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savedbygrace's review
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Death of parent, Sexism, Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Adult/minor relationship, and Excrement
popelc6's review against another edition
2.75
Great concept...I just didn't particularly love most of the stories.
littletaiko's review
3.0
As a general rule I do not enjoy short stories very often. There never seems to be enough time to get invested in the characters. However in this case, I really enjoyed Dancing with Mr. Darcy. This is a collection of short stories that are inspired by Jane Austen and or Chawton House. The range of the stories kept it interesting as they varied from modern day retelling of a Jane Austen story to actual usage of some of the characters. My personal favorite was the "One Character in Search of Her Love Story" since it involved a modern day character traveling to meet some of the characters from Pride and Prejudice as well as Jane Eyre. Each story has a short blurb at the end that tells of each authors inspiration. I would recommend this book for readers who enjoy Jane Austen and want to experience her stories in a new light.
nattyg's review
3.0
A nice selection of short stories that in some way reference JA and the Chawton House. Some were not my style, but all were engaging. Some I wanted more of.
stella_starstruck's review
3.0
I think that it should have been better. Sarah Waters is an author I admire greatly, but I'm not sure that she is as good at picking short stories. Some of the ones in this grouping were great, others were not.
Not sure that I'll re-read this book, but I am glad that I did read it once.
Not sure that I'll re-read this book, but I am glad that I did read it once.
penandpencil's review
3.0
Mercifully not a sequel in any way, rather a series of well written short stories inspired by Jane Austen.
rebeccalm's review
This book was given to me many years ago as a gift, and I only just picked it up to try and read very recently. I hadn't realized that it was a compilation of short stories submitted for a prize competition and that they were to be written with a general theme of Austen in mind and that the book wasn't an actual full narrative...So I didn't quite realize what I was getting into when I started reading. I got through the first two essays and decided not to continue. I found them to be very short essays that didn't delve into much at all, covering an array of topics and themes - it felt more like trying to grade papers than reading a good book of short stories. Maybe someone else will love it for all the reasons I don't, but either way, I wasn't going to commit any more time to it. Not for me at all.
ame1ia_fox's review
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.75
bak8382's review
3.0
This short story collection features 20 stories inspired by Jane Austen and her books. There are a variety of stories with ones based on her life, modern re-imaginings of her novels, and stories simply inspired by her. Needing a Jane Austen fix, there's a story here for everyone.