A Man of Good Fortune: A Sequel to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice

A most enjoyable read. I literally could not put it down. Excellent execution and D & E love story. Mystery and angst included.

Congratulations to first-time author Ali Scott and to Quills & Quartos for publishing her book. Whenever I see a book from Q&Q, I know it will be well-written, professionally edited and proofread, and a delight to read. This book was no exception. I couldn’t put it down and read it in one session. Darcy has amnesia after an horrific riding accident. He knows who he is, knows Pemberly, Giorgiana, his cousin Colonel Fitzwilliam, etc. But the last 5-6 years of his life are a blank. He has no memory of having ever met Elizabeth Bennet, let alone marrying her, and can’t imagine how he could have married someone not in his sphere. I’ve read other JAFF books in which Darcy or Elizabeth have amnesia, but what made this book so good was that from virtually the first page, we live inside Darcy’s head. The reader experiences everything he’s going through—his confusion, disorientation, fear, anger, suspicion—the whole gamut of emotions. The entire well-written story is told from Darcy’s perspective. What is so wonderful is that while he has no memory of Elizabeth, gradually all the qualities that attracted him to her in canon come into play once again—her eyes, her curls, her wit, her intelligence, her kindness, her compassion—and he finds himself falling in love with her. We the readers know he’s been down this path before. It’s a fast-paced story filled with mystery and intrigue, but in the end, a very satisfying love story demonstrating that no matter the circumstances, Darcy and Elizabeth are meant to be together.

Darcy loses his memory at a bad time, when there are 2 mysteries afoot. A nice story, marred by the fact that we never know if he gets his memory back, or what really happens to the bad guys.

This debut novel outshines many a published JAFF author. It is a high angst plot, told mainly from Darcy’s POV. Spoiler: his memory loss returns his personality to that prior to his relationship with Lizzy. Subtly, his perception of her changes and begins his transformation anew. The portrait of a man struggling to live in a reality he cannot remember is very well drawn. Add to that a mystery being hidden from him and we have grounds for complications and misunderstandings aplenty. The maturer Lizzy is beautifully drawn and Molly is a delight. As I read her second novel first, I now eagerly await the third.

A very well written and captivating variation, but very dramatic and distressing. What I liked most was reading again how Mr. Darcy fell in love with Elizabeth again, despite all the prejudice regarding her family, connection and origins.