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- Opening Comments on Rebecca Ann Collins' work
- General Reviews from Readers
- Special Foreward by Averil Rose for Mr. Darcy's Daughter
Ms. Collins' commemorative novel for the 225th anniversary of Jane Austen's birth
The Pemberley Chronicles
The Women of Pemberley
Netherfield Park Revisited
The Ladies of Longbourn
Mr. Darcy's Daughter
(Commemorative of Austen's
225th anniversary)
My Cousin Caroline
Postscript from Pemberley
Recollections of Rosings
A Woman of Influence
The Legacy of PemberleyNEW!
The Pemberley Series Finale!
(see what's new page for info)Opening Comments on Ms. Collins' work...
Jenny Scott, of the UK, author of After Jane writes:
"As you may, or may not, know, I have a complete collection of the sequels to Jane Austen's novels and have read and re-read and written about them all. I have been particularly impressed by the novels written by Ms. Collins and think that she has almost established a new genre with a saga which continues the lives of the characters created by Jane Austen over a series of novels. Importantly, she does not change the personalities of Jane's characters. I believe that while Jane Austen would be horrified if she read what has been written in some of the sequels, she would approve of Ms. Collins's work.
"Ms.Collins' work is unique in two main areas: She has created many new characters within the families bequeathed by Jane Austen and she has a gift for making her characters credible to, and in some cases loved by, her readers. She has extended the background to the novels by including well-researched details of some of the events going on at the time in which she is writing and involves her characters with these events.
"There is so much depth to these novels that they give some insight into life in England in the 19th century and the research put into the background information ensures that the events are accurately chronicled.
"I hope that Ms. Collins will go on writing more books of this kind and I look forward to her turning her attention to one or more Jane Austen's other works."
General Reviews from Readers
Sarah J., writes Ms. Collins'...Dear Rebecca Ann Collins,
You may or may not be surprised to receive this letter, depending on whether your books are sold outside Australia. Earlier this year, I received a gift from a friend in Australia, who knows my mad passion for Jane Austen and Pride and Prejudice in particular, of three books in the Pemberleyseries of novels.
Apart from their attractive presentation, I was inclined at first to regard them as another attempt to cash in on the current Jane Austen craze. Let me tell you however, that having started on the first volume Pemberley Chronicles, I was almost instantly hooked.
I had to read it through twice in order to take in the diverse characters and the fascinating story line you had developed, but even more remarkable was the way in which the characters were so well blended into the historical background of the era. Nothing was out of place or inappropriate.
There was so much about their lives and work which read so true, that it was like reading an "authorized biography" of the Darcy family. If Jane Austen had read them I am sure she would have been flattered and amused. Proceeding to the next generation in Women of Pemberley and then Netherfield Park was a revelation to me of how much was happening in that century, which many of us tend to dismiss as "dull and boring". It was obviously not so.
The characters of the second generation are, if anything, even more fascinating than the first- for example, Jonathan Bingley is a far more interesting character than his father, while Emma Bingley and Cassandra Darcy are every bit as good as Jane Austen's own heroines. Your ability to keep them so true to the Austen originals is commendable. The very careful use of appropriate language and manners to suit the period is excellent. You definitely love your Jane Austen and your knowledge of nineteenth century is remarkable.
Best of all the stories are so believable, in the context of the period and the characters involved. Having read all three, twice over, I have discovered that you have recently published a new book called The Ladies of Longbourn, which I would like very much to obtain. Please send me information as to where I might purchase a copy. Let me say again that I have rarely enjoyed a series of books more than your Pemberley novels. Please do keep writing them.
If have just one criticism, it is that you have sent two of my favourite characters from Pride and Prejudice to an early grave - Mr. Bennet and Mr. Collins. I do wish they were still with us.
Thank you once more for much pleasure and enjoyment and I look forward to receiving information regarding the Ladies of Longbourn.
Helen Stevens (of UK and now New Zealand) a fan of Jane Austen since the age of ten, when she first received a gift of Pride and Prejudice for her birthday, writes Ms. Collins --
"If anyone had told me that I would ever find another writer, who could bring Jane Austen's characters back to life and take them successfully into the next generation, I would have scoffed at the very idea. Yet with your Pemberley Series, you have done exactly that and what great pleasure you have given me.
Without resorting to sensational scandals or vulgar exhibitionism, which seems to be par for the course in the work of many writers of today, the characters that Jane Austen created, act out their lives in a world that was changing all around them, as ours is today. That you are able to take them through the perilous paths of nineteenth century England and bring us their stories and those of their children, with such authenticity of detail and elegance of style, is a tribute to your skill and imagination.
Please do continue the Pemberley novels and share with me (and all your other readers) these charming stories. Thank you very much indeed for a lovely experience."
" ...Since reading The Pemberley Chronicles in 1998 and the Women of Pemberley in 1999, I have become an avid fan of Rebecca Ann Collins. With the publication of Netherfield Park and Ladies of Longbourn, she is to me a modern day Jane Austen. No kidding!
I cannot say enough about this author's ability to draw one into the life and times of the characters that were originally created by Miss Austen and whose lives have been chronicled by Ms Collins in her intriguing stories.
Her knowledge of the historical and social background of the period and her ability to draw and develop characters is just fantastic. Yet, all her characters and their stories are so credible, one never doubts their authenticity. And just that touch of humour which adds so much.
Perhaps the purists will quibble about whether she should or should not be writing sequels at all, but all I can say is 'Please Miss Collins, I want some more!' Thank you for a great read."Jean-Anne Johnson
Vancouver, BC, CanadaDebbie of Maryland, USA, writes: "I have just finished reading the Pemberley Series by Rebecca Ann Collins and I must tell you every spare moment of my very busy days were spent reading these lovely books. I just had to know what happened and could not put them down! Every story was a gem!
As I finished Mr Darcy's Daughter, my disappointment was overwhelming. NO more books! What shall I do? There was so much more I wanted to know about all those wonderful characters.
I do hope there are many more stories to come from the pen of this remarkable author.Please let me know as soon as there is one and I shall be placing an order right away.
Please pass my regards on to Ms. Collins and tell her of the delight she has brought me through her wonderful stories. Thank you so much."Karen from Melbourne, Australia, who calls herself a "mad Jane Austen fan," wrote-
Dear Rebecca Collins,
How do you do it? I have loved Pride and Prejudice all my life and read all about Jane Austen's life yet, I never thought to find a modern writer who would bring those wonderful characters back to life for me and place them so perfectly in the absolutely authentic background of Pemberley and Victoran England. I am originally from England and do love the stories of Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte - so I was thrilled to find your books last year.
But it is difficult to believe that a modern lady writing in Australia today could capture so well the atmosphere, characters, values even down to the mannerisms and idioms of that era. I am truly amazed by the amount of careful research that must have gone into your work and I do love the way you can tell a story and draw the reader into the lives of the characters in it.
Best of all, the characters you have taken from Jane Austen are all recognisably hers - and behave exactly as we would expect them to have done. Except of course, for the remarkable new characters you have created - Jonathan Bingley, Emma Bingley, Cassandra Darcy and Richard Gardiner to name a few, who are so well woven into the stories, they may as well be Jane Austen's own people too.
I love the attractive covers and the "old-fashioned format" of the books - it's all part of the same period. Thank you for giving me so much pleasure - and please do keep writing about the >Pemberley people for many years to come.
From Helene of California, USA writes-Many thanks Rebecca Ann for your interesting characters, intriguing stories and excellent historical context in the Pemberley novels. I am quite astonished at the depth of information as well as the remarkable accuracy of your characterisation, especially when you adopt one of Jane Austen's original characters and extend their stories into the Victorian era. I have rarely been so enthralled by a set of historical romances before. I do hope there's more to follow!
Marion of Victoria, Australia writes-
My two daughters and I have read and re-read and talked of the Pemberley books ever since we received them as a Christmas present and we are still talking about them. So we thought we must let you know how much pleasure you have given us with your sequels to our very favourite novel- Pride and Prejudice.
Having had one really bad experience of a terrible sequel (no names mentioned!) in which Darcy and Elizabeth behave like characters from a 19th century version of a Jackie Collins novel and the language was so foul we blushed, we had resisted buying any others. Then my mum gave us the Pemberley books and what a revelation it has been! Absolutely irresistible and none of us could put them down until we had finished the entire series!
Good on you, Miss Collins, thank you for the fine work and above all for being so true to the sprit of Jane herself.
This rich source gives her an advantage over a number of other writers of sequels, who tend to rely upon a stylistic imitation of Austen rather than the more convincing detail that Ms. Collins can provide - drawing in the social, economic and political aspects of the period, to give verisimilitude and weight to the stories she tells.
