BOOK REVIEW the Mysterious Affair at Pemberley

BOOK REVIEW The Mysterious Affair at Austen’s novel. With Pemberley House colleagues have not Pemberley and estate at the center of the murder yet found a way of investigation, the plot of this mystery distinguishing one Death Comes to Pemberley takes unexpected turns into rooms in man’s blood from By P.D. James. the House, odd outbuildings on the another’s?” When Faber and Faber, 2011. 310 pages. estate, and convoluted paths through the physicians be- Hardcover. $25.95. the woods. Ghosts, suicide, secret letters gin their examina- to be burnt in the night, a hanging, an tion of the dead Review by Laurie Kaplan. ornate tombstone for a dead dog— body, Dr. Belcher Trouble is brewing deep in Pemberley James assembles enough red herrings delivers a descrip- United Kingdom Woods: a quarrel, shots in the night, to convince readers that the shades of tion as graphic as Lydia (yes, Lydia) screaming bloody Pemberley have indeed been polluted. a report from The Killing or Inspector Morse. He points out the “severe head murder. Instead of dancing at Lady The numerous cast calls out wounds with strands of hair, tissue and Anne’s Ball, the most important social resoundingly for at least four episodes blood vessels impacted into the bone,” event of the season, Mr. Darcy, Colonel of a TV adaptation. A rather Dickensian “the haemorrhaging of the blood vessels Fitzwilliam (now elevated to the title crowd of accessory characters—Dr. beneath the bone,” and “internal bleed- Viscount Hartlep), and the Honorable Jonah Makepeace, the Reverend Samuel ing between the skull and the membrane Henry Alveston find themselves trekking Cornbinder, the Bidwells, et al.—mix covering the brain.” It is judged that a through the undergrowth to recover they easily with characters from Pride and woman did not commit this crime. know-not-what in the glade: Prejudice. On the night the murder Passing slowly, almost in awe, occurs, while the Bingleys are visiting Baroness James makes Pemberley a dark between two of the slender trunks, Pemberley, Wickham (clever, handsome, and stormy place, but the details about they stood as if physically rooted, and not rich) turns up unexpectedly and the characters, the murder, the suspects, speechless with horror. Before under strange circumstances. Captain and the trial mesh with the texture of them, its stark colours a brutal Denny, Mrs. Younge, the Gardiners, and Pride and Prejudice. We could wish that contrast to the muted light, was Mr. Bennet all make their appearances. Elizabeth would have been feistier when a tableau of death. No one spoke. Capable Mrs. Reynolds is a constant Pemberley is invaded in the night by They moved slowly forward problem-solving presence, an assurance magistrates, hysterics, and villains, and as one, all three holding their lanterns high; their strong beams, that, even though the mortuary van is perhaps Darcy is a bit too loquacious in outshining the gentle radiance of at the front door, life at Pemberley will the Epilogue as he takes us back to the the moon, intensified the bright red carry on without a hitch. In intricate “disgraceful letter” he gave to Elizabeth of an officer’s tunic and the ghastly intertextual twists, Mr. and Mrs. at Rosings, but these are minor quibbles, blood-smeared face and glaring Knightley from Highbury appear, as considering how James allows Georgiana eyes turned toward them. do Mr. and Mrs. Martin. Sir Walter to grow in stature as she is wooed by Elliot and his still unmarried daughter Henry Alveston. Death has come to Pemberley. (Reader, Elizabeth form part of the Wickhams’ I shall not reveal who did what to whom With its web of secrets, silences, lies, shady history of employment found and whether he should hang.) and alibis, Death Comes to Pemberley and lost. explores the darker repercussions of the P.D. James has created a diverting Readers of mystery novels will love the Darcy-Bennet connection. For Janeites, hybrid novel, part tribute to Pride and gory details that P.D. James herself so part of the sleuthing will be connecting Prejudice, part mystery, and part social delights in revealing. In Book Three: Death Comes to Pemberley with Jane history. Organized into six books, plus “Police at Pemberley,” James explores the Austen’s novels—with her sense of prologue and epilogue, Death Comes to tensions between the law and the medi- character, wit, style, and moral compass. Pemberley is an imaginative extension of cal establishment. Even as guards keep It is a foregone conclusion, your Honor, watch over the prime suspect and the that “The peace and security of England dead body lies stretched out in Darcy’s depends on gentlemen living in their gunroom, a contretemps arises between houses as good landlords and masters, Professor Laurie Kaplan is the Academic the magistrate and the physicians re- considerate to their servants, charitable Director of the George Washington garding their contrasting responsibili- to the poor, and ready, as justices of the University England Center (London) and ties to the living and the dead. In a quip peace, to take a full part in promoting an avid reader of mystery novels. Her that pre-dates the invention of blood- peace and order in their communities.” most recent publications have explored the typing, Sir Selwyn Hardcastle taunts Dr. London settings of Jane Austen’s novels. Obadiah Belcher: “your clever scientific JASNA News 17.

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