Duty and Desire Duty and Desire Duty and Desire is a 2004 historical Romance novel by Pamela Aidan. The second in the "Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman" trilogy, the novel examines Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice" from the perspective of Fitzwilliam Darcy, the central male character of that novel. In relation to "Pride and Prejudice", on which the novel is based, "Duty and Desire" takes place between Darcy's initial leaving of Hertfordshire and his reappearance in "Pride"'s narrative at Rosings Park. Following on from the events of "An Assembly Such as This", the novel opens with Fitzwilliam Darcy preparing for the Christmas season with his
Pride and Prejudice (1995 TV series) he expressed the wish to not be associated with "Pride and Prejudice" forever and was reluctant to accept similar roles. He took on diverse roles and co-starred in productions such as "The English Patient" (1996), "Shakespeare in Love" (1998), "Bridget Jones's Diary" (2001 – although this film is essentially an adaptation of Pride and Prejudice in which Firth effectively reprises the role of Darcy), "Girl with a Pearl Earring" (2003), "Love Actually" (2003) and "" (2004). "Pride and Prejudice" continued to be honoured years later. A 2000 poll of industry professionals conducted by the British Film Institute ranked the serial