Saturday, December 22, 2012

'The Cumberland Plateau' by M.K. Baxley

     Hi there. Today I'd like to revisit an author I previously mentioned, so I'll tell you about 'The Cumberland Plateau' by M.K. Baxley.

     'The Cumberland Plateau' is the sequel to 'The Mistress's Black Veil, which I had written about in this other post. In the words of the author herself, "The Cumberland Plateau is an original story based on the  characters descended from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. It is not a modern rewrite of the original work. Unlike Miss Austen's novel, this story is from the prospective of two brothers. Many of the elements from the original are present in this story: pride, prejudices, misunderstandings and strong conflicts.

The Cumberland Plateau is a triple love story set in Eastern Middle Tennessee, Charleston, South Carolina, and England and spans a time of three years. It follows our characters through many trials and tribulations and finally to a happy ending.

The original story and this one are bridged so that the link to the past is clearly defined. The Darcy family now owns a multi-billion dollar conglomerate, Pemberley, PLC, based in the UK. The central business is a petroleum company known as British American Petroleum, or simply Brit Am. The original properties and heritage of the Darcy family have been preserved and expanded as have those of the lost branch of the Bennett family.

The Cumberland Plateau contains complex characters, two major plots and one minor with supporting subplot. It is an intense read and not meant to be romantic fluff. It contains conflicts with flawed characters, some of whom are redeemed, and all who will grow as the story progresses. There are surprises and twists with paranormal elements. The personality of the original Fitzwilliam Darcy is split between the Darcy brothers. Even the patriarch, George Darcy, Fitzwilliam and David's father, and some of the cousins and uncles, have a bit of FD from the original in their genes."

   I loved this book! As the book description says, it follows up on what happened after 'The Mistress's Black Veil', but several generations afterwards. The book masterfully weaves this tale with the prequel, and sets the scene for the sequel of this book, 'Dana Darcy,' which I will write about in the future. 
    You can purchase the book on paperback here, or download it to your e-reader here.

No comments:

Post a Comment