I really liked Carrie Bebris’s second Mr. & Mrs. Darcy Mystery Suspence and Susceptability– which is about some of the characters from Austen’s Sense and Sensibility–although one should be warned that it veers off a bit towards the paranormal.
The first one, Pride and Prescience didn’t appeal to me as much–something about bad things happening to good characters or something. (The fact that I read it almost immediatly after reading the second book in the series may not have helped).
The third one North by Northanger, was enjoyable but not worthy of great enthusiasm–in my opinion.
I’ ve not read Grange’s stuff or much else of the modern sequels and parallel stories, so I can’t compare.
I read Pride and Prescience recently and thought it … forgivable and somewhat enjoyable. Which is far higher praise than I can give Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife (I didn’t finish it either).
I had forgotten about it, but I read Pride and Prescience when it first came out and I didn’t hate it. The mystery gimmick made it more palatable than a straight sequel, as I recall. Maybe I’ll give the second one in the series a look.
I once read another author’s completion of one of Austen’s early unfinished books and it was so awful I flung it away. I suspect I’d feel the same about these fanfics, which is what they seem to be.
I tried reading excerpts of the Anne of Green Gables prequel, recently published, and it went nowhere fast. A well-known writer did it, too. Which just goes to show you.
Small as the Austen universe is, it’s going to be enough for me. Better a small perfection than not.
You know, I think I liked the second one, the first one I read, as much as I did in part because I thought it was a cool idea, and I had a dose of New Author Infatuation. When I then read the first in the series, the infatuation had worn off, as had some of the charm and novelty of the familiar characters, in slightly unfamiliar settings.
Still, while it’s not great literature, or even a great mystery, I enjoyed it enough to read the third one, which I’m not enthusiastic about, but didn’t hate either.
I always figured my Austen fanfic would be to “Wide Sargasso Sea” Caroline Bingley. I think there is an interesting woman under that bitch - one who thinks too highly of herself and has had to beat off fortune hunters with a stick while not being able to attach anyone she considers respectable enough for her. I’ve always pictured Bingley as the baby of the family - with Caroline getting just old enough to start to dispair.
Bride and Prejudice was good, but nowhere near as good as Monsoon Wedding. I didn’t like Lady Catherine as Darcy’s mother in the movie–why not make her his aunt?
I loved the 4 sisters and their family. I won’t buy it, but could watch it again.