Dear Author: Romance Book Reviews, Author Interviews, and Commentary

Dear Readers,

Last month we received an unusual request at Dear Author. We were asked to review something other than a book — a DVD set called “The Romance Collection: Special Edition.” The 14 DVD set, which can be found here, retails for $99.95 and contains nearly 30 hours of programming (not including the special features) from A&E’s romantic films and miniseries.

The eight titles included in “The Romance Collection: Special Edition” are as follows: “Pride and Prejudice” starring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle, “Victoria and Albert,” starring Nigel Hawthorne, Jonathan Pryce and Sir Peter Ustinov, “Emma,” starring Kate Beckinsale, “Jane Eyre,” starring Deborah Findlay and Ciaran Hinds, “Lorna Doone,” starring Martin Clunes, Richard Coyle, Aidan Gillen and Amelia Warner, “The Scarlet Pimpernel,” starring Richard E. Grant and Elizabeth McGovern, “Tom Jones,” starring Max Beesley, Samantha Morton and Benjamin Whitrow, and “Ivanhoe,” starring Steven Waddington and Ciaran Hinds.

While we probably won’t be reviewing all eight of these films, we do hope to review a few of them and this review of “Pride and Prejudice” is the first of these reviews.

I should confess now that I volunteered to …

The classics are still the go to books of the world readers according to the World Book Day poll. 2000 people participated in this poll by listing the top ten titles they could not live without. Pride and Prejudice was number one from every region except Northern Ireland. That region bestowed the honor To Kill a Mockingbird.

Via The Guardian.

Dear Mrs. Aylmer,

“Pride and Prejudice” is a story filled with characters who, even two centuries after it was written, still inspire us to want to know more about them. I haven’t read too many of these homages to Jane Austen’s world but “Darcy’s Story” might make me change my mind. I doubt there are too many readers out there who don’t know the basic story of a prideful young man and prejudiced young woman who find true love in Regency England. But while the original is told from the viewpoint of Elizabeth Bennet, you help fill in the gaps by showing us Fitzwilliam Darcy’s side of the story.

Darcy’s opinion and view of the Bennet family, the people of Meryton, his own relatives and friends and of course himself are in many ways very different from Lizzie’s. His consequence and place in the world are above hers and he has had the advantage of seeing far more of society. He is also a more quiet, introspective person than Lizzie and doesn’t have the equal to her large family to contend with.

From what I have heard, your story sticks more closely to “Pride and …