Review: ROMANCE, MYSTERY AND JANE AUSTEN AT CHRISTMAS TIME
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 11 2, 2012
"Christmas with Mr Darcy" is a light-hearted, delightful  novella, Victoria Connelly has recenlty published as a  sequel to  her "A Weekend with Mr Darcy", "The Perfect Hero" (or "Dreaming of Mr Darcy" in the US version) and "Mr Darcy Forever" . I read the three of them with the same foolish grin mentioned above,  it means I simply loved them all. They are all brilliant Austen-inpired modern romances full of references to Austen beloved works and all the dreamy places connected to her life and novels. Delightfully written with a light touch on reality, irony,  and skillful characterization, they find a proper sequel in "Christmas with Mr Darcy" .In  Victoria Connelly's latest indie publication  all the heroes and heroines of her  Austen Addicts' Trilogy gather together to celebrate Christmas as well as their favourite author, Jane Austen. The great reunion takes place  at Purley Hall in Hampshire because renowned actress, Dame Pamela Harcourt, is holding a special Jane Austen Conference.Christmas is being celebrated in style and everybody's there: Katherine and Warwick, Robyn and Dan, Kay, Adam and Gemma, and Sarah and Mia. But, when the rare first edition of Pride and Prejudice Dame Pamela has recently bought goes missing, the guests have to forget the fun and games and turn detective...The fan and games? Team contests, meetings with the cast of recent adaptations, watching Austen movies or series and discussing  them among others. Those discussions were great fun to me: to read  what  Austen fans have to say after watching the movies or series scheduled at the Conference was like watching me and my Janeite friends in a mirror. The lady guests  start talking animatedly about who the perfect new Mr Knightley , Mr Darcy or Captain Wentworth may be: Richard Armitage? Henry Cavill? Well, it was as if  Victoria had turned  us members of  the enthusiastic community of Austenites into characters of her book (me included!) and our chatterings  about Austen movies and favourite actors were tranferred from the  online forums or from  our sitting rooms to the guests of the splendid country mansion.I also appreciated the addition of  a bit of mystery in the style of the best whodunnit novels.  There is no Poirot, no Miss Marple,  but the puzzling situation  is brilliantly solved by the lovely guests . Who's guilty of all the thefts taking place at the Conference?Being snowed in is not a very pleasant situation in my personal experience ,  instead  the snowy landscape  adds  a  touch of fairy powder  to the story. Would you mind being caught in in a wonderful mansion in Hampshire  with all the comfort  you need and in the best company you can wish?  I'm sure you wouldn't complain.  Especially after winning your own Mr Darcy and sharing the experience with him ,  as Katherine, Robyn or Kay do.Grab your copy  of Christmas with Mr Darcy and get ready to read it near the fire and under the Christmas tree.  I bet you'll love it.(READ MY POST ABOUT THE BOOK , INCLUDING THIS REVIEW, AT MY JANE AUSTEN BOOK CLUB[...])