【 PEMBERLEY: MR DARCY’S DRAGON 】
book #1 in the Jane Austen’s Dragons series

Genre: Fantasy (retelling)
Audience: Young Adult
Author: Maria Grace
Published: October 2016
Publisher: White Soup Press
Pages: 319 (ebook)

I honestly just don’t have anything bad to say about this! This was a big surprised and something I picked up entirely on a whim. I hadn’t read any reviews and had no idea what it would be like, other than the fact it was a Pride & Prejudice retelling with dragons.

I can be convinced very easily to pick up anything if it has dragons.

But this was totally harmless and thoroughly enjoyable, much to my delight. I actually think this is really well written – the retelling worked seamlessly. The author has done a really good job of honouring the original story in a way that is so close to it without making it boring/uninspired.

And you really wouldn’t believe just how well dragon-keeping fits into this classic tale unless you read this. Hands down, this is that much better for having dragons in it. I’m dead serious.

The structural tweaks to the tale were perfect – lowering the ridiculousness of Kitty and Lydia’s presence, and upping the drama through the presence of the dragons’ story – things like that I genuinely felt balanced the classic story better.

Which feels like an utterly ridiculous thing to be saying, and no offence to Jane Austen. But really, not including dragons in the first place was clearly a missed opportunity.

Not to mention how much better Elizabeth and Darcy’s story is in the context of them being something akin to harassed parents as keepers of their estates’ dragons. Hilarious. The whole overarching plot of Mr Darcy having lost his estate’s egg and everyone trying to help him find it, while not missing any opportunities to dress him down on being a fool for losing it in the first place, was super fun.

So here we are. A draconic retelling of Pride & Prejudice and me telling you that you should 100% give this a go.

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Title: Pemberley: Mr Darcy’s Dragon
Author: Maria Grace
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It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a dragon.

Fitzwilliam Darcy of Pemberley has the good fortune to be in possession of the first English firedrake egg laid in a century. Or, at least, he was until some miscreant stole it.

Mr. Darcy tracks the thief to Hertfordshire. Catching the thief, however, proves to be an entirely different kettle of brimstone, especially when he encounters fellow Dragon Keeper, Miss Elizabeth Bennet of Longbourn.

Elizabeth Bennet’s deep connection to dragons and remarkable grasp of their lore make her the ideal companion for finding the egg. It’s too bad that from their introduction she finds Darcy arrogant, conceited, and selfishly disdainful of the feelings
of others.

Time is running out for Darcy to win Elizabeth’s trust and recover the precious egg before it hatches, and the fragile peace between humans and dragons is lost forever.

Meryton meets Pern in a fantastical regency romp bound to delight readers of Jane Austen and Anne McCaffrey alike.