, which could have been interesting, but I just found his addition to be annoying, probably because I hated his character, but I digress) or frequenting brothels and prostitutes. Now, I can understand a man in his late twenty's not being a virgin until marriage, especially in that time period when those sorts of ladies were easy to be found, but I just could not see someone with Austen's Darcy's morality and confidence feeling the need to visit that type of woman so frequently (honestly, it just made me feel sorry for Elizabeth in case Darcy had acquired some sort of disease. Maybe I'm the only one who thought that, but maybe not). I also can't see Darcy as being so low in self-confidence as Slater wrote him to be, following behind Byron in his unsavory escapades, nor can I see him so blindly believing what cronies of Wickham (the man he very much despises) say about Elizabeth's sister, which is the main cause of a lot of Darcy's problems. Austen's Darcy seems more intelligent than to believe people he wouldn't trust or like.

For some information, while I think Austen's Darcy is an okay character, I'm not one of the women who are head over heels in love with him, and he's certainly not my favorite Austen character. You can take my opinion of Slater's Darcy as an unbiased opinion on that front, not as someone who can't bear to see him shown in a negative light; this is just the opinion of someone with knowledge of Austen's works who enjoys good characterization.

Don't get me wrong, “The Private Diary of Mr. Darcy” is a good book; it's well written and Slater definitely has a firm grasp on the culture and time period of the original. I enjoyed her version of the plot, and some of the changes to characters I did like; I found Darcy's sister Georgiana to be interesting. While different from Austen's, Georgiana was so little in “Pride and Prejudice” that there was room to change her character around creatively (for instance, not making her as meek as she appears in “Pride and Prejudice”, which I thought was a neat touch!). You can't really change around an already detailed character, though, without people getting somewhat annoyed or taking away the enjoyment of their reading. Really, I found the rest of the characters interesting and pretty accurate (except Byron who just got on my nerves, like I mentioned above), and, when I could get past Darcy's change, he was interesting, as well.

I think with just a little more consistency with Darcy, this could have been a great sequel to “Pride and Prejudice”; as it is, it was a book I would recommend to fans of Austen, but probably at the same time I tell them “don't expect this to be exactly Austen”. I'd give this book 2.5 stars out of 5. I hate giving such a negative review to anything, but good (and accurate, in the case of someone writing someone else's characters) characterization is such an important factor to me that if it's in any way lacking, I'm inclined to not enjoy the book as much as I could have. Characters are what make a book, in my eyes. ( )

I received this book through ER, and am so happy that I did. I really enjoyed this believable and realistic look at Pride & Prejudice from Darcy's viewpoint. It gives us a glimpse into what Darcy might have been doing in all those scenes in which he was offstage in the original. The relationship with Byron was also believable, especially the debaucheries that he put on for his friends. I also enjoyed reading about the reasons why Darcy separated Jane and Bingley, and found them to be realistic. There's an editor's note at the end that throws the question of fictionality and what is and isn't real on to the table, which I really enjoyed contemplating after reading the entire book. It made me wonder if she invented the editor's note as well! Either way, this is an agreeable, enjoyable book about one of the most famous love stories ever told. I highly recommend it for P&P fans as well as Austen fans in general. ( )

At a sale of the contents of one of England's great houses, a diary was found hidden away in the secret drawer of an old writing desk. Upon closer examination, it was clear that this was the diary of the real-life Mr. Darcy upon whose romance Jane Austen based her Pride and Prejudice. The diary reveals his daily life fencing, boxing, and occasional wenching; his time spent with friends (including the notorious Lord Byron); and, of course, his rocky romance with Elizabeth Bennet.

I'm just not sure I 'bought' it. The entire idea of a diary can be quite difficult to make masculine. Here that is partly accomplished by very short, not particularly detailed entries. But there seems to be quite an emphasis on the colors of people's clothing which did not seem particularly manly to me at all. The main issue I had with this, though, was that it did not re-tell many scenes from Austen's original. Because of that, we actually only see very little of Darcy interacting with Elizabeth. I think a bit more detail, including actively re-telling certain key scenes would have tied this more securely to Austen's novel.

So my final verdict? It was an interesting read, and I could certainly tell that a lot of research went into this novel - the key is to keep in mind that this is supposed to be the story of the real man that Mr. Darcy was later based on. As that, it works. But I think it's less successful as a re-telling of Austen's novel itself because the characters didn't really seem true to those that Austen created.

