I love all Ms. Austen's....movies. Ok, so embarrassing, I've never actually read any Jane Austen, but I LOVE all the Austen-based movies, so I was psyched to see WICKHAM'S DIARY by Amanda Grange on our list. His less-then polished background is hinted at (at least in the movies) but we don't know a whole lot about him. I thought this was a novel idea (no pun intended).

The subtitle of the novel reads: "Being an account of his childhood, his friendship with Fitzwilliam Darcy and his attempted elopement with Miss. Georgiana Darcy." I was a little disappointed we didn't get to see his interactions with the Bennett girls, but still, an interesting cross- section of the story. The story covers 1784-1799 and it begins with George Wickham being about 12-years-old from what I can surmise. The first sections of the book cover his relationships with everyone at the Darcy estate, concentrating heavily on his mother and of course, Fitzwilliam Darcy himself. The first shows us how he ends up chasing heiresses; the second serves to remind us how shallow he is compared to the ideal man of the time. I had a hard time at first, because Wickham is so completely two dimensional, but after a while, I get that this is the extent of his character. That is the whole point-- he has no goals in life, he is shallow, he is a user.

I found myself just delighting in Darcy, even from this perspective and I think the author did a great job keeping the character of Darcy consistent with the original. It is a short, fast read that is just plain enjoyable, double if you are an Austen fan to begin with! I will be looking for Ms. Grange's other, unique novels.