April 2013: Death Comes to Pemberley (James)

Post date: Apr 30, 2013 5:29:51 AM

Thanks to Betsey for being such a good sport and hosting us yet again on April 23 to discuss Death Comes to Pemberley, P.D. James' follow-on to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. The good news is that this selection provided an opportunity for some to read for the first time, some to re-read, and some to watch Pride and Prejudice, in addition to reading Death Comes to Pemberley. We agreed that in general James did a plausible job of making the story feel like a continuation. Maggie was relieved that James' voice was more modern and to the point than Austen's, although clearly James did strive to keep a similarity in tone to the original work. For those who love the book, it was certainly fun to be back in that world again. But... we had some complaints. Those who know and love P&P felt that the characters in Death Comes to Pemberley had changed too radically from who they were in P&P. The forthright and spunky Elizabeth Bennett has become practically mousy! And we thought the mystery was weak, which seems odd. If you are P.D. James you should be able to contrive a more interesting mystery.

We pondered why she wanted to write such a book. Does she love it? If so, why did she stick in a long dialogue between Elizabeth and Darcy's explaining how implausible their romance was? Did she hate P&P? If so, why not try to reach a little farther and explore what might actually have happened in such a marriage, about which most who read P&P have some lingering concerns.

Overall, perhaps our main complaint boiled down to this: did P&P really need this sequel? The book is a quick read, and amusing in some ways, but if you are going to take on a work as beloved as Pride and Prejudice, seems like you need to say something a little more interesting to make it worthwhile.