When her mother Lady Catherine is injured in a carriage accident on the way to visit Mr. and Mrs. Darcy, Anne de Bourgh begins to discover her own opinions and capabilities, to make friends, and even to fall in love. But can her new knowledge of herself stand up to the pressures from her mother, who has her own plans for Anne's life?

I enjoyed this story. There are a few developments that made me raise my eyebrows and think there was no way that could happen in Real Austen as opposed to FanficLand, but Anne's personality development was delightful, the original characters generally seemed like plausible people, and the canon characters were mostly in-character.

Like the vast majority of Austen sequels, this isn't going to satisfy the reader who wants more of Austen's style, but the reader who simply wants to spend more time with Austen's characters will be delighted. ( )

Well, a story about Anne! And quite enjoyable, I might add.

I'm not sure why the story was called "Darcy & Anne" - I was expecting more insight or delving into their family relationship, but it wasn't really there.

This story focuses on Anne. When Lady Catherine becomes ill and Anne must fend for herself, she finds strength in an unlikely place. Elizabeth, Georgiana and Darcy take her to Pemberley until her Aunt recovers, and Anne absolutely flourishes.

A light and fluffy story, but still touches on some class issues of the day.

Another book I like having on my bookshelf! ( )

Judith Brocklehurst made an excellent choice in writing her Pride & Prejudice sequel about one of the most minor characters, Mr. Darcy's cousin, and "intended", Anne de Bourgh. It was smart because, while Mr. Darcy, Elizabeth Bennet, Georgiana, etc. all make appearances, the story really does focus on Anne. (And thus none of the original story can truly be ruined.)

In Brocklehurst's hands, Anne is a remarkably sympathetic character. She's lonely, supremely lacking in confidence, ill, and dominated by the truly horrible Catherine de Bourgh. Thus, she's a brilliant character to bring out of the shadows and into her own. Watching her gain health, confidence, friendships, and hopefully a good marriage is a great time, and even if the book can't hope to measure up to our beloved Jane's work, it has the spirit right.

If you're looking for a P&P sequel that isn't going to mess too much with your memories of the original, I can recommend this. ( )

Judith Brocklehurst has brought us a lovely and humorous tale with DARCY AND ANNE. In this Jane Austen “sequel”, Brocklehurst shows us what happened with dear Anne de Bourgh now that her intended, Darcy is no longer available. This was a lovely story and I was quickly drawn in. Fans of Austen’s will most likely adore DARCY AND ANNE.

Now alone and without even a female companion to help pass the time, Anne is at the whim of her overbearing mother. What’s a girl to do when the woman providing you food and shelter insists that it’s time to be married off? Anne and her husband would of course come back and live with Lady Catherine as the sole purpose of this escapade is to find more entertainment for the odd Lady. Wanting nothing to do with her mother’s schemes but having no way to stop them, Anne is forced to travel with her to the home of Darcy and his new wife, Elizabeth. When Anne is suddenly separated from her mother, however, life shines a little brighter. Anne learns independence and discovers her own spirit, something that will be difficult for her mother to quash once they are reunited.

I found DARCY AND ANNE to be quite entertaining. By page two I had already had a couple laugh out loud moments and the whole feel of the story was light and fun. Watching Anne as she learns about herself and interacts with Elizabeth is great. Brocklehurst has a way of making the character interactions seem very realistic. There were often times when I felt that I was listening to the women talk or watching Anne blush rather than just reading it on the page.

The story of DARCY AND ANNE is just as good as Brocklehurst’s development of the characters. I’m not an expert on the time period so I will refrain from passing any judgment on the historical accuracy, but the story did seem likely and was definitely entertaining. Anne seemed to act like most cases of downtrodden women suddenly asserting their own independence that I have been familiar with. The romance in the story was beautiful in all aspects, even when things got a little awkward.

My favorite aspect of DARCY AND ANNE had to be the humor. We always knew that Anne de Bourgh was a little awkward. Her slightly sickly nature and disastrous mother lead to a great backdrop for Brocklehurst to create Anne’s character and more importantly her character change.

I would definitely have to recommend DARCY AND ANNE to lovers of Austen’s world and the characters that she created. Now, these characters may not be exact replicas of the original Darcy and Elizabeth. DARCY AND ANNE was, after all, written by a different author; however, I feel that the flow of the story and the character relationships do closely resemble Austen’s original work. My only wish for DARCY AND ANNE would be that it had gone on a little longer. The book was fairly short and easy to read, but it seemed that the ending may have rushed a little. I would have loved to spend more time with the last quarter of the book.

Fans of Romance and Historical fiction will love DARCY AND ANNE. Grab a warm blanket, a comfy chair and curl up with DARCY AND ANNE as Brocklehurst transports you to another place and time. ( )

Cute little story about what happened to Anne de Bourgh after Mr. Darcy married Elizabeth. Short and sweet. ( )