An Arranged Marriage Review on Austenprose

An Arranged Marriage, by Jan Hahn – A Review

21 August 2011 by Christina B.

An Arranged Marriage, by Jan Hahn (2011)Guest review by Christina Boyd

Debut author Jan Hahn’s novel, An Arranged Marriage, begs the question, “can a marriage of convenience ever lead to true love?” In Hahn’s impressive alteration of Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice, days after Miss Elizabeth Bennet stringently refuses the proposal of Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy at Hunsford, her beloved father dies, leaving the family with meager resources and an estate entailed to their toad-eating cousin, Mr. Collins. Half a year later, as the ladies of Longbourn are packing to make way for the new owner, Mr. Darcy offers for Elizabeth’s hand once again. Despite her passionate dislike and distrust of the man, Elizabeth, with a grievous and bitter heart, accepts his proposal, saving her family from ruination and despair. Refreshingly narrated from Elizabeth’s keen and often caustic perspective, we are privy to her inner most thoughts as she struggles to conquer her turmoil of the loss of her father; the disgrace of her youngest sister; the humiliation of her eldest sister; the anxiety of nearly losing her home; and of course, the distress from this arranged marriage. And yet most disconcerting to her psyche is her blossoming passion for the last man in the world she could ever be prevailed upon to marry.