Murder at Rosings by Joann Louise

Murder at Rosings by Joann Louise

If you can get past some very iffy grammar and my personal pet hate words like critters instead of creatures, also there are no Vultures in England, not now and not 200 years ago. It would be far better to have had the aptly named "murder of crows" sharing the where abouts of the victim.

OK rant over. 

There is plenty to entertain:

Lady Catherine by her mismanagement and overbearing personality has set the scene for the disasters that befell Rosings Park. 

Unfortunately Elizabeth Bennet gets mixed up in the murder plots and comes face to face with the murderer.

Once he knows she has seen his face her life is in mortal danger.

Thank goodness then that Mr Darcy will move Heaven and Earth to protect his Elizabeth.

And, that's not going to be an easy job as the body count rises.

Whilst dealing with the terrible situation at Rosings Park he is not let off  the hook from sorting out Lydia and Wykham. The poor man is harried from all sides but being Fitzwilliam Darcy was never going to be easy and he is the hero of the day when the tale brings him between the killers knife and Elizabeth.

This is the first Murder mystery set at Rosings That I have read, it makes a change from Pemberley.

Sons and Daughters by Karen V. Wasylowski

Sons and Daughters by Karen V. Wasylowski

If you read my earlier review of Karens book: Darcy and Fitzwilliam you'll know that I enjoyed it immensely  So, I was eager to read this continuing story taking the reader on through the years with the families of Fitzwilliam Darcy and Richard Fitzwilliam.

The first part of the book watches the nurseries fill, with Richard married to a good Catholic girl, his house is bulging at the seams. and, his ofspring are called a mob for good reason. They are a high spirited bunch full to the brim with life.

Darcy has his heir and his precious daughter and has been warned that Elizabeth should have no more children, it does not stop her wanting another.

The two families are so very close and the cousins are all like one big family, there appear to be special bonds between some of them from an early age.

As the children grow up these bonds change as do the families. Richard Fitzwilliam loses his older brother and has to become the Earl causing many upheavals for his family.

While Darcy is almost tempted to take up a political career, but the price is too high for a man unwilling to put his position above his family.

As the children have left childhood and started to find their own life partners there are even more upheavals for both families.

Uplifting gripping and oh so enjoyable Karen V. Wayslowski has not disappointed with this book. 

Amy Cecil ~ Answers Our Questions For Authors

Amy Cecil ~ Answers Our Questions For Authors

Our Grateful Thanks To Amy Cecil for Answering Our Questions For Authors

1) Your own favorite Austen character and why?

Mr. Darcy, definitely. I know when I read about or watch a fictional character, I put him (or her) up against my ideas of perfection. We all know that as human beings, none of us are perfect, but when we are dealing with a fictional person, they can be as perfect as we want them to be. Therefore, Fitzwilliam Darcy is my idea of the perfect man. Now, do not get me wrong, we all know he has his faults; 

however, the man has so much more. He is, above all (including his good looks), honest and honorable. He acknowledges his faults and makes every effort to correct them. He is devoted to his one true love and places her above all. Need I say more?

2) Your Favorite Austen Book?

Pride and Prejudice

3) Which actor would you choose to be YOUR Mr. Darcy and why?

I know there is much debate about Colin Firth and Matthew McFayden and I truly do not intend to debate that here. However, I have to say that I cannot think of any other actor playing the role of Mr. Darcy than Matthew McFayden. To me, he showed a softer, more vulnerable side to the character while at the same time displaying his arrogance. When I think of Mr. Darcy and when I write of Mr. Darcy, it is Matthew McFayden I see.

4) Who would be your perfect Elizabeth?

I think Keira Knightly has captured my idea of Elizabeth perfectly. She has all her spunk and wit that Ms. Austen described in her book, but she adds just a bit more to the character. Now, if I was to pick any actress, I think it would have been a real treat to see Vivien Leigh portraying Elizabeth. Can you imagine a combination of Scarlett O’Hara and Elizabeth Bennet all tied into one, very formidable woman?

