ABSTRACT
Published in 2011, P.D. James’ Death Comes to Pemberley is part of an already very long and at times tiresome tidal wave of “Jane Austen expansions”. There is, however, from the start a twist to the original story as it is both a sequel to Pride and Prejudice , as the title clearly indicates, and a classic murder mystery by one of the most respected crime writers of her generation (it is in fact the last novel she wrote). Indeed, the familiar characters from Pride and Prejudice (the Darcys, the Bennets, the Bingleys, the Wickhams…) find themselves in an unexpected situation, at the heart of a murder investigation.
Death Comes to Pemberley combines many elements from different genres, from the Gothic to the historical reconstruction of a Georgian inquest and trial. Moreover, passing and tantalizing references are also made to characters from other Austen novels (the Knightleys, for example), turning it into a kind of playful mash-up. This chapter examines the ways in which P. D. James not only pays homage to Jane Austen in this pastiche of Pride and Prejudice but also skillfully manages to add a new dimension to the already hackneyed Jane Austen fan fiction.
