An Assembly Such as This (Fitzwilliam

"Ten thousand a year and a large estate in Derbyshire!" That was all Mrs. Bennet desired to know of Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy before entertaining the hopes that one of her five daughters would attract his attention. In Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen reveals little of her creation's past or present, banishing him for quite two thirds of her book. But who is Fitzwilliam Darcy? In Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman, Pamela Aidan answers that intriguing question by taking the reader into Darcy's world, a world very different from Elizabeth Bennet's. An Assembly Such As This, the first volume in the Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman trilogy, introduces the reader to Darcy during his visit to Hertfordshire. Chronicling his supervision of his naive friend Charles Bingley and his growing fascination with Elizabeth Bennet, it culminates in the disastrous ball at Netherfield and Darcy's subsequent return to London with the express intention of forgetting Elizabeth. Set vividly against the colourful historical and political background of the time of the Regency, Pamela Aidan writes in a style comfortably at home with Jane Austen but with a wit and humour very much her own. While remaining faithful to the characters and events in Austen's original, Aidan adds her own cast of fascinating characters who populate Darcy's life, weaving a rich tapestry from Darcy's past and present.