The Exploits and Adventures of Miss Alethea Darcy: A Novel

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 368 pages
• Published by: Touchstone March 1, 2005
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0743261933
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0743261937
• Book Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
• Weighs: 11.2 ounces

From Publishers Weekly
In this delightful new chapter in the story of the Darcy clan, taken up by Ashton (Mr. Darcy's Daughters) where Austen left off, the youngest daughter of Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy is in a pickle. Having married in haste, Alethea is now repenting bitterly, languishing under the unspeakable treatment of her horrid husband, Norris Napier. She escapes in the company of her intrepid maid, Figgins, and dressed as young men, they hare off to Europe to find Alethea's favorite and most sympathetic sister, Camilla. On the way, unbeknownst to them, they are found out by Mr. Titus Manningtree, who's off to Europe to find a Titian painting of his father's that has gone astray. Appalled by Alethea's apparent total disregard for her position and the requirements of polite society, Titus is nonetheless impressed by her courage and pluck. At first out of duty and then out of interest, he comes to her aid time and again, seeing her safe back to England. Once there, however, it is discovered that her husband was murdered, and she comes under suspicion. Both Titus and Alethea are captivating, and the quality of the characterizations saves the book from the plot confusions, too-easy tieups and too-modern sensibility that plague it.
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Product Review
"Those who enjoy Austenwill certainly enjoy Aston's work, as will historical fiction readers who want an engaging plot and characters."

-- Library Journal

"Great characters, great comic moments, great romance."

-- Chicago Sun-Times

"Imagine poor Mr. Darcy with marriageable daughters of his own!Aston takes us on a romp through late Regency society."

-- Julia Barrett, author of Jane Austen's Charlotte

Reader Reviews
This review is from: The Exploits & Adventures of Miss Alethea Darcy : A Novel (Paperback) While "The Exploits and Adventures of Miss Alethea Darcy" was an enjoyable yet sobering read, I wouldn't recommend it as a must-read for everyone. If you're a die-hard Jane Austenite, and you abhor all those pastiches that play havoc with the great author's work, you'd really want to steer clear of all three (so far) of Elizabeth Aston's work. Ms Aston is a wonderfully compelling writer and she really does know how to spin a yarn and keep a reader happily engrossed. However, even while I was enjoying this novel, I couldn't help wishing that the author had chosen to write this absorbing tale without using/alluding to any of the characters that Jane Austen had created. "The Exploits and Adventures of Miss Alethea Darcy" focuses on the youngest of Darcy's and Elizabeth's daughters, Alethea, and opens with a very unhappily married Alethea making a reckless dash for freedom. Previously, Alethea had fallen in love quite passionately with a young gentleman who ended up marrying someone else in the end. But because of the marked attentions that he had paid her, and the obvious pleasure she had taken at being in his company, Alethea suddenly found herself at the center of some rather unwelcome speculation. Her heart bruised and her pride wounded, Alethea decided (going against the advice of those wiser than she) to marry another in order to silence the gossips. Unfortunately, her husband turned out to be a brute, determined to break her spirit and to control her completely. Fortunately, Alethea is not a Darcy for nothing, and daringly, with her faithful maid, Figgins, in tow, runs away from England, determined to seek sanctuary with her married sister, Camilla, in Venice. I enjoyed this novel enormously but a few things did give me pause: 1) I thought that the romance angle involving Alethea and the gentleman she ends with could have been better developed. For most of the novel, Alethea doesn't seem to spend much time thinking about this character even though she does interact with him quite a bit, and yet quite suddenly in the last quarter of the book, her feelings seemed to have gone from irritation to love. Not incredibly convincing, I thought (and on another note, her more recent novel, "The True Darcy Spirit" had the same "problem" too); and 2) the entire subplot involving Alethea's husband in the last quarter of the book was incredibly rushed as well and not very satisfactorily resolved. On the plus side however was the fact that this was a very well written and intelligent novel, that dealt with serious issues like spousal abuse. "The Exploits and Adventures of Miss Alethea Darcy" was not a frills-and-fluff novel and would have pleased many of the women who wrote in the 18th & 19th centuries with the seriousness of it's tone. It was wonderful to watch Alethea grow up and become more resolute, mature and clear-minded over the course of the novel. In my opinion however, the best thing about this novel was not the relationship and romance that developed between the two leads, but the relationship and trust that existed between Alethea and her maid, Figgins. Elizabeth Aston did a truly good job of "fleshing" out this relationship and making it one of the key elements of this novel. All in all, although I still do wish that this novel was not tied in any way to Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice," the book was still a very good read.