Jane Austen Country is the latest addition to my Austen DVD collection. It makes you take a tour around the English landscape and see the lovely locations that inspired Jane's novels. From the beautiful Hampshire countryside of her birth, follow in Jane's footsteps to the West Country city of Bath and discover what she really thoughtabout the high society that frequented its fine public buildings. Watching it, you will also visit the seaside splendour of Lyme Regis, the great hliday favourite with the Austen familyand then witness the rural charm of Chawton Cottage, Jane's own beloved home that is now a museum dedicated to her life and works. Above everything else, Jane Austen was a great countrywoman at heart, making this DVD an absolute must for both lovers of literature and the English countryside.
Although this DVD touchesupon Jane Austen's literary abilities, it is in factfar more concerned with the great lady herself and her fascinating life at a time in England's history when Gerogian elegance was at it's most graceful.
When Jane Austen, the daughter of a country clergyman, was born in the picturesque village of Steventon in Hampshire in December 177, few people could have guessed the impact she would have on the world of literature. With just six completed novels. Jane Austen is one of the rare collection of classic authors to have remained popular throughout the ages and the places where she lived and that provided the settings for her unforgettable tales are now the destination of thousands of worshipping admirers.Waiting to actually visit them, don't miss the occasion to go on this beautiful tour with plenty of awesome images, beautiful music (played and recorded from Jane Austen's manuscript scores) as well as rich and thorough information about Jane, her family, life, thoughts, works.
This DVD can be conveniently bought with other 3 DVDs related to great English writers. If you are interested have a look HERE. Running time: 55 min.
Our guest today on" Talking Jane Austen" is again author C.Allyn Pierson for part II of my interview. Today I'm going to announce the name of the first winner of her MR DARCY'S LITTLE SISTER and a second giveaway will be launched ending next Wednesday 15th September.
"And This Our Life, Chronicles of the Darcy Family" was C. Allyn Pierson 's first sequel of Pride and Prejudice. It has been purchased by Sourcebooks and a revised version was released yesterday, September 1. It's titled "Mr. Darcy's Little Sister." This revised version concentrates on Georgiana Darcy's story and, in addition, contains an exciting new plot line. The original "ATOL" will still be available until January 1, 2010, when it will be withdrawn from circulation. "Mr. Darcy's Little Sister" is available for preorder now on http://www.amazon.com/ and http://www.barnesandnoble.com./ But if you are lucky enough, you can win one of the autographed copies here on My Jane Austen Book Club, leaving your comments and e-mail address .
Well Carey, where did we stop? Yes! You were talking about being a teenager at Jane Austen's time, since Georgiana is a teenager. Now, Wickham. Wickham and his attempt to seduce and elope with her undermined Georgiana’s self-confidence. How do you cope with this part of her back story in your novel?
Georgiana, not knowing whether Elizabeth knows about Wickham, tells her about the episode and they discuss it and the fact that Wickham also took advantage of Lydia. The revelation that she was not the only one to be victimized by Wickham made her feel much less stupid and naïve.
Darcy and Elizabeth are main characters in your novel as a married couple. How do you see them in their married life?
I think that the first year of their marriage is very easy and carefree because they have already had their struggles in Pride and Prejudice. I think as time goes on they may develop some of the same problems that all relationships have- after the novelty has worn off. No relationship is totally carefree, but I think that their deep love for each other will make them fight to hold together their relationship.
Now it’s playtime! If you had the chance to get lost in one of JA’s novels, which one would you choose?
Pride and Prejudice, definitely (preferably with Colin Firth)
As a period drama addict I must ask you about Austen adaptations.What do you think of the many we’ve had so far? Have you got any faves?
The 1995 P&P with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle, Emma with Gwyneth Paltrow, Persuasion with Ciaran Hinds. The last I have a couple of reservations on- they depict Anne as showing much more emotion than she does in the book- she is very repressed. Also they show them kissing in public-scandalous! The P&P with Keira Knightley I thought was terrible. It had beautiful cinematography, but Elizabeth was portrayed as snippy and smart-mouthed and Darcy didn’t look arrogant- he just looked depressed. Also they made some ridiculous changes- such as having Lady Catherine show up at the Bennet house in the middle of the night and the Bennets were all in their nightclothes! This in an era where not only would you not show up in the middle of the night, but calling on people was actually prescribed at certain times: you called between 1pm and about 5 and the better you know the people you are visiting, the later you are allowed to call, so new acquaintances called near 1pm and family members and close friends might call at 4pm.
