THE MYSTERIES OF PENDOWAR HALL: INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR SYRIE JAMES

 

At My Jane Austen Book Club, we celebrate not just Jane Austen, but the timeless appeal of classic literature and the authors who bring that spirit to life in fresh, compelling ways. My guest today, Syrie James, is no stranger to our readers — her brilliant The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen and The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Brontë have captivated many of us. Now, with The Mysteries of Pendowar Hall, the first book in her new Audacious Sisterhood of Smoke & Fire series, Syrie masterfully channels the Gothic essence of the Brontës while delivering a thrilling historical romance and mystery. It’s a pleasure to welcome her back to discuss her latest novel, her love for classic literature, and the connections between Austen, Brontë, and the elements of storytelling that continue to intrigue us today.

DUKE DARCY'S CASTLE BLOG TOUR: EXCERPT & GIVEAWAY

Duke Darcy's Castle is the third book in the series Dare to Defy by Syrie James, but it is a story you can read and enjoy independently from the previous instalments.

It's been my happy place for a few days, a pleasant reading reminding me of a splendid tour in Cornwall a few years ago. The action takes place, in fact,  in a remote, enchanting tidal island inspired to real Mount St. Michael, St. Gabriel's Mount.   

The novel is set in the late Victorian Age and it has all the elements an engaging historical romance can offer:  a captivating hero, a brilliant heroine, a steaming love story.

Kathryn Atherton arrives at St Gabriel's Mount unexpected  - well, they weren't expecting a lady - and with one purpose in mind: to be appreciated as an architect by the Tenth Duke of Darcy, Lance Granville, whose ancient castle needs renovation and refurbishment. Her professional success, in a world exclusively inhabited by male architects,  is very difficult to achieve, but that is just what Kathryn wants to pursue and she will not let  any distraction or obstacle to lead her astray.  

Lance Granville has just left his own career in the Royal Navy to inherit the family title and become the Tenth Duke of  Darcy, something he has never wished for himself. When a very attractive woman architect appears in his residence, he just can't believe his eyes.

Kathryn and Lance will hit it off immediately  and the attraction between them will not make things easy for either of them. 

This is the premise to a delightful love story that will keep you intrigued and excited till the last page. 

SYRIE JAMES: EIGHT REASONS WHY I LOVE NOVELS SET IN THE GEORGIAN AND REGENCY ERAS - JANE AUSTEN'S FIRST LOVE HOLIDAY BLOG TOUR & FABULOUS GIVEAWAY

I have a soft spot in my heart for historical fiction novels set in England during the Georgian and Regency eras. Why? There are so many reasons, but I’ll condense them down to eight:

1. I love stepping back in time.

Reading a novel set in the past is like discovering your own personal time machine. I love being immersed in all the sights, sounds, and smells of a time gone by, and experiencing, through the characters’ eyes, thoughts, and feelings, what it was like to live in another era. The Georgian and Regency eras are particularly appealing to me because it’s the time in which Jane Austen lived and wrote. Jane grew up during the Georgian era, which began in 1714 and spanned the reigns of the first four Hanoverian kings of Great Britain who were all named George. The Regency (which we more readily associate with Austen) was a brief sub-period of the Georgian era between 1811 and 1820, when King George III was deemed unfit to rule and his son, the Prince of Wales, ruled as his proxy as Prince Regent. 

It’s such fun to read about the way people lived then, and to spend time with them in their country houses, where even the poorest of the gentry class had servants to wait on them. Nobody in Austen’s novels is ever seen doing anything we’d recognize today as work. They ride horses, drive in carriages, play cards, play music, sing, read, sew, embroider, draw, paint, hunt, take long walks in the shrubbery, and dance at balls. Of course, it took servants to make all that leisure time possible—but what fun it is to lose ourselves in what seems like a lovely, fairy tale existence.

SYRIE JAMES, WHAT DID JANE AUSTEN WEAR AS A TEENAGER? - JANE AUSTEN'S FIRST LOVE BLOG TOUR + GIVEAWAY

Fashion was of great interest to Jane Austen. She often, in great detail, discussed aspects of her wardrobe in letters to her sister. The subject is equally important to her in my novel Jane Austen’s First Love, as in this moment in chapter 3 when Jane is contemplating their upcoming trip to Kent:

“Mamma,” said I over breakfast one morning, “what do you imagine the ladies will be wearing at Godmersham and Goodnestone? Will they be splendidly dressed?”

“I suppose they will,” replied my mother, as she thickly spread a piece of toast with butter and jam. “I shall never forget the elegance of Mrs. Knight’s gown when first I saw her all those years ago, nor her hat, which was the very height of fashion. I have no doubt the Bridges ladies will all be similarly attired.”

BOOK REVIEW - JANE AUSTEN'S FIRST LOVE BY SYRIE JAMES

OUT ON AUGUST 5th!  

INSPIRED BY ACTUAL EVENTS

Book blurb

Fifteen-year-old Jane Austen dreams of three things: doing something useful, writing something worthy, and falling madly in love. When she visits her brother in Kent to celebrate his engagement, she meets wealthy, devilishly handsome Edward Taylor—a fascinating young man who is truly worthy of her affections. Jane knows a match between her and Edward is unlikely, but every moment she spends with him makes her heart race—and he seems to return her interest. Much to her displeasure, however, there is another seeking his attention

Unsure of her budding relationship, Jane seeks distraction by attempting to correct the pairings of three other prospective couples. But when her matchmaking aspirations do not all turn out as anticipated, Jane discovers the danger of relying on first impressions. The human heart cannot be easily deciphered, nor can it be directed or managed. And if others must be left to their own devices in matters of love and matrimony, can Jane even hope to satisfy her own heart?

My review

Syrie James confirms her skills as brilliant story-teller and creator of lively pictures of Regency life.  Well-researched historical novel as well as delightful summer read,  her  new Jane Austen’s First Love is based on an imaginative interpretation of Jane Austen’s  enigmatic  reference to a “Him, on whom I once fondly doated”    (from  one of Jane Austen’s  letters to her sister Cassandra).  Intriguing matter for a talented researcher and passionate Janeite like Syrie James. (1)