For some reason, I will always pick up a novel that has something to do with Jane Austen. They almost always disappoint, and yet I persevere. I have never been one of those very clever people who values Austen for all the stuff that I am supposed to (oh English 100, how I failed you!), but have instead loved her books for being the best romantic comedies ever. And I do love a romantic comedy. Anyways, I was going through Orion's backlist, and came across this trilogy by Elizabeth Aston. The third will be out later this spring, and number two came in last week. So I read it.

I'm very glad I did! Aston's series follows the daughters of Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth. She posits that they have five daughters, and I gather the first book dealt with the elder four. The Exploits and Adventures of Miss Alethea Darcy follows the youngest Darcy, who isn't really a Darcy anymore. She married quickly to a Mr. Norris Napier, who it turns out is rather abusive. Alethea runs away to one of her sisters, living in Venice. To avoid her husband, she and her trusty maid, Figgins, travel as men. Oh, the scandal! Along the way they run into broken-hearted Titus Manningtree who is heading to Venice to find a Titian painting he's become obsessed with. Got all that?

Aston is no Austen, certainly, but I still thoroughly enjoyed this one. It's certainly a lot of fun, and the scrapes Alethea gets into are over the top, and hilariously ridiculous. Obviously all ends well, and I have to admit, I'm pretty sure I gave a contented sigh at the end.

The Exploits and Adventures of Miss Alethea Darcy by Elizabeth Aston
ISBN 0752877372
376 pages