As usual , when I get to this point of my interviews, I like playing the “casting game”. Imagine you were contacted to sell the rights of your novel for a film. Would you accept? Who would you cast in the main roles?
I would definitely like to see my book in film and I understand that some changes might be required, but I would like to keep veto control of the final script. As far as casting, I am afraid I am not a good judge of that. The people I like in previous JA films are too old to play the characters again. It must be someone who can do period work, and not everyone can. I probably would like to find relative unknowns for the roles- people would not be typecast but could be a fresh face. There are a lot of excellent actors and actresses who are on the stage or in repertory.
I read on your site that you are working on two additional sequels to “Pride & Prejudice”. Can you reveal anything about them?
The sequels are subject to approval by Sourcebooks- they have first option on the next book. That said, I would like the second book to take up Darcy and Elizabeth’s marriage again and they will have some setbacks and they must learn to live their lives without fear. This is a subject that is close to my heart because in my work I sometimes see people who are so worried about getting cancer, or getting sick, or their kids getting killed in a car accident, or whatever, that they don’t live their life. I don’t want to get to the end of my life and feel that I had wasted it worrying about something that never happened. In my third JA book I would like to take up Darcy’s cousin Anne and her marriage to Fitzwilliam’s ne’er-do-well elder brother. A lot of pain and passion in both of these!
Now my final question. Why should a Janeite buy / read your “Mr Darcy’s Little Sister”?
Hmmmmm. Because they love Jane Austen and want to see if my story fits with how they see the future of these charaters. Also, those who read And This Our Life will probably enjoy seeing how I have changed the story. One of the interesting things about these JA sequels is comparing the different authors’ visions of the future. This is not a case where if you have read one you are done. Readers who enjoy the sequels can enjoy many different versions.
Thanks Carey for being so kind again! Good luck to you and your new brave Georgiana!
Today, thanks to Laurel Ann @ Austenprose 's post on facebook, I've read this very interesting article by Lev Raphael from The Huffington Post. These are the most relevant ideas:
"Given Austen's ubiquity, and the fact that anything with her name on it will sell, you might think she's always been a sensation. But you'd be wrong, as Jodi Picoult was when she recently said the New York Times needed to review popular authors because
"historically the books that have persevered in our culture and in our memories and our hearts were not the literary fiction of the day, but the popular fiction of the day. Think about Jane Austen. Think about Charles Dickens. Think about Shakespeare. They were popular authors. They were writing for the masses".
Not at all. Austen's fame and popularity grew long after her death, but during her life she was only moderately successful, and novels weren't even the most popular genre in her era.
Back then, novels were less widely read than poetry by celebrity authors like Sir Walter Scott and Byron. The day it was published in 1814, Byron's The Corsair sold 10,000 copies. Also published in 1814, Emma took six months to sell out its printing of 1250 copies.
And when Scott turned to historical fiction in 1814 with Waverly, he became an instant success in this genre, thanks to his poetry. He sold far better than Austen ever did in her lifetime. Given his status as 800-pound gorilla on the literary scene, it's not surprising Austen made fun of their different levels of success in a letter to her niece Anna:
"Walter Scott has no business to write novels, especially good ones. - It is not fair. - He has Fame & Profit enough as a Poet, and should not be taking the bread out of other people's mouths. - I do not like him, & do not mean to like Waverley if I can help it - but fear I must..."
So who did read Austen? She was a special favorite of the fashionable set who enjoyed guessing at her identity because her first four books were published anonymously. Aristocrats ranging from the future wife of Byron all the way to the dissolute Prince Regent and his beloved daughter Charlotte admired her work. The royal librarian even gave Austen a tour of the Prince's ornate London residence, telling her that his master kept copies of her books in all his homes.
