Jane Austen's World

Hello readers at Jane Austen’s World! My name is Meg Kerr, and I’m thrilled to be here with you. First, I’d like to thank Vic for allowing me to contribute this guest post on my new book, Devotion. Devotion explores events after Pride and Prejudice ends through fan-favourite characters including Georgiana Darcy and Mrs. Bennet. I think you’ll find it an interesting read, as I’ve added several unexpected twists.

Also, in celebration of Jane Austen’s 200th anniversary, I’m offering Devotion for FREE  beginning today until July 18th.

To get your free copy of Devotion, click here to visit the giveaway page!

Q: What prompted you to write Devotion?

A: I wanted to know what happened after Pride and Prejudice ended! Not what happened to Elizabeth and Darcy and Jane and Bingley – I was satisfied that they were happy in their marriages and that domestic bliss was their lot. No, I wanted to know about Mary and Kitty and Lydia Bennet, and Caroline Bingley, and Georgiana Darcy.

Austen gives us some hints: Lydia “retained all the claims to reputation which her marriage had given her”; Caroline Bingley “paid off every arrear of civility to Elizabeth”; “Pemberley was now Georgiana’s home”; Mary “was obliged to mix more with the world”; Kitty became “less irritable, less ignorant, and less insipid.” That’s not enough, not by a long shot! So, I wrote my first book entitled Experience.

Then it turned out that Georgiana needed a book all to herself for her adventures—so I wrote Devotion. Georgiana falls under the spell of one of those bad boys that Austen loved to feature in her novels (think Wickham, Willoughby, Henry Crawford), a very attractive young man named John Amaury. With Austen giving me advice on how to handle a love affair between a gently raised young lady and a bad boy, you can imagine that Georgiana finds herself in some peril!

Q: What aspects about Austen and her life did you find most interesting while writing Devotion?

A: Let me start by saying that as a reader I don’t want to know about a writer’s personal life. I want to know the writer through her or his writing. That’s how her or his mind touches mine. So, I won’t talk about Austen’s life; I try not to know much about it.

But her mind is another thing.

When I was researching Experience, I knew I wanted to put Colonel Fitzwilliam on stage so I idly checked out his family’s earldom. (Remember he is the second son of an earl.) To my amazement, the Fitzwilliam family did indeed have an earldom. They were the Earls of Tyrconnell, an Irish title. They had lost it for treason long before Pride and Prejudice takes place, but still, there it was.

I think that was the first time I realized that there is more to Austen than appears on the surface (wonderful though that surface is).

Recently I was chatting with Professor Lorrie Clark (an Austen expert and a very active JASNA member) about Mansfield Park. Pride and Prejudice lovers abhor Mansfield Park because Austen championed the wispy Fanny Price over the Elizabeth Bennet-like Mary Crawford. Lorrie pointed me to a paper she had written* that explores the influence on the novel of the writings of (very minor) 18th century British philosopher the Earl of Shaftesbury. To say that my jaw dropped when I read the paper would be an understatement!

There are depths to Austen. That’s part of what makes her novels so endlessly re-readable. No one can step twice into the same river. And no one can read the same Jane Austen novel twice. It’s always a different book.

* “Remembering Nature: Soliloquy as Aesthetic Form in Mansfield Park” (Eighteenth-Century Fiction 24, no. 2 (Winter 2011–12)

Q: Why will fans of Jane Austen want to read Devotion?

A: If they’re like me, they’ll want to read Devotion to find out what happened next. But that by itself is not a sufficient inducement. After all there’s lots of “fan fiction” to dip into. I’m too shy and embarrassed to say anything myself, so let me quote from Professor Lorraine Clark’s foreword to Devotion:

Meg Kerr’s two novels to date offer pleasures of recognition beyond familiarities of character, plot, and even scenes (for instance, the Bennets once more arguing about new tenants at Netherfield Park, or Lady Catherine arguing with yet another young lady attempting to steal her daughter’s rightful suitor) … We recognize the genre of 18th century novels themselves—French as well as English—structurally replete with letters and most of all conversations, Jane Austen’s specialty. We are pleasurably immersed in 18th century English diction from start to finish—in cadences and turns of phrase too often missing even from movie “reproductions” of Austen’s novels. Meg Kerr’s ear for dialogue characteristic of each particular speaker, and emphasis on “conversation” over description or plot, has been my own most unexpected pleasure in reading these books.

If you’re so inclined, Devotion will be available as a FREE digital download beginning today until July 18th as my way to commemorate the life and literary contributions of Jane Austen. You’ll find the link to get your copy near the top of this post. I’d love to hear your feedback on the book!

About Devotion:

In this sequel to Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Georgiana Darcy, now twenty years old and completely lovely, is ripe for marriage. Her brother has carefully selected her future husband, but the arrival of a long-delayed letter, and a secret journey, bring Georgiana into the arms of an utterly wicked and charming young man whose attentions promise her ruin. At the same time, events in Meryton are creating much-needed occupation for Mrs. Bennet and a quandary for Lydia Bennet’s girlhood companion Pen Harrington; and the former Caroline Bingley is given — perhaps — an opportunity to re-make some of her disastrous choices. Meg Kerr, writing effortlessly and wittily in the style of Jane Austen, sweeps the reader back to the year 1816 for a reunion with many beloved characters from Pride and Prejudice and an introduction to some intriguing characters.

About Meg Kerr:

What do you do when you live in the twenty-first century but a piece of your heart lies in the nineteenth? If you are author Meg Kerr you let your head and hand follow your heart. With her love of country life—dogs and horses, long walks in the woods and fields, dining with family and neighbours and dancing with friends, reading and writing and the best conversation—and her familiarity with eighteenth and nineteenth century history and literature, Meg has a natural gift to inhabit, explore and reimagine the world that Jane Austen both dwelt in and created, and to draw readers there with her.

