Mr. Darcy's Diary by Maya Slater

(Photo taken from Fantastic Fiction)

Title: Mr. Darcy's Diary

Author: Maya Slater
Publisher: Phoenix
Language: English
ISBN - 10: 0753822660
ISBN - 13: 978-0753822661
Rating:







Have you ever wondered what goes on in another person's mind while doing things? What do you think a butcher thinks while chopping off a large pound of meat? What a schoolteacher thinks while writing lectures on the board apart from the lesson at hand? What a man thinks while he is being lectured upon by his wife? In Mr. Darcy's Diary, a classic retelling of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice through Mr. Darcy's eyes explores this gentleman's mind frame through the entries in his diary. And I must say, the story is presented as seamlessly and as accurately as I could have imagined it. Fitzwilliam Darcy is my favorite character (don't we all?) as he often appears aloof, proud, and silent, and his personality alludes to mystery, which I always love. Which is why, as soon as I saw this book, I grabbed it from the shelf.

Mr. Darcy's Diary attempted to shed light on some mysteries in the original novel, giving the readers an understanding of Wickham's treachery, shedding light on Miss Caroline's true motives and feelings, and also showing a sympathetic, sensitive, and passionate man beneath the strong, reserved, and proud facade that is Mr. Darcy himself. I have always speculated about how the men feels in Pride and Prejudice, as the original novel seems to be more focused on the Bennet family. In this book, it served to make me love my favorite characters in the original novel more. Elizabeth definitely deserves a man as passionate and as in love with her as Mr. Darcy was. This diary is realistically written, with brief recollections of day-to-day events in Mr. Darcy's life, yet never seeming to lose any detail.

The author has also brought humor to the book through the relationship between Mr. Darcy and Peebles, his valet. The latter's obsession with his master's grooming and fashion provides some comedic banters and lightens an otherwise brooding and serious story.

Before reading this book, I actually reread Pride and Prejudice again, just so I won't be easily fooled by this book, but to my pleasant surprise, the story in this book blended seamlessly into the original novel, it was like reading an actual sequel. Hands down to Maya Slater - this was a risky endeavor for her - Pride and Prejudice is one of the most well-loved of the classics, and a careless handling of its story may prove fatal for the story, if not for the one who wrote it. But reading through this book, I would have not wanted it any other way.

A lesson in pride: this book showed how Mr. Darcy has shed his pride in the face of true love. As you read through the passages of his diary, you'll be shocked at how this proud man crumbled in the face of rejection and loneliness, and how it helped him become the man that finally deserved Elizabeth's love.

A lesson in empathy: this book teaches the reader that other people have minds and feelings too, despite their outward reactions and affectations, inside they have their own thoughts, not all of which may be agreeable or nice, or, in Mr. Darcy's case, not very "Mr. Darcy."