Death Comes to Pemberley

Starred review from December 19, 2011
Historical mystery buffs and Jane Austen fans alike will welcome this homage to the author of Pride and Prejudice from MWA Grand Master James, best known for her Adam Dalgliesh detective series (The Private Patient, etc.). In the autumn of 1803, six years after the events that closed Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth Darcy, the happily married mistress of Pemberley House, is preparing for Lady Anneâs annual ball, âregarded by the county as the most important social event of the year.â Alas, the evening before the ball, Elizabethâs sister Lydia, who married the feckless Wickham, bursts into the house to announce that Captain Denny, a militia officer, has shot her husband dead in the woodland on the estate. Darcy and Colonel Fitzwilliam, who purists may note behaves inconsistently with Austenâs original, head out in a chaise to investigate. Attentive readers will eagerly seek out clues to the delightfully complex mystery, which involves many hidden motives and dark secrets, not least of them in the august Darcy family. In contrast to Pride and Prejudice, where emotion is typically conveyed through indirect speech, characters are much more open about their feelings, giving a contemporary ring to Jamesâs pleasing and agreeable sequel. 300,000 first printing. Agent: Carol Heaton, Greene & Heaton Ltd.

February 27, 2012
James’s latest mystery is set in 1803 and picks up where Jane Austen’s beloved Pride and Prejudice left off: Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet are married and have twin boys. The family lives at Pemberley, an elegant old mansion where they often entertain people of consequence and hold lavish balls. But a murder in the woods on the property interferes with their otherwise idyllic lives and shrouds Pemberley in mystery and fear. Rosalyn Landor turns in an excellent performance, with well-paced narration that captures the posh atmosphere of James’s (and Austen’s) world. Landor also creates unique voices for the books many characters, modulating her voice for males and lending working-class dialect to servants. Highly recommended for fans of both Austen and James. A Knopf hardcover.