Review: Pemberley Ranch - Jack Caldwell

Genre: Historical Fiction, western, P&P variation
Pages: 384
Published: December 2010

In the aftermath of the Civil War, the Bennet family has just moved from Ohio to the town of Rosings, Texas, set on creating a fresh start. But their daughter Beth still prefers the familiarity of Ohio to the plains of Texas-that is, until she encounters Will Darcy, the reclusive owner of Pemberley Ranch. Will and Beth are instantly smitten, but pride, prejudice, and a gang of villains determined to take over Rosings threaten to keep them apart. This fresh idea in the world of Jane Austen retellings brings together the world of Pride and Prejudice with the struggles of the antebellum South.

Plot:

The Bennet family moves from Ohio to Texas. Beth is still angry at the south because her brother died in the war, but her sister finds happiness with a Doctor. And so the book begins, she meets the rich rancher Will Darcy. There is dislike, and there is prejudice. And there is wicked George Whitehead with plans of his own for the area.

My thoughts:

I do like Pride and Prejudice re-tellings and this one was so fresh and original. This time the prejudice in the book comes from Beth being from the north and Will from the south. He fought in the wars and he has the scars to prove it. And Beth things everyone in the south had slaves and that is why they fought. She is filled with northern propaganda, but as in the original book she soon learns that there is more to the truth then meets the eye. Darcy, actually he is not as "bad" as he is the original book. Sure he thinks her family is silly but he gets over it. He just fancies her.

You will meet all the characters, Collins as a banker, Cath Burroughs as a ranch owner, Anne with more to her than in the original books, Sheriff Lucas and his daughter, George Whitehead and Denny the kid. And there is reverend Henry Tillney, Mr Knightly, Edmund Bertrand who works at the bank, yes Caldwell has used more Austen characters and I like it.

The book follows, kind of the original, but there are changes, good changes, I enjoy them. And there is gunfights, and wicked plans. If you all thought Wickham was a rotten egg in PP then in this one he is a complete bastard. But it is the wild west.

What a great idea, Mr Darcy as a cowboy and soldier. I liked it at once and he fills the shoes nicely. This is such a fun setting for this story and he makes it work.

Final thoughts and recommendation:

Yes I will recommend it to all you PP lovers, but since the story feels so different then come along historical fiction fans and you all who like a good western. This book has something for everyone. It's a good 3,5 and I enjoyed and for once I did not know what would happen. An enjoyable story with hidden depths. Not to mention it was written by a man, I liked that.

Reason for reading: 

I have a soft spot for PP stories

Cover:

I like it