Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Blog Tour: My Cousin Caroline by Rebecca Ann Collins + giveaway

My Cousin Caroline (The Pemberley Chronicles, #6)Review of My Cousin Caroline: The Pemberley Chronicles (Book 6) by Rebecca Ann Collins


Synopsis:

My Cousin Caroline builds on two well liked characters in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Colonel Fitzwilliam, cousin to Fitzwilliam Darcy, who had been portrayed as an agreeable and attractive gentleman who only lacked wealth to be considered an eligible bachelor discovers, woos and marries Caroline Gardiner, cousin to Elizabeth Bennett Darcy.

In Pride and Prejudice, the Gardiners stood out as a sensible and refined middle class family, the family that Elizabeth enjoyed visiting and trusted to help when her sister Lydia eloped. Caroline carries on these sensibilities - she is educated, sensitive, generous, and interested in the world around her. My Cousin Caroline covers Caroline's life from a young girl to her growth through the years. We learn of her reformist tendencies, her support of her husband's political aspirations, and involvement in the suffrage movement, the difficulties that she faced raising her children, her involvement in her father's trading business, and her constant love and friendship of the Darcys.

Review:

My Cousin Caroline is an enjoyable extension of the adventures of the characters from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. We glimpse enough of Elizabeth and Darcy to know that they are a central part of the action but Caroline and her husband remain the lead characters in the novel. This allows Rebecca Ann Collins to develop a fresh new story altogether while retaining the flavor of Pride and Prejudice. My Cousin Caroline covers a much longer period and brings a sense of the sort of life the Colonel and Caroline as well as Darcy and Elizabeth might have had as they became grandparents surrounded by large and loving families.

Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark (September 1, 2009), 352 pages.
Courtesy of the publisher and author.


Danielle and Sourcebooks are sponsoring a giveaway of The Pemberley Chronicles: A Companion Volume to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice (Book 1) and a copy of My Cousin Caroline: The Pemberley Chronicles (Book 6). There will be two winners - one for each book.

CONTEST DETAILS:

Please tell us your favorite romantic character in a novel and what attracts you to him or her. Please include your email address so I can get in touch with you if you win. No contact details, no entry. Limited to U.S. and Canada only. Contest ends at 5 pm on September 30, 2009.

Thank you so much to Danielle and Sourcebooks for this opportunity!

26 comments:

  1. Father Ralph de Bricassart in The Thornbirds. He was devoted and secretive. Very appealing to me.
    wandanamgreb (at) gmail (dot) com

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mr. Rochester from Jane Eyre! So emotional and passionate and in love; I'd love to love him!

    hmsgofita at hotmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  3. Jay Gatsby in the Great Gatsby. He is mysterious.

    lag110@mchsi.com

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  4. I am a new follower

    lag110@mchsi.com

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  5. Henry from The Time Traveler's Wife. He demonstrates so much love and passion and so badly wants to be able to be with Claire all the time. It pains him to leave her, whether he's visiting her younger self or with her in the present.

    melacan at hotmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  6. Captain Wentworth from "Persuasion". He's nice, gentle, well-mannered and I loved that love letter at the end.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Edward from twilight--lame, I know
    amanda
    catss99@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  8. I'd also have to go with Mr. Rochester!

    ihpie at yahoo.com

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  9. Jamie Fraser from outlander by Diana Gabaldon :)

    wadesherry@hotmail dot com

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  10. i follow your blog

    wadesherry@hotmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  11. I would have to say Edward form twilight
    reneetaylor at sympatico dot ca

    ReplyDelete
  12. Mr. Rochester in Jane Eyre. So mysterious, strong yet emotional, and manly. These are the attributes that attract me.

    bgcchs(at)yahoo(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  13. My favorite is Mr. Darcy of Pride & Prejudice I love his air of aloofness and display of gentleman chararteristics, also his underlying compassion and hidden vulenerabilty.

    Pam S
    pams00@aol.com

    ReplyDelete
  14. Definately, Mr Darcy...a sensitive man

    karen k
    kmkuka(at)yahoo(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  15. I'm a subscriber :)


    karen k
    kmkuka(at)yahoo(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  16. I'm a cliche. I'm head over heels for Darcy, I'm not going to deny it. I also like Tom in An Old Fashioned Girl. Hmm, must be something about cokcy jackasses who change for the better...I really AM a cliche!

    ~Misty
    mbradenwf@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  17. Please enter me. Thanks for the chance. I just love Rhett from Gone with the Wind.

    lizzi0915 at aol dot com

    ReplyDelete
  18. Brandon Birmingham in Flame and the Flower

    Please enter me.

    cyderryATyahooDOTcom
    Cheli
    Cheli's Shelves

    ReplyDelete
  19. My favorite romantic character in a novel is Jamie Fraiser from The Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon. Not only is Jamie a fierce Scottish warrior, but the love he has for Claire is legendary.
    One of my favorite lines ever is "When the day shall come, that we do part," he said softly, and turned to look at me, "if my last words are not 'I love you'--- ye'll ken it was because I didna have time." The Fiery Cross, Chapter 111, page 979 :swoon:
    heatherzilla(at)care2(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  20. Jane Eyre is my all time favorite.

    cindyc725 at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  21. It'll have to be Mr Darcy. Strong. Silent. Sensitive. Yup. Gotta love him.

    ReplyDelete
  22. oh yeah forgot,my email is

    sensitivemuse at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  23. Mr. Rochester from Jane Eyre. He's dark and mysterious. I suddenly feel like re-reading Jane Eyre.

    ~Briana
    thebookpixie[at]yahoo[dot]com

    ReplyDelete
  24. Mr. Darcy because he's handsome, shy, and determined.

    Marie
    utah91960(at)yahoo(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  25. My favorite romantic character is Rhett Butler in "Gone With The Wind". He's a strong man & Scarlett O'Hara is a pain in the neck for him, but he still loves her.
    Thanks ~ megalon22{at}yahoo{dot}com

    ReplyDelete
  26. Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights! He might just be the original bad boy.

    amanda n.
    fitz12383(at)hotmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete