Thursday, October 10, 2013

Wickham's Diary

Wickham's Diary  by Amanda Grange

This was a slender little book, that I picked up at my library while on an 'all things Austen(like)' binge.  I read it in one sitting, and I think Grange did manage to get to the heart of George Wickham.

In Grange's story, Wickham was the son of a practical and honest man who fell in love with a woman who was not content to live within her means.  The senior Mr. Wickham, who, we all know, was the senior Mr. Darcy's steward at Pemberley was a vastly different personality from his shallow and greedy wife.  While Mrs. Wickham always wanted more... more beautiful things, more prestige, more money, her husband was not nearly so ambitious.  He also couldn't say no to his beautiful and charming wife.

So, when little George came along, guess who he took after?  It certainly wasn't his father.  Wickham's Diary covers up to the day that Darcy saves Georgiana from Wickham's clutches.   I think I was expecting more.  I guess, because this is Wickham's viewpoint, and he is definitely an unreliable narrator, the blame for being the way he is, is firmly handed to anyone and everyone but him.  

I think this is probably a good study of the character of George Wickham, but that's mostly what you get with this book. You get the buildup to and the rationale from the other side of the dust up between Darcy and Wickham.   If you love Austen and her characters, then this will give you a couple of hours to return to the world of Pride and Prejudice.  But, this can only be considered an appetizer, as it is missing all the meat needed for a main course.

2 comments:

Evie said...

It's missing all the meat needed for the main course? :) Brilliant!
I am going to go ahead and admit that the only experience I have with Jane comes from either movie adaptations of her novels or from Pride and Prejudice and Zombies re-telling :) I know, not something to be proud of, I guess I just haven't reached that point yet when I'd get a craving for classics. No worries, I am slowly getting there :)

This doesn't sound like something I would normally pick up - unless, of course, I'd read P&P first and fell in love with it. I will keep it in mind for the future though :) Thank you for the lovely review!

JoanneMarie Faust said...

The movies do tell the story. The Colin Firth BBC mini-series does it best. And, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies uses all the actual text from the book. Technically, you did read P&P, although slightly altered.