TALKING JANE AUSTEN WITH ... MAYA SLATER & GIVEAWAY OF "THE PRIVATE DIARY OF MR DARCY"

Maya Slater mainly writes fiction, but she also writes theatre and book reviews, mainly for the Times Literary Supplement. She keeps up her academic interests, and is currently a Senior Research Fellow of her  old college, Queen Mary, University of London. She is my guest today  to talk Jane Austen with me and to give you the chance to win a signed copy of her latest book, The Private Diary of Mr Darcy (USA 2009) first published in the United Kingdom as ‘Mr Darcy’s Diary’. 

For further information visit Maya Slater's official site.

First of all thanks for accepting my invitation and being here with us on My Jane Austen Book Club, Maya.

It’s a real pleasure. I look forward to answering your questions.

Now, let’s start with our chat.

What are the qualities/adjectives that comes to your mind if I say … Mr Darcy?

Proud, superior, self-conscious on the one hand, and on the other benevolent, philanthropic, shy, introverted, honourable. The adjectives I’ve chosen reflect the Mr. Darcy who grew for me as I wrote my book but they’re also true of Jane Austen’s original.

Are those the features that have made him a hero beyond time?

I wonder if his pride, which I put first, is the most romantic of his qualities: there’s nothing more attractive than seeing a proud man’s defences crumble when he finds himself passionately in love with a woman whom his family and friends regard as far beneath him.

What are the secret aspects of his personality  you decided to investigate?

There are long passages in Pride & Prejudice where Elizabeth and Darcy are apart, often in different parts of England. But as I was writing a diary, I wanted to include an account of Darcy’s life on his own, as a young man about town, and during a visit to his old schoolfriend Lord Byron, for example.

I’ve read on your site that  when you started writing “Mr Darcy’s Diary” , Mr Darcy led you where he wanted to go – and you found that he was taking you to places where Jane Austen could never have followed. This made me extremely curious! What could you add without giving away great spoilers?

I did a good deal of research into the Georgian period for my novel, and it became clear to me that Jane Austen shows us only the side of Darcy which would be seen by the ladies around him. Writing his private diary, I had to make him give a frank account of things which he would not wish any lady to know. In particular, I realised very quickly that rich young bachelors in Darcy’s time would certainly have had relationships with women long before seeking a bride. I had to investigate that side of him.

What do you think was Elizabeth’s biggest mistake, if she made any, with Mr Darcy? And what Mr Darcy’s with Elizabeth?

I think her biggest mistake came at the beginning of the book, when she sees everything Darcy does in a negative light, jumps to the conclusion that he is insufferable, and finally sides with Wickham against him without thinking.

His mistake is his belief that he is superior to her and is doing her a favour when he first proposes to her. It is only when he has learnt some humility that he becomes worthy of her.

When did you read Pride and Prejudice for the first time? How much has your vision /interpretation of the characters and their relationships changed since then?

I can’t really remember when I first read Pride & Prejudice. My mother loved Jane Austen, and I was brought up knowing about her. When I first read her for myself I was definitely too young to understand the ins and outs of the love affair, the cynicism of Charlotte’s marriage to Mr. Collins, the fact that Elizabeth’s parents are so poorly matched, and many other nuances.

Would you change the destiny of any of the characters?

Would I presume? I do think, though, that Lydia Bennet’s destiny is terribly harsh. She is only 15 when she elopes, far too young to foresee the consequences of her folly. I hate to think of her shackled for life to Wickham, with his selfishness, his gambling habit and his profligacy.

Would you write a spin-off for any of them?

Not a full-length one for the moment. But you never know... Only last month my short story ‘Letters to Lydia’ appeared in the anthology Jane Austen Made Me Do It, edited by Laurel Ann Nattress. It’s the story of Pride and Prejudice seen through the eyes of Charlotte Lucas’s silly romantic little sister, Maria.

What about the TV/movie adaptations we’ve had so far? Have you got a favourite one?

It has to be the Andrew Davies’s 1995 BBC adaptation. And not just because of Colin Firth as Darcy, either! I loved the way Davies managed to incorporate so much of the original dialogue. In other ways, too, this version is the closest to Jane Austen’s novel.

What is the appeal of Austen’s world to you?

She is a great, great writer – brilliantly witty, satirical and yet compassionate. I love the way she presents the Regency period, the elegance and the leisurely pace of life. The characters are so vividly portrayed that I feel I know them as people – and every time I read one of her books, I learn something new.

Try to present your book to our readers in about 50 words.

In Austen’s novel, Mr Darcy is enigmatic – and I realised just how little time Austen allows him and Elizabeth to spend together during their tempestuous courtship. Writing his personal diary gave me scope for an honest description of the private life of a rich young gentleman about town. This life soon became complex and branched out in unexpected directions. For example, at one stage he becomes engaged to another young lady. And there were many other surprises – for me as well as the reader!

What’s next in your writing career? Are you working on a new project?

Yes – I’m well into a new novel set during the Second World War. A very different enterprise!

Great! That’s all for now. Thanks for your time. It was a pleasure to talk with you, Maya. Have you got a good  question to ask our readers? They’ll have to answer it in order to enter the giveaway contest attached to this guestpost. They ‘ll get a chance  to win a copy of your “Mr Darcy’s Diary”.

I enjoyed answering your questions, Maria Grazia.

My question to your readers is: At the end of Pride and Prejudice, we are told that Mr Bennet spends much of his time staying at Pemberley with Elizabeth and Darcy, but we are not told what happens to Mrs Bennet once her daughters are married. What do you think became of her?