When she died in 1817, Austen was more than fifty years away from the idolatry and burgeoning sales of her first great boom (the second came in the 1990s, thanks in part to Colin Firth's Darcy". (Lev Raphael)
2. MATTHEW MACFADYEN AS ATHOS
Just few days ago we were thinking about what Darcy Macfadyen was up to. The answer was he was shooting two different films, do you remember? If you don't , read last week Austenesque News. Are you ready to watch him like this?
As Athos in The Musketeers? Not bad!
They are shooting in Bamberg, Germany, these days but Matthew is not yet there.
After a period of holidays, the online comedy inspired to Laurie Viera Rigler's Austen Addict novels is back with the 13th episode: Sex and The Austen Girl - Wedding Dress
"It's bad enough to be stranded in Regency England while another woman takes over your life. Even worse that she's wearing your wedding dress. The one you hid in the back of your closet. The one from the wedding that never took place. Watch our time-swapping heroines clash over what it means to be dressed in white.
Ah. If only it were as simple today as it was in Jane Austen's time...
4. AUSTEN AUTHORS SUCCESSFUL LAUNCH
This new Austen dedicated blog has been launched with great enthusiasm and the response has been greatly enthusiastic as well! Since September 6th, lots of interesting blogposts and comments. You'll find contributions from many familiar names & faces there: Susan Adriani , Marsha Altman, Marilyn Brant, Skylar Burris , Jack Caldwell, Victoria Connelly , J. Marie Croft, Carolyn Eberhart , Monica Fairview , Regina Jeffers , Cindy Jones , Sharon Lathan, Kara Louise , Kathryn Nelson , Jane Odiwe , C. Allyn Pierson, Abigail Reynolds , Heather Lynn Rigaud , Lynn Shepherd , Mary Lydon Simonsen.
Have you read the first part of TALKING JANE AUSTEN with C. ALLYN PIERSON? Tomorrow I'm going to post Part II , to reveal the name of the first winner of her MR DARCY'S LITTLE SISTER and to launch a second internationally open giveaway! So check My Jane Austen Book Club tomorrow and, if you are not the lucky winner, never mind! You may read part II of my interview, leave your comment and try again!
I've just received my lovely copy of Carey's novel and I'm going to review it soon on this blog.
Next Thursday 16th September, on occasion of the release of her new novel in the UK, A WEEKEND WITH MR DARCY, Victoria Connelly will be my guest to Talk Jane Austen with me. Don't miss her lovely interview!
I've always wished a second chance for Marianne Dahwood and John Willoughby. I've never totally accepted the common judgement of Willoughby as a dashing scoundrel, a libertine. Then, let's say that Jane Odiwe made my dream come true: Willoughby returns into Marianne's life now that she is Mrs Brandon as well as little James's mother.
Three years later, when she has put her heartbreak over him in the past, Willoughby comes back with all his charming ways. He is as roguish and as much in love with her as ever. The timing couldn't be worse: Colonel Brandon is often away, in Lyme, to take care of his ward Eliza Williams and the little girl she had from Willoughby, Lizzy. Marianne is terribly jealous and feels neglected . The temptation of her previous passionate love is incredibly powerful.
A parallel plot follows Margaret's romance with Henry Lawrence . Margaret is Marianne and Elinor's younger sister , Henry is Brandon's nephew and John Willoughby's friend. Their story actually recalls Marianne's and Willoughby's unfortunate love.. They hit it off immediately but, suddenly, Henry changes his attitude to Margaret and everybody around her starts speaking about Henry's engagement with a beautifulFrench girl from his past, Mademoiselle Antoinette de Fontenay. Will she be luckier than her beloved sister? Will she be turned down like Marianne?
This lovely sequel to "Sense and Sensibility"revisits the beautiful places where we first met the Dashwoods, The Ferrars, Mrs Jennings, The Palmers, Willoughby and his rich wife Sophia, Eliza Williams and The Steele sisters. We are back to Barton Cottage, Delaford, London and Lyme.
The journey of some of the charachters may result quite repetitive (i.e. Marianne's jealousy for her husband's caring interest in Eliza and her Lizzy) but the language is skillfully crafted, pleasant and refined. In the end we are left with the impression that our heroes and heroines got what they deserved at last. And , especially, we feel that the young fascinating rogue in the title is not as bad as we - and many characters in the novel - had believed him to be.