Hello readers at Jane Austen’s World! My name is Meg Kerr, and I’m thrilled to be here with you. First, I’d like to thank Vic for allowing me to contribute this guest post on my new book, Devotion. Devotion explores events after Pride and Prejudice ends through fan-favourite characters including Georgiana Darcy and Mrs. Bennet. I think you’ll find it an interesting read, as I’ve added several unexpected twists.

Also, in celebration of Jane Austen’s 200th anniversary, I’m offering Devotion for FREE on beginning today until July 18th.

To get your free copy of Devotion, click here to visit the giveaway page!

Vic: What prompted you to write Devotion?

Meg: I wanted to know what happened after Pride and Prejudice ended! Not what happened to Elizabeth and Darcy and Jane and Bingley – I was satisfied that they were happy in their marriages and that domestic bliss was their lot. No, I wanted to know about Mary and Kitty and Lydia Bennet, and Caroline Bingley, and Georgiana Darcy.

Austen gives us some hints: Lydia “retained all the claims to reputation which her marriage had given her”; Caroline Bingley “paid off every arrear of civility to Elizabeth”; “Pemberley was now Georgiana’s home”; Mary “was obliged to mix more with the world”; Kitty became “less irritable, less ignorant, and less insipid.” That’s not enough, not by a long shot! So, I wrote my first book entitled Experience.

When it turned out that Georgiana needed a book all to herself for her adventures—so I wrote Devotion. Georgiana falls under the spell of one of those bad boys that Austen loved to feature in her novels (think Wickham, Willoughby, Henry Crawford), a very attractive young man named John Amaury. With Austen giving me advice on how to handle a love affair between a gently raised young lady and a bad boy, you can imagine that Georgiana finds herself in some peril!
Vic: What aspects about Austen and her life did you find most interesting while writing Devotion?

Meg: Let me start by saying that as a reader I don’t want to know about a writer’s personal life. I want to know the writer through her or his writing. That’s how her or his mind touches mine. So, I won’t talk about Austen’s life; I try not to know much about it.

But her mind is another thing.

When I was researching Experience, I knew I wanted to put Colonel Fitzwilliam on stage so I idly checked out his family’s earldom. (Remember he is the second son of an earl.) To my amazement, the Fitzwilliam family did indeed have an earldom. They were the Earls of Tyrconnell, an Irish title. They had lost it for treason long before Pride and Prejudice takes place, but still, there it was.

I think that was the first time I realized that there is more to Austen than appears on the surface (wonderful though that surface is).

Recently I was chatting with Professor Lorrie Clark (an Austen expert and a very active JASNA member) about Mansfield Park. Pride and Prejudice lovers abhor Mansfield Park because Austen championed the wispy Fanny Price over the Elizabeth Bennet-like Mary Crawford. Lorrie pointed me to a paper she had written* that explores the influence on the novel of the writings of (very minor) 18th century British philosopher the Earl of Shaftesbury. To say that my jaw dropped when I read the paper would be an understatement!

There are depths to Austen. That’s part of what makes her novels so endlessly re-readable. No one can step twice into the same river. And no one can read the same Jane Austen novel twice. It’s always a different book.

* “Remembering Nature: Soliloquy as Aesthetic Form in Mansfield Park” (Eighteenth-Century Fiction 24, no. 2 (Winter 2011–12)

Vic: Why will fans of Jane Austen want to read Devotion?

Meg: If they’re like me, they’ll want to read Devotion to find out what happened next. But that by itself is not a sufficient inducement. After all there’s lots of “fan fiction” to dip into. I’m too shy and embarrassed to say anything myself, so let me quote from Professor Lorraine Clark’s foreword to Devotion:

Meg Kerr’s two novels to date offer pleasures of recognition beyond familiarities of character, plot, and even scenes (for instance, the Bennets once more arguing about new tenants at Netherfield Park, or Lady Catherine arguing with yet another young lady attempting to steal her daughter’s rightful suitor) … We recognize the genre of 18th century novels themselves—French as well as English—structurally replete with letters and most of all conversations, Jane Austen’s specialty. We are pleasurably immersed in 18th century English diction from start to finish—in cadences and turns of phrase too often missing even from movie “reproductions” of Austen’s novels. Meg Kerr’s ear for dialogue characteristic of each particular speaker, and emphasis on “conversation” over description or plot, has been my own most unexpected pleasure in reading these books.

About Devotion:

In this sequel to Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Georgiana Darcy, now twenty years old and completely lovely, is ripe for marriage. Her brother has carefully selected her future husband, but the arrival of a long-delayed letter, and a secret journey, bring Georgiana into the arms of an utterly wicked and charming young man whose attentions promise her ruin. At the same time, events in Meryton are creating much-needed occupation for Mrs. Bennet and a quandary for Lydia Bennet’s girlhood companion Pen Harrington; and the former Caroline Bingley is given — perhaps — an opportunity to re-make some of her disastrous choices. Meg Kerr, writing effortlessly and wittily in the style of Jane Austen, sweeps the reader back to the year 1816 for a reunion with many beloved characters from Pride and Prejudice and an introduction to some intriguing characters.

About Meg Kerr:

What do you do when you live in the twenty-first century but a piece of your heart lies in the nineteenth? If you are author Meg Kerr you let your head and hand follow your heart. With her love of country life—dogs and horses, long walks in the woods and fields, dining with family and neighbours and dancing with friends, reading and writing and the best conversation—and her familiarity with eighteenth and nineteenth century history and literature, Meg has a natural gift to inhabit, explore and reimagine the world that Jane Austen both dwelt in and created, and to draw readers there with her.