Gracie, that was quite a satisfying explanation of your thinking. I had seen in Aunt Catherine's charmingly self-satisfied health advice elements of Mr. Woodhouse in Emma. I had not considered the exchange between Jane and Aunt Catherine on the plight of clerks as Xerox machines set on enlarge from the more subtle perspective of what Jane Austen shows us of Elizabeth Bennet's character perhaps because I have reread Emma more recently than Pride and Prejudice. I do reread Austen every few years--sometimes nothing else will do--so I plan to keep an eye out for any references to engrossers.
As both a point and click adventure gamer and an Austen fan, I find to my surprise and bewilderment that I am as immersed in Peril in Pemberley as ever I am when reading Austen, maybe more so. Sure, some of the dialog rings as too modern and this is underscored by less than perfect accents. I can deal. Fully developing Austen's universe is going to take more than one game just as worthwhile television series require more than one season to mature. None of the modern novels spinning off Austen's have ever ensnared me past page five.
The writers, designers, and artists did something remarkable in creating Peril in Pemberley. Like the reader of an Austen novel, the player has to give the game a bit of time to build up momentum. Once that time is given, the game is gem. I am actually hesitant to like it too much because well loved games and characters therein have a way of disappearing: Gabriel Knight lasted only three games with one remake, and Tex Murphy vanished for 16 years to name but two classic series. The fact I am mentioning Peril in Pemberley in the same breath as those games shows how highly I regard it.
September 2016