Marianne is sure: " ..she had loved him once, and he had proved that his love for her was genuine"
What about the other characters? Colonel Brandon? Too good to be true. Mrs Jennings? Less sparkling than in S&S. Edward and Elinor? Could a match be ever more boring? The Steele sisters? Poisonous gossips!
Our guest today on" Talking Jane Austen" is author Carey Allyn Pierson. My interview is divided into two parts and there will be 2 giveaways of autographed books, one today and the other one next week!
"And This Our Life, Chronicles of the Darcy Family" was C. Allyn Pierson 's first sequel of Pride and Prejudice. It has been purchased by Sourcebooks and a revised version was released yesterday, September 1. It's titled "Mr. Darcy's Little Sister." This revised version concentrates on Georgiana Darcy's story and, in addition, contains an exciting new plot line. The original "ATOL" will still be available until January 1, 2010, when it will be withdrawn from circulation. "Mr. Darcy's Little Sister" is available for preorder now on http://www.amazon.com/ and http://www.barnesandnoble.com./ But if you are lucky enough, you can win one of the autographed copies here on My Jane Austen Book Club, leaving your comments and e-mail address .
The giveaway is open worldwide.
The name of the first winner will be announced next Thursday September 9th.
Now it's time to welcome and thank author C. Allyn Pierson for being our guest today.
You are a biologist and a physician . Nothing’s farther from Jane Austen's world, where women were denied profession and social relevance. What’s the appeal of that world to a woman like you?
Basically, I get enough “reality” in my work, and my husband is an eye surgeon so we both must deal with pain and suffering everyday. I give my patients my entire attention when I see them, but when I am relaxing I want to do something that leaves me feeling good. My husband can do surgery all day and come home and Dostoevsky, and he takes out the stress by playing a lot of tennis. I don’t watch television, so my main relaxation is reading and the occasional video. I can read my favorite books over and over and each time I pick up some subtle nuance, and Jane Austen is, in some ways, very subtle. She looks at the society of her time with a clear gaze and humor and yet they are poignant as well- a very rich mixture but a world that is simpler than our own.
You’re a member of JASNA, of the Republic of Pemberley and you write JA sequels. Can you explain what is the appeal Jane Austen has to so many contemporary readers?
I believe that Jane Austen taps into the basic drives of all humans, even though her time period was so different from our own. When you take away people’s obsessions with technology, our wants and needs are very much the same- we all want to have enough to eat, a warm place to sleep, and most of all, love. You can’t get those things from an iPod or a computer.
How did your meeting with JA and her work influence your life?
I first read Pride and Prejudice in school, but at that time the slow pace of the language and the unfamiliarity with the era left me indifferent. When I had an au pair from England who was wild about Jane Austen I picked her up again and this time I really read it, listening to the language. The final clincher was when the BBC produced the miniseries of Pride and Prejudice with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle. Not only was it beautifully done, but the casting was wonderful on all levels. Here was the story right in front of my eyes with all the costumes from the Regency period. I adore it and I think I must have watched it a hundred times. I have trouble just sitting through a film and feel I am wasting my time. After I have seen it once then I will crochet while I “watch” it and just listen and look up at my favorite scenes. I have a lot of references to the Regency as well as books about Jane Austen. I am sure my husband gets tired of hearing her name!
When and Why did you decide you wanted to write a sequel to Pride and Prejudice?
I had always wanted to be a writer and when I was ten years old I decided to use C. Allyn Pierson for my pen name (Carey Allyn Pierson was my maiden name) A couple of years later I decided to become a doctor and I went from there. After my eldest son left for college I had a bit more free time and decided to read a retelling of P&P from Darcy’s point of view and I enjoyed the books and the writing very much, but I came to the sudden realization that I didn’t picture the characters as the author had and that I “knew” what they should be like. Suddenly, I wanted to sit down and write my version.
Why did you choose little Georgiana as your heroine?