GIVEAWAY DETAILS

Fill in the form below, choose your options. The only mandatory option is leave a comment answering Maya Slater's final question + add your e-mail address. The  giveaway is of one signed copy of "The Private Diary of Mr Darcy",  it is open worldwide and ends on November 24 when the winner is announced. 

DEFINITELY NOT MR DARCY BY KAREN DOORNEBOS - MY REVIEW

“Maybe you could mix e-mail and etiquette. Business and birdwatching. Nineteenth-century courtship and modern feminism The best of Austen and the worst of our reality” (p. 374)

I have a strong aversion to reality shows, especially those “Big Brother” – style. So I really can’t explain how it is possible that I found Karen Doornebos’s idea of a Regency, Jane Austen-inspired , reality show brilliant. But It just was. Brilliant, I mean. Absolutely, totally brilliant!

“Definitely not Mr Darcy”  is  lively comedy. And a reality TV show results the ideal  setting  for this Austen misadventure in which Pride takes a hit.  Listen to this:  I think I would even watch a show like “ How to Date Mr Darcy” , the one in the book, set in an elegant Regency residence in the countryside,  in which the contestants would have to live just as Jane Austen’s contemporaries used to.

I liked the protagonist a lot. She is funny,  the perfect flawed  (forgive me the oxymoron) heroine we usually find in contemporary comedies. Think of a  Bridget Jones  to figure her out.  

Chloe Parker is a  thirty-nine- year old divorced mother. She is a lifelong member of the Jane Austen Society, fond of everything Regency. When her business starts failing, threatening her daughter’s future, she makes up her mind and auditions for a Jane Austen – inspired programme set in England. She thinks it is a documentary in which she will be asked to show her knowledge and competence and is ready to do her best to earn the money they offer her.

But competing with eight women to date and possibly be chosen by Mr Wrightman, the heir of a luxurious estate, is out of question.  Neither for a one-hundred-thousand-dollar prize? Well, in that case …  She can think about it!  Actually, she definitely changes her mind once she meets him:

“It could’ve been a scene right out of a Jane Austen adaptation – tall, dark, and handsome hunk of a man appears in the forest out of nowhere – except, of course, the heroine wouldn’t  be knee – deep in pond water, her stockings hung in a tree” (p.65)

Yes, it is not the best of the beginnings. Moreover, what does Chloe decide to do in that embarrassing, awkward situation? She mistreats Mr Wrightman – just  a gorgeous stranger to her - since propriety wants she doesn’t speak to a man without being first properly introduced. And they hadn’t been!  Fortunately, Mr Wrightman seems rather amused by Chloe’s clumsy, funny ways and decides to discover more about the rich American heiress, Miss Parker (Chloe’s profile in the show).

Chloe is ready to defy the other contestants, all younger  than her. Gloves off , she doesn’t give in to the strictness of the rules:  no cell phones, no indoor plumbing  nor deodorant. Mr Wrightman is a prize worth winning…

There are all the ingredients of a modern fairy – tale: a Cinderella, two heroes (yes, two handsome “princes”,  rich  Mr Wrightman and his ingenious though  penniless younger brother), a fairy godmother, a witch (she doesn’t do magic but plays wicked tricks on poor Chloe) a dog and a cat. Everything sounds so amusing and entertaining that you speed through the pages longing  for the “…and lived happily ever after” finale.

Actually for Chloe the finale of the show  is a sudden awakening to reality and a sad going back home. She’s really disappointed at discovering that … nothing was what it seemed…

But don’t worry: romance and happy endings are not neglected by an Austenite like Karen Doornebos. 

I can't wait to write my questions for her now. She promised to be my guest soon here on My Jane Austen Book Club! Any question to suggest? 

CHRISTMAS AT PEMBERLEY BY REGINA JEFFERS - GIVEAWAY WINNER

Thanks for all your comments to Regina Jeffers's excellent post 

LOVE WITH AN IMPROPER STRANGER.

And, of course, many thanks to Regina for writing such a brilliant piece for My Jane Austen Book Club and for granting its readers a signed  copy of her Christmas at Pemberley. 

The winner in this giveaway contest open internationally is ... LUTHIEN84

LINDSAY ASHFORD, MOVING TO JANE AUSTEN'S VILLAGE TURNED ME INTO A COLD CASE DETECTIVE ... GUESTPOST & GIVEAWAY

Lindsay Ashford is a British crime novelist and journalist. Her style writing has been compared to that of Vivien Armstrong, Linda Fairstein and Frances Fyfield. Many of her books follow the character of Megan Rhys, an investigative psychologist.

Raised in Wolverhampton, Ashford became the first woman to graduate from Queens' College, Cambridge in its 550 year history. She gained a degree in Criminology. Ashford was then employed as a reporter for the BBC before becoming a freelance journalist, writing for a number of national magazines and newspapers. In 1996, Ashford took a crime writing course run by the Arvon Foundation. Her first book, Frozen, was published by Honno in 2003.

Strange Blood was shortlisted for the 2006 Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award. She wrote The Rubber Woman for the Quick Reads series in 2007.

Her latest novel is  The Mysterious Death of Miss Austen. 

GIVEAWAY : Read Lindsay Ashford's guestpost, leave your comment + e-mail address and get a chance to win a copy of The Mysterious Death of Miss Austen offered by Honno. Open worldwide, this giveaway ends on 22 November. 

