To Forget: Darcy's London Christmas by Maria Grace - The Unvarnished Truth

To Forget: Darcy's London Christmas by Maria Grace

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Although I love Maria Grace, I held onto this title to read since I saw others had rated it fairly low for her work. It sounded a bit sad and I wasn't sure I was up for that. Well, I loved it.

Elizabeth and Darcy are sharing their first Christmas together, and being the curious person she is, she asks him about his prior Christmas; his last as a bachelor. Darcy tells Elizabeth the unvarnished truth.

Hopefully, those reading this story will recognize the time frame and remember who and what Darcy was at that point in the original P&P. Darcy is self-absorbed, arrogant, and making little to no effort to socialize or be agreeable to others in social settings. This certainly comes through in his story. He is obsessed with Elizabeth and hates that he cannot forget her. He has not yet had his setdown at Hunsford and can only see a relationship with her from his own standpoint - a degradation.

But, he is also very alone and lonely. His thoughts at Christmas return over and over to how it was to spend this time of year with his mother when he was a child. He compares Elizabeth to his mother favorably and believes his mother would have liked Elizabeth and would not have cared about her social background. He also finds himself comparing all of the society ladies he meets with Elizabeth and they do not match up. In his frustration he finds himself drinking too much, sleeping too little and doing strange things, liking seeking her out in Cheapside.

Interspersed with Darcy's tale, we have Elizabeth's reaction to the story he is telling her now that they are married and in love. These little vignettes soften the story, and help us to appreciate how loving Elizabeth has changed Darcy.

There is nothing particularly new in this short novelette, but anytime we get inside Darcy's head is time well spent for me. Darcy changed based on Elizabeth's scathing remarks at Hunsford, and in "To Forget" we certainly see why he needed to! He is not yet the lovable Darcy Elizabeth marries.

I think those who are looking for only the romantic Darcy may be disappointed in this story. But, I think this one would appeal more to the P&P purists, as I see this Darcy just as Jane described him through Elizabeth. I found it very well done and an interesting character study. I was not disappointed, and continue to be a big fan of Maria Grace.

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