Death Comes to Pemberley by P. D. James

Death Comes to Pemberley

by P. D. James

The year is 1803, and Darcy and Elizabeth have been married for six years. There are now two handsome and healthy sons in the nursery, Elizabeth's beloved sister Jane and her husband Bingley live nearby and the orderly world of Pemberley seems unassailable. But all this is threatened when, on the eve of the annual autumn ball, the guests are preparing to retire for the night when a chaise appears, rocking down the path from Pemberley's wild woodland. As it pulls up, Lydia Wickham - Elizabeth's younger, unreliable sister - stumbles out screaming that her husband has been murdered. Inspired by a lifelong passion for the work of Jane Austen, PD James masterfully recreates the world of Pride and Prejudice, and combines it with the excitement and suspense of a brilliantly-crafted crime story. Death Comes to Pemberley is a distinguished work of fiction, from one of the best-loved, most- read writers of our time.

Reviewed by MurderByDeath on

1 of 5 stars

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“Heaven and earth — of what are you thinking? Are the shades of Pemberley to be thus polluted?” 

Austen had no way of knowing it, but it wasn't Elizabeth Bennett that would pollute the shades of Pemberley; it was P.D. James.

A couple of pages in, I thought "oh, this is looking good - 4 stars at least".  

After a few chapters and the mindless, never ending digressions started piling up, I thought "blah, blah, blah. 3 stars."

Then the part where Darcy, Colonel Fitzwilliam and a lawyer start debating the merits of England adding an appeals court to their judicial system, with Darcy's monologue about how it would work, how many judges it would have, etc. and I thought "are you kidding me with this?  2 stars".

The ending of the "mystery" (there is no mystery, only a murdered man and the most ludicrously contrived plot I've ever read) was so sputteringly (made up word) ridiculous, and the epilogue a mind-numbing, insulting rehash of the ending to P&P that my last thought as I closed the book:  

Stick a fork in me, I'm done.  1 Star.  This was awful.

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Reading updates

  • 6 April, 2016: Started reading
  • 7 April, 2016: Finished reading
  • 7 April, 2016: Reviewed