The graveyard of St Nicholas’ church in the Hampshire village of Chawton is the burial place of the two women who were closest to Jane Austen. Each named Cassandra, her mother and sister were interred a stone’s throw from the cottage they shared with the novelist. But Jane herself is not there. Her bones lie sixteen miles away beneath a black marble slab in Winchester cathedral. And the mystery of why she died at the age of just forty-one when the two Cassandras lived well into their eighties has never been resolved.

There have been many theories about her death in the two centuries since her last novel was published. Addison’s disease, tuberculosis and lymphoma have all been suggested - but none quite fits the symptoms reported in her letters. To anyone who knows about modern forensics, however, a face that looks ‘black and white and every wrong colour’ rings alarm bells.       

Chawton is the quintessential English village – even the cricket pavilion has a thatched roof – and when my partner was offered a job there I went with him, intending to start work on another contemporary crime novel. We moved into a sixteenth-century former dovecote still owned by Jane Austen’s five-times great-nephew, Richard Knight, and I spent the days working in the library of what used to be Chawton Great House, once home to the author’s brother, Edward.  Within a few weeks I’d abandoned the gritty modern novel. Instead my head was stuck in old volumes of the family letters.

The voices of the Austen family were made all the more real by the knowledge that they had passed through the very rooms I now inhabited. Jane herself had slept at the Great House when it was too cold or dark to walk back to the cottage after a family gathering; her brothers, her sister and her parents had all slept there at one time or another and her best friend, Anne Sharp, to whom she wrote one of her last letters, had stayed there too.  The more I read, the more intrigued I became by something the letters and diaries hinted at but didn’t fully explain. I began to wonder if there had been more to hide when Cassandra burnt a large part of her sister’s correspondence than a few sharp remarks. As Jane herself said in Emma, ‘There are secrets in all families, you know’.

Then a fascinating piece of information came my way. It came from a visiting American who had won a short story competition organised by me on behalf of Chawton House Library. She asked if I had seen the lock of Jane Austen’s hair which is on display at the cottage (now a museum) down the road. Then she related the story of the couple who donated it – American collectors of Austen memorabilia, both now deceased, who had bought it at auction at Sotheby’s in 1948. ‘And did you know,’ she said, ‘that before they handed it over to the museum, they had it tested for arsenic?’

I did not know. But the alarm bells that had sounded when I first read Jane’s description of her face during her illness were now deafening. There was arsenic in her hair, which meant that she had ingested poison in the months before her death. No one else in the cottage had been affected, so it couldn’t have been the water supply, the wallpaper or anything else in the house. Was Jane given arsenic as a medical treatment (common enough at the beginning of the nineteenth century) and if so, could the dose have been large enough to kill her? Or was there a more sinister explanation?   

Preposterous, you might think. But a few years after her death a wave of paranoia swept England in the wake of an epidemic of arsenic poisoning. The tasteless, odourless white powder could be bought from any grocer’s shop with no questions asked. People were poisoned suddenly, by accident, when it got mistaken for baking powder or talc, and there were also those who were poisoned slowly and deliberately by relatives or servants who knew the symptoms were likely to be taken for disease or infection of the digestive system.

I thought of Jane’s friend, Anne Sharp, who lived well into the middle of the nineteenth century and would have read about the arsenic-phobia in the newspapers. She would also have known about the Marsh Test. Developed in 1836, it enabled the analysis of human remains for the presence of the white powder. What would you do, I wondered, if you suspected your best friend had been poisoned and you were in possession of a lock of her hair?

The Mysterious Death of Miss Austen is the product of all that I have learned and imagined in the three years since I came to live in Chawton. It’s a work of fiction inspired by facts and I hope that those who read it will be both intrigued and fascinated by a possibility which has been overlooked until now....

Visit Lindsay Ashford's Official Site

Lindsay Ashford on the Daily Mail
Lindsay Ashford on The Guardian

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The Mysterious Death Of Miss Austen, by Lindsay Ashford, is published by Honno 

LESLEY-ANNE MCLEOD'S BOOK GIVEAWAY : JANE AUSTEN'S PERSUASION

Lesley- Anne McLeod was my guest here on My Jane Austen Book Club last week with a lovely piece, My Love Affair with the Regency World". Here is the name of the winner of the copy of Jane Austen's "Persuasion" that she granted for the giveaway contest linked to her post: 

Lucienne Machado!!!

Congratulations to the winner and many thanks to Lesley-Anne for being with us at My Jane Austen Book Club and for the giveway copy.

PATRICE SARATH, THE ROAD TO “THE UNEXPECTED MISS BENNET” - GUESTPOST AND GIVEAWAY

Patrice Sarath is the Austin-Texas based author of The Unexpected Miss Bennet, a sequel to Pride & Prejudice, and two fantasy novels, Gordath Wood and Red Gold Bridge. Patrice’s fascination with Jane Austen began in her early twenties, and she became a voracious reader of all of Austen’s books. She wrote The Unexpected Miss Bennet to answer the question, why didn’t Mary Bennet wed Mr. Collins? They would have been perfect together. The more she delved into Mary’s backstory, the more she realized that Mary Bennet deserved a much better hero, and thus Mr. Aikens galloped into the story.

Giveaway

 Read Patrice's piece here below, leave your comment and e-mail address to enter a giveaway of a copy of "The Unexpected Miss Bennet".  This contest is open to US and Canada readers only and ends on November 18th when the winner is announced. 


How does an author go from writing novels about modern women having fantastic adventures in a medieval-like world to exploring the highly mannered setting of British middle class society in the late 18^th and early 19^th centuries?

