Sequels and Continuations

So lately I've been reading a lot of books that continue "classic" stories. March, by Geraldine Brooks, is about Mr. March, the father from Little Women. It chronicles the year that he is serving as a chaplain during the Civil War, when he is absent from the book. It was interesting, particularly because Brooks does a good job of giving everybody shades of grey. I love Little Women, but it focuses on the daughters and makes the parents appear pretty perfect. In March, the parents are very human, they make mistakes and occasionally act in ways that sort of shocked me, considering how proper they always act in Little Women. The ending was a bit abrupt (I turned the page and was surprised that the book had actually ended), but it was interesting nontheless. And hey, it won the 2006 Pulitzer, so it's gotta be good, right?

The other books were recommended to me by Mags. It's a series of mystery books, in which the newly married Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam Darcy solve mysteries that involve their friends and family (including Caroline Bingley and Kitty Bennet). The books are Pride and Prescience (or A Truth Universally Acknowledged), Suspense and Sensibility (or First Impressions Revisited) and North by Northanger (or The Shades of Pemberley). All 3 books have enjoyable banter and fun mysteries, although you'll probably deduce the "bad guy" long before the book reveals him. Still, there are little surprises and the books are pretty fun. Characters from the books referenced in the titles show up, which makes it extra fun to people who are obsessed with Jane Austen. The books are by Carrie Bebris, and she says she's working on another one, so I'll look for that soon.

Other sequels or continuations that are worth reading are The Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys and all of Gregory Maguire's books (Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, Wicked, etc.). The Wide Sargasso Sea is the story of Mr. Rochester and Bertha, how they first met and got married, and how their marriage changed. I prefer the mysteriousness of Jane Eyre, but The Wide Sargasso Sea is still pretty interesting. And of course, I love all of the retellings of fairy tales by Gregory Maguire. They're just so fun and clever.

If anybody else has read sequels or continuations that are worth reading, let me know.