Getting this next novel started has been a bit of a struggle. I wanted to do a P&P book from Darcy’s point of view, but what could I bring to the story that would be something new?
The “what if”s always intrigue me, especially when it comes to two people happening to meet when they so easily could have missed their opportunity to get together. When I think of my own marriage (or those of my 2 sons) for example, it’s so clear that a small change anywhere along the line could have made all the difference. (see more on that here)
As he quitted the room, Elizabeth felt how improbable it was that they should ever see each other again… (Pride and Prejudice, chapter 46)
In this case, though, I’m thinking of Darcy and Elizabeth. What if Mr. Bingley had rented some other house and not Netherfield. What if Darcy had not accepted the invitation to spend some time there? What if he had become engaged (or even married) to someone else before meeting Elizabeth?
So I decided it would be interesting to start this book (tentatively titled Fitzwilliam Darcy: In His Own Words) before the timeline of Pride and Prejudice to take a look at those questions. I’ve got less than 50 pages written so far, and the idea is still evolving. (I don’t plot my books, as you may already know). So I’d love to hear what you think of the concept. Here’s the prologue as it stands now (remember it’s Darcy telling the story):
I still occasionally suffer that recurrent dream – a nightmare, really.
I awake at Darcy House in London. Morning light is filtering through the draperies at the windows, painting ghostly shadow patterns across the opposite wall. I feel a great sense of well being at the start of a new day. All is right with the world, or at least my portion of it.
Then I turn toward the other side of the bed and see… not Elizabeth, as I expect, but the Honorable Miss Amelia Lambright. Only of course she is no longer an honorable miss, not when she has spent the night in a man’s bed. Then I suddenly remember why she is there. Her name is Miss Lambright no more; she is Mrs. Darcy now.
My heart lurches and I break into a cold sweat, not because the former Miss Lambright is so horrid unappealing, but because she is not Elizabeth.
I tell myself it surely must be a hallucination or some trick of the light. So I shake my head to clear any cobwebs, rub my eyes and blink. Still, the wrong woman is before me. Please, God, let it be a dream!
I fight to awaken, to claw my way back to the world where I belong, the world where Mrs. Darcy has not blonde but dark, satiny hair and sparkling eyes. My throat is constricting; I cannot breathe. I cannot find my voice to call out. Elizabeth, where are you? I must find her! My life depends on it.
When on these disturbing occasions I at last come to myself, it is many minutes before my heart and breathing return to normal, and longer still until my mind can quiet itself.
Even after I have verified that Elizabeth is indeed beside me where she belongs; beheld her face, a peaceful portrait of repose in whatever meager light offers; pulled her warm, familiar form to fit close against mine; and heard her sleepy but unmistakable voice murmuring my name with affection…
Even then my soul quakes within me for how close the vision from which I have just awakened came to being true, how close I came to missing Elizabeth altogether. Then she and I would have been only two ships sailing the same stretch of sea, perhaps even passing within sight of each other occasionally but never happening to come into a common port together, at least not until it had been too late.
My happier outcome depended on the slimmest thread of unlikely circumstances being precariously strung together without error. At any one of a dozen junctures, the course of my life could have carried me in a completely different direction.
When I consider this, I shudder. Then I thank God for His providential care in guiding me safely through. I thank Bingley for Netherfield. And Wickham. Strangely enough, now, years later, I can think back with some philosophy, enough to acknowledge the part he unwittingly played.
Were it not for Wickham and his nefarious but timely intervention, I would likely be married to Amelia Lambright today.
What do you think? Are you intrigued? What other ideas would you like to see me explore in this (or another) novel?
3/8/21 UPDATE: The book is in final edit and cover design. A cover reveal is planned for April 14th. The publication date is May 4th. Stay tuned! Official blurb:
What was Mr. Darcy’s life like before he met Elizabeth Bennet? – before he stepped onto the Pride and Prejudice stage at the Meryton assembly? More importantly, where is he and what is he doing all the time he’s absent from the page thereafter? And what is his relationship to a woman named Amelia?
With Fitzwilliam Darcy, in His Own Words, the iconic literary hero finally tells his own story, from the traumas of his early life to the consummation of his love for Elizabeth and everything in between.
This is not a variation but a supplement to the original story, chronicled in Darcy’s point of view – a behind-the-scenes look at the things Jane Austen didn’t tell us. As it happens, Darcy’s journey was more tortuous than she let on, his happy ending with Elizabeth in jeopardy at every turn in his struggle between duty and his heart’s desire, between the suitable lady he has promised to marry and the woman he can’t stop thinking about.
Update 4/14/21: Here’s the cover! Everything’s on track for publication May 4th in Kindle, KU, and paperback. (Kindle pre-order now available at Amazon). Harry Frost begins recording the audio version soon!
Now, on to the main topic of this post: the movie Amazing Grace. I first saw this excellent movie several years ago, but current events got me thinking about (and watching) it again.
My point is that Jane Austen must have had at least some exposure to people of other races. And although she never addressed wars and political movements head on in her novels, she, and her characters likewise, were not unaware of the major issues of the day, one of those (arguably the most significant) being the debate over abolishing the slave trade that generated so much wealth for the British empire and many of its upper class families, and which is also the subject of Amazing Grace.
Amazing Grace (2006) is based on the true story of William Wilberforce (Ioan Gruffudd) and his passionate, courageous, decades-long quest to end British sanction of and participation in the slave trade, a quest that is ultimately successful. Along the way, he faces intense opposition, but he also finds formidable allies in the fight:
John Newton (Albert Finney), a reformed slave ship captain turned Christian minister, who penned the beloved hymn that gives the movie its title.
