As a P&P fan, it’s not a surprise that I would choose to request this book from NetGalley. After all, it’s focuses on Darcy – who inspired Jane Austen to come up with his character and his lasting influence on culture.

There’s Something about Darcy is broken into 3 main sections:

The first section talks about the figures that might have influenced Austen in the creation of Darcy, focusing on the very real person George Brummell. I found this section to be interesting because this isn’t an area that I’ve not read much on, and I found quite a lot of new information.

From there, the book moves on to talk the influence of Darcy on literature, including the Bronte sisters and Dracula. Frankly, this was the part of the book that was the most unconvincing to me. Malcolm argues that Darcy influenced literature by becoming an archetype, but I’m not convinced. Darcy is definitely influential, but he’s also a pretty typical tsundere-type character. Because the author focused on books that came after P&P, I didn’t see an argument that Darcy was the first of his kind and thus works as an archetype for all other tsunderes to come, something that would have bolstered the author’s claims.

Additionally, my sense of the modern Jane Austen fandom is that it was sparked by the 1995 BBC drama. I’m not sure if Austen’s influence was quite as big in the years before it – the book pretty much takes for granted that Austen was influential, but I didn’t see a convincing argument as to why I should think that way.

The final section of the book looks at Darcy reinterpreted today, including film, the fandom, and fanfiction. I wish I can find a copy of Austentatious because I cannot help but think that the two books would complement each other for this section.

The film portion of the discussion talks about the different adaptations over the years and the different emphasis they had – it was interesting and if I ever decide to binge all the adaptations (which, I’ll be honest, is unlikely because I’m more a fan of the book), I’d want to keep this chapter in mind.

I really like the point about how the core principle (or one of the core principles) of fanfiction is that you cannot mess with the basic nature of the characters. If you make, for example, Elizabeth dull and shrill, you’re probably going to get a lot of flak because that’s not her. You might as well be writing your own OCs instead of fanfiction.

Another thing I liked was the discussion about the different ways P&P has been retold and how they show new aspects – from PD James’ murder mystery sequel to Baker’s focus on the servants in P&P in Longbourn. I loved Unequal Affections and would have loved it if it were included (it also started on fanfiction.net, which I think is pretty interesting) but sadly it’s not mentioned in the book.

Overall, this was an interesting read. I am not convinced that Darcy was so influential as to be the model of every Western tsundere-type character in the years to come, but I appreciated the discussions on the Jane Austen fandom and the ways that P&P and Darcy have been interpreted and re-interpreted, especially in recent years.

This book was a light read about the evolution and endurance of Darcy. I enjoyed this read, but the description led me to think that this would be a character examination of Darcy and why he appeals to so many generations. I think that it would benefit the book to update the description to state what this book is actually about so that it can attract an audience that appreciates it.

As an admitted Janeite and literature nerd, I was familiar with a lot of the works the author traces through our 200-year fascination with brooding, wealthy, emotionally-withholding heroes. Still, I added more books to my to-read list from it. I think this will be an even more resource to future generations as they try to figure out how quickly our cultural phenomena emerged and were remixed in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a digital ARC!

An interesting and informative study on one of literatures most beloved characters, I am a huge Jane Austen fan, so it was lovely to read different views, ideas and perspectives on a character I’ve ‘known’ for many years. Recommended read for fans of Austen or classics

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

I would like to thank netgalley and Endeavour Media for a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

This biography makes some interesting points on Darcy and why people are so obsessed with him. However it's goes off on massive tangents with completely irrelevant information. There is a lot of description of the plotlines of media that featured a Darcy like and non Darcy like characters.

Intriguing premise, although my expectations of an examination of the Darcy archetype were definitely not met.

A well-written and fun book, There's Something About Darcy explores the origin of and the cultural phenomenon surrounding Jane Austen's arguably most iconic male character.
The author describes several Pride and Prejudice retellings a little bit too detailed for my liking, but nevertheless it's a recommendable read for Jane Austen fans!

A light, bright and sparkling study of one of literature's most appealing heroes, There's Something About Darcy is a must-read for the Darcyholic in all of us. -- Laurel Ann Nattress, editor of Jane Austen Made Me Do It

A fascinating and well researched examination of the cultural impact of Jane Austen's most famous work, Pride and Prejudice, and in particular on the character of Mr Darcy. The author looks at societal customs of the time when Austen was creating and polishing her masterpiece, and at the real life figures who may have been used as references .I also particularly enjoyed the chapters dealing with how Darcy became a model for other literary heroes, from Mr Rochester of Jane Eyre, to Rebecca's Mr de Winter or in the more modern publishing world , phenomena such as Edward Cullen of the Twilight Saga or even Christian Grey of the Fifty Shades series. It was fascinating to see how characters evolve and change and yet still hold some similar characteristics. The various film and television adaptations of the book and differing portrayals of Darcy is another interesting topic, and one where the author has clearly done her homework. She also includes information about various literary "spin offs" and sequels, some of which sound much more interesting than others, though I was disappointed to see that she did not mention anything about the various re-tellings which frame the story through the lens of another culture , several of which I have read and enjoyed immensely.
I found this a really interesting and thought provoking book, and it made me think about one of my favourite books in ways I had not before, I think any Austen fan would benefit from picking up a copy.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

A well written and well researched analysis of the most loved of Jane Austen's character.
I learned a lot because it's engrossing and informative.
It's the first work I read by this author and won't surely be the last.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Tracing Darcy to Rochester to Maxim de Winter and Dracula?

