The Unforgettable Mr. Darcy by Victoria Kincaid (audio)
Source: the author Audiobook, 7+ hrs. I am an Amazon Affiliate
The Unforgettable Mr. Darcy by Victoria Kincaid, narrated by Stevie Zimmerman, is a heart-wrenching variation of Pride & Prejudice. Following a disastrous proposal at Hunsford, Darcy is determined to improve Elizabeth Bennet's opinion of him and hopefully win her love. But upon his arrival at Longbourn with Bingley, a terrible loss has separated him from his love forever. She has not married another, but is presumed dead in a ship explosion. The devastation is written on Darcy's face and is plain to even the most obtuse Bennets. Without any hope, he has set his mind to revenge -- to find the French spy who caused the explosion and her death.
Kincaid has crafted a heartbreaking scenario in which Darcy with no training is thrust into an enemy nation bent on revenge. He is clearly ill-prepared for the task and a local doctor sniffs out his true identity pretty easily, despite his impeccable French. What begins as a revenge story morphs into a story of redemption when Darcy finds that Elizabeth is not dead, but very ill and remembers nothing of her life, including her name.
This Darcy is able to demonstrate his feelings because his barriers were crushed when he thought she was dead. With her alive, he has not qualms about expressing himself and his love. Whether he realizes it or not, he can redeem himself by caring for her and returning her home, even if he must don the disguise of being her husband to escape enemy territory. The audio narration here is perfect. Each moment between them narrated for dramatic effect without being over the top, and Zimmerman engages the readers emotions as Elizabeth struggles to remember her past and how she came to marry Darcy.
The Unforgettable Mr. Darcy by Victoria Kincaid, narrated by Stevie Zimmerman, is a wonderful variation full of drama, espionage, double-agents, budding friendship and love, as well as Austen's trademark misunderstandings and prejudices. What readers will love here is how well the amnesia story line is laid out and how hard it is for Darcy to navigate the truth and fiction when his heart is so utterly lost to her and she does not remember him. Well done.
RATING: Cinquain
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About the Author:
The author of numerous best-selling Pride and Prejudice variations, historical romance writer Victoria Kincaid has a Ph.D. in English literature and runs a small business, er, household with two children, a hyperactive dog, an overly affectionate cat, and a husband who is not threatened by Mr. Darcy. They live near Washington DC, where the inhabitants occasionally stop talking about politics long enough to complain about the traffic.
On weekdays she is a freelance writer/editor who specializes in IT marketing (it’s more interesting than it sounds) and teaches business writing. A lifelong Austen fan, Victoria has read more Jane Austen variations and sequels than she can count – and confesses to an extreme partiality for the Colin Firth version of Pride and Prejudice. Visit her website. View her blog, visit her on Facebook, GoodReads, and on Amazon.