The main characters - Darcy, Elizabeth, Jane and Bingley remain essentially true to the Austen originals, while a number of characters, both major and minor are created to flesh out the story and extend the time span. Romance and intrigue are on the menu as they were in all Jane Austen's novels, but without the contrivances and distortions that spoil so many "sequels" of recent times.
While she makes no attempt to imitate the Austen style, there is a superb evocation of the same atmosphere of dalliance and decorum, with a tribute paid to the intelligence and wit of Miss Austen in the way the characters are used. No one does anything stupid unless they were meant to - so while we endure the silliness of Mrs. Bennett and Mr. Collins, we continue to admire and love Elizabeth and Jane. Darcy grows on one more convincingly here than in any other sequel published so far. He really does become a three dimensional hero of whom Jane Austen would have approved.
Readers looking for sensational or scandalous surprises will not find them in The Pemberley Chronicles, but those with a taste for the balance and humour of Austen will find a worthy companion volume."BOOK NEWS
"It took me some time to track down this book (The Pemberley Chronicles) which is published in Australia, but the time and effort involved was amply rewarded. In this, the first of four novels by Rebecca Ann Collins, Fitzwilliam and Elizabeth Darcy and Charles and Jane Bingley are happily married as one can imagine that Jane Austen intended that they should be.
Ms. Collins gathers the main characters, the Darcys, the Bingleys and the Gardiners and Colonel Fitzwilliam in the geographical area of Pemberley. She continues the lives of the families in a most credible manner.
There are weddings some of the characters Jane Austen left unwed and also for some children of the main characters. There are many children born to Elizabeth Darcy, Jane Bingley, Charlotte Collins, Georgiana Darcy, Lydia Wickham and Colonel Fitzwilliam's wife. There are grandchildren for the Gardiners and for Charlotte Collins. There is also tragedy and there are deaths of some of the older generation. There is happiness and sadness but the characters retain the personalities given them by Jane Austen and there are no unbelievable events.
The political and social events of England in the nineteenth century have been carefully researched. Some of the characters become involved in politics and others assist his efforts to promote the health, education and welfare of those living on their lands."-Review by Jenny Scott, of the UKAuthor of "After Jane"
"Dear Ms. Collins, I am 17 years old and a student. I have written to you earlier of my love for your book The Pemberley Chronicles. I have since got two other books - The Women of Pemberley and Netherfield Park Revisited.
I am honestly taken aback at the delightful quality of your writing. Being an avid Jane Austen fan, I have read many all her books and many sequels, but it is rarely that I have found sequels as honest and true to the originals as yours.
Too often authors show little or no knowledge of the period, but your stories are exceptional in their closeness to the original and the research into the historical and social background.
Thank you for giving me so much enjoyment with your books. I know I shall re-read them many times."-Letter to the author fromJessica of Queensland, Australia
"A lovely complimentary novel to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Austen would surely give her smile of approval when reading The Pemberley Chronicles. The author, Rebecca Ann Collins, in no way tries to mimic Jane Austen's style to a pretentious degree - yet the novel flows perfectly, when it comes to characterization and setting.
Many surprises and turns, in the lives of our favorite characters, certainly leaves you riveted to each page. Truly a masterpiece that any Austen fan would enjoy."-Review by Beverly WongTop of Page
"The Women of Pemberley is Rebecca Collins' second volume in the Pemberley series. Unlike the Chronicles, this book is in five separate parts, each devoted to one of five young women - Emma Bingley, daughter of Jane; Cassaaaannnndra Darcy, daughter of Elizabeth; Emily Gardiner - daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner; Isabella Fitzwilliam, daughter of Colonel Fitzwilliam, and Josie Tate granddaughter of Charlotte Collins. All the girls are either related or friends and the stories deal with their own lives as the second generation of characters from the Pemberley families takes over from the first. Each one is an individual and their lives follow completely different paths.
As she tells their stories, Ms. Collins also explores some of the myths of 19th century English society, with its emphasis upon marriage as the be all and end all of a woman's life. The Pemberley women do not all fit this convenient mould and each achieves her goals according to her own set of values. In describing their lives, as they move through the early Victorian period, which saw so many changes in social mores and conventions, Ms. Collins is both honest and sympathetic in her appraisal of her characters. She does not rely upon scandal and shock to interest the reader. A vein of gentle humour keeps one from falling into sentimentality and the well-researched details of the historical and social background provide interesting insights into the lives of the women and their families.
Perhaps the best one can say about this companion to The Pemberley Chronicles is that the stories are so well told one would enjoy them even if they were not sequels to any other novel. Ms. Collins is a good storyteller and her characters are both credible and consistent. Readers of The Pemberley Chronicles will enjoy this companion volume."BOOK NEWS
"The Women of Pemberley is a sequel to The Pemberley Chronicles and takes the Darcy, Bingley, Gardiner, Collins and Fitzwilliam families through further years of the nineteenth century. The younger people begin to take centre stage. Ms. Collins takes great care in the creation of her new characters and they fit in well with the Austen families.
In the main part of the book Ms. Collins tells the stories of five of her own characters. We are introduced to Emma (daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Bingley), Emily (daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner), Cassandra (daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Darcy), Josie (daughter of Mrs. Collins) and Isabella (daughter of Colonel Fitzwilliam and granddaughter of Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner). Each story runs consecutively and includes the involvement of the older generation.
Ms. Collins has a special ability of being able to create credible characters and these ladies take on their own identity but so easily slip into place as members of the families created by the original author. The involvement of the characters with political and social developments of the day including the Crimean war continues."-Review by Jenny Scott, of the UKAuthor of "After Jane"
Yet another wonderful work by Ms. Collins. The story continues on, from her first masterpiece, The Pemberley Chronicles, as we read yet more about our favorite characters' changing lives.
Collins, in her own unique style, weaves a convincing tale of Pemberley's families and friends, as the years roll by. Keeping to the theme of Austen's Pride and Prejudice novel, subtle humour and romance are the order of the day -- but also great detail is placed on the political and social aspects of the time. The Women of Pemberley certainly leaves one hoping for another novel from our talented Ms. Collins.-Review by Beverly WongTop of Page
"Netherfield Park Revisited is the third in the popular Pemberley Series by Rebecca Ann Collins. Like the earlier volumes, the author reflects but does not imitate the work of Jane Austen- her inspiration for this series. She has borrowed characters and locations freely but avoids the pitfalls of trying to recreate the unique Austen style, which have trapped many sequel writers, whose characters speak in highly contrived, artificial sentences.
She does affect a "period" style - which is more mid-late nineteenth cennnnttttury, and a good deal simpler to use and read. Drawing upon a wide range of historical, social and political events to create a most colourful backdrop of nineteenth century England, Ms. Collins extends the lives of the characters she borrows from Jane Austen and adds a few of her own.
In Netherfield Park, she concentrates her attention upon Jonathan Bingley, one of the most credible Austenian figures she has created. Son of Jane and Charles Bingley, he is a fine upstanding young man with strong feelings and sound principles, but there is a far more complex fate in store for him than that of his amiable father in Pride and Prejudice. Faced with a disintegrating marriage and a series of practical problems, he decides to return to Netherfield , his parents' original home.
Anna Faulkner, a young woman of elegance and sensibility, provides the female romantic interest and though she has neither the wit nor the pertness of Elizabeth Bennet, she is intelligent and more interesting than many Victorian heroines of the period. She brings us and Jonathan a new view of Victorian women.
Many interesting minor characters add interest to the story- Mr. Griffin the rector, Lydia Wickham and Arabella Watkins - an insufferably vulgar friend of Miss Caroline Bingley. Ms. Collins combines all these ingredients together with a couple of enduring themes and some gentle humour, coming up with a very readable and believable tale. Consistent characters, lively dialogue and a vivid narrative style are her chief strengths.
Together with an abiding affection for Jane Austen and her characters, they make this an enjoyable experience for readers who like their romance with a historical flavour."BOOK NEWS
June/July 1999
"I found it difficult to put down Rebecca Ann Collins's third book, Netherfield Park Revisited. Ms. Collins moves Jonathan Bingley, son of Charles and Jane into the role of central character.
Other main characters are his sister Emma, his wife Amelia Jane (the youngest daughter of Charlotte Collins), his daughter Anne-Marie and Anna the daughter of Maria Faulkner (née Lucas).
After the death of Mr. Collins, Mr. Bennet named Jonathan Bingley, Jane's son, as his heir. Longbourn is occupied by Mary Bennet and by Charlotte Collins but Jonathan manages the estate. His involvement with politics and with Netherfield cause dramatic events within his marriage.
Jane Austen's characters are still there, giving a guiding hand and comfort and understanding where needed. The original characters are beginning to grow old gracefully but very much in the background giving an anchor to the new younger characters. There is a great deal of depth in these books, which, unlike many other sequels, extend the plot to other than the events surrounding life in and around the families."-Review by Jenny Scott, of the UKAuthor of "After Jane"
Ms. Collins has done it again, writing yet another fine companion novel to Pride and Prejudice, third in her series. Having read both The Pemberley Chronicles, and The Women of Pemberley (respectively), it was a thrill to delve yet again into the lives of our beloved characters and their families, as the continuing story unravels in Netherfield Park Revisited.
Collins has given Pride and Prejudice lovers a chance to learn what has happened to their favorite characters after the famous Austen ending. Just as enjoyable is the story-telling involving the "next generation" of characters - as the author brings their experiences tto life.
The existence of Jonathan Bingley is one of change, that will keep you reading until you're finished.
Ms. Collins, will you please us with yet another book in your fascinating series?-Review by Beverly Wong
"This book follows on from Netherfield Park Revisited. More and more the main characters are those created by Ms. Collins rather than those of Jane Austen.
Elizabeth and Darcy and Jane and Charles Bingley are still the guiding forces but their role is comparatively minor. Darcy is disappointed that his son takes little interest in Pemberley. Charlotte Collins continues to live at Longbourn. Jonathan Bingley and his family are at the centre of the stage. His daughter Anne Marie has had an unhappy marriage. After she recovers she becomes involved in campaigning for a hospital for children near to her home. Anne Marie meets the local Member of Parliament and they become involved together in the campaign and maybe on a more personal level.
There is a great deal of interesting background detail about the politics of the mid nineteenth century and Colonel Fitzwilliam and many other characters are involved. There is so much depth to these novels that they give some insight into life in England in the eighteenth century and the research put into the background information ensures that the events are accurately chronicled.
I hope that Ms. Collins will go on writing more books of this kind and I look forward to her turning her attention to one or more Jane Austen's other works."-Review by Jenny Scott, of the UKAuthor of "After Jane"
A novel which could truly be one of Ms. Collins' finest works, The Ladies of Longbourn is a treasure for any avid Jane Austen fan who adores the beloved novel, Pride and Prejudice.
As this lovely, intricate story unfolds - with an enjoyable and convincing narrrrraaaative - the reader lives vicariously through thee lives of the three heroines of the time, each with their own moving sega to tell.
These ladies of Longbourn are unforgettable; the story, touching. Indeed, it can be well said - Ms. Collins weaves a masterpiece that reaches the heart.-Review by Beverly WongTop of Page
FOREWARD by Averil Rose
(To Commemorate the 225th Anniversary of Jane Austen's birth)In The Pemberley Chronicles, her first novel, Rebecca Ann Collins borrowed the characters created by Jane Austen in Pride and Prejudice, and chronicled their changing lives, in what was a complex and dynamic period of history - 19th century England.
Extending the families and their social circle in The Women of Pemberley, Netherfield Park Revisited and The Ladies of Longbourn, she has recreated the world of the Pemberley families in a way that has captured the imagination of many readers of the original Austen novel.
Ms. Collins' gift for telling an interesting story while creating credible, consistent characters is remarkable. Happily, there are no strange and inexplicable alterations of character to outrage Jane Austen fans and throughout the series, the author remains faithful to the manners and values espoused by Miss Austen herself. While she makes no attempt to imitate Jane Austen's literary style, she maintains a sense of decorum in language and manner that is both pleasing and appropriate.
The Pemberley novels of Rebecca Ann Collins are characterized by the author's assiduous attention to detail. While the characters evolve in their environment, their horizons expand to take in the political, medical and social context of the time, in Parliament, commerce and community service. Careful research adds both depth and authenticity to their stories.
Many readers of Ms. Collins' books will already know Cassandra Darcy, the daughter of Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy. She is a very Austenian young woman, charming and sensible, with a mind of her own. Mr. Darcy's Daughter - the fifth book in the Pemberley series, is here story.
Appropriately written by one whose love of Jane Austen's work is her chief inspiration, its publication coincides with the 225th anniversary of Miss Austen's birth.Averil Rose
December 2000"Rebecca Ann Collins could not let the 225th anniversary of Jane Austen's birthday pass without a tribute. Hers is in the form of a fifth novel in the popular Pemberley Series - Mr. Darcy's Daughter. Instead of doing as several other writers of sequels do (mostly post BBC Series and chiefly American based) who seem to produce strange tales of intrigue and romance in the Gothic style, Ms. Collins uses accurate historical and sociological material to background and develop her characters and weaves a series of interesting stories, with a very authentic flavour. Her latest novel tells the story of Cassandra Darcy - daughter of Darcy and Elizabeth, a very Austen-like young person, now a beautiful young woman with a family (and problems) of her own. How she copes with a series of situations and crises, mostly outside her control, and maintains the integrity of her own family is at the heart of the story. Ms. Collins makes abundantly clear that life is not a bed of roses even for a beautiful and accomplished daughter of Mr. Darcy.
With her crisp style, lively dialogue and and a seasoning of gentle humour, Ms. Collins' latest contribution should keep her readers well satisfied."-Extract from BOOK NEWSMary Anne Jones -- Austen enthusiast and literature teacher of Melbourne, Australia -- writes...
"Dear Rebecca Collins,
When one of my pupils brought in a copy of Mr. Darcy's Daughter, I thought "OH GOD NO! Not another rotten sequel to one of poor Jane Austen's books!"
You can imagine, that having seen some of the very worst pieces of plagiarism and pastiche, passed off as sequels, I could not bear the thought of another. However, my 17-year-old high school student, who is a faithful Janeite, persuaded me to try it. I started it on the train going home and could not put it down till I finished it at 2 a.m. in the morning.
Since then I have borrowed, read and later purchased all five books and am re-reading Mr. Darcy's Daughter just this week. It remains my favourite, but I love them all. Thank you very much for the Pemberley Series."
After recently completing Ms. Collin's latest work, Mr. Darcy's Daughter, I must fervently applaud her talents once more.
Out of all of Ms. Collins' characters, I believe that Cassy Darcy (Elizabeth and Fitzwilliiam's lovely daughter) is one of my favorites. A strong and complex heroine, not unlike her mother Lizzy when we first met her in Austen's Pride and Prejudice, Cassandra must overcome and conquer many trials in life. Yet, her harrowing experiences are but a strengthening aid to her persona, and as a result, she is consistently a mature and stable character throughout the novel. One is able to relate to her thoughts, sympathize with her concerns and struggles...and feel relief when obstacles are overcome, or at least, adequately dealt with.
The reader will certainly discover that Mr. Darcy's Daughter is a delicate and intricate blend pertaining to love, honor, trial and duty. The story's convincible plot engulfs all of these complex issues, coupled with a consistent ease so notable in Ms. Collin's work. And as always, it is artfully dappled with Austen-like wit and historical flavour of the time. Each adroitly contrived chapter leaves you anticipating what the next one will hold with eager expectation. A truly "capital" read!
To Ms. Collins -- I think I speak for all your readers when I express sincere gratitude for this special commemorative novel, along with your encompassing works. I surmise that Miss Austen herself would have been very well pleased.-Review by Beverly WongMs. Collins has taken us forward to have a privileged look at what is to happen to Pemberley after Fitzwilliam and Elizabeth are gone. As before, she has combined sadness and joy in the way it happens to most families.
Cassandra Darcy had become a favourite of many and in this book her character comes up to expectations. I thoroughly enjoy this fifth book in the series and hope that Ms. Collins' pen is busy on another sequel.-Review by Jenny Scott, of the UKAuthor of "After Jane"
A Review by Averil Rose
Each time I pick up a new title in the popular Pemberley series by Rebecca Ann Collins, I find I am surprised and not just by the continuing saga of the Pemberley families or the author’s ability to capture and hold my interest in their lives. I am surprised by the depth of her understanding of the values and morals of the period and her capacity for creating an authentic 19th century ambience, against which her characters and those she has borrowed from Jane Austen play out their roles.
Having read and enjoyed all the previous novels, I should not be surprised anymore, for this is a hallmark that distinguishes Ms. Collins’ work from the run-of-the-mill “sequel writers” of today. It is certainly true of her latest contribution My Cousin Caroline.
It tells the story of Caroline Gardiner, the young cousin of Elizabeth and Jane Bennet, as she develops from a pert young miss into a woman, whose capacity for both love and hard work is sorely tested, but never found wanting. It is both a love story and a social document.
