Death Comes to Pemberley

By: P. D. James

Narrated by: Rosalyn Landor

A rare meeting of literary genius: P. D. James, long among the most admired mystery writers of our time, draws the characters of Jane Austen’s beloved novel Pride and Prejudice into a tale of murder and emotional mayhem.

It is 1803, six years since Elizabeth and Darcy embarked on their life together at Pemberley, Darcy’s magnificent estate. Their peaceful, orderly world seems almost unassailable. Elizabeth has found her footing as the chatelaine of the great house. They have two fine sons, Fitzwilliam and Charles. Elizabeth’s sister Jane and her husband, Bingley, live nearby; her father visits often; there is optimistic talk about the prospects of marriage for Darcy’s sister Georgiana. And preparations are under way for their much-anticipated annual autumn ball.

Then, on the eve of the ball, the patrician idyll is shattered. A coach careens up the drive carrying Lydia, Elizabeth’s disgraced sister, who with her husband, the very dubious Wickham, has been banned from Pemberley. She stumbles out of the carriage, hysterical, shrieking that Wickham has been murdered. With shocking suddenness, Pemberley is plunged into a frightening mystery.

Inspired by a lifelong passion for Austen, P. D. James masterfully re-creates the world of Pride and Prejudice, electrifying it with the excitement and suspense of a brilliantly crafted crime story, as only she can write it.

©2011 P. D. James (P)2011 Random House Audio

Like watching paint dry

I miss Adam Dalgliesh and the beautiful, flawless style of the series. I imagine that Death Comes to Pemberly would have been okay if I had read it. The style is Jane Austen, and the story is okay. But the audio version is almost impossible to endure. Affected, drawn out, exaggerated. I listened to the end because I love PD James.....

Love this author!

Would you listen to Death Comes to Pemberley again? Why?

Yes. I love the way she weaves Pride and Prejudice throughout her story making it seem seamless, but with her unique voice.

What other book might you compare Death Comes to Pemberley to and why?

Can't think of anything that comes close.

What about Rosalyn Landor’s performance did you like?

Kept the low key tone of the book.

A disappointment.

I tried to like this book. Unlike some others, I thought the narrator was fine and I liked the "where are they now?" beginning. But Elizabeth and Darcy weren't much like Austen's characters, there wasn't enough dialogue, and the murder mystery was pretty bad. Jane and Mr. Bingley were better and some of the minor characters were good, especially Mr. Bennett and Lydia. But without a successful Elizabeth & Darcy or a good murder mystery, why bother?

A nice tribute

What did you like best about Death Comes to Pemberley? What did you like least?

I liked the opportunity to visit with all of my favorite characters from Pride and Prejudice with the quality of writing that makes the characters and their interactions with one another believable. The thing that bothered me the most was the time spent, particularly in the epilogue, going over that with which I think the vast majority of readers are very familiar.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

I would much rather have read what P.D. James thinks would continue to happen in the lives of the Bennet family. Is Mary happy in her marriage? Does anything ever happen in Kitty's life? The epilogue mainly covered what we already knew. I think the assumption needed to be made that the reader was very familiar with the original Bennet story. The other thing I would have done is have a man do the narration. This was not a woman's story. There was much more from Mr. Darcy's viewpoint. The narration on many audible books is done by someone very skilled at performing many different voices, male and female,demonstrating an amazing ability to create voices that can be distinguished from each other. I would not say this was true for this book. The men all sounded like some slightly pompous, upper crust nineteenth century generic man. I was always conscious that it was a woman attempting to sound like a man.

What three words best describe Rosalyn Landor’s performance?

Pleasant, unvaried, inoffensive

Missing the spark of Austen

Any additional comments?

Most people read Jane Austen because of her subtle but precise wit, and the rich internal life of her main characters. Death Comes to Pemberly is not a particularly engaging mystery or piece of historical fiction, and by setting itself up for comparisons to Austen, suffers even more for the weak character development and complete lack of that (slightly mean and very clever) Austen spark.

Easy listen

A fun and easy listen. Perhaps too much time spent on lengthy backstories. Overall, an entertaining way to pass time while doing house chores.

Excellent narration

Credible sequel to Jane Austen’s most famous novel. And a crime mystery! As a fan of both Jane Austen and PD James, this was such a treat. I only wish there were more sequels.

Not As Interesting as Print Reviewers Suggested

I've read many (not all) continuations of Pride & Prejudice. Generally, one of the Bennett daughters has an active role in plot development and story line. Elizabeth does not play an active role in this tale. I suppose this reflects reality for women in the earlier 19th century. The suspense, mystery is pretty trivial and the solution smacks of deus ex machina.

If you want a good story, a mystery, and Jane Austin, stick with Stephanie Barron's series.

I enjoyed the reader. She is speaks clearly and told the story well.

Enchanting Heir

This Charming, Loyal and Loquacious story chaptured me from the beginning. She begins in the tongue-in-cheek manner that begins Pride. It is the untrustworthy voices of the Gossops that return us to the world first created by Miss Austen. I laughed aloud to hear them describe the events of Pride. Although nothing comes close to the rapier sharp writing of Miss Austen, P.D. James does an admiral job of attempting to maintain that style. Although toward the end, I did have fatigue from the explaining, explaining and more explaining that had to tie all the loose ends together. It was fun to be with Elizabeth and Darcy again. And I did want to reach through my earbuds and throttle Lydia. Definately worth the time to listen.

Woodland Mis-story

If you could sum up Death Comes to Pemberley in three words, what would they be?

P.D. James writes in the style of Jane Austin and Rosalyn Landor gives voice to the many characters with the expertise of a trained actress. James tells an interesting story, but she gives too few clues to possibly guess whodunnit, and then she has to give too long an explanation of the culprit's motivation. I wish she had included the pomposity of Reverend Collins and Lady Catherine de Bourgh.

It is well worth the read just to return to the characters immortalized by Austin in

Would you be willing to try another book from P. D. James? Why or why not?

Yes, she writes well.

What does Rosalyn Landor bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Her voices were spot-on. A good reader like Landor helps the listener keep focused on the characters.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Death Comes to Pemberley: Family Feud Fuels Fatality