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
Mr. Darcy Mr. Darcy's character despite the aforementioned hints (via the narrative voice and other characters' observations) that Mr. Darcy is really a noble character at heart, albeit somewhat prideful. Usually referred to only as "Mr. Darcy" or "Darcy" by characters and the narrator, his first name is mentioned twice in the novel. In the novel, Mr. Darcy is a wealthy gentleman with an income exceeding £10,000 a year () and the proprietor of Pemberley, a large estate in Derbyshire, England. Darcy first meets Elizabeth Bennet at a ball, where he slights her by refusing to dance with her, and by making