5) Your favorite book of all time by any author?

This is a tough question, cause I love so many books, it would be too hard to pick just one. If I were to pick my top five, they would be:  Gone with the Wind, Pride and Prejudice, The Harry Potter Series (yes, all of them, but Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was my absolute favorite), Persuasion and on the more tragic side, Anna Karenina.

6) Your favorite Austen film or TV adaptation?

I would have to say that based on my responses above, this is pretty obvious. Definitely the 2005 production of Pride and Prejudice.

7) You are having a dinner party and can invite four Austen characters, who would they be?

The exclusive dinner party would consist of Mr. Darcy, Colonel Fitzwilliam, Colonel Brandon and Captain Wentworth.

8) Why have you chosen them?

Four very handsome and attractive men, must I explain? Seriously, I am hoping that the two colonels and the captain will be occupied in their discussions, which would leave Mr. Darcy all to myself!

9) Which character would you like to play in a film?

Elizabeth Bennet, definitely, but only if I am play opposite Matthew McFayden.

10) Tell us about your next planned book?

My next book is to be released in 2013 and it is called Relentless Considerations. Think of a situation when you have wanted something so badly but duty and honor cause you to hesitate. Then, you finally decided that your happiness comes before duty and honor, only to find (or to think that you found) that someone else has beaten you to it.   Amy Cecil

Pride and Prescience by Carrie Bebris

Pride and Prescience by Carrie Bebris

(a truth universally acknowledged)

A Mr and Mrs Darcy Mystery

This story starts where Pride and Prejudice finished with the joint marriage of Charles Bingley and Jane Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet.

Almost immediately Caroline Bingley steals the limelight at the wedding reception by announcing her own engagement to an American. A handsome American, charming, a gentlemen with a fortune and a plantation.

Elizabeth can not help but wonder what he see’s in Miss Bingley, but they do appear very much in Love. As their wedding is set for one week, hence the honeymoon at Pemberley is put on hold to attend what Caroline is determined to make the society wedding of the decade.

From that point on this fast paced book plunges from one disaster to another, with Darcy and Elizabeth being drawn further and further into the awful events and ‘accidents’ that keep happening.

Elizabeth finds herself having to come to Caroline's aid time and time again and deciding who are the villains and who are the good guys is even causing  trouble between her and her new husband.

She can not help but feel there are dark arts and worse involved and he, a man of logic is totally blind to the terrible things happening before his very eyes.

After a murder at Netherfield all of the house guests come under suspicion.

Will Darcy & Elizabeth or Jane and Bingley make it out alive.

Great fun, lots of suspense, I am going to read North by Northanger by Carrie Bebris next.

http://www.carriebebris.com/

Interview With An Author – Karen Wasylowski

Interview With An Author – Karen Wasylowski

Karen V. Waslowski’s Website

Karen V. Wasylowski, author of “Darcy and Fitzwilliam, a tale of a gentleman and and officer”

1) Your own favorite Austen character and why?

Karen:  Lady Catherine de Bourgh is certainly one of my favorites and a very misunderstood character to be sure. The older that I get the more I understand her irritation with the youngsters around her and their new fangled ideas about love and romance. She is so very pompous and so opinionated that she borders on the laughable and that’s how I see her – an eccentric old aunt about whom everyone must…up with put. (Can’t end a sentence with a preposition, you know.)

2) Your Favorite Austen book?

Karen:  Pride and Prejudice is nearly perfect in my mind. There is something about the elegant, handsome, superior male being brought to his knees by the clever, witty, and very beloved female that is very satisfying to behold. Darcy’s second proposal is tender and human and Elizabeth’s new found love and respect for him (and Pemberley) is poignant. All the characters are so normal – I can see sitting down with any one of them (except Reverend Collins) and enjoying a nice chat.

3) Which actor would you chose to be YOUR Mr. Darcy and why?

Karen:   That’s a real puzzler. I loved Colin Firth in the mini-series and enjoyed watching his falling in love with Elizabeth. However, I did enjoy Matthew Macfadyen’s portrayal also. There was a defensive shyness about Darcy with Macfadyen where Colin’s was more of a pride of his position.

4) Who would be your perfect Elizabeth?

Karen:  I hated Kiera Knightley’s look in the 2005 movie, as compared to Jennifer Ehle. Kiera looked like an unmade bed half the time where Jennifer looked perfect. In reflection though the Bennet’s were poor gentility so their clothes and their home would be rather shabby and they would not have the finest of maids to do hair. Aside from that Kiera just glowed as Lizzy. She was lit from within – a cliché that just seems to apply to her in all of her movies.

5) Your favorite book of all time by any author?

Karen:  Hands down – Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

6) Your favorite Austen film or TV adaption?

Karen:  I loved the 2005 movie of Pride and Prejudice for the actors. I enjoyed the mini-series much more however because it followed the book so closely. There were times in the movie it was even hard to understand what they said, and the story had been manipulated and so much was left out. Of course, it was a movie so they had to edit. I also loved Emma Thompson’s Sense and Sensibility, especially the scene where she finds out Edward isn’t married. I cry every time she does. And Persuasion is the most romantic of all, with Anne and Wentworth finally together at the end.

7) You are having a dinner party and can invite four Austen characters which would they be?

Karen:  Aunt Catherine, Colonel Fitzwilliam, Fitzwilliam Darcy and Colonel Wentworth

8. Why have you chosen them?

Karen:  Darcy and Wentworth are the most romantic of Austen’s men in my view, and I love Colonel Fitzwilliam from my own book, Darcy and Fitzwilliam. I took Austen’s few words about his affability and charm and he emerged into a full blown character in my mind, trouble is I forget that other people don’t see him as I do. Aunt Catherine would need to attend so the men don’t suspect that I am a stalker.

9) Which character would you like to play in a film?

Karen:   Lady Catherine – can’t you tell? I get a kick out of her, besides I am too old to be an ingénue.

10) Tell us about your next planned book (whether Austen related or not)?

Karen:  I have begun a continuation of Darcy and Fitzwilliam with the two cousins’ now married and fathers and both seemingly headed for Parliament. The tentative title is “A Parliament of Owls.” 

I also have a more contemporary story started about a horrible first date.

More from Karen Waslowski Here

A Big Thank You To Karen

If you are an Author and would like to Be Included In ‘Questions To Authors ‘- Click on the Questions To Authors link at the top of the page and go for it! 

Interview With An Author – Regina Jeffers

Interview With An Author – Regina Jeffers

Regina Jeffers Website

1) Your own favorite Austen character and why?

Regina:  I have lived with and loved Mr. Darcy since I was twelve years of age. It is not likely that I would desert him now. I think the act that solidified my admiration for Darcy was that out of respect for his father, he kept Wickham’s miniature displayed at Pemberley. He does not possess the implacable resentment of which Elizabeth accuses him. He is a man of honor.

2) Your Favorite Austen book?

Regina:  Needless to say, Pride and Prejudice is my favorite book – although I have a strong preference for Persuasion, as well.

3) Which actor would you chose to be YOUR Mr Darcy and why?

Regina:  Matthew Macfadyen has been my favorite actor long before he played Darcy in 2005. I took a liking to him in Perfect Strangers and in Warriors. Actually, his smile at the end of Wuthering Heights caught my attention before he had leading roles.

4) Who would be your perfect Elizabeth?

Regina:  I have said this previously in another blog. It is terrible to say. I easily imagine certain actors taking on the roles of the characters in my books, but I never imagine certain actresses assuming the lead roles. I see them as ordinary women – with foibles and flaws.

5) Your favorite book of all time by any author?