I actually started telling the story of Darcy and Elizabeth’s first year of marriage, and that included Georgiana. As the story developed, Georgiana’s story became more and more interesting, but my self-published book was still told from Elizabeth’s point of view and was called ‘And This Our Life: Chronicles of the Darcy Family”. When Sourcebooks bought the rights to ATOL it was with the understanding that i would change the book to Georgiana’s point of view because very little has been written about Georgiana, while Darcy and Elizabeth’s marriage has been covered extensively. I sat down and rewrote ATOL and ended up with a book which was almost completely different than the original. Georgiana’s marriage at the end is the same, but almost everything else is different. Some scenes I recycled, but even some of those have different characters in the scene and I added a significant new plot sequence, as well. Georgiana is very interesting to me because her name permeates Pride and Prejudice as Miss Bingley constantly praises her to Darcy or uses her to make Elizabeth feel inadequate, but we do not actually meet her until three-quarters of the way through the book, and then Georgiana hardly says a word. We are left with an enigma, but I felt that there was a lot of potential with Georgiana and very few restriction.
Georgiana Darcy in P&P 1995
Georgiana Darcy in P& P 2005
By the way, Carey, which of the Austen heroines are you most like?
Elizabeth Bennet is definitely my favorite and the one most like me. I like Elinor Dashwood and Anne Elliott because of their common sense and their ability to hide their feelings from the world- there is a lot going on inside them that the world does not see. This strong but reticent character is like me, too- when I was in school people thought I was very reserved until they got to know me and they realized that I had a very dry sense of humor. Also, as a physician, I can relate to the need to keep your thoughts under wraps- sometimes you have to listen to people tell you very sad or very crazy things and keep a straight face.
Georgiana is a teenager ( that part of humankind I so well know as a teacher, mother, aunt ...) How did you get yourself prepared to depict her complexity? And how different it was being a teenager at JA’s time?
In Jane Austen’s time society was much more restrictive on what was and was not appropriate behavior and most children of the upper class were raised by nurses and governesses rather than over-indulgent parent’s. At that time children were not considered to be individuals as much as they were an extension of their parents’ desire to carry on their family name and bring more power and money into their family. That said, humans haven’t really changed much since then, and I am sure that teenagers felt the same insecurity about who they are as modern teens do. I have a lot of contact with teenagers with my work and with my children’s friends, but my eldest son was much more mature than the average teenager, and my younger son is severely autistic, so neither was really “typical.” I mostly drew on my own experiences as a teenager (waaayyyy back in the early 70’s!) for how Georgiana felt.
Ok, Carey! That's all for today. We'll go on with our lovely chat next week, Thursday 9th September. Good luck to our readers for the giveaway!
Biologists have named a protein in mice urine after Mr Darcy from Pride & Prejudice. I know, not very romantic at all, but so curious!
The protein is a pheromone responisble for attracting female mice to the odour of a particular male. The scientists have dubbed the protein "darcin". "Although darcin is species-specific, similar pheromones that stimulate learning of an individual's scent could even underlie some complex, inividual-specific responses of humans" said Jane Hurst, one of the researchers from the University of Liverpool.
2. AUSTEN-INSPIRED ANTHOLOGY
Many leading Austen authors have been invited to contribute to an asuten-inspired anthology of short stories to be published by Random House in 2011. The collection will include about 20 works inspired by Jane's writings. The writers include Carrie Bebris (author of the Mr & Mrs Darcy Mysteries series), Maggie Sullivan (AustenBlog.com and The Jane Austen Handbook) and Jane Odiwe (Lydia Bennet's Story and Willoughby's Return) among others.
3. WHAT IS DARCY MAC FADYEN UP TO?
After receiving much appraisal for his performance as Prior Philip in The Pillars of the Earth ( I still have to watch it!), Matthew MacFadyen is going to start shooting THE PROMISED LAND next fall in Palestine. In the cast, curiously enough, the other Mr Darcy (for many fans the only Mr Darcy), Colin Firth.He will also be Athos soon, in a new adaptation of THE THREE MUSKETEERS with Logan Lerman as D'Artagnan and Orlando Bloom as the Duke of Buckingham. Both movies should come out in 2011.
