Austenesque Reviews is pleased to welcome Mary Lydon Simonsen, who has graciously answered some questions of mine about writing, Jane Austen, and her novel Searching For Pemberley. Thank you so very much, Mary, for your time and participation in this interview; it has been a pleasure to have you appear on this blog for a guest blog and an interview!
I enjoy reading historical fiction and mysteries, but the author has to have a sense of humor, e.g., Lonesome Dove and Martha Grimes’s Richard Jury series. As for the classics, it is definitely Jane Austen with Charles Dickens a close second. In my humble opinion, Pride and Prejudice is Austen’s finest work and my favorite, and I believe that Jane thought so as well.
Where and when did you first discover Jane Austen?
Jane and I go back a long way to my senior year English class at Elmwood Park High School in New Jersey, which was a few decades back (I’m not saying how many). After finishing Pride and Prejudice, I went on an Austen marathon and read all of her other novels.
How long have you been writing? What inspired you to start writing?
I’ve only been writing fiction for four years. The reason why I started writing a novel is probably unique. I had knee replacement surgery, and for the first time in my life, I wasn’t working. I developed a serious case of cabin fever, and then I thought, “I’ll be the first to write the great American/British novel with an Austen tie-in and World Wars I and II as subplots.” It took 18 months to finish the first incarnation of Searching for Pemberley, which was titled Pemberley Remembered, and I’ve been a writing fool ever since.
How did you come up with the idea for Searching for Pemberley? What prompted you to write an Austen-inspired novel?
I read a lot of history, and my primary interests are World Wars I and II and Regency/Georgian Era England, and I wondered if I could get the three eras into one novel. If it was going to work, I needed a focal point to tie the disparate time periods together, and Jane obliged. My chararacter, Maggie Joyce, is working in post World War II London when she learns that Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam Darcy may have been based on real people, William and Elizabeth Lacey, and she travels to Montclair, a country manor house in Derbyshire, which may be the storied Pemberley. A couple in a nearby village knows if this legend is true, and they are able to provide her with diaries and letters written by the famous couple. They provide the World War I connection.
Do you think Jane Austen was inspired by people from her life?
An author writes what she knows, so I am sure she was influenced by friends and family. Some Jane Austen experts think Jane Bennet was modeled on Cassandra Austen, the author’s sister. However, Darcy and Elizabeth are the products of her brilliant imagination.
Does your heroine, Maggie Joyce resemble you in anyway?
Yes, in the beginning of Searching for Pemberley, Maggie is shy, but comes into her own by its conclusion. I was a late bloomer—very late. She is also a romantic and likes happily-ever-after endings, as do I.
What research did you do to prepare for writing the novel?
I already knew a lot about post World War II England and the Regency Era, so the first draft was written without me cracking a book. However, I am a stickler for historical accuracy, and I went back and checked all my facts after I had finished the manuscript. I was pleased with how much I had remembered.
Can you please share with us your writing routine, schedule, or a typical writing day?
If anyone is contemplating writing a novel and is looking for tips, skip this question because I don’t have a routine, and I am not the best example of writing discipline. My first step is running the idea through my mind over and over. Then I start thinking about the dialogue for the major characters. (I talk to myself a lot, and where appropriate, with a British accent.) Only then do I sit down and start writing, but when I do, I can really crank out the chapters.
Do you post your work on Jane Austen Fan Fiction Sites? How have they influenced your writing?
I post on http://www.fanfiction.net/ and http://www.meryton.com/, but for feedback, I rely on http://www.meryton.com/, a great community of Jane Austen enthusiasts who put the “fan” in “fanatics.” They have been tremendously helpful. I have an Austen re-imagining (aka tie-in) coming out in December 2010 which was first posted on http://www.meryton.com/, and their comments were invaluable when I did the rewrite.
What is the next project you are working on? Any more Austen-Inspired books in the future?
Thanks for asking. As much as I love Pride and Prejudice, I feel that some of the characters lack depth, and so I wanted to flesh out a few of the secondary players. In Longbourn to Pemberley (working title), it is Anne De Bourgh and Georgiana Darcy who move Darcy and Lizzy through the story. After the pair of lovers leaves Kent, they feel it is not possible for them to come together, but Darcy’s sister and cousin have different ideas. There is a lot of humor in the story because I am an admirer of Austen’s wit and wanted to be faithful to her style.