I blame my two major writing influences, J.R.R. Tolkien and Jane Austen.

Both Tolkien and Austen had a genius for creating setting, although Austen is mostly known for her character development, her wit, and her social observations. But those very same social observations are setting, as much as Fangorn Forest and Gondor and the Shire. I imbibed her drawing rooms and fine country houses, and ballrooms and card tables just as much as I did Tolkien’s world. So when the time came to create a new project, tackling the question of Mary Bennet came naturally.

I know that most people love the romance plots of Austen’s novels, and certainly the fact that our heroines have their happily ever after is part of the charm of The Six. What I have become most fascinated by, though, is the social life that Austen illustrates. I love how children are such a presence in almost all of her books. I get that she loved children, and may have mourned the fact that by not marrying she was never able to have any. (I do think she was quite the “cool aunt” though, at least as far as her family correspondence shows).

Family is hugely important to Austen, and we see that in Pride & Prejudice, in which Austen takes pains to tell us who is related to whom (the silly aunts on MrsBennet’s side! The wise and stable Gardners!). We see it as well in Persuasion, which has some of the best writing about society and manners and family expectations and the little irritations that rub us the wrong way of any novel, even compared to such writers as Ann Tyler.

So when I read and reread Austen, I’m not reading for the romance, but for her depiction of this world that is as exotic to me as Middle Earth, and as familiar to me as my own family around the Thanksgiving table. She creates a fantastical world with rules of engagement, as the best kind of fantasy does. (Side note: Real fantasy doesn’t make magic systems up as it goes along, but uses magic rules to constrain the plot and make the story more realistic.)

When I wrote about Mary Bennet, I wanted to capture as much of that world as of the world in my novels Gordath Wood and Red Gold Bridge. (By the way, this is why I love portal novels, also known as “wardrobe” novels. What better way to enjoy a fantasy than to have a person like you having adventures in this cool fantasy world?)

So I read Austen’s books for setting as well as books about the history of the era and researched clothing, underwear, etc. I even read Fordyce’s Sermons. By the time Austen was writing, Fordyce was kind of old-fashioned even then, and let me tell you, he’s a hoot. Quoting from Fordyce in “The Unexpected Miss Bennet” was so much fun because I could really get into Mary’s head, both when she agreed with Fordyce and when she went, “wait a minute…”

I knew going in that I wanted a killer opening line that would tell readers exactly what I was doing without trying to “out-Jane” Austen. So as my last word, I will leave it to you to decide whether I’ve succeeded or not. I do hope you enjoy “The Unexpected Miss Bennet” and that it takes you to a world that is both foreign and familiar. And with that, the beginning:

                “It is a comforting belief among much of society, that a plain girl with a small fortune must have no more interest in matrimony than matrimony has in her.”

Patrice Sarath

GIVEAWAY WINNERS - MY BROTHER AND I BY CORNELIS DE JONG AND DEATH COMES TO PEMBERLEY BY P.D.JAMES

"My Brother and I" by Cornelis De Jong  has been won by 

Gisele Alv

"Death Comes to Pemberley" by P.D. James has instead gone to

Cin209

Congratulations to the winners and thanks to authors and  publishers involved in these giveaway contests for the free copies.

REGINA JEFFERS - GUESTPOST AND GIVEAWAY: LOVE WITH AN IMPROPER STRANGER

Princess Charlotte of Wales

I'm glad to welcome Regina Jeffers back to our online club on occasion of the release of her latest book, a Christmas sequel to Pride and Prejudice titled Christmas at Pemberley. More info about the book are below this brilliant, informative guestpost which Regina has granted My Jane Austen Book Club and its readers. Moreover, leaving your comment and your e-mail address you'll get the chance to win a signed copy of Christmas at Pemberley. The giveaway is open internationally and ends on November 15. 

Love with an Improper Stranger by Regina Jeffers

In the spring of 1812, George IV’s attempted to pique his daughter’s, Princess Charlotte of Wales, interest in William of Orange. The move would have strengthened England’s alliance with the Netherlands. Orange had lived in exile in England and had received his education at Oxford.

Princess Caroline

 The Prince Regent was well aware of his daughter’s increasing acts of defiance, but he was not aware of the depth of Princess Charlotte’s indiscretions. Charlotte had her first flirtation of note in 1811 (when she was but 15 years of age) with Charles Hesse, who was reportedly the Duke of York’s illegitimate son. Hesse was a young, handsome Hussar captain. Rumors had it that Hesse, who later joined Princess Caroline in Brunswick as an equerry, might have been the lover of both mother and daughter. Caroline had encouraged the relationship. She had once locked her daughter and Hesse in a bedchamber and had told them to amuse themselves. With Caroline’s encouragement, Charlotte had corresponded with Hesse until Charlotte’s friend and confidant, Mercer Elphinstone, advised against continuing the relationship.

William, Duke of Clarence

Next, Charlotte’s cousin Captain George FitzClarence (eldest son of the actress Dorothea Jordan and William, Duke of Clarence, the Prince of Wales’s youngest brother) caught the young princess’s eye, but George soon moved with his regiment to Brighton, where he fell in love with Mary Seymour (who was the first to call the Prince Regent “Prinny”). During this time, Charlotte wrote to Mercer regarding Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility saying, “[The book] certainly is interesting, and you feel quite one of the company. I think Marianne and me are very like in disposition. I am not so good, displaying the same imprudence, etc., however very like. I must say it interested me much.”

When the Regent first encouraged his daughter to accept William of Orange, Charlotte was determined to oppose the union. However, a marriage would free her from her father’s control, as well as to provide her with her own household and financial independence. Therefore, in December 1813, Princess Charlotte agreed to the marriage.

George IV

Yet, when she discovered that Orange would expect her to live part of the year in Holland, Charlotte had second thoughts. The Whig politician Lord Grey had advised Charlotte against leaving England. He had insinuated that if Charlotte resided in Holland for even part of the year that Princess Caroline would follow suit. It was common knowledge that Caroline intended to take up residence away from her estranged husband. If Caroline left Prinny, he could claim desertion and file for a divorce. If the Regent then remarried and produced a son out of his next joining, Charlotte would be replaced in the line of succession. With this in mind, Princess Charlotte ended the engagement.

Meanwhile, the Princess fell in love with Prince Frederick, the King of Prussia’s nephew. One of her lady companions aided Charlotte in arranging several clandestine meetings with Frederick, and she maintained a secret correspondence with the prince until January 15, 1815, when he informed her that he had fallen for another. Frederick returned Charlotte’s gifts and portrait at that time.

Incensed by Charlotte’s refusal to marry Orange, George IV removed his daughter’s servants and dismissed her lady’s companions. Confined to Cranbourne Lodge, Charlotte was permitted no visitors except Queen Charlotte. In August 1814, Princess Caroline departed England. Charlotte felt deserted. Her depression became quite evident. Queen Charlotte encouraged a resolution to the separation between her eldest son and his daughter.

On Christmas Day 1814, Charlotte turned to her father for affection. During their intimate talks, she provided Prinny with a full accounting of her relationship with Captain Hesse. Charlotte explained how her mother had encouraged Charlotte to write to Hesse. She also spoke of her recent attempts to have Hesse return her letters and of the captain’s refusal to do so. Charlotte confided that she expected Hesse to blackmail her with their correspondence.

Prince Leopold, third son of the Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld

The Regent promised to assist his daughter with Hesse. Therefore, expecting a restoration of their connection, Charlotte confided in her father what she knew of Princess Caroline’s many lovers. To protect his daughter’s position in Society and in the line of succession, he suggested that Charlotte renew her engagement to Orange, but she stood firm. However, she did agree to a possible joining to Prince Leopold, third son of the Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. It was after Napoleon’s defeat in June 1815 before Leopold could return to England. They married on 2 May 1816.

Spoiler: So what does all this have to do with my November 8 release of Christmas at Pemberley? Notice that the previous paragraph mentions Christmas Day 1814. Yes, believe it or not, I incorporated Princess Charlotte’s liaison with Hesse into my Christmas tale. How, one might ask, does a writer mix political intrigue with an inspirational romance, a Regency Christmas-theme tale, and a continuation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice? Not an easy task, but one I hope you will enjoy reading.

 Christmas at Pemberley: A Pride and Prejudice Christmas Sequel

To bring a renewed sense joy to his wife’s countenance, Fitzwilliam Darcy has secretly invited the Bennets and the Bingleys to spend the Christmastide festive days at Pemberley. But as he and Elizabeth journey to their estate to join the gathered families, a blizzard blankets the English countryside. The Darcys find themselves stranded at a small out-of-the-way inn with another couple preparing for the immediate delivery of their first child, while Pemberley is inundated with friends and relations seeking shelter from the storm.

Without her brother’s strong presence, Georgiana Darcy desperately attempts to manage the chaos surrounding the arrival of six invited guests and eleven unscheduled visitors. But bitter feuds, old jealousies, and intimate secrets quickly rise to the surface. Has Lady Catherine returned to Pemberley for forgiveness or revenge? Will the manipulative Caroline Bingley find a soul mate? Shall Kitty Bennet and Georgiana Darcy know happiness?

Written in Regency style and including Austen’s romantic entanglements and sardonic humor, Christmas at Pemberley places Jane Austen’s most beloved characters in an exciting yuletide story that speaks to the love, the family spirit, and the generosity that remain as the heart of Christmas. 




Read an excerpt from "Christmas at Pemberley"