Like Jane Austen, Ms. Collins eschews melodramatic plots and grotesque characters in favour of believable story lines and consistent, credible men and women. Like Miss Austen, she uses her characters to explore (and sometimes to explode) the accepted mythologies – whether on marriage, the role of women, the superiority of certain class-based ideas, etc.
She creates interesting, strong women, whose lives present a very different picture of the conventional Victorian ladies of 19th century fiction. Like Elizabeth Bennet or Elinor Dashwood, who sacrifice nothing of their innate femininity to assert their right to have independent views and deep feelings, the women in Ms. Collins’ books have an integrity of character that sets them apart.
Caroline Gardiner is no exception; indeed she is an excellent example of the type of woman whose passionate convictions and emotions are expressed with warmth and sincerity, while she maintains a firm hold on the practical realities of life in 19th century England. Romantic, she may be as she falls in love and marries her colonel, but foolish she certainly is not. She is surefooted enough to take some risks, as she travels what is not always an easy road; while she may occasionally stub her toe or stumble, we may be confident that this intelligent, perceptive young woman will not make a fool of herself.
Her story, interwove as it is with those of Elizabeth and Darcy, Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner and others of the group, makes fascinating reading and not only because of its link to Pride and Prejudice. Using lively narrative and dialogue, spiced with humour and wit, this is a welcome companion volume to the rest of the Pemberley novels.
If I may add a post script – because the time line of My Cousin Caroline extends across almost all of the previous novels, it is able to resurrect for us some of the characters, who have been sadly missing from the last two or three episodes.
I, for one, found that the return of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet and the comical Mr. Collins in a couple of hilarious episodes, added vastly to my enjoyment of this lovely book. I am certain her many faithful readers will agree.Averil Rose
UK – October 2001
Extract from BOOK NEWS -
"It is not often that one sees a writer's development spread over a series of books in the same genre and can trace within that series, a growing sense of confidence and skill. Rebecca Ann Collins in the Pemberley series reveals exactly that - as she has developed from a simple chronicler of the continuing lives of some of Jane Austen's people into a storyteller in her own right.
Her ability to tell a good story was never in doubt, as all those who read The Pemberley Chronicles or The Women of Pemberley will testify, but increasingly, she has revealed a capacity to create new and related characters and draw them into or out of the magic circle of Pemberley, with remarkable skill. The integrity of character and period that marked her first books continues through the series. The evocation of an ambience, which is not just a matter of adding historical colour, but conveys a genuine sense of belonging is the mark of a writer who knows and loves her environment and the characters in it.
In My Cousin Caroline, Ms. Collins returns to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice to borrow two minor characters - Colonel Fitzwilliam and Caroline Gardiner and uses them to weave a fascinating story around a woman and her family.
A worthy successor to Cassandra Darcy in Mr. Darcy's Daughter, Caroline is a very Austenian young woman, with a background of solid middle class upbringing but a mind of her own. This emancipates her from the tedious run of Victorian ladies that populated many late 19th century novels and invests her with freshness and credibility. Free of the obligatory devices of Regency cads, their abandoned women and mis-begotten bastards, the story of Caroline is both absorbing and entertaining. In it, real men and women confront and deal with genuine problems that beset many people in 19th century England, in down-to-earth, believable ways.
Like Jane Austen, who remains her chief inspiration, Ms. Collins has a preference for the authentic over the bizarre in language, plot and character.
Inventive without resorting to manipulation, always maintaining consistency of character and values, the structure of My Cousin Caroline is creatively used to throw new light on some of the characters and events in the earlier novels of the series. As old incidents and people we have met before dovetail into the chronology of Caroline Gardiner's life, they are seen and occasionally judged differently, adding interest and new dimension to a story told with compassion and humour.
Despite it's setting and some of its characters, My Cousin Caroline is much more than another sequel to Pride and Prejudice."BOOK NEWS
Spring 2001
From - Margaret Wallace of Newcastle, NSW, Australia
Rebeca Ann Collins, where have you been all these days? I have only just found two of your books - The Pemberley Chronicles and My Cousin Caroline, and I discover that you have written four more!! Where can I get them?
I loved these two books- they are exactly what I would have imagined the continuation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice to be. All the characters come back to life for me as if they were still in Miss Austen's world; every detail of their background and behaviour is so authentically recreated, I cannot believe its been written in the twenty first century!
As for Cousin Caroline - what a wonderful woman! Jane Austen would have been proud of her. I must have the rest of the series - where do I get it? Please oblige.
From - three sisters of the Chapman family, Melbourne, Australia
Dear Rebecca Ann,
We are three sisters who emigrated to Australia from England about twenty five years ago.
Since we left the UK, we have not found anyone who wrote so well about the lives of english families as you do - especially in the mode of historical novels such as Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte.
We have read and loved all the Pemberley novels and wish to say how much we appreciate the way you have recreated the characters of Jane Austen and the world in which they lived. It also makes such a difference to read the authentic flavour of English speech, which you have captured so well.
Cousin Caroline is every bit a good as Mr Darcy's Daughter because it has a central character who is a beautiful and strong woman - unlike a lot of romantic novels of our time in which the women are so silly. Thanks once again for your wonderful work.
From Marjorie of New York, NY, USA
Dear Ms Collins,
Congratulations once again on your new book, My Cousin Caroline. As a incorrigible reader of sequels to all of Jane Austen's books, I guess I am well qualified to evaluate them ( I have read almost all of the currently published and available titles) and to comment on them.
Most times, I have to say, I have been disappointed in the lack of imagination of the writers who seem to rely on a formula of intrigue, romance and conflict alone to carry the plot of the sequel and the characters whom Jane Austen created with so much love come in a poor second. Indeed, in some sequels (which I shall not name here) they are quite unrecognisable.
With your Pemberley series, however, the opposite is the case. Not only do you tell an exciting and interesting story, but you have succeeded in extending the lives of many of the characters without in any way changing their essential nature, except where it is appropriate to their development. The new characters you have created fit in so well that I have to remind myself that they are not part of the original novel.
As well, your careful recreation of the historical and social background of the period of their lives only increases my enjoyment of these novels. I have enjoyed each one as much as the other and cannot point to a single title which I have put down without asking "and what happens next?"
My Cousin Caroline is different because not only does it take us back to the beginning of the Pemberley series, with Caroline at the wedding of Darcy and Elizabeth, but it traces her progress through the entire period traversed by the series. I am thrilled by the way you have drawn the threads of many lives together to weave a rich tapestry of life in Victorian England.
The unpretentious, yet authentic flavour of the language and the lovely oblique humour that characterize your style add immensely to the success of your work.
Please do go on writing many more such books- I for one, can never have enough of them.
From Sue de Bruyn, NSW
Dear Ms Collins,
I have read all your books many times over and I always thought you would not do better than Mr Darcy's Daughter- until I read "My Cousin Caroline" . It is quite delightful and I cannot believe that Miss Jane Austen would not have thoroughly approved of your work.
Caroline is a fantastic character- she is a very "modern" Victorian lady - with her keen interest in business and ppolitics and yet she is a great wife and mother. It's the sort of character that would appeal to those of us who long for women to be portrayed as individuals rather than mere sex objects - as they are in so many trashy films an dnovels today.
Thank you also for your insight into the background of England of that period- it was a real education for me as as all your books are. Please do write some more.
From Caroline, New Zealand
Congratulations Rebecca Ann on My Cousin Caroline! It is simply wonderful. To all those who have loved the Pemberley characters - Caroline is warm, sad , humourrrroooous and difficult to put down. Thank you very much.
Rebecca Collins satisfies her readers yet again with a captivating storyline, an admirable heroine and a writing eclat that exudes “Austen-ness,” but uniquely her own.
We are introduced to Caroline Gardiner in more depth and richness than ever before, as her personal story unfolds in My Cousin Caroline. A character full of vivacity and romance, Caroline faces many triumphs and trials which make her believable and “real” – as a result, the reader will no doubt be able to relate to many of her plights, inner battles, and successes.
Unlike many other Victorian heroines, Caroline Gardiner expresses her own desire to depart from the stereotypical roles of women in the 19th Century. A truly contemporary woman, she exhibits a strength of will and sense of character, as she strives to balance a weighty involvement as a political advocate, with her domestic roles as a supportive wife (of Colonel Fitzwilliam) and a loving mother.
Ms. Collins definitely deserves an encore for her talent in carrying on the Austen tradition. My Cousin Caroline delivers everything a true Jane Austen fan craves…and much more!
-Review by Beverly Wong
From Helen, of Blue Mountains, NSW
Dear Rebecca Collins,
Having read all five of your previous books, I reached for my new copy of My Cousin Caroline with mixed feelings. Could it be as good as all the others? Or would it be just another sequel - so many other writers have simply run out of invention ? But I need not have worried.