4. GIVEAWAY WINNER
As promised, I have to announce the name of the winner of an autographed copy of CHARLOTTE COLLINS by Jennifer Becton. Have you read Jennifer's presentation of her novel on Fly High? (HERE)
I must thank her for her kindness and availability and wish her a great success with this publication. Now, to the name of the lucky winner!
I so wanted to watch this film and now my disappointment is undescribable. On one hand, I’m glad I saw it because I had heard about it and it was one of the few Austen-based movies I had never seen. But I even added it to my DVD collection and that is …too much, I think: definitely not worth re-watching.
In this Merchant Ivory ‘s absurdist “romance”Jane Austen in Manhattan (1980, U.S., 111 minutes), past meets present and flamboyant egos collide as two modern-day theatre companies compete to stage a literary gem: a lost play by one of Britain’s best loved authors. This film tries to blend the artifice of Jane Austen’s 18th century charming creation, tracing the seduction of an innocent girl by a devious rake, with the thrusting , ambitions and sexual mores of 1970s New York. The result is one of the quirkiest and most bizarre movies I’ve ever seen.
The two theatre companies , anxious for the kudos of giving the play its world premiere, must vie with each other for the theatrical rights, which are owned by an artistic foundation. One is led by the traditionalist Lilianna Zorska (Anne Baxter), the other by her former protégé and lover , charismatic Pierre (Robert Powell) who runs an avante-guarde off-Broadway troupe. Complicating this situation is Ariadne (Sean Young) a beautiful young actress Pierre is determined to seduce away from her husband, Victor (Kurt Johnson) . Modern day events begin to mirror the themes of seduction and salvation in Austen’s play as Lilianna strives to thwart Pierre and save Ariadne from his clutches.
The inspiration behind Jane Austen in Manhattan lies in an actual event: the sale at Sotheby’s in London of the manuscript of a piece of Jane Austen's juvenilia, a play based on Samuel Richardson’s SIR CHARLES GRANDISON. The manuscript was passed to Merchant Ivory Production. Although the company considered the play too slight to warrant a production of its own, it was deemed ideal material as a “play within the play”.
They missed a good occasion, I think. The idea of the play within the play was not bad at all. But I would have set the story in Jane Austen’s house with her and her family home-staging this short play. Not that original but a good chance for a good costume film. James Ivory has a wonderful period film among his credits, “A Room with a View” , based on E.M. Forster 's novel. I love that adaptation. So maybe that was what I was expecting from him as a director and, not finding a bit of that poetry an beautiful photography, I felt sort of betrayed.
This is my third task completed for the Everything Austen Challenge II
Jennifer was born in Washington, DC, and moved to the South as a child. She fell in love with books at an early age, and mysteries by Agatha Christie and other novels such as Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery, The Black Stallion by Walter Farley, and Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen greatly influenced the course of her life.
Next September 1st Jennifer Becton will see her first novel, a Pride and Prejudice sequel, released. She is very excited, of course, and I'm happy to talk with her about her CHARLOTTE COLLINS and to introduce them to you! As always in this space you'll have the chance to win an autographed copy of the book leaving your comment and e-mail address. The giveaway is open worldwide and I'm going to announce the name of the winner next Wednesday 1 September.
Good luck to you all! Now it's time to welcome and thank Jennifer Becton.
As the title of your upcoming novel clearly states, you’ve chosen Charlotte Collins as your heroine. Can you tell us why?
At the end of Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth had Mr. Darcy, Jane had Mr. Bingley, and all the other characters seemed to get what they deserved, but poor Charlotte, whose marriage was a product of prevailing matrimonial theories of the time, ended up with the odious Mr. Collins. To quote Mr. Darcy, I found it “insupportable.”
Charlotte Collins revolves around the Jane Austen quotation that opens it: “I consider everybody as having a right to marry once in their lives for love, if they can.” Charlotte had married Mr. Collins to remove herself as a burden to her parents, but it was now her time to find the love that she did not believe existed.
My goal was twofold: to allow Charlotte to grow and change based on her circumstances at the end of Pride and Prejudice but also to bring her back to the philosophical point where she started and allow her the chance to make a different decision. I wanted her to achieve the independence that she desired in Pride and Prejudice, but I also wanted her to see the truth of love. In order to do that, she had to lose everything: her husband, her child, her friend, and the independence she had so greatly desired. Only then would Charlotte be able to open herself to new possibilities.
