The Heiress: The Revelations of Anne de Bourgh

This was a lovely story. I grew to like Anne and really root for her to realize her potential. I thought I had some notion of where her life would lead, but I was happily surprised by some turns I never expected!

This was inspired by Pride and Prejudice, and it stays faithful to the facts of that story as far as it goes, though it touches only lightly on Darcy and Elizabeth. This is Anne's story through and through.

Like P&P, this story also involves romance and love, but I'd say it's much more a bildungsroman than a pure romance. The tone is also completely different from Austen's work - there's no sly and witty narrator pointing out people's foibles, and there are few examples of people acting like hilariously preposterous asses. (Yes, Lady Catherine is part of this story, but she's not laughed at much - I even felt sympathy for her more than once!)

I admit I missed the spark and verve of Austen's storytelling - this tale could have used a bit of leavening in that direction. However, the early chapters' languid feel were perfectly evocative of Anne's state of mind, and if later chapters weren't actually humorous, they did have brightness and joy that made a nice contrast.

This also has some beautiful language about nature, home, and connection, and I felt the ending wove every theme together perfectly.