Olaudah Equiano (Youssou N’Dour) a former slave who purchased his own freedom and went on to publish his compelling and hugely successful autobiography depicting the horrors of slavery.
All this took place during Jane Austen’s lifetime.
The day is finally here! Maybe some of you have been waiting impatiently for Murder at Northanger Abbey to come out. Believe me, I have too!
To be more specific could be considered a spoiler, even though the answer is revealed early in the book. So I will leave it up to you if you want to know now or not. If you do, you will find the answer at the bottom of the launch post running concurrently at 
I’d never written a murder mystery before, but that seemed the only choice for a sequel to Northanger Abbey. So I went for it, taking an unconventional approach. You see, unlike most writers of the genre, I didn’t decide “who done it” until I was halfway through the book. Not my fault, really; there were just so many good suspects to choose from! Think Gosford Park: lots of people in the house and everybody has a motive. Anyway, you’ll have to read for yourself to see who the real culprit (and the victim) turn out to be!
Things are on track for a June 23rd release of my next novel! Yay! All four of my beta readers have reported back with very positive feedback and no major changes recommended. Now just a proof read, formatting, and the final touches to the cover remain!
PS – If you haven’t read Northanger Abbey lately or perhaps ever, I’d like to invite you to read/reread it now, so that you’ll be ready for its sequel when it comes out next month! – for that seamless transition the beta reader spoke of above. Think you won’t care for NA? Take another look with an open mind. Although in a different style from Mr. Darcy or Mr. Knightley, Henry Tilney is a worthy hero (
Yesterday was such a beautiful Spring day in the Pacific Northwest. The sky was blue, the birds were singing, the thermometer topped 70 degrees for the first time in a long while, and my magnolia tree burst into glorious bloom. At my house in the country, surrounded by all that “rightness,” it was hard to believe anything could be very wrong in the world. Yet I knew that when I turned on the TV, there would be a new, shockingly high COVID-19 death count. There would be more heart-wrenching stories of loved ones lost, incredible hardships, and financial devastation.
I’m trying to do what little I can. I’m obeying the ‘stay at home’ order to avoid adding to the problem. I’ve sewn and donated a few dozen masks and given some money. But I wish I could to do more to help. Unfortunately, I don’t have the training to save lives on the front lines. I’m not a scientist researching a cure. I’m not even a grocery worker or someone else providing an essential service. I’m a writer.
During the current crisis, I’m pleased to be basically giving it away to anybody who wants it – as close to free as I can make it, that is. For a limited time, it is available at 
Today is Good Friday, the day Christians commemorated Jesus Christ’s suffering and death on the cross. Despite the horror of the event, it’s appropriate to call it ‘
I especially enjoy writing the many letters included in my novels, trying to make each one a little work of art, as Jane Austen did. (More on that topic 
Then yesterday, as I was forging ahead with the rewrites for my current 
I love movies and I love Jane Austen, so what could be better than a movie about Jane Austen?![Pageflex Persona [document: PRS0000037_00034]](https://shannonwinslow.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/the-persuasion-of-miss-jane-austen-cover_proof_09.jpg?w=193)
As most of you know, I have my own theory as to the source of Jane Austen’s knowledge of romance. Although in 
Let me start by wishing you all a wonderful 2020! Since all the hubbub of the holidays has at last died down, I’ve found time to get a little writing done again. I’m 200 pages into my Northanger Abbey sequel – Murder at Northanger Abbey (see 
Is what Jane Austen says about the novel, here and in chapter 5 (the greatest powers of the mind displayed, thorough knowledge of human nature, lively effusions of wit, best-chosen language) her way of tooting her own horn? Sure, but it’s probably her honest opinion as well. She and her family were enthusiastic novel readers, and, according to one of her preserved letters, “not ashamed of being so.”
Several years ago, because of the above reference in 
Nowadays, we have a lot to choose from, dozens of different mediums competing for our entertainment time and dollar. But I hope the novel never goes out of style (and not just because I write them). I’m sure Jane Austen would agree with me. In fact, I think I can hear her now, giving us a piece of her mind.
Who is that behind that mild mannered dental hygienist exterior? Could it be a superhero? 
Winslow: Yes, they’re still around but, sorry, not much blackmail potential left. The first novel I wrote (The Darcys of Pemberley) was published in 2011. So it’s already out there for the whole world to see.
Winslow: When I find myself in between missions, I like to hole up at a deluxe log cabin deep in the country where I have a special room I euphemistically call “my studio” (translation: my eldest son’s bedroom, which I appropriated for my own use the day he left for college). There, surrounded by books and art supplies of every description, stacked an average of 18” high, I am literally immersed in creative clutter. I hide from the world (or at least from housework), I recharge my batteries, and I plot my next move.
Winslow: Holding the first physical copy of my first published novel is pretty close to the top of my list. I also love doing book club appearances, and I had a great time at the JASNA AGM last fall. But I think the best moments have come via hearing directly from readers who have taken the time to let me know how much they liked one of my books. That never gets old. It’s always amazing to learn that something I’ve created has given hours of enjoyment to a total stranger. And now that person isn’t at total stranger anymore, but someone connected to me by a shared experience.
I also want to take this chance to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and blessings on you and your family, however you celebrate the holiday season! Since this wasn’t a particularly Christmassy themed post, I want to invite you to visit a few previous posts that are:
Join me as I weave together my passion for writing and my love of all things Jane Austen. Please also look for me on Facebook.
Shannon Winslow's "Jane Austen Says..." 