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Dear
Janeites and book lovers,
sometimes,
the universe has a beautiful way of bringing things full circle. If you have
followed my online writing journey, you might know that alongside My Jane
Austen Book Club (which I have been writing since 2010), I also ran a
parallel blog called FLY HIGH! (started in 2009). Way back in March
2010, I featured a young, aspiring writer in a "Blogger Buddies"
segment on FLY HIGH!. She used to email me about her passionate dream of
one day becoming a published author. That writer was June Hur.
Sixteen years
later, June is a New York Times bestselling author, and while I now
focus most of my energy right here on My Jane Austen Book Club and our
wonderful Facebook community, I still occasionally pop over to FLY HIGH!
to share my latest obsessions. If you've read those rare, recent posts, you
know that since the pandemic, I have fallen completely in love with Korean
literature, K-dramas, and all things Hallyu (the Korean Wave). You can
imagine my absolute thrill when the social media algorithms brought June and me
back together, revealing that her newest novel, Behind Five Willows,
is a romantic homage to Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, set right in
the heart of the Joseon Dynasty!
Set in 1792
during a strict, real-life historical government book ban, Behind Five
Willows follows Shin Haewon (our fierce, Elizabeth Bennet-inspired
heroine), a poor second daughter moonlighting as an illegal book transcriber
under the pen name "Magpie." Enter Yu Seojun (our brilliant, uptight
Mr. Darcy), a wealthy nobleman who secretly rebels against his status by
writing forbidden fiction under the name "Black Lotus." Forced
together as chaperones for their friends, they clash spectacularly in person,
entirely unaware that they are already deeply connected through anonymous,
secret letters.