Caroline is such a wonderful character and your exploration of her development is done with so much affection and sensitivity, I almost wept when the story ended, because Caroline had become a friend from whom I did not wish to part. Her qualities are both rare and ordinary. Unlike some of the more remote heroines, she is one of us in a way that draws us in to her lifestory. She is gentle and yet tough - though never hard. Jane Austen would have liked her, I am sure of it.
I loved the interplay with all the other familiar characters and especially the wonderful way in which Darcy and Lizzie and the Colonel have aged so gracefully and yet always in character.
Congratulations and thank you once again for a lovely readAn introductory note to Postscript from Pemberley, by Averil Rose:Top of Page
I should like to say, at the very outset, that this is not a formal "review" of the novel. I usually read a book twice and think about it for a week or two, before writing a review. This brief note is my response on reading a pre-release copy of Ms. Collins' latest novel, Postscript from Pemberley. I must, therefore, reserve the right to submit a fuller review at a later date.
If I were to say all I feel about this book, I should be accused of producing a "rave" - so I shall not do so. Nevertheless, it is difficult indeed to restrain one's enthusiasm, when one is so delighted upon first reading a novel.
In Postscript from Pemberley, Ms. Collins has taken her readers right back to those gracious groves and lawns of Pemberley, where on a fine summer's day, Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet meet again and begin at last to see one another clearly, rather than through the prism of each others Pride and Prejudice.
In Postscript, though the setting is the same, the characters are from another generation - Julian Darcy, Jessica Courtney, Darcy Gardiner - all of whom we have met before in earlieer volumes of the Pemberley series and a fascinating newcomer, Kathryn O'Hare. Their lives are linked together in a dramatic and yet completely believable tale of romance and intrigue, spiced with wit and humour. Every one is a character in his or her own right and yet, their links to their parents and grandparents are remarkably strong.
Not only are the characters consistently well drawn, their lives and backgrounds well researched and accurately chronicled, they are all invested with some honest humanity, that lifts them out of the realm of fantasy to a reality compatible with the period. The circumstances of the narrative are so true to mid-19th century England and the tale is so well told, that it is impossible for the reader not to be drawn right in.
I must confess, I could not put it down.Averil Rose
UK - August 2002
In this, the seventh volume of the Pemberley series, Rebecca Ann Collins demonstrates once more that she is much more than a writer of sequels to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.
She successfully stakes her claim to be seen as a storyteller in her own right, with inventive plotlines, credible, dynamic characters and a very engaging style. Add to this, an enviable knowledge of the history and culture of the period and a sensitive appreciation of the values and morés that underlie the novels of Miss Austen and it is not difficult to understand the popularity of her work.
In Postscript from Pemberley, it is not Mr. and Mrs. Darcy who occupy centre stage, but their pervasive presence and influence upon the lives of the younger members of the family - Julian Darcy, Jessica Courtney and Darcy Gardiner is cleverly used to lend authenticity to the novel. Mr. Darcy's mature judgment and Elizabeth's still mischievous wit are in evidence, while the more youthful characters add a delightful new dimension- energy, to the story.
It is surely the true legacy of Jane Austen, that new characters, who reflect her world view, can so fascinate modern readers. That they do so convincingly, in the Pemberley novels is a tribute to the creative skill of Ms. Collins.BOOK NEWS
-August 2002Top of Page
From Jennifer of NSW, Australia:
In Recollections of Rosings, Rebecca Ann Collins has surpassed her usual high standard of storytelling.
Having read all seven novels in the Pemberley series, I am always astonished by this author's ability to maintain the essential link with Jane Austen's world of Pemberley, while still creating new and interesting characters and stories. Each novel has been used not merely to extend the story of Pride and Prejudice, but also to explore several important issues of the period, which enhance our understanding of the lives of the men and women of that era.
In Recollections of Rosings, she goes further as she reveals the lives of two sisters - Catherine and Becky Collins, disclosing the manner in which they were often constrained by their social circumstances in the choices they made in life and love.
Denied the pleasures of young love, Catherine eventually finds happiness in a mature relationship, told in a style that is both poignant and illuminating, while Becky is forced by circumstances to take stock of her own life.
The warmth and affection that exists between the sisters is reminiscent of the relationship between Elinor and Marrianne Dashwood in Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility.
The novel is so well constructed; nothing is contrived, everything flows from the characters and their actions. It is indeed a most satisfying and engaging love story.
From Anne of Queensland, Australia:
Thank you, Rebecca Ann, for another lovely Pemberley novel.
Catherine Collins daughter of Charlotte Lucas and the infamous Mr. Collins! Who would have thought she could become my favourite character? Yet, this is such a charming and unusual love story, I have been completely drawn in and would dearly love to know more about the life of this remarkable lady.
Much as I love Lizzy and Darcy and the rest of the Pemberley family, Catherine Collins will have a special place in my heart. Thank you Ms. Collins.
From Natalie Jones, Blue Mountains, NSW:
I have only just finished Miss Collins' latest novel - Recollections of Rosings and I confess I do love it. Each time I read one of the Pemberley novels, I have this feeling that I cannot put it down and must read it to the end and then, I am desolated when it is over!
Recollections is no different - the story, the characters, the lively narrative style are all so perfect and fit so well into their historical background, it is difficult to believe they are the product of a twentyfirst century writer.
Please Ms Collins, can we have some more?From Elsie Cunningham, UK:
"An Unlikely Heroine" -- Catherine Collins is a most unlikely heeroine. The eldest daughter of the rather ordinary Charlotte Lucas and the extraordinarily silly Mr. Collins, she is not the sort of person one expects to fill such a role. Yet, in Recollections of Rosings Rebecca Ann Collins has invested this somewhat ordinary woman with such sensitivity, strength and passion that she completely absorbed my attention and feelings as her story developed.
The author's skill is remarkable, as she weaves a compelling plot around a group of characters including the formidable Lady Catherine de Bourgh, exploring a number of interesting situations and issues. Although some of these were an essential part of Victorian society, they do have relevance for readers of today. Catherine's transformation from a compliant, unquestioning young person overawed by her wealthy patron into an emancipated, passionate woman capable of giving and accepting mature love and showing sound judgement, is credibly and sensitively done.
There is humour as well as outrage and compassion in the way Ms. Collins tells Catherine's story and as in the case of Jane Austen, the readers is left in no doubt of the values which she espouses. I think Miss Austen would have approved of Catherine Collins, even though she had a lot of fun at her father's expense!
This is a truly moving, believable novel and Ms. Collins is to be congratulated on her achievement.
Nicola of Sydney NSW writes:
Dear Ms. Collins,
What a lovely new episode in the saga of the Pemberley chronicles - even though this book is not set in the salubrious landscape of the Pemberley Estate.
Thank you for this tale of two sisters - Cathy and Becky Collins and their respective lives. Both women are strong and interesting in their own way. Each has some problems to resolve, practical and emotional, but the reader is guaranteed that their stories are told with honesty and sensitivity - as we have come to expect from Rebecca CCollins.
I loved the way you helped the readers understand through Catherine's letters and diaries, the truth about her life at Rosings Park while allowing Catherine to "re-discover" by the same means her feelings for Mr. Frank Burnett.
It makes for a most intriguing and refreshingly honest love story, involving real people. Thank you indeed.
Cecilia of New Zealand says:
Dear Rebecca Ann,
I had to write to tell you how much I loved your new book - Recollections of Rosings. I have enjoyed everyone of the other books in the fabulous Pemberley series - which next to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, must be the books I have read and re-read most often.
I am truly amazed and charmed by this story of a woman approaching middle age, who after many years of unassuming, undistinguished living as a parson's wife, discovers her true purpose in life and finds again the love that she lost in her youth.
Catherine Collins is going to become one of my favourite characters in this series which has brought us so many interesting personalities. Her strong yet gentle nature, her compassion and genuine empathy for people in trouble make her a particularly warm and loving person.
By setting this story at Rosings rather than Pemberley, you have also given your readers a new insight into the kind of life that Lady Catherine led at Rosings and how she influenced the lives of others in her domain.
The authentic background, the charming narrative style and gentle humour helps to make this one of the best books in the series.
Thank you very much and I hope there's more to follow.
Averil Rose (UK), who wrote an introductory foreword for Mr. Darcy's Daughter provided the following review:
It is likely that purists, who believe that no one should use any of Jane Austen's characters to extend their stories, may have objected to one or other of the Pemberley novels on the grounds that authors should not resort to using another's creative material to enhance their own work. I can understand why they are made for this can lead to lazy and sloppy writing. Such criticism cannot be aimed at Rebecca Ann Collins' novels, because they are uniformly well researched and written with clear conviction. Never has this more clearly demonstrated than in the latest of the Pemberley series Recollections of Rosings.
