Hi dear friends! I hope you are enjoying a great week! We’ve been busy hosting lots of wonderful authors here this past week and we are thrilled to continue that trend today by welcoming the lovely authors of Austen Variations to Austenesque Reviews!! These authors are here to celebrate the very special (and much anticipated release!!!) of their latest collaborative effort titled Persuasion: Behind the Scenes! We love these sorts of projects that share some hidden scenes and spotlight some new vignettes from other character’s POVs! We hope you enjoy this post put together by the authors of this collection!
Thank you so much for having us, Meredith! All of us at Austen Variations are so excited to finally release Persuasion, Behind the Scenes and we’re thrilled to have you kick off our release celebration.
We have some fun posts lined up for the next couple of weeks, but for today, we thought to share with everyone why each of us contributed to this amazing project and a short scene. We hope you enjoy it!
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I know Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is the hands down favorite of her books. But to be entirely honest *whispers* I like Persuasion better.
Whew, that’s a load of my chest, to have finally fessed up to that.
Mind you, I love Pride and Prejudice—it’s fantastic, brilliant, amazing. But, at the end of the day, I’m far more of an Anne Elliot than an Elizabeth Bennet. Where I admire Elizabeth, I get Anne. I understand her; I feel like I know what she’s thinking and why; I feel like I’ve been in her shoes. I really relate to her.
So, when the opportunity to spend more time with her, to see more of her story, to get to peek into scenes Austen never gave us came along, I couldn’t possibly refuse! I hope you enjoy these further adventures in Austen as much as I have. – Maria Grace
I enjoyed being part of the Persuasion Behind the Scenes project for much the same reason I enjoy writing for the Austen Variations collective blog itself – it is such a pleasure to work with this fascinatingly assorted group of top-notch Austenesque authors. The anthology itself is particularly engaging precisely because of the variety of writers: each has different talents, styles and leanings, and it’s an altogether delectable mixture. Cannily, the project organizers set it up with scenes in roughly chronological order, which imposes a structure, a cohesiveness, onto the wonderful range of short stories. Humor, conversation, sea adventure, scenes that happen offstage, character studies and more, all flow together.
Jane Austen’s great appeal to me lies primarily in her exquisite style, and her humor. I’ve always been especially drawn to her grotesque comedy figures, and in my own Austenesque writings I tend to feature the hilarious monsters, such as Lady Catherine de Bourgh, Sir Walter Elliot, General Tilney, Mrs. Elton. In the stories I’ve written for this collection I took special interest in Mary Musgrove. It occurred to me that some of her ailments may have been gynecological in origin. She had two babies in less than four years, and when you consider the horrific inadequacy of medical assistance in those days, it’s no wonder she was on the sofa a lot, complaining that she was dying. Interestingly, Jane Austen does not even hint at this as a possible underlying cause of Mary’s complaints. Austen famously loved to send up hypochondriacs, and even the sympathetic, tender Anne Elliot treats her sister as if her ailments are imaginary. She cheers her so that in a few moments, Mary forgets she’s supposed to be ill, and is across the room beautifying a nosegay. But I suspect there was more to it than that – and so I’ve given Mary an opportunity (amusing I hope!) to moan a little more about her “female ills”! – Diana Birchall
I was excited to be a little part of this project simply because of my longstanding love of Anne and Wentworth as literary characters. The original novel is a masterwork on the art of longing. There’s tremendous emotion throughout the book, much of it carefully concealed just beneath the surface of the dialogue. Yet, it’s impossible for readers to miss…impossible for us not to feel. So, when the opportunity came to get to further explore the internal monologue of Persuasion’s beloved hero and heroine, I jumped in for a couple of scenes. I loved being able to delve into their hidden thoughts in a few situations that Austen had left undisclosed. And I hope that what I chose to reveal is consistent with our dear author’s wishes! – Marilyn Brant
As the Designated Guy, I got to write about Captain Wentworth in action! Yahoo! The time between Anne’s rejection of our good Commander (at the time) in ’06 and his promotion to Post-Captain in ’08 was a bulls-eye I did not want to miss! All that reading about Hornblower and Aubrey finally paid off!
