I absolutely loved the TV rendering of this novel. I've watched it more than once and will watch it again soon. I thought it was high time that I picked up the book. And I'm glad I did. 
 The characters were so wonderfully complex, heroic and flawed in turns. I was never sure of whether I wanted to strangle Margaret, or hug her. Each of the characters, the setting, it was all so vividly painted in my mind that I felt as if it could have jumped out of the book around me. I truly enjoyed listening to this book. 
 It lost one star for the incredibly anticlimactic ending, a la the sacking of the Shire at the end of LOTR. (view spoiler)[ Her entire return to London and his fall from riches dragged out the book ending and became nearly too tortuous to bear. (hide spoiler)] I was also dissatisfied by the (view spoiler)[ characters admitting their love in the very last paragraph of the book, with no happily ever after spelled out for me after. It was very abrupt and it was too long in coming to fully enjoy. (hide spoiler)] 
 I would heartily recommend this book to all lovers of historical fiction and Austen and Bronte fans.