This is indeed a lovely novel, written from the heart and not with one eye on the dictionary. The story of Catherine and Rebecca - the two daughters of Reverend Collins and Charlotte Lucas - must be one of her best, because it borrows so little from Austen and gives so much back to the reader by way of character, plot and dialogue.
These two women, both original creations of the author, are superbly developed within their own 19th century environment and bring the reader new insights into the lives of ordinary Victorian women. They are neither dull not outrageous, like most of us today, they desire a happy life and some satisfaction from their efforts as wives and mothers. Unlike us, they are not able to pursue these goals independent of the pressures and influences of their narrow world. But, the author draws us into their lives and shows us how they cope with love, disappointment and death, with a sensitivity that is quite remarkable. It is as if she has been there and lived with them, loved with them and suffered with them all the way- not as if she is an outsider looking in.
It lends this book a most satisfying degree of authenticity which Jane Austen herself would have ap preciated. For my part, I loved it. Her many readers should do likewise.
From Suzanna Clarke of New Zealand:
Dear Ms. Collins,
Thank you for your newest book in the Pemberley series, to which I have been addicted since reading The Pemberley Chronicles in 1998.
Recollections of Rosings is so much like the others and so yet so different. It is like them in that it is interesting and authentic with all the background material of the period provided to make us readers familiar with the world of Jane Austen and the Victorians. But, it is also very different because of the wonderful new characters of Catherine Harrison and her sister Becky Tate. These two women , who are your own characters, are two of the most interesting women I have found in a new novel for many years. They seem like ordinary Victorian women - conventional and predictable, but in reality they are strong, passionate and sincere, with a determination to succeed that a twenty first century woman could envy.
I could not put the book down until I had discovered whether Catherine had reached the fulfilment of her goal and found the true love she had missed out on for so long. As for Becky, I admire her so much and feel for her after the loss of her daughter, but she too has been an excellent example of a fine, resilient woman, who will not give in.
Your stories use Jane Austen's world, without plagiarising her work or scandalising her fans, and your characters share the same world comfortably, opening our eyes to aspects of that society which may not have been known even to Jane Austen herself, thereby increasing our enjoyment of her novels as well as your own.
Thank you and I eagerly look forward to your next.
Janet from Clovelly in NSW writes:
Dear Rebecca Ann-
How come I have not read these books before. It was only after hearing them mentioned on the ABC Radio program, " Nightlife", that I started to search for them. I have the complete set now but I wish I had had them years ago- they are such a delight to read.
Would you believe I have gone back and read Pride and Prejudice all over again (after many years) then I have watched my copy of the BBC video and then,- read all your sequels starting from The Pemberley Chronicles right through to Recollections of Rosings?
I do not know which is my favourite- but after the first- which is a triumph, I think I have to say that Recollections is really superb. The characters of the two sisters, the beautiful, sensitive way the relationships are drawn together and the exquisite love story- is quite exceptional. But, then I love them all- please do not stop writing these fabulous books.
Tracey from Virginia, USA writes:
Dear Ms. Collins-
How very clever of you to use Rosings Park as a setting for your latest novel in the Pemberley series. I was really thrilled to be transported back to the days of the formidable
Lady Catherine de Bourgh and to have all those wonderful memories of Mr. Collins and Charlotte extended into a new era with the lives of their daughters.
Thank you for bringing us their stories with so much authenticity, telling their love stories, while sparing us the details of their sex lives- as some authors seem compelled to do in what must be a travesty of Jane Austen's work rather than a tribute to it.
I have all of Jane Austen's novels and although I have read some of the newer sequels, I have not found any other writer who deals with MissAusten's characters with such sensitivity and style as you do. The language, historical background, manners and mores are all perfect. The Pemberley novels must be the most convincing sequels ever written and Recollections of Rosings is up there with the best. Thanks again.Top of Page
A Review by Averil Rose, UK:
A Woman of Influence is a rather special novel for Rebecca Ann Collins. Its central character - Becky Tate owes nothing to Jane Austen oor Pride and Prejudice, except she is the daughter of Charlotte Lucas and Reverend Collins, yet here in the very best tradition of Miss Austen herself, is a love story that is also a cautionary tale.
Described as contrary and difficult, Becky Tate is perhaps the most untypical of Ms. Collins' heroines. There has been no suggestion in previous novels that we are going to like this rather self-opinionated young woman, yet in A Woman of Influence she must learn to confront the consequences of her decision to marry not for love or money but for influence and opportunity. Desolated, when the man she falls in love with marries another girl, she opportunistically accepts a man she does not love, assuming that the marriage will bring fulfilment of her lifelong ambition to be a writer and thereby satisfaction if not exactly happiness. But Becky is a romantic at heart and in the event, finds she has gained neither love nor satisfaction, leaving her sadly envious of the simple happiness of her sister Catherine.
However, despite this disappointment, Becky will not give up on the rest of her life's work. Resolute and resilient, she fights assiduously to bring some modicum of justice to a young family, whose ordinary lives have been blighted by the intervention of corrupt and infuential men. In doing so, Becky achieves a degree of success and satisfaction that has eluded her in private life.
Then, fortuitously, her life takes one of those little turns that Jane Austen sometimes relies upon to reward her characters and she is given another chance to reclaim her life as a warm and passionate woman and we breathe a sigh of relief.
All the characters in this honest and deeply sincere novel are drawn with the same clarity and credibility that readers have come to expect of Ms. Collins. Combined with her ability to weave and tell an intriguing story, it makes for another fascinating episode in the Pemberley series. None of her many regular readers will be disappointed in A Woman of Influence.
Elena Mitchell of New South Wales writes-
I read all of the earlier novels in the Pemberley series last year when my daughters gave them to me for my birthday. They were the best, most lasting birthday gift I have ever received - having brought me so much continuing pleasure. Which is why I sent for the latest novel in the series as soon as I heard about it on the ABC. (Thank you Tony Delroy!)
Having read it once without putting it down and then again more slowly, to savour the pleasure and enjoy the writing, I had to tell you how well I liked it.
Becky Tate has always fascinated me - so much so I used to wonder when this sad and complex, misunderstood woman, faced with so much disappointment and tragedy, would end her unhappy life. Yet she soldiered on, often making the kind of silly mistake that one of us could so easily have made and paying a heavy price for her errors. Resilient she certainly is and romantic as well but romance seems to have passed her by, until now.
Ms. Collins has cleverly used one of the most gallant and compassionate characters in the entire series - Jonathan Bingley - to guide Becky Tate back towards her ultimate goal and he does so with the kind of sincerity for which he is so rightly esteemed.
I cannot pass up the opportunity to commend the way in which Ms. Collins has matured the Darcys, whose appearance in this novel is perfectly handled. Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth have always been there in the series - sometimes in the foreground, often in the background, providing through their comments and example the sound basis for the values and mores that are an essential part of the Pemberley story.
I do not know how many more such stories we can hope for. I, for one, will be deeply saddened if this is to be the last.Ashley Hanson of Melbourne, VIC. writes -
Dear Rebecca Ann Collins,
Many thanks for the latest book in the Pemberley series. Like all the rest of your stories, it has brought my mum, who is disabled and a Jane Austen fanatic - so much enjoyment, she has not stopped singing its praises to us on every opportunity. She has read all of your books many times over and tells us how much she loves your characters and style. She is especially pleased with the character of Becky Tate and declares that "she is every bit as good as one of Jane Austen's famous heroines."
Let me assure you, coming from her, this is an enormous compliment. On her behalf (Elvira Hanson) I would like to congratulate you on your work and wish you every success in the future.
BOOK NEWS:
It is not without some irony that Rebecca Ann Collins has chosen to make Becky Tate the central character of her latest novel in this popular series, for Becky is hardly the kind of person that springs immediately to mind as a likely heroine in a 19th Century romance.
She is by no means the stereotypical Victorian woman, passively playing the role of dutiful wife and mother, uncomplaining and universally loved. Rather, she has throughout the Pemberley series, appeared to be independent, opinionated and ambitious for herself and her family, all qualities that are unlikely to endear her to other ladies in her circle.
Married to a wealthyand powerful man, she has exercised the authority she wields as his wife to support a number of worthy causes both charitable and political and is consequently regarded as a woman of considerable capacity and influence. Sadly, this does not extend to her personal life, which, as a result of some bad luck and certain errors of judgment made in her youth, has left her vulnerable and alone, sometimes sunk in despair.
