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from Sharon Lathan, bellselling
author of In the Arms
of Mr. Darcy -
It's Pride and Prejudice
meets Gone With the Wind -- with that kind of romance
and excitement.
from Publishers Weekly (10/11/2010)
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Caldwell's debut reimagines
Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice as a heart-pounding
western romance. ... Unlike many of the Austen homages crowding
the shelves, Pemberley Ranch is both fresh and a great
history primer.
from Booklist [American
Library Association] (11/01/2010) -
In Caldwell's reincarnation
of Austen's Pride and Prejudice, Caldwell successfully
transplants the themes of the original to post-Civil War Texas,
where the consequences and the villains are far more dangerous.
Both fans of westerns and Pride and Prejudice will
enjoy this latest entry in the Austen craze.
End of the year
awards from:
Austenprose
The Calico Critic
The Literary Gothamite
write meg!
from The Public Library
of Cincinnati and Hamilton County (11/14/2010) -
Caldwell reimagines Jane
Austen's Pride and Prejudice in his lavishly written debut. When the Bennet family loses its only
son in the Civil War, they decide to start over by moving from
Ohio to the small town of Rosings, Texas. While daughter Jane
accepts the move and soon falls in love with the town's doctor,
her sister, Beth, resents everything about their new hometown.
She takes a special dislike to Confederate officer and wealthy
landowner Will Darcy. Will his pride and her prejudice doom their
growing attraction to each other? A sweeping romance, and
a pure delight for Austen fans.
from Reflections of a Book
Addict (11/22/2010) -
Pemberley Ranch, a contemporary westernized version
of Pride and Prejudice, is Jack Caldwell's debut novel.
I saw this in Barnes and Noble with the comment "It's Pride
and Prejudice meets Gone with the Wind - with that kind of romance
and excitement" and was instantly struck that I had to try
the novel out. Glad I did! ... Pemberley Ranch is filled
with murder, mayhem, gunfights, love, deceit, and all the things
you'd expect from a Pride and Prejudice sequel with western
influences. ... All in all the book was a lot of fun to read
and as I said previously a refreshingly different point of view.
For those women who are trying to get the men in their lives
to read a Pride and Prejudice sequel, I would definitely suggest
trying this one. It's written with enough action to keep their
attention. 4 out or 5 Stars.
from Jane Austen Sequel
Examiner (11/22/2010) -
I highly recommend this
book merely for the fact that, as an Austen sequel / adaptation
fan; this is a wonderful change of pace. It also holds an interesting
amount of information about the Antebellum Period after the Civil
War. You don't have to be a history buff to appreciate the rich
detail it brings to the story.
4 out of 5 stars! Not for purists due to some graphic
sexy stuff.
from Austenesque Reviews
(11/24/2010) -
Don your best gingham dress,
dungarees, or Stetson and saddle up for a rip roarin' adventure
with the gang from Pride and Prejudice!
I was enthralled by this remarkable
and adventurous variation of Pride and Prejudice! I
found it to be a spectacular integration of romance, war, history,
adventure, and conflict. Not to mention a brilliant blend
of Civil War prejudices and Jane Austen's moral guidance. Mr.
Caldwell is a skilled story-teller and his debut novel, Pemberley
Ranch, is sure to entrance and excite lovers of history and
the Old West. I eagerly anticipate reading more from Jack Caldwell,
and look forward to his next release, The Three Colonels,
due out in 2012!
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
from Austenprose (11/28/2010)
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Christina Boyd - This sure-fire
page-turner with Jack Caldwell's heart pounding standoffs
and heart racing romantic moments is bested only by his real
gift in the clever nuances and subtle references, ie. Lizzy's
horse, a "paint," named Turner (more than a nod to
the famous Regency Era painter, J.M.W. Turner). As an unabashed
reader of this Louisiana native since his early Cajun ramblings
at various fan-fiction sites, I must humbly admit to being "a
partial, prejudiced, & ignorant historian." His masterful
handling of the historical action and colloquialisms authenticates
this fictitious musing and the footnotes are quite helpful to
one such as myself, who is rather uniformed regarding the particulars
of this Reconstruction Period. To pinch a line or two from Daniel
Decatur Emmett's rallying song, "Dixie", Caldwell takes
his stand and triumphs in his debut novel retelling "old
times there are not forgotten… Hooray! Hooray!" The
slated Spring 2012 release of his next offering, The Three
Colonels, really is too long a wait. *sigh* 5 out of 5
Regency Stars.
