books: mr darcy takes a wife

Mr Darcy Takes a Wife by Linda Berdoll is up for Kindle at $1.99.

I did a review of the books here to give you an idea of what--you'll be getting. But now I can safely state that what this book and its sequels are that I did not have quite the right vocabulary for in 2006.

This is Pride and Prejudice erotic(ish) id-fic, by ten. This is the id-vortex itself of Pride and Prejudice spin-offs. This is also the definitive proof of the awesome of fanfic; I would not have liked this as a regency romance about random people, but Darcy and Elizabeth rock it like whoa. So I honestly get a kick out of reading something that literally could have been posted online and in fangirl context, would have probably hit the entirety of fandom like a tsunami. It's fanfic I am very, very happy to pay for.

It's pretty unapologetic about what it's doing. I mean, there is great literature and there is good literature both pro and fen and there is candy and then there is this, which is like, IDK, a eight course dinner for the id, with candy. You can't read this as a purist; if you go in like that, you will hate it. But if you read it like a fangirl id-ing it up, it'll work like you would not believe.

My grammar and sentence construction concerns continue; you will, I promise, get used to the style and it will be invisible within about fifty pages, but it is an acquired taste to want to because what the id wants, the id wants. And it's worth it. And at 1.99, I figure this is a good time to test it.

There are two sequels, Darcy and Elizabeth (AKA Darcy and Elizabeth: Days and Nights at Pemberley) and The Ruling Passion (AKA The Darcys: The Ruling Passion) and they're about as id-rompy as the first. And I will say without apology they are fun reading. Jane Austen would not have written this, no, but I think she would have laughed herself sick and enjoyed reading where this author went with her work.

I do like this a lot more than most Austen sequels--if not all of them with a few specific exceptions--because no one is Austen; her voice and her vision were extremely unique and only look easy to replicate until you read people trying and you realize how razor-sharp not only her prose is, but the mind that created this that understood that making fun of something doesn't mean not loving it, and she understood how to draw sympathetic characters and villains with a complexity and skill that the more I re-read her books, the more I'm surprised how deftly she practiced her craft. And how freaking subtle her sarcasm is.

Linda doesn't try to write Austen's style, which I mean, no, her natural style is not, um, even close. So instead, she does it in her own, and then hits the gas like she's forgotten the meaning of brakes and that shit works.

I haven't read The Ruling Passion before, so let's say I'm excited.

Currently finishing Mr Darcy's Secret by Jane Odiwe, which so far I'm enjoying a lot, though they pretty much broadcast the entire plotline and resolution fairly fast; however, how they'll get there makes me curious, and it's a very fun, light-hearted read.

My squee is very id-dy.

ETA: Id and Id-Vortex references, Slash shock, shamelessness, and a rec. by ellen_fremedon. Remember when you used to find meta on every online streetcorner and everyone hyperexamining their writing and reading and arguing genre until it was All Bellybutton Lint, All the Time and you're like, no more? Yeah. I revise my stance and encourage everyone to examine their meaningful writing thoughts right now, even if they are talking about your feelings for the use of 'and' and the second person pov as narrator stand in. I miss it. Like, after reading this, a lot.

Comments

[kass]

Thank you for the rec; I will check this out!

[seperis]

Veeeerrryyy id-dy, but okay, it's just--yeah. So much fun.

[kass]

I just wrote a story which came pretty much straight from the id (Welcome, Doctor/Amy/Rory fic set after the recent DW Christmas special) and was surprised to discover that I apparently still have the occasional fit of anxiety over writing id-fic when so many people write awesome plotty substantive stories. So I went and reread the Id Vortex post. It was good for me. :-)

[rosaw]

This sounds very interesting and I am going to check it out. But I am lost though with the term 'id-fic.' What is that? I saw someone else use it in discussing their XMFC wip but still couldn't quite get what it means. Help?

(I am so unhip.)

[seperis]

I have a link! It's--hard to explain, but teh best explanation I can give personally is that it's what appeals to your hindbrain in reading, like, IDK, hurt-comfort or your particular kinks, and choose to read/write/both fic based on those things.

Slash shock, shamelessness, and a rec. which has pretty good context and explanation of the idea of id-fic. Tell me if you need more; I forgot about this link and am enjoying a re-read myself!

