Jane Austen Interview #1

Me: Ladies and gentlemen, please give a very warm welcome to esteemed authoress Jane Austen!

Jane Austen: Thank you very much.

Me: You’re quite welcome. Would you care for some tea? I’m afraid I only have spearmint at the moment.

JA: That will do just fine, thank you.

(I prepare tea for both of us.)

Me: Now, Ms. Austen, I suppose we ought to get down to the purpose of this visit. You’re here to interview me about my book, correct?

JA: (nods) That is correct. I was quite intrigued by it. Not an idea I would have thought of, that is for certain.

Me: I’m pleased to hear you were intrigued. So what would you like to know?

JA: First, what made you decide to write it? I’m aware, of course, that there are many authors out there who now create original stories for my characters — it’s quite fascinating, really, that anyone would even want to do that. But why did you decide to write one?

Me: Well, of course I have been a fan for years. Couldn’t say how I got into your books — probably just said I liked them because they were popular. I know, silly to just go with the crowd. But then I actually read some of them, and I began to understand why they were so popular.

The first Austenesque book I can recall reading was Mr. Darcy, Vampyr by Amanda Grange. That book led me to others that featured your characters — another that I liked very well was Charlotte by Karin Aminadra.

JA: (eyes widen) Darcy as a vampire? How… interesting. I should read that book. Is it very horrid?

Me: Not really. At least, I don’t recall it being so. Certainly nothing like the gothic novels of your time. But it was a good read. I remember enjoying it. If I ever unpack it one of these days — so many of my books are in storage — I’ll have to read it again.

JA: So, you read a few novels with my characters. Is that what made you want to write one?

Me: Not at first. I didn’t write one for many years after I read my first Jane Austen fan fiction. In fact, I used to wonder how those authors could do so without getting sued for copyright infringement by your estate or your family’s descendants. It wasn’t until just two or three years ago that I finally looked it up. Because they were written so long ago, your books are now in what’s known as the public domain.

JA: And what is the public domain?

Me: In the simplest terms, it means something has been around for so long that the public as a whole owns it, rather than an individual, estate, or corporation. Your novels and those of many other authors, such as the Brontë sisters, Elizabeth Gaskell, and Arthur Conan Doyle are in the public domain now.

Once I knew that it was legal to write stories using your characters, I found myself wanting to, but I also didn’t want to follow the crowd. Pride and Prejudice is your most popular book, so that’s the one that makes up probably 90 to 95 percent of Austenesque literature. Then, while I researched your stories and made sure to get myself copies of each, I came across numerous references to Sense and Sensibility that said you got your own story wrong.

JA: I beg your pardon? How can an author get his or her own story wrong?

Me: (shrugs) It’s just a matter of opinion, really, but even some of your contemporaries thought that Elinor should have given up Edward for Colonel Brandon, and that Brandon should have given up Marianne for her. I’ve got a good friend who agreed with that assessment; she said that she believed as the others did, that Elinor and Brandon were far more suited to one another due to their similar characteristics. After all, they both keep their feelings mostly to themselves. Both have a quiet, steady, thoughtful nature. Elinor was always happy to see Colonel Brandon (whereas her sister was not), and they never had any problem talking to one another. The more I thought about how it should have been Brandon that Elinor married, I found myself thinking “I could write that story.”

JA: And so you did. I thought it was very well done, though I own there are some parts that bothered me. I did not particularly like the villains.

Me: (laughs) You’re not supposed to like them. Typically, no one is supposed to like the bad guy.

JA: Well, I understand the motives of the lady, though I definitely to not condone her actions. But the man? (shudders) He was horrifying.

Now, can you tell me why you chose to go in the direction you did? Not Elinor marrying the colonel, you’ve explained your reasoning there. But the things that happened to them? What a turn of fortune!

Me: Indeed it was. I wanted Brandon and Elinor to go through some unexpected trials where they would have to rely on each other emotionally. Brandon learned quickly that he truly loved Elinor, but she took a fair bit longer to move on. Yes, Elinor is very practical, but even practical people have feelings that can be hurt — perhaps they are wounded even deeper than others. Plus, I think poor Elinor was just so focused on keeping herself and Brandon from losing it that she couldn’t see what was happening right in front of her.

And really, I thought Brandon could use a break. Sure, learning what he did about his mother was a crushing blow, but he gained so much from the truth coming out. And I don’t mean just the money or the title he will inherit, but the family that he gained. He’s got an uncle and a cousin he never knew he had, and now with a loving wife, he can rebuild his birth parents’ family. They were on the verge of dying out, what with only the duke and his daughter left.

JA: According to your story, there are no more Brandons left, either.

Me: Not by name, but there are by blood. And I don’t mean just Cassandra’s children.

JA: Oh? Do tell.

Me: (shakes my head) I can’t do that, I’m afraid. Spoilers!

JA: Can you tell me anything about the next book?

Me: The P&P fans will be pleased to hear that Darcy and Elizabeth do not get paired with other people. But their road to happiness has a number of side trips — it’s not their own stubborn pride and prejudice that keeps them apart, it’s a number of outside forces.

JA: Are you crossing over with any of my other characters? I recall that Darcy, Georgiana, Fitzwilliam, and the latter’s parents were in your first book.

Me: (nods) Yes. You may recall that the epilogue of book one referred to the Brandons’ attendance at a ball hosted by Bingley at Netherfield. Same famous ball, just on a different day — what with my having to shift the timeline a bit — and with rather a different outcome. So the new Lord and Lady Sotheby are in the next book, as well as Marianne and Lady Amelia. Also making an appearance are some characters from Northanger Abbey.

JA: Oh, how exciting! I look forward to reading it.

Me: And I look forward to publishing it. Goodness knows I didn’t mean to take more than two years to write another book, but life has not been entirely kind to me. Things are looking up, however — I have made some great progress on the book of late, and I hope to have it finished in the next couple of months, if it even takes that long.

JA: Well, thank you, Miss Combe, for taking the time to speak with me today.

Me: Thank you, Ms. Austen, for coming through time to speak with me. I hope I will see you again sometime.

JA: I should like that very much. Farewell.

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Here we conclude the first Jane Austen Interview. What did you think? Comment below and let me know!