Hi readers! I’m so excited to welcome author Rose Fairbanks to Austenesque Reviews today! Rose is here to celebrate her second release, Letters from the Heart: A Pride and Prejudice Variation Novella. Her first Pride and Prejudice variation, The Gentleman’s Impertinent Daughter, came out earlier in 2014! Thank you, Rose, for stopping by Austenesque Reviews!
Thanks so much, Meredith, for having me! I hope you and the readers enjoy my ramblings on Elizabeth and love.
Is Love Enough?
“…without scheming to do wrong, or to make others unhappy, there may be error, and there may be misery. Thoughtlessness, want of attention to other people’s feelings, and want of resolution, will do the business.”- Pride and Prejudice, chapter 24.
When Elizabeth says these words to Jane, they are speaking about Mr. Bingley’s leaving the area and if it was an intentional scheme to hurt Jane’s feelings. Elizabeth then explains she believes Bingley’s pliable nature is the cause for Jane’s pain. Fortunately, Jane doesn’t feel the need to ask why Elizabeth bothered to mention the other two because I wonder if she was thinking of Darcy at the time.
I believe Elizabeth had some romantic feelings toward Darcy all along but he immediately dismissed her. To recover her pride she chose to tell herself she did not care for his opinion. Soon, she saw even more reasons to dislike him. As the list of sins against Darcy grew, only a crazy person would love him.
But let us consider how quickly she did fall in love with him. She appears to hate him during his proposal—notice that before that she just dislikes him and actually when she first hears he’s coming to Rosings she’s intrigued—but then she reads his letter enough to memorize it and sees him three times four months later and it’s love? No, that’s when she realized she loves him and reading the letter is when she chose to let her feelings grow. It suddenly wasn’t so crazy to love him, he was deserving. It would be crazy, however, to encourage the love until she saw him again and had hopes of him renewing his addresses—after all, she had just refused his proposal and thought she would never see him again. It’s stupid to pine over a man you’ll never have. Even after her confrontation with Lady Catherine she tells herself, “If he is satisfied with only regretting me, when he might have obtained my affections and hand, I shall soon cease to regret him at all.” Of course, I think she’s fooling herself there.
Consider too, her feelings after believing Colonel Fitzwilliam explains that Darcy separated Jane and Bingley:
That he had been concerned in the measures taken to separate Bingley and Jane she had never doubted; but she had always attributed to Miss Bingley the principal design and arrangement of them. If his own vanity, however, did not mislead him, he was the cause, his pride and caprice were the cause, of all that Jane had suffered, and still continued to suffer. He had ruined for a while every hope of happiness for the most affectionate, generous heart in the world; and no one could say how lasting an evil he might have inflicted.
Why does it hurt Elizabeth so much more to learn that Darcywas the one behind it instead of Miss Bingley? I think it’s because much earlier she had convinced herself that while he was involved it was due to thoughtlessness and a want of attention to other’s feelings.
Why does she so quickly believe Wickham? She acknowledges it’s about her vanity and while it’s natural to surmise when a man pays attention to a lady he must find her pretty, I think what really got her was that Wickham validated what she wanted to believe about Darcy. She wanted to be told that she had sketched his character correctly and Darcy was worthy of her dislike. Yet I wonder how much of that she truly believed. In the end, Wickham had to tell her that although Darcy’s pride should revolt at being so dishonest toward Wickham everyone has inconsistencies. Other than at the Netherfield Ball and in conversation with her aunt, we get few further thoughts on Wickham. When Elizabeth learns he is arriving at Rosings her first thought is that he will provide amusement and variance, not that she hates him and loathes how he treated Wickham and her sister.
I think she brought up Wickham in her refusal because it gave weight to her opinion of him: he was more than thoughtless. He did scheme to hurt people from his childhood friend to his current one and her sister was wrapped up in the middle. It’s not that he just didn’t pay attention to other people’s feelings as he walked around ball rooms and didn’t speak with them. It’s not that he said cold words about ladies without thinking. It’s not that harming Wickham was an inconsistency. It’s that he wanted to hurt them.
She must have felt all the more of a fool for ever trying to think he was something more than just an arrogant jerk. And how much more humiliated she must have felt after reading his letter when it turns out she did unjustly accuse him. He was thoughtless in hurting Jane. He doesn’t hurt people by design, but because he doesn’t think to consider their feelings may be different than his own. And in the end, that same pride she once accused him of is what makes him a better man. He takes her reproofs to heart because he has so much pride in his own character and in his family legacy.
I wonder how many times after her refusal they both sat and wondered if love was enough. Can love remain when it’s been rejected and there’s no hope? Is love enough when you’ve seen the other at their worst? Is it enough when they’ve thoughtlessly hurt you? How do you balance love with real life imperfections and real life obstacles?