But my favorite entry was turned out to be the story of “Dickie Musgrove, Scrub.” Read it and you’ll know why! – Jack Caldwell
After I’ve read a book, there’s always scenes I wish the author included that are such fodder for the imagination and Persuasion is definitely one of those books! It’s fascinating to think about what could’ve been going on in Anne’s head during the concert and trying to talk to Captain Wentworth or how she hurt after his rejection. And, how I wish Austen would’ve written the scene where our beloved Captain Wentworth applied to Sir Walter for Anne’s hand—the second time he proposed of course! Those little tidbits are obviously not essential to the storyline but are oh so much fun to imagine and give license to our whims while attempting to stay true to Austen’s original story. – L.L. Diamond
One of the things I enjoy most about writing missing scenes from one of Jane Austen’s novels is to go back through her novel reacquainting myself with the story as she told it. As I do that, it is fun to find those parts of the novel that could use some creative embellishment. Those things could be a minor character that needs fleshing out, expanding on a scene only briefly mentioned, or creating a whole new scene from a period of time in the novel that we know nothing about. After Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion is my second favorite novel of hers, because it is a wonderful story about being reunited with your first love, feeling all the emotional tension and pent-up passion of still loving them, but not knowing how they feel about you. It was a great joy to step into Anne Elliot’s (or Captain Wentworth’s) shoes and explore the story a little deeper as I wrote the missing scenes for this book. – Kara Louise
I’ve always loved writing “missing scenes.” It’s easier to get started if I have a question or some other jumping-off point to spark my imagination. Then I’m off and running and probably having the time of my life! That was particularly true in this case, since Persuasion is such a special book to me (running just a teensy bit behind P&P as my favorite Austen). Plus, at the time we were working on these scenes, I was in a particularly Persuasion frame of mind and had been for quite a while. I had just finished and was preparing to publish my fourth novel: The Persuasion of Miss Jane Austen, which is based on Austen’s original story and my theory that it is somewhat autobiographical. So, with those two projects coming together, the timing was perfect. – Shannon Winslow
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Excerpt from Persuasion: Behind the Scenes
“Anne Must Come to Uppercross”
by Mary Simonsen
On most Sundays, with the Elliot pew comfortably sitting only four, that is, Sir Walter, Elizabeth, Mary Musgrove, and Lady Russell, Anne found herself relegated to a pew in the rear of the church, one she usually shared with Charles Musgrove and the two Musgrove sons. Lady Russell, the only person who recognized that the arrangement was an affront to Anne’s position within the family, often looked over her shoulder to see how her friend fared. Anne would smile, indicating that all was well, and it really was. She was truly fond of her brother-in-law and was equally fond of his children. If asked, she would make no changes, but then she was never asked.
On this particular Sunday, Anne found the sole occupant of her pew to be Mary. Her sister explained that the boys remained at home with their nurse, and with a jerk of her head, indicated that Charles was sitting in the Elliot pew, bracketed by Sir Walter and Elizabeth and being ignored by both. As Mary never did anything that was not to her particular benefit, Anne understood that she would be asked to provide some service to her younger sibling.
“Anne, you have never liked Bath, and I insist that you not go. As an unmarried woman, you are not compelled to do things as I am,” Mary began. “Instead of going to Bath, you must come to Uppercross Cottage and stay with me.”
“I am afraid Elizabeth would object,” Anne whispered.
“To the contrary. I have already spoken to Elizabeth, and she said that nobody will want you as Mrs. Clay is to go to Bath as Elizabeth’s companion. You would only be in the way.”
Neither Mary’s tactless statement nor her request came as a surprise to Anne. During the course of the previous week, her sister had written thrice, each time demanding that Anne come to Uppercross, the last epistle taking a most strident tone:
Why have you not come? I begin to think I shall never see you again. I am so ill that I can barely write; my hand shakes so. I am so weak that drawing breath pains me. My appetite is completely gone! You must come to Uppercross. Is it not better for you to be of some use to someone?
Anne, who disliked Bath, had already decided to go to Uppercross, but she did not suffer any illusions as to the reason why the offer had been made. There was nothing wrong with Mary; she was as healthy as an ox and ate like one. There was no medical reason for her tremblings or difficulty in breathing. Mary’s disease was easily diagnosed: pure laziness—no medical treatise or physician need be consulted.
In exchange for listening to Mary’s complaints, Anne would not have to go to Bath, nor would she have to endure the indignities served up each day at Kellynch. All things considered, it was not a bad bargain.
While Anne pondered, Mary talked. In hushed tones, the youngest Elliot
daughter complained of her treatment by her in-laws, the demands of marriage, her children, and the surliness of the servants. It was only after the pastor had climbed down from the pulpit that Mary took time to breathe.
“Thank goodness!” Mary said with a sigh. “The parson has finally stopped preaching. I like the reverend well enough, but how that man does go on!”
LOL! This is Mary to a T! I love the ironic humor and can’t wait to spend more time with the characters from Persuasion!!! I love this idea so much and am so glad this collection is being published!!
What do you think, friends?
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Connect with Austen Variations
GIVEAWAY TIME!!!
There is a FANTASTIC GIVEAWAY prize pack in conjunction with this blog tour!!! The prize pack includes these lovely prizes:
To enter for this prize leave a comment on this blog post below and fill out the rafflecopter form!
