Hi readers!  I’m so excited to welcome back Jane Odiwe to Austenesque Reviews today!  If you are a long-time reader of this blog, then you know I’m a big fan of her writing!  I asked Jane to come visit today to celebrate her new release, Jane Austen Lives Again!  This story takes place in the 1920’s, has Jane Austen as a main character who becomes a governess and sounds completely fabulous!  I hope you enjoy the enticing excerpt share with us today.   

Thank you so much for hosting me on your blog today, Meredith, it’s always a pleasure to visit you and tell you a little something about the latest book I’ve been writing. In my new novel, Jane Austen Lives Again, Jane is given another chance to continue with her writing life when a descendant of her doctor brings her back to life. The only problem is that she finds she has returned to a different time and age – it is the 1920s, and she must get a job to support herself. Miss Austen has little opportunity for employment so when her doctor finds her a position as a governess she feels there is little she can do but accept the position. At least she’ll be able to use her free evenings to write all the books she wants… or so she thinks…

I loved writing this book – for some time I’ve wanted to write a book set in a different era and as the 1920s is a favourite period of history for me I thought it would be fun. It was a time of growing emancipation for women, and I thought this was one aspect of the time period that Jane Austen might enjoy. But, it was also a time of great change, and the Great War of 1914-18 had hugely altered the lives of many people. A whole generation of young men had been slaughtered, and those left would never be the same again after their experiences of war. In the UK there were great economic changes, and aristocratic families were finding it hard when increasing taxation, death duties and a shortage of staff meant that their way of life was considerably altered. I thought it would be amusing to put Jane into one of these country houses where the family was finding it hard to adapt to change. On top of this, the family itself is having problems, and I knew Miss Austen would not be able to resist the challenge of sorting them all out. The heroines and heroes of my book are partly inspired by Miss Austen’s, and I loved putting them in a different time period, and I’ve enjoyed adding to their personalities. I hope you enjoy the excerpt below where Jane meets her employer for the first time.

Was it too late to run away, Jane wondered? This was a world that felt so strange. She’d always helped out at home with daily chores, but she’d been used to being looked after by their own maids, and they’d always had someone to help with the cooking. Besides, Cassandra had always made sure she had time for her writing, and as much as she hoped there’d be time to devote to writing still, the fact was that she would now be part of this servant class, unable to have the freedoms she’d always enjoyed.

But before her mind had a chance to even think how she might slip back up the stairs to run away down the drive, the housekeeper returned, and with a single nod of her head, and a long finger wagging in her direction, beckoned her to follow.

‘I will take you to see her ladyship, and presuming the interview is successful we will proceed to your new quarters. You will be required to serve the family every day from nine o’clock in the morning until five o’clock in the afternoon, unless you are needed in the evening, which is a distinct possibility. I have been advised to tell you that you may dine with the family at every mealtime, which to my way of thinking is a great honour. I hope you’ve brought something suitable to wear in the evenings.’

‘I have one dress I could wear for such an occasion, Mrs Naseby, but really, it would be no hardship for me to have something in the kitchen with the other servants, or even in my room. I am happy with my own company, and I do not wish to be a bother to the family or anyone else, for that matter.’

‘If Lady Milton wishes it, you will dine with the family.’

Jane realised that the old housekeeper meant her to know she no longer had any choice about anything she might want to do, and all she could hope was that her new employer would be more flexible than she was being painted. Her idea of spending the evenings writing in solitude seemed to be a dream that was fading fast.

‘You will have one day off every third Thursday of the month, unless her ladyship requires you for duty,’ Mrs Naseby continued. ‘I am sure I do not need to tell you there is to be no fraternising with any male servants, and as an employee discretion and loyalty to the family is paramount at all times.’

At the top of the servant’s staircase they entered a short corridor and Mrs Naseby opened the green baize door at the end, which separated the rest of the house from the domestic quarters. They crossed the large hall where a grandfather clock ticked the hours away, and an empty fireplace looked cheerless with two sagging armchairs on either side. Faded damask on the walls from a previous age was fraying and worn away to reveal pink plaster in places, and in the middle of the room a circular table held a bowl of scented pot-pourri, the faint fragrance of lavender and roses making up for the lack of any fresh flowers. Jane could see the lobby where the coats were hung next to a brass stand filled with umbrellas and walking sticks, and the front door beyond which was open to the elements. The rain was falling harder than ever, pinging loudly into strategically placed zinc buckets, as puddles of water were forming on the flagstones. Following Mrs Naseby up the wide staircase Jane tried not to be judgemental, remembering what Dr Lyford had said about the difficulties that families of great houses were facing after the war. Still, she couldn’t help feeling that the general atmosphere of the place exuded more than the neglect from a lack of money. Cobwebs as thick as a man’s arm trembled between the balustrades on the staircase and piles of dust rolled in fluffy balls along the stone steps, and where windows easily reached could have been cleaned with a pail of soapy water, they were misted with green mould like watered silk and traced over with spider’s webs.

At last they entered the drawing room with its peacock blue walls glowing in the dim space. A slice of light from curtains barely parted glimmered on silver frames, on photographs and portraits, highlighting white muslin and a gash of tan leather glove, the staring eye of a bloodhound and the flash of a sword at a soldier’s side. There was a smell of dank flower water and dusty cinders in the grate, offset by sweet peas wilting in a crystal vase and faded peonies dropping their petals from a Chinese jug to stain the linen cloth below.

Jane didn’t see Lady Milton immediately. Lying full-length upon the sofa in a scarlet kimono embroidered with a design of blossom trees and cranes in coloured silks, she was camouflaged by the red of the satin couch that enfolded her like a hothouse tomato. It was her mouth Jane noticed first, like an impish red bow curving into a smile which made dimples in the soft pale face that brought to mind the pictures of Hollywood film stars she’d seen outside the cinema just a few weeks ago in Winchester.

‘Miss Austen, how much we have been looking forward to meeting you,’ Lady Milton drawled with a little shake of her head, her perfectly bobbed hair gleaming as black as the lacquered table beside her. She paused to tap her cigarette on a long holder into an ashtray.

‘Thank you, Lady Milton, I’m very pleased to be here,’ Jane answered as politely as she could.

Mrs Naseby rushed over to the windows, pulling at the heavy curtains until light flooded the room.

‘That’s better, we can’t have you sitting in the dark, your ladyship.’

‘Thank you, Naseby, you may leave us now. I trust you’ve informed Miss Austen of all she needs to know.’

‘All but the particulars of the children, ma’am. I thought it best for you to do that.’

Lady Milton visibly sighed. Now that the room was lighter Jane saw her employer was not as young as she’d first thought. Though her hair and make-up suggested a young woman in her late twenties, it was obvious from the lines etched on the plump features that Lady Milton was probably nearer forty if not older.

‘Take a seat, Miss Austen,’ she said.

Sitting down on a wing chair Jane watched Mrs Naseby walk from the room without a backward glance, closing the door firmly behind her. Lady Milton dragged on her cigarette holder and blew rings of smoke into the air. Her ankles were crossed, and as the scarlet Louis heeled slippers with pom-poms of swansdown tapped against the other in agitation, the kimono fell away from her knees to reveal pale shapely legs. Jane thought she must have been very beautiful once, and stared with fascination at her heavily made up face, powdered and rouged, with kohl-black eyes lined with paint. She wondered if Lady Milton had forgotten she was there for a moment until her ladyship swung her legs round in one perfect move to sit up and face her.

‘Now, Miss Austen, where shall we begin?’

‘I am very much looking forward to meeting the children,’ said Jane thinking it was a prompt for her to speak. ‘I was educated both at school, and at home by my excellent father, and can offer a thorough grounding in most subjects suitable for young girls, your ladyship.’