In Letters from the Heart, I give Elizabeth the incentive to consider her feelings for Darcy much earlier than in Canon. But they run the same gamut. At first it is an unwelcome feeling. Then, she believes it is impossible for him to love her. Next, she does not want to shame him by connecting herself with him, although in reality she’s afraid he will simply regret marrying her. Then, finally, she’s willing to fight for it. She has a heartfelt conversation with a surprising person in the story:
“Do you believe he loves you?”
“I do. Is that enough?”
“Only you can answer that.”
>Well, what do you think Elizabeth’s answer is?
About the author: Rose Fairbanks fell in love with Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy twelve years ago. Coincidentally, or perhaps not, she also met her real life Mr. Darcy twelve years ago. They had their series of missteps, just like Elizabeth and Darcy, but are now teaching the admiring multitude what happiness in marriage really looks like and have been blessed with two children, a four year old son and a one year old daughter.
Previously rereading her favorite Austen novels several times a year, Rose discovered Jane Austen Fan Fiction due to pregnancy-induced insomnia. Several months later she began writing. Letters from the Heart is Rose’s second published work.
Rose has a degree in history and hopes to one day finish her MA in Modern Europe and will focus on the Regency Era in Great Britain. For now, she gets to satiate her love of research, Pride and Prejudice, reading and writing….and the only thing she has to sacrifice is sleep! She proudly admits to her Darcy obsession, addictions to reading, chocolate and sweet tea, is always in the mood for a good debate and dearly loves to laugh.
~ Connect with Rose ~
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GIVEAWAY TIME!!!
Rose kindly brings with her 1 LOVELY ebook and 1 paperback copy of Letters from the Heart: A Pride and Prejudice Variation Novella for me to randomly give away to TWO lucky readers. Woot Woot!!!
To enter this giveaway, leave a comment, a question, or some love for Rose!!
- This giveaway is open worldwide (for the ebook) and to US residents (for the paperback). Thank you, Rose!
- This giveaway ends January 16th!
Wow this sounds brilliant – very in depth and gets you wondering. It brought back memories of when I studied this book at school and the teacher asking questions about D & E. I always thought Elizabeth had feelings about Darcy too at the beginning. Sounds wonderful. Will put on my TBR list. Unfortunately can’t enter the competition as I do not have ebook but thank you anyway for the lovely gesture and thought.
Thanks for your comments, Michelle! I hope you enjoy it when you get to it. I think the question of “Is love enough?” is really complex and something difficult for each couple!
Lovely in-depth thoughts which I find very interesting. I, too, believe that Elizabeth was in denial about her feelings. After all he did mortify her pride in saying that she was not handsome enough to tempt him!
Thank you for sharing with us in this interview.
Thanks for commenting! Yes, Darcy’s thoughtlessness really caught up to him there! I’ve also got a theory that Austen was arguing for marriages based on sense and not just sensibility. Even if Elizabeth recognized her feelings for Darcy the failures in his character she thought she saw would have promised an unhappy marriage. She was blind at times and her head was turned by Wickham, but she was really sensible on the all important issue of marriage. I could babble about that quite a bit but I’ll stop there. Good luck in the giveaway!
Please don’t enter me in the giveaway, I’m already a lucky winner from another promotion. Just wanted to pop by to say it’s a lovely premise, and so beautifully done! Great interview & great story. Congrats, Rose, and thanks!
Thanks! I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Sounds wonderful an interesting! I wish I could write anything! Congratulations Rose for finding a new angle in which to spin this wonderful tale.
Thanks! I’ve written on other blogs that this story evolved a few different times in the last year. In the last update I really tried to hone in on some character qualities. Some of my other stories are more event driven, but besides the issue of the letters, the story is really about characters facing some things. I hope you enjoy it!
I am sure I will.
Lovely excerpt and thank you so much for the giveaway!
Thanks! Good luck!
having got some amazon vouchers I have added this to my wish list and am going to buy it for my birthday (if I don’t win a copy before then) – looking forward to reading this
Good luck! And I’m honored you’d want to treat yourself that way!
Rose, I find that my feelings about Elizabeth are very similar to yours. She’s young, innocent, untested, protected, sheltered, and immersed in the small society she grew up with. Since she proclaims herself to be a studier of character and prides herself on her insight, we can easily see how she has set herself up for humiliation at making such a quick judgment of Mr. Darcy. Interesting to ponder, isn’t it?
Please do not enter me as I already have this. Great post, Meredith.
I do think Elizabeth’s innocence and inexperience in the world is underrated in a lot of fan fiction stories. She seems rather wise in her corner of the world, yet she has so much more to learn. On the subject of pride, it seems everyone’s fatal flaw in the book ends up being what they pride themselves on. Some learn better than others though! I know the lines aren’t from the book, but I think the sentiment is correct. In the 2005 film at the end, Jane and Mrs. Bennet are speaking about the fact that Darcy has proposed to Elizabeth.