Laurel Ann - I have been patiently
awaiting a Wild West rendition of Pride and Prejudice
for some time, so when Pemberley Ranch rode into town,
I was all anticipation. The blending of the two genres seemed
like a natural to me; especially concerning two romantic archetypes
- the Regency gentleman and the American cowboy. *swoon*
It's really not surprising
that so many elements from the Regency-era have transitioned
neatly into Caldwell's new adaption of Jane Austen classic story
set in post-Civil War Texas. Lizzy and Darcy are as spirited
and arrogant as ever in any century, transformed into Beth Bennet,
a poor Yankee farmer's daughter from Ohio relocated to Rosings,
Texas where rich Johnny Reb William Darcy has a large cattle
spread, Pemberley Ranch, and the local Darcy Bank. Caldwell
does a great job of melding the plot to fit a western theme,
changing enough of the story to make it original, yet harkening
to all of the plot points that readers will recollect from the
original narrative. There are some important exceptions.
Given that this is a tall tale from the Wild, Wild West, Cate
Burroughs (Lady Catherine de Bourgh), George Whitehead (George
Wickham) and Lily Bennet (Lydia Bennet) can be "really"
officious, dastardly and loose! Well maybe they were already,
but in this setting the writer does not have to be as proprietous
as Austen was obliged to be in the early nineteenth-century.
Pemberley Ranch had some surprises. The Team Tilney
fan-girls will be happy to know that Henry himself makes an appearance
as a very "likable" high plains rector in a supporting
role. Even pedantic Mary Bennet is under his charms. The dialogue
is lacking Austen's wit and snappy retorts, but shucks, this
is the Wild West where outlaws and lawmen talk with their guns.
The story builds beautifully in the western theme of shoot-outs
over the land as opposed to Austen's conflict of social decorum
with witty words. However, some things never change as both
plots have money struggles in common, and, the eventual humbling
of Darcy's pride and dissolution of Beth's prejudice - culminating
in a great romance as they ride off into the sunset. Yippy ki-aye.
4 out of 5 Regency Stars
from The Burton Review (11/29/2010)
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Pemberley Ranch is not your ordinary Pride &
Prejudice sequel. It mirrors Jane Austen's famous literary
characters somewhat, and borrows from some of the themes, and
then author Jack Caldwell spins us a yarn of Wild West fun. The
author has been an avid fan of Jane Austen and his debut novel
would probably make Austen proud (and perhaps a bit scandalized,
but in a good way!).
Although not something that
is Austen-like, I still enjoyed the western spin on the story.
It was completely original and not just another rehashing of
how Darcy wins the girl, as this author had no qualms to make
the original story disappear in the dust of the wild horses'
hooves. The writing was styled succinctly and not in the melodramatic
female tones, as it dealt more with the shady George Whitehead
and the aftermaths of the Civil War. I loved connecting some
of these new characters with the old P&P characters, but
was surprised at how much I enjoyed the way the author intrigued
me with this western story. A great read for those readers
who like a bit of gunfighting and romance rolled into one. The
Burton Review Rating: 3 ½ out of 5 stars
Living Read Girl blog (11/29/2010)
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Jane Austen's Pride and
Prejudice is not only her most popular novel amongst readers,
it's also a favorite choice of writers looking to make their
own imaginative mark on her time honored material. Instead of
the usual zombies and vampires that have been the current remix
lit fashion of late, however, Elizabeth Bennet and her Mr. Darcy
are now residents of the Old West, courtesy of debut author Jack
Caldwell.
(Pemberley Ranch) is
not so much a retelling as it is a re-imagined take on Austen's
classic characters and Jack Caldwell nimbly transplants them
into a time and place in American history that suits them rather
well. Many of the changes to some of the plot points regarding
a few of the supporting players are positive ones while the basic
essentials are kept to both cleverly and logically within the
narrative. Pride and Prejudice is no stranger to remodeling
yet fans can rest assured that Pemberley Ranch is worthy
of being included in any Austen lover's library.
from New York Journal of
Books (12/01/2010) -
Mr. Darcy as a Wild West cowboy?
A dungaree-clad Elizabeth Bennett flying over the range on her
painted pony? Pride and Prejudice is done Texas-style
in Jack Caldwell's debut novel, Pemberley Ranch. Whether or not
a devotee of the esteemed classic novel will want to mosey on
over to the antebellum cattle town of Rosings, depends upon one's
taste for shifting the time and place of Austen's beloved characters.
If one's taste is for Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
and the numerous sequels, prequels, and spin-offs, then Caldwell's
take will be heartily enjoyed. ... Where Caldwell excels
is in fleshing out the masculinity of the buttoned-up Regency
Era Darcy. Here the sense of his authority and command over outlaws
and swindlers is impressive to behold. He's as fast with his
gun as he is in spying on a skinny-dipping "Beth."
He is a man that other men can't help admiring, and one who causes
many a woman to swoon.
Another tidbit that Caldwell
gives to fans is introducing characters from other Jane Austen
novels into the story. Henry Tilney of Northanger Abbey
is the town clergyman and devoted suitor of pious Mary. Emma's
Mr. Knightley and his brother are the entrepreneurs that Darcy
invests in to bring the railroad to Rosings. While bit players
like Anne de Bourgh and Georgiana Darcy are given more of a voice.
Overall, if you're willing
to hop in the saddle, you'll enjoy the ride.
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