More posted at my blog. ( )

The Private Diary of Mr. Darcy by Maya Slater was puzzling. It accurately portrayed the life of a wealthy man of normal habits during the reign of George III. It roughly paralleled Pride and Prejudice but didn’t mirror it. There were very few quotes from Pride and you really had to know Pride in order to follow the story. This Darcy didn’t sound as much like Austen’s Darcy as I would have wished. I thought his characterization untrue to the original.

I kept reading this book looking for the hook that would link it in my heart with Pride. I didn’t find it. And there were three plot devices that just seemed wrong to me.

In the first, I had a very difficult time accepting the premise the author uses to poison Darcy against Jane Bennet and remove Bingley from the neighborhood. Supposedly Darcy overhears officers criticizing Jane and Elizabeth. But why would he take the word of officers he knows to be friends of Wickham’s, who he abhors and despises? I just couldn’t accept this premise. It is much easier to accept Austen’s premises that Darcy's convinced that Jane's heart is not involved and that he’s saving Bingley from marrying into a vulgar family. That alone would be enough in the rigid class society of the early 19th century to prevent the marriage. Darcy’s anguishing over his decision and going back and forth in his mind is tiresome.

The second is the use of George Gordon, Lord Byron, as a character. Why, in heaven’s name? Even if Darcy knew him, his interludes with Byron do nothing to move the story forward in my opinion. I’m assuming the research is accurate and the types of parties Byron would have held reasonable, but I don’t think they had a place in a book trying to work off of Pride and Prejudice.

The third is the “true” explanation of Wickham’s relationship with Georgiana Darcy. If the premise is correct, I thought Darcy would have done much more to punish Wickham and prevent his being seen in polite society. It presents Darcy as essentially spineless and not in keeping with the strength of character and honor that I think of him.

If you take the book at face value, the private diary of a Georgian gentleman, it is full of interesting detail, obviously well researched, and it works. However, as part of the Pride and Prejudice story, I found it lacking. ( )

I've snapped up as many Austen-related-"sequels"/"prequels" as I possibly can, and given that I had the opportunity to get this from Early Reviewers I jumped on it. That said, this book falls into the category of those who haven't captured Austen's spirit. While it's impossible to equal her genius, there are those who have gotten close, or who have made their characters come alive. This book was only okay. Perhaps because the idea of Darcy's diary is not quite unique anymore. There are already many different authors who've tried this. On the upside, my cover (with the painting/photograph instead of the man reading) is a large improvement from the other covers I see here. When in doubt, put a good looking guy on the front! ( )

Pride and Prejudice is one of my favorite stories so when I saw an opportunity to see the tale from Darcy's side rather than Elizabeth's, I put in my name and was rewarded with is ARC copy. Knowing how the story evolves is both an advantage and disadvantage because the reader keeps waiting for certain portions of the tale to unfold. It was enlightening to see the story from another viewpoint but I think that it may also spoil some of the romance.
Why does it spoil the romance? In P&P we see Elizabeth's change of heart as she learns of Darcy's activities to save her family's reputation but in this book, you might wonder if Darcy is just trying to save his pride because of his own stupidity in handling the situation with Wickham.
In this book the author takes liberties with the character of both Darcy and Georgiana. Darcy is shown taking advantage of a housemaid at Netherfield, with his libertine friend Lord Byron, both of which contradict conversations that he has with Elizabeth in Pride and Prejudice.
For Georgiana, Austen implies that she is rescued from Wickham before any permanent damage happens, however, Slater in this book, gainsays this by writing of the scene of her deflowering and Darcy's late arrival. Austen shows her as an obedient, quiet childlike young girl, while Slater portrays her as temperamental and calculating one moment and sweet and innocent another.
Lastly, Ireally didn't care at all for the section at Lord Byron's ancestral home.
I enjoyed the opportunity that this book presented, but I can't say that I liked the book. Placed beside the original story of Pride and Prejudice, it definitely falls short. ( )

I was very excited to receive this book through the LT Early Reviewers, but unfortunately I found it to be incredibly disappointing. I have read many of the various Pride and Prejudice sequels, backstories, etc. that are out there, but this one did not rate among my favorites. I found the portrayal of Darcy to not ring true with his character. And where I hoped to discover what Darcy was doing in the moments of the book where he is not present I was often instead left with boredom or confusion (particularly the friendship with Byron). ( )

I got this through the LT Early Reviewers.