Regina:  That is a difficult question to answer. I have “different” favorites at different times in my life. As a young teen, I marveled at the ingenuity found in Jules Verne’s Around the World in 80 Days. In college, I took a liking to Gustave Flaubert’s Madame Bovary. My mother and I read Ronald Joseph’s trilogy The Kingdom, The Power, and The Glory together. I love it for sentimental reasons. While in college, my son took Love You Forever by Robert Munsch and made me a book with his pictures instead of those from the original illustrator. 

When I taught school, I loved teaching Chinese Cinderella (Adeline Yen Mah), The Songcatcher (Sharyn McCrumb), Welcome to Vietnam (Zack Emerson), Heroes (Robert Cormier), The Little Foxes (Lillian Hellman), God’s Favorite (Neil Simon), Dark of the Moon (Howard Richardson) and The Things They Carried (Tim O’Brien). Each had an important message.

6) Your favorite Austen film or TV adaptation?

Regina:  I refuse to argue which is the better version of Pride and Prejudice; both have their redeeming qualities. My preference is Persuasion 1995. It comes the closest to what I saw in my head when I first read Austen’s work.

7-8) You are having a dinner party and can invite four Austen characters which would they be? Why have you chosen them?

Regina:  

Henry Tilney – Having spent 40 years in the public classrooms of three different states, Tilney’s teacher-ish qualities appeal to me. Catherine is but 17 years of age. I am used to dealing with those of a like age. I could share my insights with him.

Charles Bingley – Mr. Bingley represents the rising middle class. He is from a “respectable family in the north of England. I would choose him for his affability. With Mr. Bingley, conversation would never lapse. Plus, I feel a certain affinity with the man. His family worked hard to rise to a better way of life.

Mr. Knightley – This man most consistently maintains the image of a “gentleman” among Austen’s characters. He converses well and is not averse to doing so with those below him in both social and economic situations. He is sensitive to the needs of others. Possibly, Henry Tilney might learn something from Mr. Knightley on how to handle immature young ladies.

Fitzwilliam Darcy – I would like an evening to match wits with Mr. Darcy – an evening when he was not focusing his energies on Elizabeth Bennet. I would enjoy “capping” one of his caustic remarks with one of my own.

(Oh, my Goodness! It would be four gentlemen and I. How outrageous!!!)

9) Which character would you like to play in a film?

Regina:   I am certain that I would fit none of Austen’s characters. I am a lead, follow, or get out of my way type of person, which would send me in the direction of Lady Catherine, but I am too romantic to be like the great lady.

10) Tell us about your next planned book (whether Austen related or not).

Regina: In October 2012, Ulysses Press will release Christmas at Pemberley, which is a festive holiday novel in which personal rivalries are resolved, generosity rediscovered and family bonds renewed. That will be followed by a P&P mystery after the first of the year. 

I am self-publishing the next two books in my Realm series. These follow The Scandal of Lady Eleanor and are entitled A Touch of Velvet and A Touch of Cashémere. I hope release them on eBook later next week, along with a novella about Adam Lawrence from The Phantom of Pemberley.

More from Regina

And Here

And Here

A Big Thank You To Regina.

If you are an Author and would like to Be Included In ‘Questions To Authors ‘- Click on the Questions To Authors link at the top of the page and go for it! 

Darcy And Fitzwilliam by Karen V. Wasylowski

Darcy And Fitzwilliam by Karen V. Wasylowski

a tale of a gentleman and an officer 

The story starts two months after the wedding of Fitzwilliam Darcy to Elizabeth Bennet.

There is a lot of humor in this book mostly centered around Lady Catherine De Bourgh, who, is brought to life by Karen V. Wasylowski in a way none of the other authors I have read, have ever managed to do. She is entertaining, outrageous and endearing whilst still being a total tyrant.

Once she has had a change of heart about Lizzy she manages to put the entire blame on to her butler, Jameson for her earlier missgivings and lack of compassion.

