Book review: Captain Wentworth's Diary

[birdienl]

The heroes diaries of Amanda Grange are among the most popular 'Austenesque' novels, books inspired by the works of Jane Austen. I Captain Wentworth's diary, it is the turn fo Persuasion o be retold from the male perspective.

Interestingly, this novel does not start with the incidents o Persuasion, but eight years before, when the, then Lieutenant, Frederic Wentworth stays with his brother in Somerset for a while after his first successful campaign of the Napoleontic Wars. Wentworth, young and somewhat hotheaded, is determined to enjoy his time on land as much as possible in the company of many pretty girls. He was not at all planning to fall in love, but when he meets sensible and kind Anne Elliot, his plans quickly fly out of the window. The young couple decide to get married, but will they be able to win over the opposition of their family and friends?

Everyone who has ever rea Persuasion ill now how the story of Anne and Wentworth continues (and if you haven't, I urge you to do so, because it's really a wonderful book!) Captain Wentworth's diary s already the fourth of the heroes diaries I've read. It's always a pleasure to rediscover one of Austen's works via a new perspective, especially as Amanda Grange's prose feels close to Austen's without being too contrived and her description of Jane Austen's characters is always spot-on. An Captain Wentworth's diary as something extra over the previous of Amanda Grange's works, as it expands on the story of the original novel and gives us a look into something ever Persuasion an has wondered about: how did the relationship between Anne and Wentworth first start? The result is a sweet love story of two young people who simply cannot help but fall in love, as they are so well suited. In addition, it is a great pleasure to get to know some new characters, only hinted about in the pages o Persuasion, mostly the dry and funny character of Frederick Wentworth's brother. It was also very interesting to see the subtle differences in character Amanda Grange crafted between the younger and the 'eight years later' Wentworth and Anne. Wentworth, already brave and gallant as a young men, is somewhat brash in the first part of the story, while Anne as a 19-year old girl shows her intelligence and kindness, but is also quite naive. 

The only downside of the extended story i Captain Wentworth's diary s the fact there is less space for the 're-telling' o Persuasion, which therefore feels a bit rushed in places, as the book is not thicker than the other heroes diaries. Also it occurred to me (and not for the first time with these heroes diaries) how some parts of the book were quite boring. That only goes to show what a genius Jane Austen was, that she could write books in which so little actually happened without ever boring us. No, no matter how much pleasure the books of Amanda Grange give us 'Janeites' in extending our reading in the world of Jane Austen, she can never replace the real genius!

Comments

[litlover12.livejournal.com]

I think I read one of hers -- "Darcy's Diary" or something like that. Fun stuff, but as you say, no one can hold a candle to Austen in telling these stories! :-)

[birdienl.livejournal.com]

Nope you're right, although 'The Lizzie Bennet Diaries' comes very close. Do you follow this modern-vlog-adaptation of Pride and Prejudice? It's so good, I'm a total fangirl!

[caffeinatedlife.livejournal.com]

Slightly OT but I just finished replying to someone's comment on one of my Persuasion posts about this book! Nice that you read this recently ;)

Glad to hear you enjoyed this book! As sequels and re-tellings come and go, this one really impressed me; I absolutely <3 it. While the 're-telling' portion was condensed, I guess I didn't mind if only because I was already entertained at how she presented the 'eight years ago' section.

How are her other 'diary' books? I'm hesitant to check them out but I was thoroughly impressed at how spot-on Wentworth's diary was to Wentworth in Persuasion so I dunno, I might consider checking another one out =)

[birdienl.livejournal.com]

Yes, it was really great to read about 'eight years ago' and I really loved how she imagined it. It will be my 'head-canon' for this couple from now on!

I would definitely recommend the other 'diary' books, if you've got the right sort of expectation for it. The characterization of the original Jane Austen characters I always like in these books, as well as the small new things that Amanda Grange adds to the story, which are always respectful and in keeping with the time-period. I also wrote a review of Mr. Knightley's Diary, you can find it here:http://birdienl.livejournal.com/43965.html

[msantimacassar.livejournal.com]

I'm always hesitant about these sort of re-tellings but this one sounds good. Perhaps I will dip my toes into the genre after all.

[birdienl.livejournal.com]

If you do decide to start on this genre, I think one of the 'Diaries' by Amanda Grange is the best place to start! Just pick your favourite Austen hero and dive right in!

[msantimacassar.livejournal.com]

OK, thanks for the recommendations!

[rosa-cotton.livejournal.com]

I too have read nearly all of Amanda Grange's Austen hero diaries, and this one was one of my favorites. Getting the backstory of Wentworth and Anne's romance was among the best parts. Which other of the diaries have you read?

[birdienl.livejournal.com]

The person I borrowed the book from also said that this was her favourite, but I still prefer Mr. Darcy's Diary from the ones I've read. I read Darcy's, Wentworth's, Knightley's and Edmund Bertram's diaries so far. The next one I'll pick up is probably going to be Colonel Brandon's diary, I've always loved his character, so I'm interested to read more about him.

[hamlettethedame.livejournal.com]

I see we think very similarly about this book! Though I didn't really find any parts of it boring. Far from it -- I tore through it as fast as I could.

[birdienl.livejournal.com]

I don't know, it might be because I'd read multiple of those Jane Austen-related books close to each other?

[hamlettethedame.livejournal.com]

Ahhhh, that would make sense. I try not to read books in a series or by the same author back-to-back, partly for that very reason.