[rosaw]

Ah, very helpful, thanks! It's like bullet-proof kink meets crack fic and then something explodes.

[princessofgeeks]

thanks for that; so much fun.

[seperis]

I admit I'm reading Mr Darcy's Secret much faster now so I can get to the trilogy sooner!

[sienamystic]

It's true, it's true, it's so completely id-fic and I love it to pieces. It's written well enough to not make me cringe anywhere, and it's so delightfully bawdy, and they have sex EVERYWHERE. I've been wanting to get my hands on the sequels, but wasn't sure if they were worth it - if I get more of the same, I'm totally ok with that.

[seperis]

I read the first and second together and the second is in the same vein. With! Added! Drama!

[seperis]

Okay, I just posted a review of teh two sequels, but short version; they're not as good or as gripping, but they are fun, and the female OC's are fantastic.

[veronamay]

I've owned the first book for a few years now (and successfully got my mum to read it, hurrah). I did not know there were MORE. Thank you for bringing this to my attention.

[seperis]

I KNOW. A THIRD BOOK WHAT THE HELL. I was downloading so fast I almost got finger cramps.

[lydiabell]

...yeah, I just grabbed it. Your review from 2006 really sold it for me.

[seperis]

*glee*

[silentcs]

yeah so I totally have approximately a thousand books on my to-read pile, but this absolutely made me bump this up to the top of the list. I clicked, I liked, I downloaded.

Hearing it was like id-fic is what sold me, though. I had a bad run-in with Austen pro-fanfic a few years ago. I think it might have been Mr. Darcy's Diary? Not sure, but it was definitely one from his POV, and the author was attempting to capture the tone, which led to some awkward descriptions of feelings in his intestines. I didn't find that quite the romantic rumination he clearly thought it was....

[seperis]

It's so much more P&P fanfic than actual Austenian sequel, which is to me one of it's strengths, since yeah, a lot of formal sequels just--fall short. It helps a lot she's not trying to continue Austen, but P&P (specifically the 1995 miniseries) specifically.

[carenejeans]

Your post caught me at a weak moment and I... clicked over to Amazon and a few seconds later the book was ON MY PHONE, omg. I started reading in on the commute home, and would have kept reading at my stop, but, sadly, I cannot read and walk in the dark at the same time. I curled up on the couch after dinner and annoyed Mr. Bookshop by snorting and chortling while he was trying to watch The History Detectives, but I was unashamed.

The book is... what you said. 8-) Thanks for the tip.

(I miss meta too.)

[seperis]

*GLEE* Thank you! I get the style (and subject, and Austenianness) are not going to be to everyone's taste, so I was trying to make sure people who read it would know how to read it. Austen sequel it is not, but Pride and Prejudice professional fanfic it is, and fantastic at that.

The second and third are--not as good? But they are fun to read, and the OC's are definitely worth reading about, especially Sally and Daisy's stories.

[verizonhorizon.livejournal.com]

My mom adored the romance/murder-mystery Death Comes to Pemberly" (http://www.amazon.com/Death-Comes-Pemberley-P-D-James/dp/0307959856).

[taraljc.livejournal.com]

I love this book because it is the best badfic in so many ways. Random porn! Horrrifically hysterically funny malpropisms and desperate attempts to write "regency" dialogue without actually having read any Austen, but only writing fanfic for the Colin Firth miniseries. It is CLASSIC, in a "I think I want to remind myself that should I ever want to get paid heaps of cash to write badfic, apparently Austen fandom is the way to go".

ETA: oh oh oh, for awesome genuinely good Austen fanfic, I read Darcy & Anne and Captain Wentworth's Diary lately, and they filled me with glee.

EMETA: could have been posted online

I think it actually was originally published on FFN. I remember when I first read it, googling the author and found out it came from online fandom. It was either Mr Darcy Takes a Wife, or The Darcys and the Bingleys.

[seperis.livejournal.com]

IDK, I don't think of this as Austenian sequel but P&P fanfic. It helps a lot that she's not trying to copy Austen's style, and building off the miniseries gives her a lot more scope.

I mean, I'm not even sure I'd call this badfic; her time and care with her OCs and their development are amazing. Though her jumping about time as she does can be--disconcerting.