Elizabeth and Darcy are very much their quarrelsome selves, often picking fights and arguing. 

Elizabeths hormones are not helping the mix as she falls pregnant, and to top it all Caroline Bingley is out to make Darcy her own by whatever fowl means she has to use, and, she can stoop pretty low, causing a lot of havoc.

The second part of the story concentrates on Colonel Fitzwilliams love life.

He has returned from the Napolionic wars a hero, recognized in the streets and universally well thought of. A confirmed bachelor who struggles with his own demons in the aftermath of war and violence.

No, he will never marry, that is until he is slapped around the face by Cupid and falls head over hills in love.

But, the course of true love never runs smoothly and there are almost insurmountable problems, until Lady Catherine De Bourgh steps in to rescue him , with the help of Mrs Fitzherbert and boy do they do a good job.

A very enjoyable book that made me smile and laugh a plenty.

I hope Karen produces more works of this quality, any one who can put a smile on peoples faces is doing a good job.

www.karenwasylowski.com

The Perfect Bride For Mr Darcy by Mary Lydon Simonsen

The Perfect Bride For Mr Darcy by Mary Lydon Simonsen

Mr Darcy obviously needs a good matchmaker... or two...

I started this book with huge expectations having really enjoyed Searching for Pemberly by the same author.

The Perfect Bride for Mr Darcy is another rerun of Pride and Prejudice but with some added characters. Central to the story is a plot with Anne de Bourgh who has with Georgianas help to try and make sure the stubborn  Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy get together and mend their differences.

Anne De Bourgh though very frail is very determined to help the cause of true love along, even when it means hours spent in tiring journeys and plenty of subterfuge.

Georgiana is a fairly bubbly and enthusiastic teenage only too keen to find the romance in any situation, with a huge love of the gothic novel (as an aspiring author herself) she is keen to have Elizabeth and her support as a permanent part of her family.

In this version Charles Bingley has a much larger family including an older brother who is a bit of a financial genius and aides Darcy as his partner in this search for Wickham and Lydia.

The other notable characters are Darcy’s ex-girl friends who turn up like bad pennies and Colonel Fitzwilliam’s older brother who is a total lush with a cutting tongue (not the first choice at a family re-union)

There is plenty in here to make it worth a read but I still feel that for me Searching for Pemberley is the better book. Read both & let me know what you think.

http://marysimonsenfanfiction.blogspot.com/

These Three Remain by Pamela Aidan

These Three Remain by Pamela Aidan

A Novel of Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman

Book 3 and another throughly enjoyable read. Maybe a little slower to get started than the last two books but once up and running  it kept me well and truly engaged.

The book starts with Mr Darcy quitting London for his Easter visit to his Aunt Catherine in Kent and goes right up to the Marriage ceremony in the church at Meryton.

It is detailed and insightful and still has the plot lines from the previous book full of mystery and skullduggery with Darcy being plucked from some pretty dire situations by his steadfast friend Lord Brougham.

Sylvanie the wicked temptress of Norwycke Castle is now in London and full of vengeance.

We learn more of Darcy’s enigmatic valets background as Fletcher assists in tracking down Lydia and Wickham.

In the foot notes to this book it says that Pamela Aidan wants to write a follow up book on the Darcy’s and tie up some deliberately left loose ends.

Dy Brongham’s story intersected with Darcy and Elizabeth and their young family and the ‘of age’ Georgina Darcy during the years shortly after the Napoleonic wars.

I for one will be looking forwards to this next book with great anticipation.

I really enjoyed reading this trilogy and recommend it to other Darcy lovers.

Duty and Desire by Pamela Aidan

Duty and Desire by Pamela Aidan

A Novel of Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman

The second book in the series by Pamela Aidan does not perhaps have as much charm as the first, but it is none the less intriguing, more of a who dunnit with Darcy playing a Sherlock Holmesesque character and his ever faithful valet Fletcher playing Dr Watson.

