Six years after Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy marry, their preparations for the annual Lady Anne’s ball at Pemberley are upended by a sudden crisis. A carriage arrives late at night carrying a hysterical Lydia Wickham, who screams that her husband has been murdered in the woods. Darcy leads a search party into the dark forest, where they find George Wickham alive but hunched over the bloody corpse of his companion, Captain Denny. Wickham is arrested for the crime, forcing the Darcys to navigate a public trial that threatens their family reputation and brings the harsh realities of the British justice system into their private sanctuary.
This novel is for readers who enjoy the historical setting of Jane Austen’s work but prefer the procedural structure of a classic murder mystery. It attracts fans who want to see familiar characters face moral dilemmas involving criminal law and social scandal rather than courtship. Readers finish the book with a technical understanding of early nineteenth-century inquests and the specific ways a felony charge could dismantle the social standing of the landed gentry. It offers a detailed look at how the rigid class hierarchies of the Regency era functioned when confronted with a capital offense.
Clear-cut and escapist; a moderate read.
Best for readers like The Escapist Adventurer. Which reader are you?
- Published
- 2011
- Language
- EN
