Chapter One Hundred Thirty-Nine: Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman (Trilogy)

So I was in the mood for some lighter fare when I encountered this trilogy by Pamela Aidan while working at the library, and I simply couldn't resist!  I haven't read much in the way of Pride and Prejudice spinoffs or fan fiction or related works or whatever you want to call them, but this trilogy, which retells the events of Pride and Prejudice from Mr. Darcy's perspective, exceeded my expectations.  Of the three novels--An Assembly Such As This, Duty and Desire, and These Three Remain--I only felt the middle installment lagged a little, as it covers the time in Pride and Prejudice during which Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy don't interact at all.  Naturally this is where Aidan's story has to go farthest from the original, and while the plot has a bit more period political intrigue than I'd like, she does an excellent job of fleshing out Darcy's character and personality.  As a casual fan of Pride and Prejudice (I'm certainly not an Austen junkie, not having read any of her other works), I really enjoyed reading this trilogy and found it a lot of fun and an excellent casual summer read.