I really wanted to like this book. It is well written, and it appears that the author has done a great deal of research to keep things historically accurate.

Personally, I just did not like this version of Mr. Darcy. Going to a prostitute twice and sleeping with one of Bingley's servants twice within the first 30-odd pages? It may be what gentlemen of the period did, but it just does not work with how I imagine Mr. Darcy. Lord Byron as Darcy's friend just did not work for me either.

I think the book would still be popular with many Jane Austen fans. Mr. Darcy seems too out of character for me, but that is just my taste. Other readers may not have such a dislike for the character. ( )

Mr. Darcy better hope that Elizabeth Bennet never gets hold of his diary – or at least not the version depicted in The Private Diary of Mr. Darcy for then his beloved Lizzy would have incontrovertible proof of his utter priggishness and all would be lost forever.

Not that the author has not done a good enough job here in writing about this near-year in Fitzwilliam Darcy’s life- the year in which he meets, spurns and eventually comes to realize his love for everyone’s favorite Regency-era heroine. Clearly Ms. Slater has done a lot of research of the time-period and she makes good use of that research as Darcy goes hither, thither and yon, filling his days with fencing, boxing, riding, the theater, a little bit of wenching, socializing with Bingley (naturally) and Byron (although why the great poet was chosen as one of Darcy’s bosom buddies I could not fathom for he seemed a most un-sympathetic and unpleasant character) and minding wee sister Georgiana’s business without let up. I mostly believe all of that bit. However, this incarnation of Darcy seems to have a major stick up his butt and it did not make me like him awfully well. I’d expected that Slater would have shown me Darcy’s true self – the self he keeps under wraps because that is what a long suffering gentleman of his sort does rather than be tiresome about displays of emotion, but instead she gave me this pompous poop whom I just could not like very well.

Oh, yeah – and if I ever hear the word “nuncheon” again, I think I will break something.

Two stars for Darcy
Three stars for the book. ( )

What I liked:
It must be very difficult to take a character so important to a novel like Pride and Prejudice and expound on his private life. Because Austen was a woman, you rarely/never read scenes in her books which feature men outside of their interaction with women. Slater did a great job of researching the time, and taking little clues sprinkled through Pride and Prejudice to create the story from Mr. Darcy’s point of view. Throughout the book Darcy interacts with his family (aunt and sister, plus some other relations which surface), gives orders to his steward back at Pemberley, hangs out with Mr. Bingley and other friends, and thinks quite a bit about Elizabeth.

What I did not like:
I must say, and this is my personal feeling, that overall I did not like the picture of Darcy that this book presented. His fictional relationship with Byron (yes, that Byron) and the way he treats those who are his friends and social equals (i.e. the Bingleys) do not quite match up with the character Austen seemed to create for him. Darcy, in a conversation with Elizabeth at Netherfield in Pride and Prejudice expresses great distain for the vices and follies of others; yet in Slater’s book we see him taking sexual advantage of a Netherfield maid. In short, throughout the book he rarely makes decisions about his conduct and behavior that set him apart from his peers- not quite the same picture of Darcy we find in Pride and Prejudice.

Too, Georgiana’s character seems to suffer in this book. At the very end of Pride and Prejudice Austen tells us that Georgiana wondered at the teasing manner with which Elizabeth treated her brother, a way Georgiana would never dare to treat Darcy. In the Private Diary, we see her bounce back and forth from petulant and moody, to willful and manipulative. So overall, I really do not care much for the interpretation put on Pride and Prejudice in this book, and despite my love of all things Austen I probably will not be recommending this book for my friends to read. It just messes with my understanding of Pride and Prejudice too much.

