Amazon Sharon Lathan, Novelist Category:  Historical Fiction Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark ISBN-10:  1402243391 Type: Fiction Pages: 304 Copyright: October 2010 ISBN-13: 9781402243394 Anthology for the holidays! Based on the characters in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.  Share in the magic of the season in these three warm and wonderful holiday novellas from bestselling authors. This novel is an anthology of three Christmas-themed novellas with the Darcys of Pemberley as the common thread. “Mr. Darcy’s Christmas Carol” is written by Carolyn Eberhart and is a twist on the classic Charles Dickens tale. “Christmas Present” is Amanda Grange’s story of a special Christmas celebration with the Darcys and Bingleys.  "A Darcy Christmas" is the novella by Sharon Lathan.   Excerpt Keeping the Darcy Saga series in mind with her beloved characters intact, Sharon Lathan takes the reader down the passage of time with ten individual snippets of the evolving Darcy family celebrating. Beginning on the Christmas Eve after meeting Lizzy Bennet, Mr. Darcy is a man tortured by visions and emotions he is unable – or unwilling – to deal with. Thereafter follows a succession of Christmas Eves and Days with Mr. Darcy as a happily married man surrounded by his wife and an ever-increasing family, giving glimpses of their future. This anthology was released just in time for the 2010 holiday season. It was the perfect Christmas gift! It will remain available and in print so even though Christmas is past you can still purchase and enjoy belated Christmas cheer. Have a Merry Darcy Christmas all year long!

Austenesque Reviews
Ever wonder how the Darcy’s would celebrate Christmas? Are you interested in learning how Christmas was celebrated during the Regency era? Or have ever desired for an Austenesque novel to read around Christmastime? A Darcy Christmas just might be the book for you!

A DARCY CHRISTMAS – SHARON LATHAN
The third and final novella in this anthology isn’t really a novella at all. Rather, it is a heart-warming collection of short stories that illustrate various Darcy Christmases through the years. These progressive snapshots display the powerful and fervent love Darcy and Elizabeth share with each other and their children, endearing Darcy family Christmas traditions, and appearances by both new and beloved characters…

I finally read my first work by Sharon Lathan and can now understand why she has such a devoted following of admirers! I took pleasure in the charming and cozy Christmases the Darcy’s shared. In addition, I loved following the stories of the Darcy children and learning their distinct personalities. Although Ms. Lathan did an admirable job of creating diverse and unique Christmas celebrations, with nine Christmases in a row, it did occasionally feel repetitious.

As someone who devours Austenesque novels all year long, I found this “holiday tribute to Jane Austen” to be a splendid idea! I thought the stories were well-executed, entertaining, and lovely tributes to Christmas and Jane Austen.

The Book Diaries
I enter the breathless world of my favorite couple with Sharon Lathan’s “A Darcy Christmas”….. as I traveled from Christmas to Christmas with these two passionate lovers, I looked into the world of the Darcy’s with breathlessness… tears… happiness… and all around satisfaction. I loved how Miss Lathan took us across the years with the Darcy’s and looking at their Holidays spent with one another and how they grew as a couple and a family.

Much applause to these three wonderful authors for creating such a wonderful book! I believe Miss Austen would have loved this! I have now officially added this book to my books that I read every holiday season….A new tradition is born….Thank you ladies!

The Good, The Bad, and The Unread
This novella by Ms. Lathan is the best of the bunch. She begins in the prologue with Darcy enjoying a remembrance look at a family portrait, calling forth Christmases of their past. At first I thought I’d be reading a prequel to Ms. Lathan’s Darcy series. In the first chapter, Darcy is lamenting on his loneliness without Elizabeth in his life, especially because he dreams of her as his wife, but he makes excuses as to why they cannot marry. Then the author surprises me by traveling a number of years into the future, picking one of those Darcy Christmas remembrances and sharing it in detail.

Thus, the entire novella is a moment in Christmas time, those that have the most meaning to this hero everyone loves. Each memory is written with either humor, happiness, sadness and grief, and all involve the Darcy family and its traditions as it grows over the years, including sibling bickering, parental love as well as admonishment, and a host of other fun with this delightful family.

A Christmas baby, a special child, a frayed bookmark, a carriage accident, a heartfelt loss, among a few others, are all encompassed as the Darcy children grow older throughout the years, learning about life and love from the example their parents have set during their lives. The emotion, whether happy or sad, rolls off the pages in each chapter. While every chapter has plenty to offer the reader, my favorites are Christmas Grief and Christmas Present. Grief through the holidays is understood by all and the emotion in this chapter is exceptionally well done. More surprises await in the last chapter of Christmas Present, one had me chuckling and the other had me sighing with love anew for these characters.

I believe this is Ms. Lathan’s best work to date. She’s grown tremendously as an author and I know her future works will better than ever.

For me, it’s Ms. Lathan who saves the day in this anthology. Her story alone is worth picking up this book. If you’re a big Dickens’ fan, you’ll probably have more fun with the Eberhart than I did. And Ms. Grange gives a story in keeping with what Darcy fans have come to expect when reading about him and Lizzy. There’s something in this anthology for everyone this holiday season.