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Death Comes to Pemberley
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Review
'As might be expected from a celebrated crime novelist, her follow-on to Pride and Prejudice introduces a detective story into Austen's world; but without any tremor of incongruity. An acute admirer of Austen's novels (which, her autobiography makes clear, she has been re-reading for more than 80 years), she keeps her sequel close to their ironic spiritedness, moral toughness and psychological finesse ... brimming with astute appreciation, inventiveness and narrative zest, Death Comes to Pemberley is an elegantly gauged homage to Austen and an exhilarating tribute to the inexhaustible vitality of James's imagination.' --Peter Kemp, Sunday Times
'P. D. James has the advantage in having both the skill and the intelligence to hold her own in Austen's company. Her charmingly conceived murder mystery unfolds like a big soft comfort blanket just in time for the nights drawing in: the nation's best-loved crime writer and best-known romance in a magic meld, with Downtony moments below stairs, spooky moonlit bits and some police procedural thrown in for good measure ... James takes Pride and Prejudice to places it never dreamed of, and does so with a charm that will beguile even the most demanding Janeite.' --Claire Harman, Evening Standard
The story is accomplished and witty, naturally, but to see James s sensibility at work on the character of Jane Austen is a wonderful treat. I find the merging of these two women of literature from such different ages to be totally intriguing. --Melvyn Bragg, New Statesman >>
A tribute to Jane Austen and a sheer delight. A book to banish Boxing Day blues. --Allan Massie, Spectator
'P. D. James has the advantage in having both the skill and the intelligence to hold her own in Austen's company. Her charmingly conceived murder mystery unfolds like a big soft comfort blanket just in time for the nights drawing in: the nation's best-loved crime writer and best-known romance in a magic meld, with Downtony moments below stairs, spooky moonlit bits and some police procedural thrown in for good measure ... James takes Pride and Prejudice to places it never dreamed of, and does so with a charm that will beguile even the most demanding Janeite.' --Claire Harman, Evening Standard
The story is accomplished and witty, naturally, but to see James s sensibility at work on the character of Jane Austen is a wonderful treat. I find the merging of these two women of literature from such different ages to be totally intriguing. --Melvyn Bragg, New Statesman >>
A tribute to Jane Austen and a sheer delight. A book to banish Boxing Day blues. --Allan Massie, Spectator
Review
#1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER
"A sparkling curio that will appeal to both Janeites and Jamesites."
--"Daily Telegraph"
" "
"Jane Austen herself would have applauded."
--"The Spectator"
"A great joint achievement, and a joyous read."
--"The Independent"
" "
"Death Comes to Pemberley is as good as anything P. D. James has written and that is very high praise indeed."
--"Sunday Express"
"A delight. It reads happily and, as ever in P. D. James's novels, the settings are beautifully and thoroughly imagined, the descriptions and exact. I can't think that it could be better done."
--"The Scotsman"
" "
"Brimming with astute appreciation, inventiveness and narrative zest, Death Comes to Pemberley is an elegantly gauged homage to Austen and an exhilarating tribute to the inexhaustible vitality of James's imagination."
--"The Sunday Times"
"Of all the other pens to take up where Austen left off, P. D. James's is head and shoulders above the rest."
--"Evening Standard"
"A sparkling curio that will appeal to both Janeites and Jamesites."
--"Daily Telegraph"
" "
"Jane Austen herself would have applauded."
--"The Spectator"
"A great joint achievement, and a joyous read."
--"The Independent"
" "
"Death Comes to Pemberley is as good as anything P. D. James has written and that is very high praise indeed."
--"Sunday Express"
"A delight. It reads happily and, as ever in P. D. James's novels, the settings are beautifully and thoroughly imagined, the descriptions and exact. I can't think that it could be better done."
--"The Scotsman"
" "
"Brimming with astute appreciation, inventiveness and narrative zest, Death Comes to Pemberley is an elegantly gauged homage to Austen and an exhilarating tribute to the inexhaustible vitality of James's imagination."
--"The Sunday Times"
"Of all the other pens to take up where Austen left off, P. D. James's is head and shoulders above the rest."
--"Evening Standard"
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
358 of 390 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
P.D. James has often quoted "Pride and Prejudice" as being her favourite novel. It is also mine, and P.D. James one of my favourite authors, so I read this book with much excitement. Over the years, there have been many other writers who have attempted sequels or mysteries, using characters from "Pride and Prejucice", but none with the success that has been managed in this novel.
The prologue cleverly recounts the essential facts of "Pride and Prejudice" and where the characters are currently at when we meet them again. It is Friday the 14th of October, 1803. England is at war with France and Pemberley is preparing for the annual Lady Anne ball, named after Darcy's mother, the sister of Catherine de Burgh. There are characters we know already at Pemberley - Darcy and Elizabeth of course, Bingley and Jane, Captain Fitzwilliam, now a viscount, and Darcy's sister Georgiana. There are also new characters, amongst them a lawyer friend of Bingley's, Mr Henry Alveston, who wishes to restore his family fortune and estate in Surrey. It is a windy evening, and there is a sense of preparation and also a slightly uncomfortable atmosphere between Captain Fitzwilliam and Mr Alveston, who are both competing for Georgiana's attention. Later, a chaise comes lurching and swaying towards the house. Nobody else is expected and to everyone's surprise, Lydia falls out, calling there has been a murder and screaming hysterically for help.