Things which may be corrected in the final copy:
Mine is an uncorrected proof, so these are just a comment which might be a non-issue in the final copy. As soon as I get a chance to compare this copy with a real one, I will update this.
- The random “editor” notes throughout the book. If a writer is going to omit information about Darcy giving orders about his property, then it would be best to not even put that note in. There were just too few of these notes to make them effective literary devices. ( )

In keeping with the last decade’s “title-wave” of “Pride and Prejudice” offshoots, Maya Slater brings to the table a novel in the form of Mr. Darcy’s diary. The diary begins when Darcy’s good friend Bingley lets Netherfield Hall, and ends shortly after his engagement to Elizabeth. It is “Pride and Prejudice” told in the first person voice of its incomparable romantic hero.

Fitzwilliam Darcy is a much romanticized literary hero, and exploring his inner-most psyche and motivations is a brave thing for any author to do. To strike the right balance of consistency with the classic story, and yet tell an engaging new story as well, is tricky.

Slater almost pulls it off. What she does well is capturing the slow dawning of Darcy’s attraction to Elizabeth. The author fills in gaps in the backstory of Darcy’s younger sister, Georgiana, as well as the histories of their respective family and friends. Much of this is convincing and entertaining and oftentimes humorously accomplished. These strengths make the book worth reading.

However, there were two aspects of the book that disappointed me. In keeping with my extremely high opinion of Austen’s Darcy, there were some elements of his private life, as imagined by Slater, that I objected to. While, her exploration of the typical English gentleman’s sexual habits may well be historically accurate, I deign to accept that the Darcy I know and love would fall into that camp. Similarly, Slater manages to incorporate Lord Byron and his unusual antics into the story, and quite honestly, this just doesn’t fit at all with the rest of the book. Perhaps these items won’t bother some readers; in fact, some may feel they add some much needed color to an already very well-known story, but they almost ruined the book for me.

In the end, I overlooked what I didn’t like about the book and concluded that Slater’s ability to describe Darcy’s awakening passion and backstory were reason enough to like the book. ( )

Although I have read and reread Jane Austen's novels for many years, I have not generally found any of the sequels or retellings of her stories to be worth the time; they fail to capture Austen's style or alter characters too much or just generally come off like so much bad fan fiction.

The Private Diary of Mr. Darcy both conforms to my opinions and manages to expand them. The Mr. Darcy presented here is not the one fans of the original book (or the movies) will immediately recognize. He has frequent and enthusiastic meetings with one of the maids, goes out gambling and is old friends with Byron for starters. He acts, in fact, a lot more like the hero of the historical novels put out by Harlequin than like the Darcy we've grown accustomed to picturing. Therein lies the divide: those Austen purists seeking a retelling in alignment with the original will be sorely disappointed; those who simply view it as a historical romance with a story surprisingly similar to Pride and Prejudice will probably find it a light, enjoyable read. There are some moments of real gravity (Georgiana's story, for example) and humor here, and I liked the portrayal of Anne de Burgh enough to keep it in the back of my mind when I do reread Pride and Prejudice again.

(Received for review from the Early Reviewers program) ( )

I got this as an Early Reviewer book and thoroughly enjoyed it. If you have ever wondered what Darcy and Bingley were doing while Elizabeth and Jane were cooling their heels at Longbourne, this fills in the blanks. It also provides Darcy's side of the story on all of the encounters with the Bennett family. Maya Slater captures his voice well, adds vocabulary from the period, and pulls in contemporaneous events like Napoleon's march across Europe and Byron's escapades.

She also gives us a more well-rounded picture of a well-off, aristocratic young man's less wholesome activities - seducing servants and patronizing bordellos among them. This seemed a bit out of character - yet, I had always thought about the other side of Jane Austen's charaters and thought it unlikely that someone like Darcy would save himself for marriage.

If I have any complaint about the book it is the digression in the last section into an interlude at an inn with Byron, which I found a bit long. But it is a small criticism indeed. If you have read Pride and Prejudice a few times and seen the various film versions, this book will be a refreshing diversion. I read it in one evening, stayed up way too late, and was very sleepy at work the next day! ( )

Being the huge Pride and Prejudice fan that I am, I’d signed up for this book from the Early Reviewers list on LibraryThing pretty much before my brain actually consciously recognized what it was. And I was really excited when I was actually chosen to receive it.

It’s not a bad read, though Darcy’s not in character, or at least what I perceive to be his character. That was a little disconcerting at first, but I was able to overlook it once I got used to it. I really enjoyed his relationship with Georgiana, and the depth of feeling in the episodes with Wickham resonated. I also liked his reasoning for separating Bingley from Jane.

