It is a truth universally acknowledged

that a girl in love with literature will find her heart in Jane Austen.

I have loved Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice since it appeared on a reading list in high school English. In 1995, my love grew with the airing of the BBC adaptation starring one of my favorite British actors, Colin Firth. Then I got the chance to actually study the novel when I took an English Literature class as an elective at Morehead State. I've read the book many times but this past Christmas my wonderful significant other gave me a multitude of sequels to my beloved book.

The first that I read was Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife by Linda Berdoll. It is quite the bawdy tale of what happens after the wedding, as Jane Austen had no knowledge of that subject. I was enthralled; from the wedding night to the birth of children, to sex, violence, and rumor-mongering and of course, a grand happy ending for my beloved characters. If you don't mind a different, not-so-staid take on the Darcys, I do recommend it.

I next read Letters from Pemberley and More Letters from Pemberley by Jane Dawkins that details the first year of marriage in the first book and the next six after that in the second in letter form. Most letters are correspondence between Elizabeth and Jane, and you get an idea of how daunting the task of running a grand estate really is. Both were entertaining, and great diversions on cold, winter evenings.

I then started the Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman trilogy, having received the first book at Christmas, and bought the second upon completion. The third has not made publication yet, but many chapters can be found online. These books tell the story from Darcy's perspective, and it is a most interesting read. You come to understand what he is thinking behind his cold facade, and how his upbringing and expectations has made him who he is. I look forward to finally seeing the last chapters of the third "book".

After spending so much time in the post-wedding world of Mr. & Mrs. Darcy, I was ready to return to the original, and much to my delight I found The Annotated Pride and Prejudice, edited by David Shapard. Even though I have formed a clear understanding of the book over the years, this book has made me slow down and really take in the book and analyze words and situations with the help of numerous annotations per page. The format is quite pleasing; the original text on the left, annotations on the right, so there is no flipping back and forth. It has deepened my love of the novel, and I'm not yet even halfway through.

For a daily (or so) fix when not reading the novel, I stumbled upon The Republic of Pemberley. It is a site for all Jane Austen enthusiasts, if not obsessives, with lots of discussion groups and information. If you do visit, please note that there are lots of rules in this world, and if you do not follow, they will kindly point you in the right direction.