It is always difficult to review a mystery book, as I have no wish to give away the plot. Therefore, I will leave it to you to discover who the victim is and what happened. What I will say is that P.D. James has expertly kept the characters of the original novel intact - you recognise Lydia, the letters of Mr Collins and Lady de Burgh ring true, and Mr Bennet is exactly as you expect. The author has found the spirit of the book and re-created it, with great new characters, such as the former head coachman at Pemberley, Thomas Bidwell, and his family and the magistrate, Sir Selwyn Hardcastle. It is easy to imagine life at Pemberley, with the slightly resentful local ladies who have lost Darcy as a marriage prospect, the ambitious footman and Louisa, Bidwell's daughter, intelligent and restless with the possibility of life as a parlourmaid.
There is a sighting of a ghost in the grounds, an inquest and a trial, with thrilling courtroom scenes and a wonderful finale. I can only say that, as someone who has read "Pride and Prejudice" many times, I found this book extremely well written, enjoyable and believable. I am sure that, if you are also a fan of Miss Austen, you will also find this a worthy sequel to her work and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
The prologue cleverly recounts the essential facts of "Pride and Prejudice" and where the characters are currently at when we meet them again. It is Friday the 14th of October, 1803. England is at war with France and Pemberley is preparing for the annual Lady Anne ball, named after Darcy's mother, the sister of Catherine de Burgh. There are characters we know already at Pemberley - Darcy and Elizabeth of course, Bingley and Jane, Captain Fitzwilliam, now a viscount, and Darcy's sister Georgiana. There are also new characters, amongst them a lawyer friend of Bingley's, Mr Henry Alveston, who wishes to restore his family fortune and estate in Surrey. It is a windy evening, and there is a sense of preparation and also a slightly uncomfortable atmosphere between Captain Fitzwilliam and Mr Alveston, who are both competing for Georgiana's attention. Later, a chaise comes lurching and swaying towards the house. Nobody else is expected and to everyone's surprise, Lydia falls out, calling there has been a murder and screaming hysterically for help.
It is always difficult to review a mystery book, as I have no wish to give away the plot. Therefore, I will leave it to you to discover who the victim is and what happened. What I will say is that P.D. James has expertly kept the characters of the original novel intact - you recognise Lydia, the letters of Mr Collins and Lady de Burgh ring true, and Mr Bennet is exactly as you expect. The author has found the spirit of the book and re-created it, with great new characters, such as the former head coachman at Pemberley, Thomas Bidwell, and his family and the magistrate, Sir Selwyn Hardcastle. It is easy to imagine life at Pemberley, with the slightly resentful local ladies who have lost Darcy as a marriage prospect, the ambitious footman and Louisa, Bidwell's daughter, intelligent and restless with the possibility of life as a parlourmaid.
There is a sighting of a ghost in the grounds, an inquest and a trial, with thrilling courtroom scenes and a wonderful finale. I can only say that, as someone who has read "Pride and Prejudice" many times, I found this book extremely well written, enjoyable and believable. I am sure that, if you are also a fan of Miss Austen, you will also find this a worthy sequel to her work and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
105 of 114 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I am always a bit dubious about the 'hommage' to a successful writer--and Austen has suffered more than most in this respect--but I do enjoy the writing of PD James usually, and so thought 'Death Comes to Pemberley' might be a delightful exception to this general grim rule that imitators never prosper.
Sadly, no. No wit, no social commentary, no sparkling dialogue, no self-examination. The characters were unrecognisable, and there was no sense of their development. This book at times reads only like a badly-written precis of the original--the epilogue, especially, resembled a re-hash of Darcy's previous thoughts about his courtship--would he really be obsessing about this six years in the future? It is hard to imagine that anyone would read this if they were not familiar with Austen, so why tediously re-tell the original plot (unless of course it is a space-filler--the thought did cross my mind).
I was sadly disappointed by this book. As a crime novel it was predictable and dull, as an Austen tribute clumsy and unsophisticated. I find it hard to believe the ecstatic reviewers here actually read the same text as I did. Please, gentle reader, don't be fooled. Save your money and buy one of James's other (excellent books). Oh that the shades of Pemberley should be thus polluted!
Sadly, no. No wit, no social commentary, no sparkling dialogue, no self-examination. The characters were unrecognisable, and there was no sense of their development. This book at times reads only like a badly-written precis of the original--the epilogue, especially, resembled a re-hash of Darcy's previous thoughts about his courtship--would he really be obsessing about this six years in the future? It is hard to imagine that anyone would read this if they were not familiar with Austen, so why tediously re-tell the original plot (unless of course it is a space-filler--the thought did cross my mind).