You share your name with Mary Musgrove, Mary Bennet, and Mary Crawford? Which of these often unpopular Marys do you most resemble?
Definitely, Mary Bennet. Before kids, I always had my nose in a book, and like Mary, I sing badly and can’t play the piano. However, I wouldn’t read Fordyce’s Sermons at the point of a gun.
If you could ask Jane Austen any question, what would it be?
Miss Austen, how did you write those brilliant novels with a quill pen and messy ink? No cutting and pasting! No delete key! No printer! How on earth did you do it?
Question from Alexa Adams @http://alexaadams.blogspot.com/ – Did you actually draw or sketch your vision for Pemberley or is it all in your head?
As for my vision of Pemberley, I had most of in my head. It was an amalgamation of a number of manor houses that I had visited in England and Scotland. However, the Robert Adam interiors are those I had seen when I visited Culzean Castle in Ayrshire, Scotland.
Thank you, Mary, for your interesting responses and for taking the time to participate in this interview. Best of luck with the release of Searching for Pemberley and I look forward to your next Austen-Inspired novel!
Searching for Pemberley
Set against Regency England, World Wars I and II, and postwar England, three love stories intertwine in surprising and fateful ways.
American Maggie Joyce, touring Derbyshire in 1947, visits, Montclair, an 18th century Georgian country house, that she is told was the model for Jane Austen’s Pemberley. More amazingly, the former residents of the mansion, William Lacey and Elizabeth Garrison, were the inspiration for the characters of Fitzwilliam Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice.
Through letters, diary entries, and oral history, Beth and Jack Crowell, a couple who lives in the nearby village of Crofton, share stories of the people they say inspired Jane Austen. They also tell their own love story, made difficult by their vastly different backgrounds—she was one of the social elite while he was the son of a servant. When their son, Michael, travels home from his RAF station in Malta, Maggie may have just found her very own Mr. Darcy.
I am very happy to announce that I have one copy of Searching for Pemberley, courtesy of Sourcebooks, to give away to one lucky reader! (US and Canada only)
You can enter the giveaway by commenting on this post with a question for Mary Lydon Simonsen OR a comment about which character from Pride and Prejudice you feel might have been inspired by someone in Jane Austen’s life.
*To have your name entered twice, become a follower of my blog (if you are already a follower, you will automatically be entered twice).
**To have your name entered three times, post, sidebar, facebook or tweet about this giveaway (please let me know if you did this).
This contest will be ending shortly so enter soon and spread the word!! December 16th is the last day to enter. Thank you for entering and best of luck!!!
Hi! I love this interview! It’s so thorough- all my questions have been answered:)
I would say that Jane’s sister was a definite influence.
I twittered – and posted this beautiful review on my sidebar- and of course I’m a follower- Hope I win!!
(Oh, and I finally got to read your fabulous review-Thanks:)
Great interview, Meredith and fabulous review, as always!
No need to enter me – – I just received a copy of this book and have it in my TBR nightstand pile.
Thanks for addressing my question to Ms. Simonsen. I loved her descriptions of Montclaire in Pemberley Remembered and have just peaked at pictures of Culzean – wow! No need to enter me either as I too have this lovely book (the cover is gorgeous) at the top of my pile.
Mary, I’m sure you sing and play the piano better than Mary Bennet in the BBC series. Great interview, Meredith. The story seems very interesting. The link to the review didn’t seem to work right now (probably Blogger problem). So Maggie got her Mr. Darcy too when she visited Derbyshire?
Steamy Darcy
Interesting stuff here! My question to Mary is in regards to Austen characters. If Jane embodies sister Cassandra, which of Austen’s men do you think captures her brother, Henry?
vvb32 at yahoo.com
Interesting stuff here! My question to Mary is in regards to Austen characters. If Jane embodies sister Cassandra, which of Austen’s men do you think captures her brother, Henry?
vvb32 at yahoo.com
This comment has been removed by the author.
This comment has been removed by the author.
Enid, Actually Mary Bennet sings and plays better than I do. Maggie does find happiness because of her visit to Derbyshire. vvb32, Your question is a tough one. Henry was a failed businessman, but a supportive brother. (Actually, he sounds like Dickens’s Mr. Macawber.) But I suspect some of Henry is in Edward Ferrars and Mr. Bennet. What do you think? Thanks to all who bought SFP.
