I confess that I’ve only read one of the books of P.D. James and it wasn’t one of her better known novels, about Inspector Dalgliesh. After this challenge is over, I’ll download one. But I needed a J entry, so here it is. Hope you enjoy!
These days a lot of people are writing sequels to Pride And Prejudice, or stories set during the novel. I remember one in which the story is seen from the viewpoint of the servants, one of whom is Mr Bennet’s illegitimate son! I quite liked the bit in that novel where the servant who has to wash the clothes thinks it’s all very well for Miss Elizabeth to take a nice long walk through muddy fields, but who has to get the mud off her dresses? And of course, there’s Pride And Prejudice And Zombies!
But P.D James is a mystery writer, so her Pride And Prejudice sequel, Death Comes To Pemberley, is a murder mystery. A minor character from the original novel, Captain Denny, is murdered in the woods just before a ball at Pemberley. Guess who is accused of the murder? Mr Wickham, Lydia Bennet’s husband. Of course, he didn’t do it, but that’s not a spoiler, as the first person ever to be accused of murder in a mystery story is almost never the one who did it. I did recently read a novel in which the killer was the first one accused, though she had good reason for doing it and the people who figure it out don’t tell. But that’s very rare. And in Death Comes To Pemberley, Wickham did do something horrible. Sigh! I’ve only seen one story in which Wickham was presented sympathetically, the TV miniseries Lost In Austen.
There is a TV series based on Death comes To Pemberley, which you can watch on Prime. It’s beautifully done, and even the food for the banquet was carefully prepared by a big name Regency food chef.
It’s been a while since I read the novel, but I do recommend it. It’s not Pride And Prejudice, obviously, but it’s well worth a read. Available in ebook and print, from any good web site or bookshop.
7 comments:
Death in Holy Orders was wonderful, when I read this James book MANY years ago. Dalgliesh went back to visit the young dead man’s theological college, St Anselm’s, a topic vaguely related to one that later came to attract me: cruel mother and baby homes in Ireland.
I've been meaning to read "Death comes To Pemberley" right since it was first published, but have not got around to it yet. I should watch the mini-series instead -- quicker and easier! I haven't had a Mr Darcy fix in quite awhile, so I hope the actor who portrays him does him justice.
The series sounds like it would be worth watching! I have to confess, I really enjoyed Pride and Prejudice and Zombies too :D :D
The Multicolored Diary
Hi Sue - thanks for bringing all these Mysteries to our attention for this year's A - Z ... I definitely will take note - your post highlights your interest in these clever stories ... cheers Hilary
Hi Hels! That sounds wonderful, time I tried some more of P.D. James’ books. Hi Debra! Yes, you should watch the show if you haven’t yet got around to reading the book. Hi Zalka! Yes, very much worth watching. Hi Hilary, nice to hear from you again. I hope I can help you choose some books.
I did enjoy the novel Death comes to Pemberley - I did not know about the television series and will have to look it up.
Hi Anne! Very worth looking up if you can.
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