These Three Remain: A novel of Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman by Pamela Aidan

Wow this was the best book to finish the series written as a spin "in" not "off" of Pride and Prejudice but from Darcy's point of view. I had so much fun with it that I pulled out my Austen book or the original P.P. and read about every other chapter going back and forth so I could hear Elizabeth's perspective and then Darcy's with all the small details filled in. He was so in love with her it was amazing he could ever get anything done...his whole life was filled with her in his thoughts and actions.

I think the author did a great job keeping faithful to the people and the events in Austen's original P.P. but adding details of Darcy's life that paint a whole picture!

SPOILERS:
If you remember in the middle of P.P Darcy gets rejected by Elizabeth when he proposes to her while staying with Lady Catherine, his aunt, for Easter. Darcy goes into a depression, treats everyone mean, then gets really really drunk one night...almost makes the worst decision of his life while attending a party of people trying to blackmail him and ends up getting saved by his really good friend that turns out to be a gov. spy! (never heard it like that did you?).

Then Darcy takes a journey of self-discovery as he tires to be the man his father would have wanted him to be and who he always thought he was...a gentleman. He has to come to term with his flaws and over come all the lies in his life about his character. He ends up thinking more about others then just himself and his family. He reaches out to help Elizabeth's little sister, he rights the mistake he made by discouraging his best friend from marrying the person he loved. He takes back some mean words he said to some friends and he confides in his dear sister and treats her like a grown up not a child anymore. He has a really funny Valet, Fletcher which he takes advice from as he quotes Shakespeare too. He puts his pride away and in the meantime Elizabeth is putting her prejudice away as she learns the truth about Wickam the evil, lying, gambling younger sister stealer and as she sees Darcy from a different point of view.

In the end it is "happier ever after" and a sigh of relief as they are finally married.

Whole Book