I was sadly disappointed by this book. As a crime novel it was predictable and dull, as an Austen tribute clumsy and unsophisticated. I find it hard to believe the ecstatic reviewers here actually read the same text as I did. Please, gentle reader, don't be fooled. Save your money and buy one of James's other (excellent books). Oh that the shades of Pemberley should be thus polluted!
37 of 40 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I imagined "Death Comes to Pemberley" was going to be a cosy read for myself and Madame Gersbach to saunter through over Christmas. Here we have an "acclaimed" writer taking the characters from a wonderful Austen novel and playing about with them in a crime story. I didn't expect anything comparable to the real thing in terms of quality of prose or effortless wit but I did expect something light and amusing with an intriguing and entertaining plot.
Oh,how wrong can a poor boy be!
After an amusing and breezy prologue which introduced the main protagonists and filled in the interim between Austen's conclusion and James' commencement, the book hit the buffers.From the start,Darcy and Elizabeth were transformed into a cross between the Oxo Couple (Katy and Phillip?)and the Glums,Darcy having lost most of his haughty confidence and Elizabeth her feisty wit.The Pemberley they are given here had curiously been translated into an early nineteenth century version of "Downton Abbey" where servants held the stage alongside their crushingly boring employers in a way that I can't remember them doing in any of the Austen that I've read.The "crime" element is feeble where it isn't farcical.From time to time,the author also treats us to lectures on various aspects of the society of the time which suggest both a low opinion of the knowledge of her readers and a lack of skill in historical scene-setting.Somehow Austen managed to give us all we need to know about her world without getting out the history books and hitting us over the head with them.
In short,"Death at Pemberley" could most charitably be described as a damp squib.I wanted to like it because I admire P.D.James for having the energy,let alone the marbles, to produce novels at her age and I think Jane Austen,beneath the gaudy layers of cinematic misinterpretation of recent years, is a true giant in English literature.Unfortunately I found this misconceived and stodgily executed product of their meeting impossible to love.
Oh,how wrong can a poor boy be!
After an amusing and breezy prologue which introduced the main protagonists and filled in the interim between Austen's conclusion and James' commencement, the book hit the buffers.From the start,Darcy and Elizabeth were transformed into a cross between the Oxo Couple (Katy and Phillip?)and the Glums,Darcy having lost most of his haughty confidence and Elizabeth her feisty wit.The Pemberley they are given here had curiously been translated into an early nineteenth century version of "Downton Abbey" where servants held the stage alongside their crushingly boring employers in a way that I can't remember them doing in any of the Austen that I've read.The "crime" element is feeble where it isn't farcical.From time to time,the author also treats us to lectures on various aspects of the society of the time which suggest both a low opinion of the knowledge of her readers and a lack of skill in historical scene-setting.Somehow Austen managed to give us all we need to know about her world without getting out the history books and hitting us over the head with them.
In short,"Death at Pemberley" could most charitably be described as a damp squib.I wanted to like it because I admire P.D.James for having the energy,let alone the marbles, to produce novels at her age and I think Jane Austen,beneath the gaudy layers of cinematic misinterpretation of recent years, is a true giant in English literature.Unfortunately I found this misconceived and stodgily executed product of their meeting impossible to love.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Death comes to Pemberley
I really enjoyed this story, what a great way to round off all the characters from Pride and Predjudice. Also it had all the hallmarks of PD James's best work.
Published 2 days ago by Mrs. M. Burton
Great read
Received and read this book within 2 days! A really great read for all Jane Austin and pride and prejudice fans.Book itself was new and paperback. Arrived in excellent time.
Published 4 days ago by Art lover.art
Couldn't really get into it...
I have to admit to quite liking a bit of Austen, and P&P almost has it all: characters, location, plot, funny dialogue, misunderstandings and misfortune. So a sequel? Read more
Published 6 days ago by Walsingham
Pemberley
As usual with items from Amazon, received the item in good order and on time. As it is a book there is little to say apart from remember the characters from the original book and... Read more
Published 8 days ago by E. Clapham
A great return to Pemberley
Never read a P D James novel before. Bought this purely because of the P&P sequel. Loved returning to all the Austen characters. Read more
Published 10 days ago by Jane Austen
Death comes to Pemberley
Being an avid fan of Pride and Prejudice, I couldn't wait to find out what my beloved characters were up to and I was not disappointed, just wish the book was longer.
Published 12 days ago by kritiki
Better to spend your time re-reading Austen....
This is James' imagined sequel to Pride and Prejudice. Darcy and Elizabeth are living an ordered family life at Pemberley with her beloved sister Jane and her husband Bingley... Read more
Published 16 days ago by Wynne Kelly
Mixed feelings
As I say in my title I had mixed feelings about this. Unlike other reviewers I though that the author has really caught the mood of the characters as they move on in life. Read more
Published 18 days ago by Wendy Jones
Death Comes to Pemberley
I can only add my agreement to that of many other reviewers -I wanted to like it, but couldn't really. Read more
Published 21 days ago by J. Daniell
An amalgam of classic and modern doesn't work
There is a danger of trying to mix and match parts of our life that are true at the time, but can't be described in any other way than the actual present . I love P. Read more
Published 21 days ago by Sandford
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