A historical thriller published in 2011, Death Comes to Pemberley is nothing less than a homage to Jane Austen’s famous novel, Pride and Prejudice, featuring its characters. This crime sequel narrated by P.D. James is a little gem of a British mystery.
October 1803. Six years after Elizabeth Bennet’s marriage to Darcy, on the eve of Lady Anne’s famous ball hosted at Pemberley, death, brutal and violent, strikes.
During the night, Lydia, Elizabeth’s sister, married to the irreverent Wickham, arrives at Pemberley, screaming that her husband has just been murdered.
A search team, consisting of Darcy, Colonel Fitzwilliam, and Mr. Alveston, ventures into the estate’s woods. But it is not Wickham’s body they find… he, with blood-stained hands, is rambling next to the corpse of his best friend.
Phyllis Dorothy James dared and succeeded in reviving the characters of this classic of English literature, maintaining the same atmosphere and appropriate style. The words skillfully recreate this era, the life at the manor led by the iconic couple, the romantic intrigues, the family quarrels, the secrets. P.D. James’ elegant prose immerses us in this British ambiance, continuing coherently the journey of Jane Austen’s characters. Thus, in addition to Elizabeth and Darcy, we find Jane and Charles Bingley, Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner, Georgiana Darcy, and the incredible Pemberley estate, with every stone, every tree vividly imagined.
For readers who haven’t read Pride and Prejudice, it might be difficult to grasp the history between Darcy and Wickham and why the latter and his wife are no longer welcomed at Pemberley. However, a prologue — The Bennets of Longbourn — helps situate the characters for those unfamiliar with Jane Austen’s novel or to refresh others’ memories.
The novel is divided into six books, each focusing on a stage of the plot. Do not expect a classic detective story; the author develops a particular atmosphere and carries the narrative through to the trial.
Here, there is no technology and little action but rather descriptions, dialogues of another time, quick to create an ambiance, the bygone world of the Georgian era, and to stir trouble at the Pemberley estate. The intrigue could have been a bit more developed, more detailed, and those looking for thrillers might feel slightly unsatisfied, but this little trip to the heart of Derbyshire remains enjoyable.