Enid, Actually Mary Bennet sings and plays better than I do. Maggie does find happiness because of her visit to Derbyshire. vvb32, Your question is a tough one. Henry was a failed businessman, but a supportive brother. (Actually, he sounds like Dickens’s Mr. Macawber.) But I suspect some of Henry is in Edward Ferrars and Mr. Bennet. What do you think? Thanks to all who bought SFP.
Hi Alexa, I did not ralize you had a blog. It’s very nice, and I’ve become a follower.
Hi Alexa, I did not ralize you had a blog. It’s very nice, and I’ve become a follower.
Great post and great interview! I loved “However, I wouldn’t read Fordyce’s Sermons at the point of a gun.” LOL!
This book combines many of my favorite things (Jane Austen, P&P, WWII, and literary research). Please count me in for the giveaway.
I am already a follower.
laarlt78(at)hotmail(dot)com.
Great post and great interview! I loved “However, I wouldn’t read Fordyce’s Sermons at the point of a gun.” LOL!
This book combines many of my favorite things (Jane Austen, P&P, WWII, and literary research). Please count me in for the giveaway.
I am already a follower.
laarlt78(at)hotmail(dot)com.
I forgot my question . . . did you go to England to do any research for this novel?
I like to think that most of Austen’s characters were inspired by real life individuals.
I forgot my question . . . did you go to England to do any research for this novel?
I like to think that most of Austen’s characters were inspired by real life individuals.
Great interview, Mary! I wouldn’t read Fordyce either; I’d like to think those tomes were used for privy paper back in the day. Your books are always very witty. One often hears authors say that humor is the hardest thing to write. Do you agree or does it just come naturally?
knhub(at)sbcglobal(dot)net
Laura, I did not go to England specifically to research the book, but I always take lots of notes when I travel, so I went back and looked at my notebooks to prod my memory about the country houses I liked. Kristin, I have no objection to anyone using Fordyce for privy paper. In fact, I endorse it. Actually, I have no trouble writing humor. After my parody of Persuasion, I found it difficult to play it straight. Thanks for the comments. Mary
I always thought Mrs. Bennett must be based on someone Jane Austen knew. She was so colorful and crazy and I loved the idea of her (but not of her as MY mother).
This book looks so great! Thanks for the giveaway.
s.mickelson at gmail dot com
I always thought Mrs. Bennett must be based on someone Jane Austen knew. She was so colorful and crazy and I loved the idea of her (but not of her as MY mother).
This book looks so great! Thanks for the giveaway.
s.mickelson at gmail dot com
I liked the way Brenda Blethyn portrayed Mrs. Bennet. She was ditzy and annoying, but you could really understand how much pressure she had on her to get her daughters married because of the entail. I agree, Mrs. Bennet would be a great mother/mother-in-law for someone else.
I liked the way Brenda Blethyn portrayed Mrs. Bennet. She was ditzy and annoying, but you could really understand how much pressure she had on her to get her daughters married because of the entail. I agree, Mrs. Bennet would be a great mother/mother-in-law for someone else.
**As Jane’s father was a Reverend, I’m sure that over the years she must have met many other men of the cloth. No doubt Mr. Collins could easily have been based on one of her father’s associates.
**I’m already a follower of the blog
**My tweet- http://twitter.com/lhartness/status/6587257906
**Also posted it on my blog- http://CalicoCritic.blogspot.com/2009/12/contests-of-week.html
**Also added it to my Giveaways sidebar on the blog
Thanks for notifying me of this interview and contest on Goodreads and for the chance to enter!
Laura
CalicoCritic@gmail.com
**As Jane’s father was a Reverend, I’m sure that over the years she must have met many other men of the cloth. No doubt Mr. Collins could easily have been based on one of her father’s associates.
**I’m already a follower of the blog
**My tweet- http://twitter.com/lhartness/status/6587257906
**Also posted it on my blog- http://CalicoCritic.blogspot.com/2009/12/contests-of-week.html
**Also added it to my Giveaways sidebar on the blog
Thanks for notifying me of this interview and contest on Goodreads and for the chance to enter!
Laura
CalicoCritic@gmail.com
Longbourn to Pemberley sounds fascinating! And I loved the interview.