'Diary of Mr. Darcy' not for diehard Austen fans

"THE PRIVATE DIARY OF MR. DARCY," by Maya Slater, W.W. Norton & Co., 316 pages, $14.95

Jane Austen is among the most beloved authors in the world. And among her most beloved characters is Mr. Darcy.

People can't seem to get enough of "Pride and Prejudice" and its indelible characters. Ambitious writers and producers have brought forth retellings, reincarnations and sequels with varying amounts of success.

In "The Private Diary of Mr. Darcy," author Maya Slater tackles this hard task as she looks at "Pride and Prejudice" through the lens of Darcy's diary entries.

"Diary" begins, like "Pride and Prejudice," with the Bingleys' arrival at Netherfield. It follows Darcy through his first introductions to the Bennet family and his initial snobbishness stemming from the family's improprieties.

Off-stage details come to light as Darcy writes of his daily life as a society gentleman and shares his exploits with his friend Lord Byron.

The full story of what happened with Darcy's sister, Georgiana, and the roguish Mr. Wickham comes out as Darcy unfailingly works to help his sister recover from traumatic events.

At the center of the diary entries, however, is Elizabeth Bennet. From their initial acquaintance to chance and not-so-chance encounters, Darcy describes how he gradually fell in love with Elizabeth and how he came to realize it.

Austen purists who pick up "Diary" expecting their beloved Mr. Darcy to shine through will be disappointed. Though it's highly doubtful that Slater sets out to ruin readers' opinions of Mr. Darcy, she is somewhat successful nonetheless.

Barely 30 pages into the novel, Slater has Darcy taking a "tumble" with a maid at Netherfield — an action that is repeated more than once. Slater also has Bingley involved in a sordid affair with a "widow." Later on, eyewitness accounts of rape and orgies are discussed.

Though these events are limited to a few paragraphs and not described in any great detail, one must wonder what Austen would say about their presence.

"Diary" is like reading any other kind of diary. Readers must slog through the mundane, everyday events to get to the good stuff — a process that takes a surprisingly long time considering the source material.

Slater's work is ambitious and not completely without merit. Darcy's time with his cousin Anne is enjoyable, and the closer examination of Darcy's growing affections for Elizabeth have a genuine feeling about them.

If readers can get past the debauchery, fairly pretentious tone and sometimes painfully slow writing, then "Diary" could be appealing.

But for diehard fans hoping to find their Mr. Darcy, the best choice is to skip "Diary" and reread the original.

E-mail:jharrison@desnews.com