Are Elizabeth and Darcy characters in your novel too? Do you tell anything of their story from Charlotte’s point of you?
As you can guess from the title, Charlotte is the focus of my novel. Of course, one can’t tell a continuing story of Pride and Prejudice without mentioning Elizabeth and Darcy. At the end of Austen’s novel, Elizabeth and Charlotte’s friendship has been strained by Charlotte’s decision to marry Mr. Collins, and they are no longer on the amicable terms they once were. While the Darcys are not central to Charlotte Collins, one of the subplots that weaves its way through my novel is the rekindling of their friendship as Charlotte comes to understand and experience Elizabeth’s understanding of romantic love.
I am also planning a serialized online companion piece chronicling Elizabeth and Charlotte’s correspondence throughout the action of my novel. This will offer a bit more of a view of Elizabeth and Darcy’s life after Pride and Prejudice and provide a more in-depth look at the rekindling of Elizabeth and Charlotte’s friendship.
Charlotte Lucas, Mrs Collins, has always been depicted as unattractive . What about your heroine?
Charlotte remains as she ever was: plain in appearance. However, I have always believed, though Austen gives only the barest hint of it, that Charlotte’s personality more than made up for any physical lack. After all, as Elizabeth Bennet’s best friend, she would have to possess wit and intelligence in good measure, and I have tried to bring that out in Charlotte Collins.
Without revealing too much about the plot, is your Charlotte’s marriage to Mr Collins a mere marriage of convenience?
I have always viewed Charlotte’s marriage to Mr. Collins as one solely of convenience. In Austen’s novel, I saw no evidence that Charlotte would fall in love with her husband. In fact, I imagined the match caused unhappiness all around, or it would have if Mr. Collins had the wits to understand his situation completely.
Now...to Mr Collins! Is he still a caricaturesque country clergy-man or did you improve him , at least a bit?
I am sorry to report that Mr. Collins meets his demise quite early in my novel. Although every reader of Jane Austen has their own interpretation of the characters and may very well disagree, I view Mr. Collins as irredeemable as a romantic lead. Austen gave us virtually no sense of him as anything but a silly man concerned with material goods and pandering to his proprietress.
As such, over the course of their marriage, I believe Charlotte, whom Austen always portrayed as practical and intelligent, would have grown away from Mr. Collins and not more like him as some movie adaptations seem to hint. I imagined that Charlotte would become sensitized by her husband’s repeated social gaffes and would, therefore, become more of a stickler for good manners and propriety.
Among the Mr Collinses we’ve had on screen, who is your favourite one, the funniest one?
David Bamber was my very first exposure to Mr. Collins as a character. Even before I read the novel, David Bamber was my Mr. Collins, and he will likely remain my favorite. He seemed to capture the character’s simpering and fawning awkwardness perfectly. He was at once repulsive and pitiable, a difficult balance to achieve.
Did you re-write the scene in which Charlotte confesses to Lizzie her intention to marry Mr Collins?
If you did, what does poor Charlotte feel being treated like that by her best friend?
Charlotte Collins begins five years after Charlotte’s marriage to Mr. Collins, so while I summarized the pertinent action from Pride and Prejudice, I did not rewrite any scenes. I just couldn’t presume to rewrite Jane Austen that way! I did, however, go into some detail about Charlotte’s regrets regarding the disintigration of her relationship with her friend.
As a young Janeite, I’ve always thought, if I had been Charlotte, I would have never married Mr Collins. No sympathy, I almost despised her. Growing older, it seems to me, I can understand her reasons and pity her? What’s your attitude to Charlotte’s choice?
Charlotte was very much a product of her time. In her historical and financial context, marriage was less about love and more about securing one’s future and that of one’s family as well. Her parents expected her to make a wise financial match, and she did not want to disappoint them. She wanted to be a good, dutiful daughter who did not burden her family. Even if I cannot fathom marrying for anything but love, I can certainly understand the desire to please one’s family and the need for security. Therefore, I never blamed Charlotte for her decision to marry Mr. Collins, but I did feel quite sorry that she felt she had no other choice
What do you think of the typical Austen happy ending? Has your novel got one?