Darcy attempts to rid himself of his infatuation with Elizabeth Bennet he joins a house party at Norwycke Castle (very gothic) to look for a more suitable wife.

He finds himself amidst all sorts of plots and skullduggery which Fletcher helps him to navigate through.

So many plots and sub plots and some pretty unpleasant characters.

Even Satanic rights may or may not be part of the problems at Norwycke Castle.

You do need to keep turning the pages to make sure our hero is not going to fall into the clutches of any of the villains or more to the point villainesses.

But of course with Fletcher watching his back and tying his cravat, he will escape by the skin of his teeth, to return to London and his Sister a wiser man no longer looking for a wife.

And so onto book 3 of the Fitzwilliam Darcy Gentleman Series -’These Three Remain’ hoping it has the charm of the first book and the story telling of the second.

An Assembly Such As This by Pamela Aidan

An Assembly Such As This by Pamela Aidan

A Novel Of Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman

An Assembly Such As This is the first book or three in the series: The Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman Novels.

It covers the time from the first assembly at Meryton in the assembly rooms where he makes his disastrous impression on Elizabeth Bennet and finishes after the ball at Neltherfield and Darcys return to London determined to get Elizabeth out of his head and Jane out of Charles Bingley’s heart.

The book is rich in detail and draws some charming characters, Darcy’s relationship with his valet Fletcher is very interesting and entertaining, very clever thread though out the whole story.

So much more depth is given to Fitzwilliam Darcy his treatment of his animals and staff, his place in society and his friendships are all focussed on giving us a much more rounded Dacrcy, and if possible an even more likable one.

Even though in this story he is far more influential in the splitting up of Bingley and Jane, using Caroline to help him and even dictating the awful letter to Jane telling her that Bingley was quitting Herefordshire.

Once Darcy has Charles back in London safely removed from Jane, Pamela Aidan is able to sketch in some of the famous society of the time, Lady Melbourne, Beau Brummell, Lady Caroline Lamb and some of the unrest in England at this time.

I was interested in the close of the story, Darcy goes to Hatchard’s book shop on Piccadilly a shop which is still there and flourishing and buys Georgina’s christmas present. Miss Porter’s The Scottish Chiefs which I actually had a leather bound set of, with a letter from Miss Porter, sadly it is now in storage back in England with all my other books.

Book 2 Duty and Desire has already been started – review to follow soon.

Mr Darcys Diary by Amanda Grange

Mr Darcys Diary by Amanda Grange

Pride and Prejudice: It's Darcys Turn to Tell His Side Of The Story...

Well, this book delivers exactly what it offers, a look at Pride and Prejudice faithfully from cover to cover and a little beyond from the point of view of Fitzwilliam Darcy.

It does not go for any sensationalism, it sticks with the original story line, starting with Georgina and Wickham’s attempted elopement to give a bit of sympathy for Darcy as a loving brother before we have his terrible behavior and haughtiness at Netherfield.

A lot of the books I have read have Darcy almost having an epiphany after Elizabeth refuses to marry him. In this one Amanda Grange has him realizing by degree, slowly but surely what a pride full and rude proposal he had made, with it taking a while for him to get over his anger, much more true to life I think.

All the characters are well drawn, Bingley is spot on and Caroline is also, so desperate to get a proposal from Darcey.

She does not see that her cutting comments and down right bitchiness are not endearing her to Darcy at all.

I have already reviewed Amanda Grange book Mr Darcy Vampyre and I shall look forwards to reading more of her work.

She has also written diaries from Captain Wentworth, Edmund Bertram, Mr Knightly and Colonel Brandon.

The Other Mr Darcy by Monica Fairview

The Other Mr Darcy by Monica Fairview

Unpredictable Courtships Run In The Darcy Family

This is the story of Robert Darcy Esq of Boston and Caroline Bingley.

