Lady Catherine's Necklace

by Joan Aiken
PRMS weeded / donated, hardcover, 272 pages
genre: YA fiction, styled a la Pride and Prejudice

This was published in 2000 and was still in excellent (i.e. never read) condition. I weeded it from the collection because of its age and lack of readers, but took it from the discard pile because I love Jane Austen and was curious. The Pride and Prejudice characters and references were mildly enjoyable (no Elizabeth or Darcy except a brief mention). The style was familiar enough to be Austen-honoring, but the plotting was much faster-paced. I like that Anne de Bourgh was more lively and personable away from her mother. I liked the Maria Lucas character as she helped Charlotte and wrote letters and pined for FitzWilliam. The de Laval siblings were shifty and untrustworthy from start to finish. It's sort of a mystery and sort of a character analysis. I'm glad I weeded it.