It is an intriguing premise, and I was looking forward to the analysis. However, that analysis is a very small part of the volume. Largely, this book is just rehashing the plots of various Austen retellings. This is neither interesting, nor all that edifying, for the reader – because let’s face it, if you’re interested in a book called <i>There's Something About Darcy</i>, then you’re probably already an Austen fan and you’re familiar with most, if not all, of the works ‘studied’ here.

This might be a fun read for someone new to literary analysis or Austen, but for me it felt more puff piece than anything else and I don't think I came out of it with a much deeper understanding of the Darcy archetype than I'd started with.

Over 200 years after Pride & Prejudice was first written, why do so many people still love Mr. Darcy? This is the question posed by Gabrielle Malcolm, although the better question for the book might be, how do they love Mr Darcy? Malcolm counts the ways by delving first into Austen's contemporaries and other historical romances, exploring the role of men from Mr Darcy to Heathcliffe to Dracula along the spectrum of male heroes and anti-heroes. Then she moves on to Darcy in film and small screen, as well as the fan-fiction and Darcy inspired spin-offs, prequels, sequels, and what ifs that remain popular publishing material to this day. As she gives us Cliff Notes versions of many of these plots and the Darcy/Lizzie present in each she attempts to show the reader how each author explores Darcy and the Darcy/Lizzie relationship. Why does it work? Does it work? Why is it so popular that Darcy is today an archetype instantly recognizable (and usually popular) by readers today?

Malcolm's writing occasionally rambles from the point, frequently repeats herself, and drags. By the time she sums things up by saying Darcy is a recognizable and comfortable image of security, heroism, honesty, etc. I found myself more than ready for the book to end. I love Austen, Pride & Prejudice, and some of its fan fiction descendants, but couldn't get stay engaged with the book once we got past the historical aspects.

I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book takes a look at how the character of Fitzwilliam Darcy has influenced other characters in literature and other media. I enjoyed all of the information about other books and characters but I found it hard to see the connection with some. Parts of this book just focus on retellings and sequels of Pride and Prejudice. I found those parts interesting and learned about new retellings I had not previously heard of. The other parts were not as interesting. Some characters seemed like a huge leap to say they were connected to and influenced by Darcy.
This is a good book if you would like recommendations on Pride and Prejudice retellings or to find other characters with similarities to Darcy.

3 out of 5 Stars.

I thought this was such a great book about how Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice and Darcy have changed the romance genre and created a phenomenon for people to love for over 200 years. I thought this was very well researched. I love the mention of all of the different adaptions of Pride and Prejudice and the "fan fiction" of sequels. One of my all time favorite adaptions was "The Lizzie Bennett Diaries" I am so happy she mentioned this amazing series. Can not wait for it to come out in paperback to buy a finish copy.

<b>MR. DARCY IS THE ULTIMATE ROMANTIC HERO - THEREFORE, WE NEED A BOOK ABOUT HIM, OBVIOUSLY! 🤣</b>

When I started this book I thought it would be some sort of psychological examination about why Mr. Darcy appeals to so many different people. Well, that's not what this was about. In stead, it is more like a story of Mr. Darcy throughout time, his endurance and his evolution. It's a light a read without much depth, but sometimes that is just what you need!

<b>👍 THE THINGS I LIKED 👍 </b>

<u>Lightness</u>: Even though I was expecting something else, this did still entertain me - once I tuned in my mind to the actual experience.

<u>Inspiration</u>: This book gave me so much inspiration for other books I need to read to get my Darcy fix in the future!

<b>👎 THE THINGS I DISLIKED 👎</b>

<u>Other characters</u>: After looking at the original, Austen Darcy, Malcolm went on to examine other 19th century 'Darcys'. However, she failed to convince me, that these 'heroes' were in any way connected with or inspired by Darcy. I mean, Heathcliff and Dracula?? I didn't get it...

I was given a copy of There’s Something About Darcy by Gabrielle Malcolm from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

About 15 years ago, my sister and I were walking around at Blockbuster (back when those existed) and we picked up the 1995 version of Pride and Prejudice, the one with Colin Firth. After we watched it, a new Janeite was born. I became obsessed with all things Austen. I adored this book. My favorite parts of the novel were the chapters delving into the literature inspired by Austen. It was essentially all the things I enjoyed after immersing myself into Austen’s world. The Bronte’s, Stoker, Heyer and more. I’ve enjoyed almost all the novels the author dissected for Darcy inspiration. I learned quite a bit while reading too. The authors style is easily enjoyed and I actually found myself reading small sections a day to make the book last longer. I also enjoyed the sections dealing with Austenmania. I was aware of some things and learned about some new ones. This book is a must read for anyone who will always have a soft spot for Mr Darcy and all things Jane.

#Netgalley
I was so excited to read this because I love pride and prejudice.
Ultimately I was a tad disappointed. I found myself wanting more Darcy. But, all in all I'm very happy I read it, it did add some titles to the list of books I want to read in the future and you cant go wrong with something that expands your TBR :)

I adored this book. Pride and Prejudice is one of my all time favourites and I haven't been able to resist Darcy in any form. I mean, who can?

For all the PP lovers out there, this book will be a great read. It talks about everything Darcy and I couldn't get enough. It reads like a classical text too but isn't all that difficult to get into.

My favourite part was the different authors who had an impact on Austen's writing style. It just makes one think that how all of us are impacted by several forces and then use bits and pieces of all of them to create a new unique whole.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley.

Interesting deep dive into the character and probable rationale for one of literatures most iconic figures. Very well researched, with fascinating historical, social, and literary analysis, the only fault I could find was that some of the expository passages felt either a little tangential or a little long.

While I would recommend this to any persons very much in love with Austen or literature, there is not enough here for a wider appeal.

Such an interesting and rewarding book! For any Jane Austen fans, this book is a great way to explore outside of the pages of her books.