“I thought she didn’t like him.”
“So did I. So did we all. We must have been wrong.”
“Wouldn’t be the first time, would it?”
“No. Nor the last I dare say.”
Everyone is a bit wrong in their impressions of the world in the book, and while I think Elizabeth and by extension Darcy learned from it, I doubt it will be the last time.
Thanks for stopping by, Joy! Love your visits!
“She seems rather wise in her corner of the world, yet she has so much more to learn” – excellent way to put it, Rose!
Oh goody..a new author! I enjoyed your insight Rose and would have to agree with you and Joy that Elizabeth doth protest too much and set herself up for failure and pain. I actually have your first book on my wishlist and this too shall be added as I do like the premise. Thank you for your generosity with the giveaway!
Thanks for your comments! I don’t think she really understood her feelings. She does have a tendency to not want to think about things she can’t change, to only think on the best things. But the girl was quite obsessed with him. I think a lot of her failure to understand her feelings, or just the differences in people and the way they can express love, came from her parents’ marriage. In “Letters from the Heart” her parents also face the issue of their crumbling marriage. Good luck in the giveaway!
I’m glad to see an author specifically taking on Elizabeth’s journey of the heart. I’ve heard opinions that Elizabeth’s comment to Jane that she first knew she loved Mr. D was when she first say Pemberley shows she was basically mercenary. I believe that comment was made in jest! I look forward to reading your book, Rose. I enjoyed your first book!
Thank you for the giveaway.
I’ve heard that opinion too, but I think it’s really inaccurate not only of the book and character, but of the era. Conduct books of the time suggest women visit a suitor’s home. They also suggest she knows how he treats those in his guardianship, such as a younger sister, servants and tenants. They also say a selfish man is the worst kind of husband. Elizabeth saw all these good qualities in Darcy at Pemberley, and he was certainly more relaxed in his own environment. But the biggest thing of all is just that she *saw* him again, in my opinion. I think she could have met him in London and came to the same conclusion about her feelings, although it might take a bit longer for several reasons. But really, she didn’t examine her feelings when she thought he hated her and she would never see him again. She was astonished to see proof of his continued regard, humbled by it even and laid awake at night trying to make everything out. And the poor thing wants love to be logical, but it’s not really. So yes, I entirely agree the comment about seeing his grounds was made in jest and I think Jane thinks so as well. Austen doesn’t really tell us what Elizabeth answered her sister with once she was speaking seriously, and I suppose that means Austen thought she illustrated Elizabeth’s change in feeling well enough.
Good luck in the giveaway and I hope you enjoy this one!
And Rose validates my own opinion why she reacted so strongly. There is no doubt that she isn’t indifferent to the man and so I was left with the strong suspicion it is love even if she didn’t realize it herself for so long. I look forward to reading Rose’s new P&P variation. Thanks for the giveaway opportunity.
Yipee!! Always good to see another person who agrees with me. 🙂 In Elizabeth’s defense, I can understand why she didn’t *like* him though. Lol, it’s really hard for me to keep my comments to normal comment length. I could talk on this subject quite a bit!! Good luck in the giveaway!
Thanks for the lovely interview, always enjoy meeting new authors and adding books to my to be read list…
Thanks! Good luck in the giveaway!
This sounds like a really good book to read, to get an inside look at what Elizabeth thought along the way from meeting Darcy to falling in love with him.
What was your favorite part about writing it? Did you find that as you were writing it that there were some developments that you had not expected?
Danielle
(I would prefer the eBook)
Thanks! I hope you enjoy it. This story actually starts once Darcy and Bingley have left Hertfordshire so we don’t get a by the blow accounting of how Elizabeth fell in love with Darcy but she does do an accounting of her feelings. We also get Darcy’s view as he realizes his wrong perceptions and actions. Additionally, Mr. and Mrs. Bennet work through some things. It’s all put in motion by these letters which are accidentally sent, though.
Yes, there were definitely developments I did not expect. This started as a challenge piece over a year ago and was actually only the second story I wrote. My attempt at an outline was basically three sentences. I later expanded it to post on different forums and in that go around Georgiana surprised me. When I decided to add even more before publication I wanted to get into the nitty gritty of character development and was kind of blown away by what developed. Not all of my stories were so “by the seat of my pants” but this one was. Now I spend a lot more time plotting than I actually do writing and while the characters and stories continue to surprise me it is usually in the planning stage and not while I’m typing. The characters really seem to have a life of their own and when I write I often feel like I’m just recording an event that has already transpired or is playing before my eyes. That’s actually my favorite part of writing! My favorite part of writing this story was probably when things really clicked and there was a cohesive obstacle for each person to overcome. It was fascinating to consider how they would each deal with essentially the same problem.
