Pemberley Ranch

Caldwell's debut reimagines Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice as a heart-pounding western romance. The Civil War is over, but the scars remain. The Bennets leave the family farm in Ohio and move to the plains of Texas. Beth loves the open land, but clings to her Union loyalties. When she meets Confederate officer Will Darcy, the reclusive owner of neighboring Pemberley Ranch, she declares him arrogant. George Whitehead, a decorated Union officer, reinforces her opinions with his lies and insinuations. Over time, Beth re-evaluates her opinions and learns some hard truths about the Civil War. Unlike many of the Austen homages crowding the shelves, Pemberley Ranch is both fresh and a great history primer. Tenderness sometimes devolves into saccharine triteness, but the arguments and standoffs build up to an action-filled showdown that rescues this adaptation from mediocrity. (Dec.)