“My only care is your own health. Heaven forbid that you should precede me in death,” he said in a taunt. “You cannot expect me to seek husbands for our girls with the same diligence that you demonstrate.”Ignoring his tone, as she was apt to do, Mrs. Bennet whispered, “I had hoped that Mr. Manneville would seek Kitty’s company again today. I fear she has done the man a disservice, and he’ll not forgive her.”Mr. Bennet mockingly said, “You find Mr. Manneville the superior choice, my Dear?”“The man has deep pockets, Mr. Bennet,” she reasoned.“In America,” he reminded her.Mrs. Bennet shrugged off his objections. “Kitty could have a house as grand as Netherfield Park. Would you not want that for your daughter, Mr. Bennet?”“I would want Kitty in a relationship where her husband respected her.” He had thought again of his own marriage’s failure. “Jane and Elizabeth have achieved such happiness, and I have hopes for Mary.”“And of Lydia?” Mrs. Bennet cared best for their youngest daughter.
“You know my opinion of Mr. Wickham,” he warned. “I’ll never understand how Wickham and Lydia can be supported in tolerable independence nor how little of permanent happiness can belong to a couple who were only brought together because their passions were stronger than their virtue.”“Mr. Bennet,” she exclaimed a little too loudly and had to moderate her objection. “You should not speak so despairingly of your own child.”“I speak the truth,” he contended. “I won’t give elegance to misfortune.”Again, Mrs. Bennet disregarded his severity. “And you think this Mr. Winkler a better choice for Kitty?” she asked as she observed how the clergyman leaned closer to say something private to their daughter.“First, it is true Winkler will never have Mr. Darcy’s or Mr. Bingley’s wealth, but he has a secure situation under Mr. Darcy’s watchful eye. Secondly, observe how the man protects our Kitty. He’s quite besotted by our daughter’s charms.”Mrs. Bennet directed her attention to Kitty and the clergyman. “Do you believe Kitty returns the man’s regard?”“Not totally, but the seed’s been planted. It was Winkler that Kitty chased from the drawing room last evening. It was he that she tried to please with her gift to Mr. Darcy’s cottager. He inspires the best in our daughter.” They walked on in silence for a few moments. “Surely, you remember how foolish Kitty and Lydia once were. I often considered them as two of the silliest girls in England. Now that Kitty, to her material advantage, has spent the chief of her time with her two elder sisters, her improvement has been great. I always said that Kitty had not so ungovernable a temper as Lydia, and removed from the influence of Lydia’s example, she has become, by proper attention and management, less irritable, less ignorant, and less insipid. I find myself quite proud of the young lady that our Catherine has become.”His wife’s frown spoke of her disapproving of his disparaging words regarding Lydia’s lack of sense, but she hadn’t argue. They’d had similar conversations on numerous occasions. “Should I encourage the connection? Should Kitty be made aware of Mr. Winkler’s attention? It would please me to have all my girls well settled.”“If you can suppress your enthusiasm until after Mr. Darcy’s return, I suspect that Mr. Winkler will take matters into his own hands. Elizabeth’s husband will have to give his approval to his clergyman taking a wife and having that wife be Kitty,” he cautioned.Mrs. Bennet glanced around for privacy. “Would Mr. Darcy object to Lizzy’s sister living at the Lambton cottage? Would the man’s pride deny Kitty a proper marriage?” she asked incredulously.“I doubt it. However, Mr. Darcy may need to preface their joining. Winkler must be aware that Darcy would prefer to be consulted prior to his approaching Kitty with an offer.” They neared the pond. “And if Elizabeth’s husband does object, you could always steer Kitty into Mr. Manneville’s arms. Who knows? After my demise, when Mr. Collins takes Longbourn, you might discover yourself in the Southern states. I think you’ll find yourself swept away by an American.” Mr. Bennet winked at her.“You bam me as you always do. I have no need of another husband. With five daughters, I shall spend my days in contentment, knowing I have done my best by each of them.” She accepted a seat on a wooden bench to which Mr. Bennet directed her. When he started away to join the couples, Mrs. Bennet caught his arm. “Mr. Bennet, I know we’re often at odds over our daughters, but would you do me the courtesy of explaining your dislike for Mr. Manneville?”It was rare when they spoke honestly to each other–even rarer when he felt empathy for the woman he’d married. “I cannot pretend to know exactly,” he said softly. “Maybe it’s the man’s posturing. Maybe it’s his blatant declaration of his intentions–his descriptions of his wealth. Or . . .” Mr. Bennet turned to watch Manneville glide onto the ice. “Or maybe it’s his attention to Miss Bingley. The woman hurt my Jane, and not once did she apologize or show any contrition. I do not forget.”“Neither do I, Mr. Bennet. Neither do I.”

 Author Bio

Regina Jeffers, a public classroom teacher for thirty-nine years, considers herself a Jane Austen enthusiast. She is the author of several Austen-inspired novels, including Darcy’s Passions, Darcy’s Temptation, Vampire Darcy’s Desire, Captain Wentworth’s Persuasion, The Phantom of Pemberley, and the upcoming The Disappearance of Georgiana Darcy. She also is a Regency romance author: The Scandal of Lady Eleanor, A Touch of Velvet, A Touch of Cashémere, and The First Wives’ Club. A Time Warner Star Teacher and Martha Holden Jennings Scholar, Jeffers often serves as a consultant in language arts and media literacy. Currently living outside Charlotte, North Carolina, she spends her time with her writing, gardening, and her new grandson.

www.rjeffers.com

http://reginajeffers.wordpress.com

http://austenauthors.net

Twitter – @reginajeffers

Facebook – Regina Jeffers

(Books available from Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Books-a-Million, Joseph Beth, and Ulysses Press.)

GUESTPOST & GIVEAWAY - LESLEY-ANNE MCLEOD, MY LOVE AFFAIR WITH THE REGENCY WORLD

Happy Sunday, everyone! New post , new guest on our online Austen Club. Lesley-Anne McLeod has been writing for thirty years; she has available, in e-book format, eight Regency romances, and five Regency novelettes.  She has also been published in short non-fiction, and has free-lanced in business writing.  Fiction writing is her first love however, and regency romance is her genre of choice. Lesley-Anne is a devoted Anglophile and is committed to historical research and to gardening!  

Read her guestpost, join me and welcome her on My Jane Austen Book Club, and finally enter the giveaway at the bottom of the post if you wish!

My love of Regency England all came about because of Jane Austen--specifically because of the dramatizations of her works on television beginning some years ago.

I am a history buff; historical fiction and non-fiction are my preferred reading materials. I watch every historical documentary and drama on television. I have, in my life, gone through love affairs with the history of Egypt, that of Elizabethan England, of the American West, of Victorian England and Edwardian England.