In A Woman of Influence, Ms. Collins charts Becky Tate's journey out of this slough of despond. It requires an exploration of character and the development of understanding, that Ms. Collins handles with skill and compassion as well as humour.
The involvement in the story of other popular characters from the series - Mr. and Mrs. Darcy, Jonathan and Anna Biingley and Becky's exemplary elder sister - Catherine reminds us of the importance of the legacy of Jane Austen's values that are an essential part of the author's inspiration. Yet, there is neither manipulation nor contrivance in her work, which is refreshingly free of slavish imitations of the Austen style.
The story, told through the personal letters and conversations of Becky and her sister Catherine. as well as the fluent narrative of the author, is as inventive and absorbing as ever. With her usual flair for using historical and social research to enhance her stories, Ms. Collins weaves an engrossing tale of intrigue and romance.
Well drawn, believeable characters, lively dialogue and touches of ironic humour, so typical of this author's work, together with the authentic Victorian feel of the fabric of this novel will ensure its popularity with all those readers who have become fans of Ms. Collins and the Pemberley series.A review by Dr. Ellen Fleming:Book News
October 2004When Jane Austen was writing Emma, she confessed to her sister Cassandra that this time, she was writing about a young woman, who would be heartiliy disliked by everyone. Self-opinionated, meddlesome and over confident for a young person of her age, Emma Woodhouse has to learn several important lessons before the novel reaches its happy conclusion.
In A Woman of Influence, Ms. Collins presents a somewhat similar character in Becky Tate, the confident and successful wife of a man of wealth and substance, who discovers too late that money and influence may bring some satisfaction and social status, but they do not guarantee happiness. Like Austen's Emma, Becky too must confront her youthful errors of judgment, compounded by injudicious decisions in maturity, as she strives to find contentment. Unlike Emma Woodhouse, with no Mr. Knightley to counsel her, Becky pays a heavy price for her mistakes.
While she is an original creation of the authors( rather than one "borrowed' from Jane Austen ) Becky Tate is not a new character. Readers of the Pemberley series will recall that she has popped in and out of the stories - as a precocious child, an attarctive, energetic young girl, a sometimes contentious and passionate woman with considerable influence in her community and the ambitious wife and mother with an eye to the advancement of her family's fortunes.
Some of the Pemberley women admire her for her persistence, others despise her and question her motives; only her friend Emily Courtney and her older sister Catherine understand her. In one of the earlier novels, Becky is shown to be susceptible to the vanities of London society; yet she has sufficient intelligence to pull back when its shallowness is exposed and so redeem herself.
At the start of this new novel, Becky Tate faces life - widowed, wealthy and independent, but vulnerable, alienated from her family and envious of those women who have in various ways, found the kind of enduring love she has foregone.
In A Woman of Influence, by the fortuitous intervention of Jonathan Bingley, one of the genuine good Samaritans in the Pemberley series, Becky is given another chance at happiness and must decide if she will grasp it or let it go. Afraid to make yet another mistake, reluctant to be hurt once more, she procrastinates and almost lets it slip through her fingers, while assiduously pursuing yet another charitable objective.
Using a combination of private letters, diaries, narrative and intimate conversations, Ms. Collins explores Becky's predicament and the manner in which she reaches her decision, with honesty, humour and compassion. I suspect that in her heart, the author has some real affection for this contrary, yet very human, believable woman. She may be maddening and difficult, but I have to confess that I like Becky Tate. Her energy, singleminded determination and genuine humanity are irresistible. While she longs for the marital felicity that some of her friends and relations enjoy, her time is spent not chasing prospective lovers, but solving the problems of those less fortunate than herself. So much so, she almost fails to recognise love when it appears.
The novel with its mix of romance and conspiracy is eminently readable and perfectly compatible with its period. It has the unfailing charm that has characterised this author's work. It is interesting not just for the fascinating story of Becky Tate, but for the remarkable consistency with which all the Pemberley characters are drawn - including Austen's own Darcy and Elizabeth, whose pervasive presence reminds us of the source of Ms. Collins' inspiration.
Her ability to balance the manners and mores of Jane Austen's world and the ensuing Victorian age with many new characters and significant social themes that are woven into the stories, is a mark of her skill. Indeed, with each new novel, Rebecca Ann Collins moves further from being a writer of sequels towards establishing hrself as a storyteller in her own right.Ellen Fleming
NSW, Australia (October 2004)Top of Page
BOOK NEWS, 2005
When in the Summer of 1997, Rebecca Ann Collins' self-published novel, The Pemberley Chronicles, appeared, one could have been forgiven for thinking that this author had expended a great deal of money and effort on a labour of love with little prospect of producing a saleable book. After ten charming novels, her creative energy, skill and popularity are not in any doubt.
A life long fan of Jane Austen, Ms. Collins admitted to being inspired by the BBC's excellent production of Pride and Prejudice and sufficiently infuriated by a clutch of poor quality "sequels" to that beloved novel, into her own attempt to chronicle the passage of the Pemberley characters through the turbulent landscape of nineteenth century England.
Wisely evading the trap of trying to imitate Miss Austen's inimitable style, Ms. Collins chose to evoke the authentic historical context and the ambience of dalliance and decorum, through careful research, lively dialogue and unpretentious narrative, taking the characters she had borrowed from Jane Austen through a series of thoroughly credible plotlines.
Romance and intrigue were de rigeur of course, but the events and characters remained essentially true to Jane Austen's originals. Other characters were created to flesh out the stories and extend the timespan, but all of them slid smoothly into the now familiar post Austen social world of Victorian England into which the series moved effortlessly.
As she told their stories, with honesty and humour, Ms. Collins explored and often exploded some of the myths of nineteenth century society, cleverly using her characters in much the same way that Jane Austen did, placing them in familiar circumstances while confronting them with plausible crises.
Clearly, her readers, themselves Jane Austen enthusiasts, enjoyed the experience, while Ms. Collins undoubtedly enjoyed telling her stories. Now, with The Legacy of Pemberley, her tenth novel, she has decided to bring the Pemberley series to "an appropriate conclusion".
Using an unusual three part structure, she draws together some of the main characters and themes of the series, as she weaves a colourful collection of tales. While it would not do to reveal the storylines, it can be confidently said that they will engage and entertain her readers, who will surely regret that this is to be the last of the Pemberley novels.
In closing, Ms. Collins acknowledges and celebrates also the true legacy of Jane Austen.
Dr. Ellen Fleming, NSW, Australia
The literati and the J.A. specialists may well heave a sigh of relief, many of them object to anybody writing a sequel to Pride and Prejudice; but readers of the Pemberley novels of Rebecca Ann Collins will surely grieve when they learn that The Legacy of Pemberley concludes this popular series. I was delighted to receive a preview copy and am happy to provide the following comments for the author's website.
Structured, as many novels in Jane Austen's era were, in three separate but related parts, The Legacy of Pemberley is both similar and yet different to the rest of the Pemberley series.
The familiarity lies in her many well loved characters, who are part of a rich tapestry woven by the author and the skill with which she combines the manners and mores of the period with significant social issues in inventive but thoroughly believable stories.
We have the elegance and intelligence of Elizabeth and Darcy, the warmth of their daughter Cassandra, the singleminded determination of Caroline Fitzwilliam, together with glimpses of others like Georgiana Grantley and her wilful daughter Virginia and the enigmatic William Courtney, adding interest to a cast of well drawn characters.
The difference is in the sharper, more astute observations, the clever internal ironies and an almost whimsical note especially in the final part - "The Inheritance". It is as though Ms. CCollins is saying farewell with an impulsive lightness of touch that urges the reader not to take life too seriously. There is a welcome echo of Austen, who absolutely refused to to be too solemn about life.
The usual ingredients of Victorian literature - romance, conspiracy and intrigue are used with restraint and humour, to engage the intelligence as well as the feelings of the reader. The tales are told with careful attention to detail of character, period and place making them both interesting and credible in the way that many sequels are not.
Never self-indulgent or presumptuous in her style, Ms. Collins writes with obvious enjoyment of people and places she has researched and studied and tells a story well.
She must settle the fate of some of her favourite characters and a few nasty ones too. One can smile, even laugh with her as she observes and exposes their antics with cheerful and occasionally, wicked glee. But, she also finds ways to commend those, who by their lives have demonstrated that they are indeed the true inheritors of The Legacy of Pemberley, which is also to a remarkable degree the legacy of Jane Austen.
It would not be sensible or fair to divulge too much of the plots or reveal the manner in which Ms. Collins draws the Pemberley series to "an appropriate conclusion". Suffice it to say that her readers are unlikely to be outraged or affronted, but many will regret her decision to do so.
The elegantly simple full colour cover is a fitting finale to a series of original and authentic cover designs. The artist Marissa O'Donnell is to be congratulated on her work for the Pemberley series.
Mary-Anne Jones (teacher and Jane Austen enthusiast) - Melbourne, Victoria:Dear Rebecca Ann Collins,
As you know from a previous letter of mine, I am a "convert" to your books, having had for many years an aversion to reading the concocted tales and contrived language of many so-called "sequel writers", who rely upon their readers' affection for Jane Austen to pass off a pastiche of Regency type soap operas as sequels to Pride and Prejudice.
Which is why my own enthusiasm for the Pemberley series has been quite remarkable and continues unabated with your last ( and sadly final) novel - The Legacy of Pemberley.
Let me say at the outset, that I agree with your contention that, after a period spanning fifty years, it seems appropriate that you draw this series to a conclusion. It would have strained credibility to have drawn it out much longer and since credibility lies at the very heart of your success as a storyteller, that would have been a great pity.
As it stands, your manner of concluding the chronicles of the Pemberley families is both plausible and estimable, in that it allows your readers to use their imagination rather than have a cut and dried conclusion foisted upon them. To use the concept of "the legacy of Pemberley" as you have done is both original and consistent with your own and Miss Austen's view of life and while I may have preferred to see a more definite conclusion, with a clear line of succession perhaps, I cannot quarrel with your version. I am sure many of your readers will agree.
The use of a three part structure in this book, gives more flexibility, allowing you to draw together several of our favourite Pemberley personalities and lets us see how their lives have worked out over the years. It is a clever idea to use an old fashioned technique from the Austen era to achieve an interesting effect.The stories are as always completely believable and emphasise the interplay of characters and ideas that forms the background of the entire series and lets us appreciate the true legacy of Pemberley.
Best of all, I enjoyed the sometimes wicked wit and subtle humour in some of the episodes; my only regret is that this has to be the last of the Pemberley chronicles. Thank you again for a feast of great reading.From Marjorie of New York, USA
Dear Ms Collins,
Thank you for letting me see a pre- release copy of your latest book - The Legacy of Pemberley and let me say at once how very sad I am that it is to be the last of this charming series.
I am a collector of Jane Austen memorabilia and have read almost all of the sequels to her novels published in recent times. Frequently disappointed with the imitative style of the writing and the dearth of imagination of the authors, I was, from the outset, captivated by the quality of your work.
The characters, those borrowed from Miss Austen and others created by yourself, all mix and mingle together and fit remarkably well into the authentic historical and social context of nineteenth century England portrayed in the books. I have read each new title with increasing interest and admiration as you assiduously avoided the trap of turning the Pemberley stories into Regency melodrama
It has been no different with The Legacy of Pemberley. Thank you for taking us back to Pemberley for this concluding novel and drawing Elizabeth and Mr Darcy into the story so naturally and convincingly. Since their romance, marriage and life at Pemberley was the raison d'etre for your first book - the lovely Pemberley Chronicles - it is fitting indeed that they play a part at the end of your narrative too.
I was completely thrilled with the new three part structure used in this book - Emily's Children, Solitary Lives, and The Inheritance are separate but linked stories, weaving together the lives of some of the best and most interesting characters in the series. While retaining an interest in their individual stories, we cannot fail to see the overarching significance of the legacy of Pemberley in their lives.
The Darcys and Bingleys return to entertain and charm us, while individuals like Caroline Fitzwilliam, her sister Emily, Richard and Cassandra Gardiner, Jonathan and Anna Bingley and many others we have come to love and admire, get one last hurrah! With humour and wit, the fads and foibles of some characters are exposed, while others retain our affection and esteem.
The Inheritance, which I found to be a most charming and romantic story, affords us another insight into the lives of Richard, Cassandra and their youngest daughter - Laura Ann, allowing us to understand that the Pemberley families are no strangers to sorrow. Yet, as before, their compassion and strength in dealing with life's vicissitudes sets them apart.
Thank you again for a most satisfying tale, convincingly told. I am sorry it is to be the last.Suzanna Clarke of New Zealand writes:
Dear Ms. Collins,
I am absolutely devastated to find that we have come to the end of the Pemberley Chronicles with your final novel - The Legacy of Pemberley. I am sad because these characters have become so much a part of my imaginary life that I cannot believe that I am not going to find out what happens to them in the future.
I have so enjoyed the Pemberley series and have read and re-read the books with such pleasure, that I reached for The Legacy of Pemberley with great interest. Each new novel had opened up more of that intriguing society in which these people lived, worked and loved, drawing me deeper into an appreciation of the lives of men and women in Victorian England - not just at Pemberley or in Derbyshire but in many parts of the country at various social levels. Weak or strong, honourable or contemptible, rich or poor, they were all so well drawn, their stories so well told, I came to know them all as though they were alive and living in my neighbourhood.
In The Legacy of Pemberley, some of the characters return and combine with others in a charming, insightful novel that had me laughing and crying. I know I must not reveal the stories and spoil it for future readers, but I must at least be allowed to say that I was "excessively diverted" by the tales of Miranda Gardiner and Virginia Grantley and completely charmed by the unexpected romance of Rachel Fitzwilliam. Like many of the other characters, these young women will stay with me forever and I shall worry and wonder about their future lives.
Though the series has been concluded, I have no doubt that "the shades of Pemberley will live on" thanks to Miss Jane Austen and Rebecca Ann Collins.Natalie Jones, Blue MTS. NSW writes- I am so very sad that with this lovely story, The Legacy of Pemberley, we have come to the end of the Pemberley series. Ms Collins has provided us not just with a series of totally believable sequels to Jane Austen's immortal Pride and Prejudice, but she has also created such a charming collection of characters , whose lives have engrossed us for almost ten years now that I am quite desolated.
But even so, I must say what a very moving and appropriate conclusion she has drawn in The Legacy of Pemberley. I have already read it twice. Thank you again, Ms. Collins.
Elsie Cunningham (UK) writes-Sad though I am to have reached the end of the Pemberley series, I have to congratulate Rebecca Ann Collins on a masterly conclusion. Neither a traditional Victorian tear-jerker, nor a piece of unbelievable flummery like many silly sequels in print today- The Legacy is indeed a classy ending to one of the most authentic and genuinely interesting series of novels I have read.
Neither over-reaching nor underplaying her role, the author has taken her readers all the way through an entire half century of the lives of the Pemberley characters in Victorian England and brought us to the point at which we, like they, understand the true legacy of Pemberley.
As Avril Rose says- in her review, "it lies not in broad acres and stately homes, nor in political power, but in values and conduct of the men and women whose stories she tells, with affection and humour"
Congratulations Ms. Collins!
Cecilia, from New Zealand- says-Well, let the literary elites and JA specialists "heave a sigh of relief" if they will, but, I am sorry that with The Legacy of Pemberley, this lovely series has ended and many other readers will agree.
I have so enjoyed this very authentic and interesting journey through the world of Jane Austen and mid Victorian England with a remarkable range of characters, that I shall miss them very much indeed. I understand why Ms Collins has seen fit to "bring the series to an appropriate conclusion", but I, like many others of her readers, will surely shed a tear as we close this final book.
The Legacy of Pemberley with its fine cast of characters and charming conclusion has only made me go back and read them all over again.
From Helene of New York, USA -Dear Ms. Collins,
I write again to congratulate you on the beautifully balanced and credible conclusion to the Pemberley series you have provided your readers in The Legacy of Pemberley.
As before, I am both intrigued and charmed at the way you blend romance, intrigue, humour and historical fact into a completely believable narrative, without once straining the bounds of credibility (as so many pseudo-sequellers have done) or offending the dictates of decorum and good taste.
I am certain Miss Austen herself would have enjoyed it. Well done, Ms. Collins.
Marion, of Victoria, Australia writes-Dear Ms. Collins,
My two daughters and I are devastated that with The Legacy, you have decided to conclude the series of Pemberley novels, which we have read, re-read and discussed so avidly for many years.
We wish it could have been different - that like Agatha Christie, you could have written 20 more such charming stories, yet we do appreciate your argument that after spanning a period of fifty years, you had to bring them to a conclusion.
And we would like to say , sad though we are, that it is a singularly significant and appropriate conclusion, with which none of your many fans can quarrel.
Indeed, it is a conclusion, drawn in the spirit not only of your Pemberley series, but also in the sprit of Jane Austen herself- with a charming and whimsical twist in the final chapter, which we enjoyed very much.
Thank you for all the fun and pleasure you have given us and, if you ever decide to "Return to Pemberley" - we will be first in line for the book!