I was not a huge fan of Byron. While I enjoyed most of the other historical details in the book (which were well researched, and added a good flavor), Byron was superfluous, and honestly, seemed out of character to be a friend of Darcy’s.

I also wish there was just a bit more Lizzy. By the end, when he was thoroughly in love with her, the story worked, but he seemed to fall in love with her awfully fast, and with little detail. I suppose it could be something he just couldn’t commit to paper, but it did seem a bit odd to me.

I definitely enjoyed the book, and would certainly consider a reread, which is a first for any of the P&P sequels I’ve read. ( )

Surprisingly, this turned in a fairly decent read after I got through the agony of the first fifty pages or so. Darcy was out of character throughout the entire book, but after a while I got used to it. My biggest beef is centered on Darcy's friendship with Lord Byron. I cannot fathom why any man who takes pride in his and his family's reputations would willingly risk ruining said reputation by running around with someone who is more noted for his scandalous behavior than his actual writings. To a lesser extent, I also object to the attempt to make Darcy's separation of Jane and Bingley about something more virtuous than simply her family connections and an apparent lack of warmth. I think that gives Darcy a bit of a free pass where he shouldn't have one. Those things aside, the story made for an interesting bit of weekend reading. ( )

Since I enjoy reading "Pride and Prejudice," I was happy to be selected to receive an ER copy of this book. I am not familiar with the author's other titles, and have only attempted unsuccessfully to read one other novel alleging to continue the story of Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy, so I was not at all sure what to expect.

I found the book to be quite entertaining. The book reveals Darcy's torment for lying to Charles Bingley about Jane Bennet while at the same time finding himself falling in love with Elizabeth, a match which would be even more unsuitable than Charles and Jane! It also provides more insight into Darcy's relationship with Wickham, who was a thorough scoundrel. The one jarring note was the presence of Lord Byron, who came in and out of the story for no apparent reason other than to provide shock value and a vivid contrast between his debauched life and Darcy's more refined lifestyle.

While the novel captured the spirit of Jane Austen's era in its tone, because it was written as a diary, it was easier to read. Much as I enjoy P&P, I confess to having to reread some sentences to catch their meaning because they are so convoluted. That was not the case with Mr. Darcy's diary. ( )

Having resisted Jane Austen based "fan fiction" for years, I was surprised not so much by this novel itself but by my own reaction to it. I was prepared for the worst, but found myself enjoying this leisurely read in which I was only required to exert minimal mental energies for a larger return of enjoyment. Obviously knowing the plot, story, characters of Austen's original paves way for enjoying the smaller bits of detail Slater offers, such as the Byronic character (more sketch than full fledged creation--though whose doing this is, Slater's or Darcy's, I'm not sure) and Georgiana. The depth of Darcy's character wavers continually, but this may also be an artistic choice; if looking for the "secrets" behind Darcy's character, obviously, this novel cannot offer it. But it might just give a glimpse or two. ( )

As someone who can't get enough of Jane Austen, I was thrilled to be chosen to recieve an advance copy of this book! I have read several other 'diaries' by Darcy and always find it interesting to see what other people include for his thoughts as well as the various spins the author gives to the story and characters. I found Slater's take on the Wickham/Georgie incident interesting and the reason for steering Bingley away from Jane was an intriguing idea. However the fault I did have with this spin-off was with the addition of the Byron character and the flip-flop-iness of Caroline Bingley behavior and attitudes. I can tell from the book that a lot of research went into the creation of the diary; the way she added minute details about current events was interesting from a historical standpoint. (I'm a history buff too) It was a quick, absorbing, and entertaining read and I would recommend it to any Austen fan! ( )

I whipped through this book in less than 24 hours. I read this morning before I went to work. I read as I walked to work. I snuck a couple pages in at work. I read at lunch and on my breaks. I read on my way home from work, and finished shortly after I got home. I guess one could say that I liked it.

I found the tale of PnP from the view of Darcy to be quite enlightening. I liked having the new perspective. I also liked being able to get to know Georgiana a little more. She was a lot less pitiful. Also, did you know that Darcy is friends with Lord Byron? Byron is eccentric and wicked. Darcy even participates in some of the fun.

It was a lot of fun. If you are a PnP or Austen junky, don't pass this one up! ( )