For the last few summers, I have read at least one Jane Austin novel, and after reading 3 of her books, I decided to veer away from the routine I’ve set and read a spine off or continuation of Pride and Prejudice instead. Pride and Prejudice follows the up and down relationship between Elizabeth Bennet, the daughter of a country gentleman, and Fitzwilliam Darcy, a rich, high-handed landowner. These two must overcome the hurdles each face with education, marriage, financial viability, and traditions to find love within each other.

In 2000’s, Pride and Prejudice became part of the public domain. Entering the public domain is when a book’s copyright expires and anyone can use the characters, setting, or plot of the book without the author’s permission. Since its release into the public domain, Pride and Prejudice has had many varied adaptations and follow ups by authors who are fans of the original book.

Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife is a very popular book known for its passion and tests of loyalty and commitment. This book is rather long and has 465 pages with two different sections. This book contains many passionate and sensual words and actions.

Linda Bedroll, the author of this book, has a style that is a lot like Jane Austen’s given the amount of passion and hate Bedroll has put within their characters. Linda Bedroll is not Jane Austen, but she does a wonderful job taking Austen’s story and characters and continuing the building of the relationships, by presenting emotional challenges along with physical, carrying on the name Darcy in a positive way.

During this exciting book, we get to experience Elizabeth’s intense love for Mr. Darcy and her first hand realization of what it means to be in the role of “wife” to a man in such high regard. Likewise, Mr. Darcy becomes torn between Elizabeth and his lifelong attitude which in turn tests his own patience and shakes up his well-known status in Pemberley. As the story goes on, I find myself continually cheering for our two main characters, especially when they save each other emotionally and physically. For example, when Elizabeth gets kidnapped by an old coachman (who is fired for his disrespect towards the master of Pemberley) and is taken to an Inn so he can take what’s most precious to his old master, Darcy saves her and takes the coachman’s life. Another example is when Elizabeth told off Darcy’s aunt, defending her honor, along with his and everything that comes along with him.

Some might say this book is a little longer than it should be. This is because the author insists on retelling certain events that happened in the first book from a third person perspective of a different character within this sequel. This was necessary at first, given that some key plot points are not mentioned the first time within the plot as they are the second time. For example, the time when Elizabeth was prepared to be a wife was not mentioned in the first book, but was in this second book. Yet, despite the length of the book, there were a few errors I found that I didn’t quite understand until doing research on them, such as Darcy‘s mother’s name. In Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife, Darcy’s mother’s name is Eleanor, but in Pride and Prejudice, his mother’s name is Anne. This is just a classic example of an error.

Overall, Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife is a very interesting and hard book to put down. The story can make a person question their own values and really understand what love is, or was at that point in time. The absolute love Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth have for one other is wonderful. The flaws they find within each other and yet are still be able to find comfort with each other at the end of the day, is good for this particular age. No matter Mr. Darcy’s pride, he still puts this aside to find love for his wife and satisfy her. No matter Elizabeth’s witty sense of humor, she does a better job than she even thought at being a wife and one head of the household at Pemberley.