When I came to Jane Austen, I did not at first realize the uniqueness of the period during which she lived and wrote. And I did not equate Austen's world with the eras in which Georgette Heyer set her stories. (I had been reading Georgette Heyer since high school.)  But gradually I came to an understanding of the Georgian era, and from thence to a passion for the world of the Regency period.

St. James Square 1812 from the Repository of the Arts

 The Regency world--Jane Austen's world--saw the last of the long history of mankind unrecorded by the stark reality of photography. It was the last era before the advent of the railroads which changed the world. The early 1800's saw the final great days of the sailing ships before the introduction of steamships. And the era saw the end of the agricultural dominance of man's existence.

Wolverhampton about 1810

The Regency of George Augustus Frederick, Prince of Wales, technically lasted only from 1811 to 1820. For design and stylistic purposes, it is often extended to 1837. For fictional purposes, it tends to run from 1800 to 1820. Historically it has been likened to the Empire period of France, from 1795 to 1820.

Jane Austen lived in remarkable times--from the French Revolution to the Battle of Waterloo. Photography was just around the corner, and yet we have no reliably attributed portrait of Jane Austen's face. Railways were poised to alter the face of the world by easing travel within Britain and abroad, and yet she never travelled upon one. Her brothers were captains of sailing vessels at the time of the great ascendancy of British sea power, but steam ships were beginning to ply the waters of the country. Jane enjoyed the peace of the agricultural way of life that had formed English society for two thousand years, but the Industrial Revolution was already changing the face of the English countryside, and of English towns and cities. From fashion to architecture, from literature to art, the Regency period of Jane Austen has its own unique look. Its society had one foot in Georgian excess, and one in Victorian prudery. The Hellfire Club lived next door to the Society for the Suppression of Vice.

Jane Austen's world is a unique wedge of history, immortalized by her wonderful books. It is ironic that I am fascinated by the Regency world in all its details, when Jane Austen seldom mentions any of those facts. She never mentions the war raging in Europe, her characters are apparently unaware of the industrialization shortly to overtake them. The revolution of steam travel does not touch her people--they travel by coach, horse, and foot.

Illustrations of cottagers from the Repository of the Arts November 1812

There is no doubt that Austen herself was aware of the world around her and its imminent change. But her characters live in the world of the family, the village and the heart--and are loved because of it. The trappings of the greater world do not impinge on Jane Austen's books. But I remain immersed in the Regency world, and I continue to read Jane Austen.

 Lesley- Anne McLeod

Visit Lesley-Anne at her official site and her blog 

 and follow her on facebook and on Twitter 

 GIVEAWAY

Win a hardcover copy of Jane Austen's PERSUASION with illustrations by Hugh Thomson, Wordsworth Classics, offered to one among all commenters by Lesley- Anne MacLeod. Leave your comment + e-mail address below. The giveaway is open worldwide and ends on November 13th when the winner is announced.

AUTHOR GUESTPOST- CORNELIS DE JONG: FORTUITOUS GOOD LUCK + GIVEAWAY OF "MY BROTHER AND I"

Cornelis De Jong lives in the Netherlands but was born in South Africa. His life might well be the plot of an interesting contemporary novel which I hope Cornelis will write down sooner or later, though I'm not  so sure he wants to. 

He is a kind, reserved gentleman with a Calvinist background,  who became a teacher of English after experiencing few totally different careers and, finally, recently came to publishing his first novel : "My Brother and I". It is Cornelis De Jong's very personal  sequel to Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice". 

I've  had the pleasure to meet him and his wife in Rome lately, following my online interview with him (HERE). On occasion of our meeting , he personally gave me a signed copy of his novel for one of you. Fill in the form below to enter the giveaway contest open worldwide linked to this guestpost  and get your chances to win it.  .  The name of the winner will be announced on 9th November. 

When I was twelve I sat down to write a book. A fresh exercise book in hand, I penned in the title, and the name of the author: me. The title has slipped my mind long ago. Scribble, scribble, scribble – this was fun; but, after a few pages, I stopped. How do you write, he says, she says, and what is said? We had not been taught that (as yet). Besides – my greatest bugbear in life – how do you spell this or that word; or, is there not another word which would better describe what I want to say?

I’m a worrier. Please note the spelling. I am not a warrior. Even I know now that warrior has different letters in it, though it is pronounced the same (well, virtually). I am not complaining: please keep that in mind. I know I should be grateful; the gods had given me a good turn of speed; boy! was I a fine athlete as a kid; and I am as curious as a cat. To be honest, I am more like the Elephant’s Child: ‘full of insatiable curiosity’; besides, elephants remember things: I’m okay on that score too. But I cannot spell. This worried me no end. But it did not worry my teachers in the least; they told me I’m stupid. I shall not tell you what this spelling ‘condition’ is called (God knows, I’ll probably spell it incorrectly); suffice to say that if I were not typing this article in a word processor, it would be a right royal mess!

But what worried me even more were all the many things a writer needs to know and have just to be a writer. I mean, have you ever seen a good carpenter at work? Have you seen his collection of tools; have you seen him at work; have you seen how good he is, how he planes a piece of wood just so, as if it is the easiest thing in the world? I was doomed. I did not even have a dictionary. My teachers were right, so I gave up – more or less. (There was one thing, though, they were not going to bully me out of: I love reading. Hunched forward on my knees on my bed, I read – for hours and hours, with the door closed. Of course, my chores around the house suffered badly and I had to endure many a clip about the head for my silly obsession.)