Good luck in the giveaway!
I always enjoy reading different perspectives on the internal workings of characters, especially very familiar and favorite characters such as Jane and Lizzie. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and for the opportunity to try for a prize.
Good luck in the giveaway! I hope you enjoy it when you get to it. Jane must also go through her own battle of deciphering if love is enough. In other stories I have, I really gloss over Jane and Bingley, but they were fun to get more into for this one! It’s still mostly Darcy and Elizabeth but they play a supportive role.
Thank you for your analysis of our beloved Elizabeth and how she might have felt as she came to realize her feelings for Darcy. I so enjoyed reading this blog. thank you for the giveaway. I look forward to reading the letters and the title of your book is perfect.
Thanks! Once upon a time i started a blog thread that went chapter by chapter, starting at Pemberley and examined Elizabeth’s feelings. I never finished posting it, perhaps I should. I realized essentially what I wrote here. Sometimes there is some confusion over the title, and my editors and I hadn’t thought about it, but it’s not epistolary. There are letters in the book but the story is not told via letters. So some days I think the title is not so perfect! Good luck in the giveaway!
It is so true that the very pride Elizabeth accuses Darcy of is what makes him a better man! This sounds like a good book. Thanks for the great post.
Elizabeth’s understanding of pride, I think really evolves throughout the book. That’s not something I really highlight in my own, but perhaps I will in a later one. But I do think Darcy’s sense in pride of who he is, that he must be a man of integrity and be honorable, is the driving force behind the changes in manners we see with him. Good luck in the giveaway!
Liked your interpretation of P&P
Thanks! Good luck!
thank you for this giveaway!!
already added to my Wish List!!!
congrats & continued success to Rose!!!
Thanks for your comments! Good luck!
I love the premise of the story. The eBook is on my TBR. I feel about Elizabeth very much the same as you. She is young and inexperienced. Because of this she thinks her judgement is spot on and is wrong about both Mr. Darcy and Wickham. Thank you very much for your generosity with the give away.
Her father also thought well of her. She is at least an improvement upon Marianne, whose main argument was simply “I was raised right so if my conscience doesn’t tell me it’s wrong, then it’s not.” Both ignore the words of their wiser peers, but Charlotte did do some things to discredit her sensibleness, whereas Elinor did not. Nor did Marianne have the preference of a parent who valued her sense. I should now confess Catherine Morland is my other favorite Austen heroine. I like the less sensible and blind ones, as you can see! Good luck in the giveaway!
(Just reposting a comment that was attached to an image of this post so it can be seen)
From: Michelle H
I am so eager to read this. It sounds wonderful. Thank you for sharing your thoughts about your work on Meredith’s site. I love guest author posts. I think these have spurned me on to trying more of the books I’ve read this past year, than browsing in my ‘interest genre’ on Amazon. And of course Meredith’s reviews!! (Now that I’ve joyfully discovered Austenesque Reviews!)
I was an honored winner of a giveaway recently; the luminous To Refine Like Silver by Jeanna Ellsworth!! So I am pleased to go acquire a copy of Letters from the Heart, for myself. Thank you Meredith, thank you Rose Fairbanks.
Thanks, Michelle! Good luck in the giveaway!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on how you came to write this novel Rose, I love getting an inside scope on what an author is thinking while writing. I think is is a great angle on seeing what Elizabeth is thinking about Darcy.
I think Elizabeth is a great judge of character for the most part… When it comes to judging someone’s character when it involves you personally, especially with a romantic notion is involved it is always more difficult to remove the emotional part and look at the bigger picture.
Thank you for hosting Meredith and for the giveaways. Looking forward to reading this novel!
I think you’re right, generally she’s a good judge. Darcy also never really made it easy for her and everyone else agreed with her. Although, there is a part of me that wants to say “Elizabeth, you’re agreeing with your mother. Do you not see a problem here?!” But yep, she’s not just an objective observer. He fired the fist shot. Maybe someday I’ll finish that story I’m working on where the Assembly goes very differently. Good luck in the giveaway!
I actually bought this book yesterday. The premise is great. Accidents (the letters) happen and can have long reaching consequences. Looking forward to reading this one, thanks for sharing your insight!
I do hope you enjoy it!
Thank you for this wonderful post. I agree that Elizabeth was quick to believe Wickham because she wanted further justification for her feelings and her own first impression of Darcy. You have a lot of great insight packed into this post and I can’t wait to read your books. Thank you for the raffle opportunity.
Thanks for your comments! Good luck in the giveaway!
This sounds really interesting and I would love to read it.
I hope you enjoy it! Good luck!
This sounds incredible. I know a certain best friend of mine that would love this book. 🙂
Thanks! I hope you and your friend enjoy it! Good luck!