Book Review: Mr Knightley’s Diary by Amanda Grange

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Between managing his estate and visiting his brother in London, Mr. Knightley is both exasperated and amused by his irresistibly beautiful, outrageously mischievous neighbor, Emma Woodhouse, whose misguided attempts at matchmaking are wreaking havoc in the village of Highbury.

But when a handsome newcomer arrives and catches Emma’s attention, Mr. Knightley is shocked by his reaction. Amusement gives way to another emotion entirely-for his unreasonable dislike of the handsome newcomer seems suspiciously like jealousy.

Blurb taken from: www.goodreads.com

When I finished Mr Darcy’s Diary (see review) I immediately went hunting for whatever else Amanda Grange had. I quickly found Mr Knightley’s Diary and Captain Wentworth’s Dairy. Stayed tuned for that one in the next few weeks. It took me a while to read Mr Knightley’s Diary. It was slow going. This is no fault of Amanda Grange by any means. Of all the Jane Austen books I found Emma to be the one with the least amount of “action”. This is not to say I don’t enjoy Emma (it’s probably my 3rd favourite book from Jane Austen) but it really concerns itself with the goings on in Highbury. Characters are not travelling everywhere and major dramas are not occurring (Lizzie travelling, Lydia and Wickham’s relationship). So by it’s nature it is a slower book and thus making it less dramatic.

I did enjoy this book. I have always loved Mr Knightley and think him right up there with Mr Darcy and Captain Wentworth. I have always loved the Emma movie starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Jeremy Northam. So when I was reading this I was seeing them in my head. Which now makes me want to watch Emma all over again.

Grange gives a good insight into the mind of Knightley and the goings on around him. It stays faithful to the book except at the very end, where a nice ending is given. It was enjoyable watching Knightley slowly realize his feelings for Emma. A lovely leisurely read!