This is my favorite question!
I am an unrepentant fan of happy endings, and frankly, I have always been flummoxed by the modern literary establishment’s preference for tragedy over comedy. I know that depressing conclusions are supposed to reflect the human condition—life is difficult and then we die. But I have a different theory. I believe that tragedy is the easy way out. It is ever so much easier to write a tragedy than a comedy.
Why do I think so? People are naturally pessimistic; it takes work to remain optimistic. Just look at bookstore shelves, and you’ll find thousands of books about how to be happy and none about how to be a pessimist. Most people have no trouble finding the negative, but it takes great effort to transcend the trials and tribulations of the world. It is the human condition to find the negative, but it is the divine condition to transcend it. According to Joseph Campbell in The Hero with a Thousand Faces, comedies were more highly valued in the ancient literary world because they were reflections “of a revelation more complete. The happy ending of the fairy tale, the myth, and the divine comedy of the soul, is to be read, not as a contradiction, but as a transcendence of the universal tragedy of man.... Tragedy is the shattering of the forms and of our attachments to the forms; comedy, the wild and careless, inexhaustible joy of life invincible.” I think the ancients had it right.
That is not so say that Charlotte Collins does not include its share of tragedy or that the plot is wrapped up too neatly. At the beginning of the novel, Charlotte has lost everything: her husband, her child, her best friend, her security, and her independence. She is a lonely, unhappy woman, but she has the chance to redeem herself. As do all the characters in my novel. But not all of them make the right decisions by its conclusion.
Are you planning to write another Jane Austen spin-off or sequel? What is it about?
Jennifer and her Darcy
I have one more Jane Austen-inspired novel in mind, but it will only make its way to the page if there is sufficient interest in sequels about her minor characters. If all goes well, I intend to write the continuing story of none other than one of Pride and Prejudice’s villainesses: Caroline Bingley. She is another character with whom I felt—dare I say it?—a bit of a connection.
Along with my Austen-inspired works, I have also written a literary novel (with a happy ending, of course) and am in the process of writing a series of mystery novels. In addition, I am collaborating with Laura Daley (www.daleytlc.com) on a nonfiction book about overcoming horseback riding fear. I hope to publish each book in due course.
If you had 3 wishes to change the destinies of 3 Austen characters, what would you ask and for whom?
If I could rewrite the fates of three characters, I would give Charlotte Collins the opportunity to experience true love. That, of course, has to be my first choice. Second, I would follow Caroline Bingley after Mr. Darcy threw her over for Elizabeth Bennet. I’ve always wondered if she learned anything at all and changed as a result. And third, I must admit that I’d like to make Frank Churchill suffer just a bit. He behaved terribly throughout Emma and experienced no repurcussions. Jane Fairfax should have at least whacked him on the head with a pot for being such a cad.
You and your love for Jane Austen, when did it start? How?
Like many people of my generation, my affinity for Austen began with the BBC/A&E adaptation of Pride and Prejudice in 1995. I watched it in my college dorm room between bouts of study, and afterward, I immediately bought and read as much Austen as I could. I had finally found my literary idol: a woman whose work had endured for almost 200 years and didn’t end tragically.
Which is your favourite among her 6 major novels?
My two favorites are Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion. I adore the characters of Pride and Prejudice. Elizabeth was surrounded by such amusing companions, and I felt as if I knew them by the end of the novel. But I am drawn more to the plot of Persuasion. I love plots in which characters have the opportunity to redeem themselves and make the right choice, as Anne Elliot did at the end of the novel.
Since I’m a period drama addict and I really like Austen adaptations, I ‘d love to know if you like watching them, if you’ve got (a) favourite one/s.
I love Austen adaptations, and my favorite is the 1995 version of Pride and Prejudice, but I must admit to having liked Clueless, a version of Emma, which was the first modern adaptation I’d ever seen
Now, Jennifer, that’s all for now. I'll wait for you on the 1st of September when you will present Charlotte Collins yourself to my readers on Fly High and we will reveal the name of the winner of a signed copy of your book! Till then, thanks and good luck!