‘I’m sure you can, Miss Austen. Dr Lyford wrote very highly of your accomplishments. But I have a confession to make, and I must do it now as Mrs Naseby has chosen not to do it for me.’

Jane waited as Lady Milton puffed once more on the holder and watched her raise a glass tinkling with ice to her lips.

‘Would you care to join me in a White Lady, Miss Austen?’ she said agitating the glass and swirling the creamy liquid. ‘I find it’s such a pick-me-up in the afternoon, and revives wonderful memories of dancing at Ciro’s.’

‘No, thank you, Lady Milton. I think I’d better keep my wits about me for dealing with small children. I hope I shall be able to spend some time getting to know them this afternoon.’

‘Yes, indeed, if we can find them.’

‘Goodness, are the children lost, Lady Milton?’

‘Not exactly. The fact is, Miss Austen, I have you here on quite false pretences. My children do not really need a governess.’

‘Oh, I see,’ said Jane who didn’t understand one bit. All she could think about was how she would have to break the news to Dr Lyford and the inconvenience she’d put him to when she threw herself once more on his mercy.

‘My children are not the young creatures you imagine them to be. The truth is they are quite grown-up, and indeed, some are past the age where one might consider them even to be marriageable, let alone in need of a governess. Lord Milton’s first wife was the mother of the eldest three – William who is the heir to Manberley, Alice now nearing the age of twenty-seven and quite left on the shelf, and Mae who is twenty-five and absolutely unmanageable. I should not say it, but they were given far too much freedom in their youth, and think themselves beyond reproach. Of my own children, sadly I lost my eldest and dearest Teddy to the perils of the Great War.’

Lady Milton paused to dab at her eyes with a silk handkerchief.

‘I’m very sorry to hear of your loss,’ said Jane, filling in an awkward pause in the conversation. ‘I think there is scarcely a family in the land who has not suffered in some way.’

‘I thought my own children would be a comfort to me,’ Lady Milton continued, ‘but Beth is turning out to be quite as headstrong as her father, Emily declares she will never marry, and Cora never has her head out of a book. Their father quite spoils and indulges them all, you see, Miss Austen, and I am at my wit’s end. My nerves simply cannot cope, and that is why I am asking for your help.’

‘I’m not sure what I can do, Lady Milton.’

‘Please help me, Miss Austen. I need someone to manage them, to help steer my children back on the right track. A girl like you, the daughter of a clergyman from a respectable background, is just the sort of person I think will do the job admirably. Please say you’ll do it.’

Lady Milton looked very young at that moment, and though Jane was sure she was probably inclined to silliness there was something about her desperation that struck a chord. Hadn’t she always been an adviser to family and relations? Hadn’t they all confided in her, and she rather prided herself at helping many of her younger nieces, particularly in regards to young men. And surely, given the age of the children, she wouldn’t be expected to be a nursemaid to them, which might free up some more time for her writing? It was something to be needed, and without doubt, Lady Milton, and it seemed Manberley Castle itself, was in need of much assistance.

‘Yes, I will,’ she found herself saying, and was pleased to see Lady Milton smile for the second time. It was easy to see how she must have captured Lord Milton’s heart, Jane thought, as she glimpsed a much younger girl in the sparkling eyes that watched her own.

Lady Milton rose from her couch, instantly animated with jangling bracelets and sheer relief. Crossing the turkey carpet in two strides she flung her arms round Jane who was taken aback at such a demonstration of affection, and rose awkwardly to receive it. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been hugged in such a way and whilst she felt slightly overwhelmed, not least by the fog of scent that enveloped her, she had to admit it wasn’t unpleasant.

Sounds like a fantastic situation for Jane!  I can’t wait to meet the unruly and difficult “charges” she will have to manage!  Thank you so much for sharing, Jane! Always a pleasure to have you visit.

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