Evening at Kathy's August 2016

Death Comes to Pemberley -Discussion Questions

1.Compare the "Prologue" of Death Comes to Pemberley with the "Epilogue" of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Are the two similar? Different? In what ways does James expand on Austen's version of the several years following Elizabeth and Darcy's marriage? 2. Can you point to some echoes of the original language from Pride and Prejudice in the descriptions and/or dialogue of James's sequel? 3. What about the characters of Death Comes to Pemberley? Has James maintained their essential natures and personalities...or changed them in some way? How consistent are they with Austen's originals? Consider Elizabeth and Darcy, the Bingleys, the Wickhams. 4. When the murder is first discovered, Wickham utters, "I killed him.... It's my fault." How did you interpret his confession? Were you ready to believe in his guilt? 5. Elizabeth watches Georgiana and Alveston interact and realizes the two are in love. She reflects on "that enchanting period of mutual discovery, expectation and hope. It was enchantment she had never known." Why does Elizabeth think this? Is she not in love with her husband? 6. When Elizabeth gazes down at Wickham, who is sleeping with "his dark hair tumbled on the pillow, his shirt open to show the delicate line of the throat," she thinks he looks "like a young knight wounded in battle." Is Elizabeth a bit in love with Wickham? 7. Why is Lydia Wickham never questioned about what happened in the carriage between her husband and Captain Denny?
8. What do you think the future holds for Wickham and Lydia? 9. Can you pick out the allusions to two other Austen novels—Persuasion and Emma? 10. Were you surprised by the revelations at the end of the mystery? 11. Is Death Comes to Pemberley a good mystery? Is it a good sequel to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice?