It takes a brave author to mess with Jane Austen, in particular that most cherished of her novels Pride and Prejudice,but perhaps at the age of 91 crime writer PD James felt she had nothing to lose for she has dared do the unthinkable, pen a sequel to Mr Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet’s classic romance and turn it into her own speciality, a murder mystery. Death Comes To Pemberley (Faber, $36.99) is a piece of literary audacity and, while not a complete success it’s by no means a disaster either.
The beginning is a little tiresome as by necessity James has to remind us what took place in the original book so there’s a long prologue before we get to the story proper which begins with Elizabeth happily married to Darcy, the mother of two sons, and preparing to throw the annual ball at their country home Pemberley House.
On the stormy night before the ball there is an unexpected visitor. Elizabeth’s disgraced sister Lydia careers up to Pemberley in a carriage, shrieking hysterically. Her husband, the handsome cad George Wickham has had a disagreement with his friend Captain Denny that ended in them fleeing into Pemberley’s woodland and gunshots ringing out.
Darcy and his guests mount a search party and sure enough in the woods they find Denny’s bloodied body with a drunken Wickham kneeling beside it, proclaiming himself to blame for his friend’s death. What follows is a painstaking account of the early 19th century justice system, with Wickham standing trial for murder and threatening to stir up memories of old scandals, perhaps even destroying Darcy and Elizabeth’s happiness in the process.
Often James’ writing is constrained by the language of the period and by her commitment to mimic Austen’s style but there are several moments of brilliance and flashes of the celebrated Austen wit, in particular a wonderful discourse on the inconvenience of protracted dying from the haughty Lady Catherine De Bourgh.
Part of the problem with the plot is that we don’t really care whether the odious Wickham is found guilty or not, nor do we ever believe he could shake the foundations of Darcy and Elizabeth’s marriage. The other issue is one James herself addresses in her author’s note – Austen deliberately steered clear of guilt and misery in her writing but a detective novel won’t work without lashings of both.
Still if they can get over their disapproval at sacrosanct literary ground getting such a trampling there is much for Jane-ites (as diehard Austen fans are known) to discover and enjoy. The story has been seeded with references for them to spot – Sir Walter Elliot and his daughter Anne from Persuasion get a mention for instance. And it is a joy to return to Pemberley and become re-acquainted with some of literature’s most loved characters even if there is something rather saccharine about both Elizabeth and Darcy these days.
So what would Austen have thought? Well I imagine she would be as impressed as I am that at such a grand old age James’ mind and writing remain as razor sharp as they’ve ever been.
Footnote:
Nicky Pellegrino, (left NZH photo), a succcesful Auckland-based author of popular fiction is also the Books Editor of the Herald on Sunday where the above piece was first published on 20 November, 2011
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