Elizabeth’s Aston’s books are like a breath of fresh air. I have absolutely loved reading every single one of them. The Darcy Connection follows the lives of Eliza and Charlotte, who are the 20 and 21 year old daughters of Charlotte and Mr. Collins—the cousin of the Bentons who will inherit the estates once Mr. Benton dies.
Eliza must accompany her sister Charlotte to London in order to escape making a bad reputation for herself and potentially ruining her sister’s marriage opportunities. She is carted along as an afterthought without an allowance for clothing and is told not to expect to go out to many dances and balls.
Eliza is actually not unhappy with this situation. She gets to sample the real life of London, finds more characters and circumstances for her parodies of life that she writes secretly under a pseudonym, and she learns that the young man she has been separated from really isn’t a good choice for her husband. And she falls in love with a man who is not only rich beyond her imagination but will also provide her a happy marriage.
Meanwhile, her beautiful sister Charlotte is making the rounds of all the parties and dances and strikes awe in the breast of many a young man. She almost makes a serious misstep, but still manages to make a very good marriage for herself and her family.
Filled with manners, misunderstandings, mores, villains, cranky older women, and mamas without much compunction about putting their daughters “on the market,” The Darcy Connection charms the reader with humor and a feminist perspective of life in early 1800s England. I always enjoy Aston’s books, and this was no exception.
Eliza must accompany her sister Charlotte to London in order to escape making a bad reputation for herself and potentially ruining her sister’s marriage opportunities. She is carted along as an afterthought without an allowance for clothing and is told not to expect to go out to many dances and balls.
Eliza is actually not unhappy with this situation. She gets to sample the real life of London, finds more characters and circumstances for her parodies of life that she writes secretly under a pseudonym, and she learns that the young man she has been separated from really isn’t a good choice for her husband. And she falls in love with a man who is not only rich beyond her imagination but will also provide her a happy marriage.
Meanwhile, her beautiful sister Charlotte is making the rounds of all the parties and dances and strikes awe in the breast of many a young man. She almost makes a serious misstep, but still manages to make a very good marriage for herself and her family.
Filled with manners, misunderstandings, mores, villains, cranky older women, and mamas without much compunction about putting their daughters “on the market,” The Darcy Connection charms the reader with humor and a feminist perspective of life in early 1800s England. I always enjoy Aston’s books, and this was no exception.
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