Death Comes to Pemberley - P. D. James

Death Comes to Pemberley

By P. D. James

  • Release Date: 2011-12-06
  • Genre: Historical Mysteries
3.5 Score: 3.5 (From 1,112 Ratings)

GET A COPY OF THIS BOOK 

Book Synopsis

A rare meeting of literary genius: P. D. James, long among the most admired mystery writers of our time, draws the characters of Jane Austen’s beloved novel Pride and Prejudice into a tale of murder and emotional mayhem.
 
It is 1803, six years since Elizabeth and Darcy embarked on their life together at Pemberley, Darcy’s magnificent estate. Their peaceful, orderly world seems almost unassailable. Elizabeth has found her footing as the chatelaine of the great house. They have two fine sons, Fitzwilliam and Charles. Elizabeth’s sister Jane and her husband, Bingley, live nearby; her father visits often; there is optimistic talk about the prospects of marriage for Darcy’s sister Georgiana. And preparations are under way for their much-anticipated annual autumn ball.
 
Then, on the eve of the ball, the patrician idyll is shattered. A coach careens up the drive carrying Lydia, Elizabeth’s disgraced sister, who with her husband, the very dubious Wickham, has been banned from Pemberley. She stumbles out of the carriage, hysterical, shrieking that Wickham has been murdered. With shocking suddenness, Pemberley is plunged into a frightening mystery.
 
Inspired by a lifelong passion for Austen, P. D. James masterfully re-creates the world of Pride and Prejudice, electrifying it with the excitement and suspense of a brilliantly crafted crime story, as only she can write it.

Tags in Historical Mysteries : Death Comes to Pemberley P. D. James ebook , Death Comes to Pemberley P. D. James epub , Death Comes to Pemberley P. D. James AUDIOBOOK , Death Comes to Pemberley by P. D. James ePub (.epub) , Death Comes to Pemberley book review , Historical Mysteries

Latest Impressions

  • Never less than tedious

    2
    By imnotcocteau
    Fans of the author and of Austen will both be dissatisfied.

  • Sequel to Pride and Prejudice....

    4
    By marghar
    Beautifully written and very evocative of Jane Austin. The solution to the mystery cannot be deduced from the evidence however, and story gets difficult to follow

  • Life comes to Pemberly

    5
    By Hgduggdgjfg
    A worthy successor to Pride and Prejudice. I'm proud to admit the author overcame my prejudice that any modern sequel could do justice to Austen's wit and style. Verbose, indeed, but absorbing.

  • Interesting twist on Austen

    5
    By Eahghira
    If you love Pride and Prejudice and PD James, this is a great read.

  • Disappointment

    1
    By PJcritic
    While PD James may have mastered the art of mystery writing, this book proves her dismally unsuited to carry on the tradition of fine tuned, character driven prose, that marks Jane Austen's witty repartee. This book is boring, like a school paper written to prove the writer has read all works by an author, weaving those characters together in a loosely woven "plot" by name dropping them into peripheral, inconsequential places, just to be sure she has included as many characters and backstories as possible to give the present work validity and gravitas. All to no avail. The work does not satisfy Austen hungry fans, nor does it work as a good mystery. What a huge disappointment! If you love Jane Austen, you will not love this book.

  • Just okay

    2
    By Kasperp
    The book was very predictable and flat. Not something I would recommend.

  • The shades of Pemberly...

    4
    By Cafkelly
    As a big Jane Austin fan I say bravo. Those of us who are Austin-ites have no new material to absorb and love and this novel was a lovely addition to the extended Austin Library. It was very reminiscent of Jane's style and I enjoyed it. The mystery was well crafted. The reference to the characters from "Persuasion" brought forth a smile as I read thru them. I did miss the antics of Lydia....her character was strangely quiet thru out the trial. I enjoyed the references to Mr Bennett. The characters were not re-spun but "continued" in the right fashion. The Baroness of Holland Park was quite right as she entered the psyche of one of the greatest literary characters....Mr Darcy.

  • Death Comes to Pemberley

    1
    By Mad Lizard
    I am a big fan of Jane Austen and a big fan of P.D. James and so I thought this book would be amazing. I was seriously disappointed. James may have nailed the language, but the characters are so flat and deadly boring and the mystery is a snore.

  • Atrocious!!

    1
    By Disappointed Hopes
    The only thing that kept me turning the pages was the hope that this book would get better and take on a life of it's own. I'm not an author but I would not have done Jane Austen the dishonor of this very poor attempt at prolonging the story of Pride and Predjudice and then to have thrown in story lines from Emma along with it. There is a reason why original works of art should be left alone and this book is a living argument to that opinion.

  • Alright

    3
    By Starship Potter
    I was underwhelmed by this look at life at Pemberly. I did not like the way Elizabeth was portrayed the book was alright but it did not read like a mystery. plus I don't think Austen's characters were captured by this author.

More by P. D. James