This is a Caroline still haughty but not as waspish and cruel as Jane Austen’s original version, although she is hard to like Monica Fairview’s, Caroline, manages to engage some sympathy for a lady constrained by her upbringing and the social structures of her time.

When Fitzwilliam Darcy the man she had longed to be Married to, does a very fine impression of Lady Catherine deBurgh and dresses Caroline down totally and severely, I actually felt for her.

It makes a change to have Caroline as a central character and the other leading Pride and Prejudice characters circulate around the story quite well.

Lydia Bennett arrives in the tale as thoughtless and unpleasant as ever. A sickly Elizabeth is confined to her couch for most of the tale and that is a shame as some of the sparks you would expect to fly are lost. That said there is plenty to entertain.

The first chapter of this book is so amusing that you have to read on, I won’t give anything away but laughed heartily and enjoyed a book that on first impressions I was not at all sure about.

Pick up a copy of The Other Mr Darcy, find a comfy spot and settle down for a good read.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies 

by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith

My youngest Son, Sabastian was always totally terrified of Zombies as a small child and his older siblings teased him terribly, even comedy like Shaun of the Dead he found  difficult to watch. But now being older he is changed and his mission is to destroy every cyber Zombie in every internet and xbox game.

This Book Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is about 85% original Pride and Prejudice with Zombie bits added, some of those bits fit remarkably well like the bit where Miss Lucas is bitten by the undead and agrees to marry Mr Collins as she will be in need of a husband to behead her at the end, this is quite sensible and answers the question of why anyone could possibly consider marrying Mr Collins.

On the other hand Lady Catherine de Bourgh as a ninja warrior woman is stretching it to snapping point! Zombies I can handle but one of the best villanesses ever being re-invented as a guru and role model to the Bennet girls – Purlease.

Read this for the fun of it, laugh and enjoy.

I am sure that the love story of Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam will be brought to a whole new generation, going into battle against Zombies is a pretty normal way to fall in love.

In keeping with my OCD, I have already purchased Dawn of the Dreadfulls (by Steve Hockensmith) which is set four years before Pride and Prejudice with Zombies.  Sense and Sensibility with Sea Monsters (by Ben H Winters) Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter  (also by Seth Grahame-Smith) – I am also on the look out for Mansfield Park and Mummies: Monster Mayhem, Matrimony, Ancient Curses, True Love, and Other Dire Delights (by Jane Austen and Vera Nazarian).

There is also available a set of 30 postcards of the girls doing there slaying in style. available from Chronicle Books LLC.

My Daughter loved the book and here is a picture of her in full on Zombie make-up, she is a Make-Up artist and often practices on her self, she has also done a rock group in  full on Zombie make up for a Halloween gig.  Below this I have also put a link to a brilliant Zombie short spoof red bull add that she did – she is awesome.

The Independence of Miss Mary Bennet by Collen McCullough

The Independence of Miss Mary Bennet by Collen McCullough 

(author of The Thornbirds)

This book is set 20 years after the events of Pride and Prejudice when Mr’s Bennet’s death finally frees Mary the oh so straight laced middle sister into the wider world.

I have seen some harsh criticism of this book which paints the fate of the other four more comely sisters as far from the grand passion that we have seen them set on the path to in Pride and Prejudice, but, life is not all roses, this book injects some realism.

Mary’s adventures are very swash buckling with religious cults led by a mad monk, high way men and would you believe Mr Fitzwilliam Darcy who we are in no doubt is definitely a bad guy.

This alone may up set all the Jen-ite’s out there also the fact that the style is not strictly following that of Jane Austen, however, I enjoyed it, in fact I enjoyed it enough to buy a copy for a dear friend while on my travels (through Amazon of course) and have it delivered to England in time for Christmas, She, emailed me when half way through it and asked me if it was an anti marriage tirade, however by the end of the book she felt much better about it.

So to all the haters I say lighten up it’s an entertaining book.