Book Review: Pride/Prejudice

I have read Pride and Prejudice by the esteemed Jane Austen, I have read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, written by Jane Austen and parodied by Seth Grahame-Smith. The original of course being an amazing love story, one I believe that every avid reader should read, at least once, along with a whole list of other classics, but that's neither here nor there. The second, was the same as the original, but with zombies added, which of course changed the story a bit, and made it slightly more comical, but otherwise, it was still a wonderful love story.

Now after reading these stories, I found this book, Pride/Prejudice : A Novel of Mr. Darcy, Elizabeth Bennet, and their Forbidden Lovers. No joke, that is the entire title. So of course I had to read this book as well.

When it says Forbidden Lovers, that's exactly what it means, I was not prepared for what lay in between the covers of this book. Pride/Prejudice takes us back into the lives of Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingly, and how these two men, who seem of completely different nature, are such close and intimate friends. Darcy being a tall, robust, silent, and arrogant man, and Bingly being a slight, kind, energetic, and friendly spirit. These two have a grand friendship they share their deepest confidences and as it unfolds within these pages, deepest intimacies. The story also takes us back to when Darcy was but a young man, and lets us in on the secrets that really unfolded between him and the despicable Mr. Wickham. And while the men are sharing their secrets in a personal way, Elizabeth and Charlotte are as well.

One thing I particularly loved about this book was that it took us well past the wedding day. It took us into the wedding night, and onto the honeymoon.

If you liked the original Jane Austen book because it was a love story, you might like this one as well. However, if you have children in your home who are old enough to read, and are under the age of 17, I would definitely put this book somewhere they can't get it, or make it off limits, it makes more than a few references to sex, and has quite a few details involving both hetero and homo sexuality. I for one enjoyed the book, it wasn't one of the best I ever red, but it did have me in a giggly fit more than once.