Like the ’satiable Elephant’s Child, I did ask ever so many questions, and I lived in Africa, too. However, I was the one who ended up being spanked more than most for being a lazy pupil. I concur; it is quite true; I did not do my homework, very often. The only homework I ever did with relish was writing essays. I did not mind getting bad marks for my essays: give me a topic and I would rattle off a story in no time. They were invariably returned dripping red as my teacher had put his dreaded red pen to work on my little creations. All very disheartening; that is, until I met this teacher in the fifth form who had the habit of handing back our essays in class announcing the scores as he went along: ‘de Jong, 95,’ as casual as you like (we worked in percentages, in case you are wondering), which really got the class to stare. What? You! Yes, madness. Not only were the margins red (he used codes for errors: sp for spelling; well, I’ll spare you the rest), but he used to rewrite most of my essays (also in red) at the end. ‘You should send this to a magazine,’ he said to me once. Joke. That one was redder than any I had written before.

Fast Forward in Time...

The first time I ever laid eyes on a laptop computer, my heart leapt! This is it. In the in-between years I had written many short stories – for fun; nothing ever published. But the hassle remained; so much checking to be done. (Fair enough, over the years I had learnt hundreds of mnemonics to help me spell, but they still popped up – those pesky errors.) A desktop computer did not do it for me; so, as soon as I could, I got a laptop: you will not believe what I have installed – dictionaries, thesauruses and collocations. Marvellous! Meanwhile, because I had had difficulty finding work (I have an engineering diploma), someone suggested I try getting a teaching diploma. Indeed, this was another of those seminal moments which is a story in itself that ended in a master’s degree six years later. And now I teach English. Another joke; I would have loved to have seen those teachers’ faces – you know the ones I mean, but most of them are either dead or in their dotage.

I’m now going to cheat. I shall quote from something I have written before.

In 2008, while preparing a set of exercises on Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice for my students, I planned to conclude the course with a creative writing assignment: rewrite the last chapter, or add a new chapter to the last – to either expand on the given events at the end or to reveal what could conceivably have happened next (or both).

Since it is good practice to require of students only that which you can do yourself, I set about doing the assignment myself. I have been writing short stories for many years now – a discarded novella among them; but, this endeavour soon grew into several chapters. The temptation to write my story to its conclusion was so great that a novel, which I called My Brother and I, was the result. I am rather pleased with the outcome.

Quote, unquote – from the front of My Brother and I published in 2010, by me: officially at corneliswriter.com, printed by CreateSpace and distributed by Amazon. I feel extremely lucky to have fulfilled that naive 12-year-old’s ambition – at last! However, it was rather fortuitous; I could not have foreseen this in my wildest dreams.

Cornelis de Jong (2011)

GIVEAWAY

Fill in the form below. You have from one to four options to enter the giveaway contest. The more options you choose the more chances to win you get. Good luck!

JANE AUSTEN: BLOOD PERSUASION - GIVEAWAY WINNER ANNOUNCEMENT

Janet Mullany's second book about Jane Austen and vampires has just been released: Jane Austen, Blood Persuasion.  Have you read my 5 vampire questions post? And, especially, have you read Janet's answers ? This quick posting is just to announce the lucky winner of the giveaway open worldwide linked to that guestpost. 

The winner is ... Allonim Polymath!!!

Thanks to Janet Mullany for being my guest on her blog tour and to all of you who entered the giveaway contest!

Janet Mullany's website

GIVEAWAY : WIN P. D. JAMES'S DEATH COMES TO PEMBERLEY - VIDEO: AUTHOR INTERVIEW

In this video interview, recorded at the author's home in October 2011, P. D. James discusses her new novel, 'Death Comes to Pemberley', and her appreciation of the writer who inspired it, Jane Austen . Listen carefully to her presentation of the book and to her interesting points about "writing an Austen sequel". What do you think is a modern writer's most difficult task in writing a sequel, and especially, a sequel to Austen's most widely popular novel, Pride and Prejudice?

1.Listen to the interview
2.answer the question above in your comment
3.add your e-mail address


... and get a chance to win a copy of  P.D. James's Austen mystery, "Death Comes to Pemberley", granted to My Jane Austen Book Club by her UK publisher Faber & Faber. This giveaway is open internationally and ends on November 9th.

THE BOOK

The year is 1803, and Darcy and Elizabeth have been married for six years. There are now two handsome and healthy sons in the Pemberley nursery, Elizabeth’s beloved sister Jane and her husband, Bingley, live within seventeen miles, the ordered and secure life of Pemberley seems unassailable, and Elizabeth’s happiness in her marriage is complete. But their peace is threatened and old sins and misunderstandings are rekindled on the eve of the annual Autumn Ball. The Darcys and their guests are preparing to retire for the night when a chaise appears, rocking down the path from Pemberley’s wild woodland, and as it pulls up, Lydia Wickham, an uninvited guest, tumbles out, screaming that her husband has been murdered.

"Death Comes to Pemberley" -  Listen to An Extract Read by P. D.  James (Click HERE)

GIVEAWAY WINNER - NACHTSTURM CASTLE BY EMILY C.A. SNYDER

Happy Austen Halloween, everyone! We are here to discover who, among the commenters of Emily C.A. Snyder's interview, is the winner of her Nachtsturm Castle, an original sequel to Northanger Abbey, a gothic tale . A signed copy of this novel goes to ...

marylin

Congratulations to the lucky winner and my grateful thanks to Emily C.A. Snyder for taking the time to answer my questions and for granting you all the chance to win a copy of her sequel. What best read to win  on Halloween Night? 

Visit Emily's Official Site