- This giveaway is open to US, UK, and Europe residents.
- These giveaways end February 27th!
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~ The proceeds from the sale of Persuasion: Behind the Scenes will be donated to a Jane Austen charity so get yourself a copy now! ~
~ And be sure to check out the rest of the tour! ~
I really enjoyed this excerpt. It did indeed sound perfectly like Mary. “Persuasion” is my favorite Austen novel followed by P&P. I think you have a hit on your hands. I’ve read pretty much everything 5 of these authors have written and do look forward to more. Congrats on your book. I’d love to read it.
We also have some lovely scenes from Jane Odiwe, Cass Grafton, and Susan Mason-Milks to enjoy also! Hopefully, something for everyone in there. 🙂 Thanks, Suzan!
I can not wait to read this one. Congrats on the book and thank you for the giveaway!
kneyda – thanks for visiting on our launch day!
After P&P, Persuasion is my favorite of Jane’s novels. I loved the except and having read these authors separately I have no doubt each contribution will be entertaining. I would love to be included in the contest since I haven’t purchased the book yet.
Thanks, Brenda!! (After P&P, Persuasion is my favorite, too! 🙂 )
I am SO excited to read this book – Persuasion is my favorite JA story, and the excerpt has whetted my appetite for this obviously well-written story – thank you!!!
Many thanks, Jean!! Glad you’re as excited about it as we are! 🙂
There is so much to look forward to with this collection! So happy about its release!
Persuasion is my favorite JA novel. As much as I want to be like Elizabeth, I am much more like Anne and can relate to her. I also love that they find one another and their love again through a second chance which is something that resonates with me.
I think it’s a great story of enduring love and let’s face it, Wentworth’s love letter is just plain amazing!
I love Persuasion. I loved that it figured prominently in The Lake House.
Martha, I *love* The Lake House!! And I agree with you — it was so cool that Persuasion was woven into that film 🙂 .
Persuasions in my top 2 favorite from Jane austen!
Yay! So happy to hear about all this Persuasion love!
Yay! I love Persuasion too. Anne has done a lot of growing up, and even though she tries her best to keep peace with everyone, she does finally begin to assert herself. I feel like I’m at that stage in life where you stop being so concerned with what everyone else thinks of you and start considering how decisions are going to make you feel about yourself. Looking forward to reading more!
Wise words about Persuasion, Amanda!! I agree with your characterization of Anne 😉 .
Yes that was definitely Mary to a T. I admit I’m not a huge Persuasion fan but I have watched two versions and read the original. I would say this is my second favourite of Jane’s books.
These missing scenes sound excellent so I will add this to my list. (I never do well with Rafflecopter so am not entering the giveaway but it’s very generous so good luck to all who do enter.)
Aw! I put one free entry on there! You just enter and you don’t have to do anything. 🙂 I hope you give it a shot! Thanks, Glynis!
I thought I’d give it a go but nothing. I tried selecting the blog entry and the invent your own but nothing happened. As nobody else seems to have problems I assume it’s me and my incredible technological knowledge – not! No worries Leslie, I just like commenting so am not bothered if I can’t enter. Thanks for trying though. 🙂
I’m sorry! I fiddled with it to make sure it works. It should just need your email.
Thanks so much Leslie – I did it 🙂
I’m so excited about this book! Persuasion is such a lovely story. I look forward to reading the “behind the scenes” stories. Thanks for the awesome giveaway!
Thanks so much for stopping by, Pam! 😀
What a list of favorite authors!
Awww, Eva, thank you for your kind comment!
xox
Right? Such a fab group!
Persuasion is captivating and lovely. The novel is a favorite of mine. Thanks for this great giveaway.
It’s a favorite of mine too! Thanks for stopping by, Ruth!
I can never get enough of Persuasion. Thank you for the giveaway and the opportunity to read BTS.
I love Persuasion because it’s a fabulous read!
I love Persuasion because of Wentworth, for me a better character than Darcy
I’m definitely not missing this one. Persuasion is my favorite Austen novel. I love it!!!! Anne Eliot just speaks to me and I really like Captain Wentworth.
Awesome! I feel the same way!
Persuasion is my second favorite. I believe it has the most beautiful love letter in all of literature. It is swoon worthy. Thank you for the generous give away.
I agree about the letter! I adore it!
Can’t wait to start reading this one, persuasion is my favourite book.
Sometimes, Persuasion runs P&P a really close second for me and occasionally overtakes it! Like Maria Grace, I definitely identify very closely with Anne. You can tell it was a work of a more mature writer than her earlier published writing. Not a spare word and just so poignant in places.
Love this excerpt that our lovely Austen Variations have shared with us. I can just see the cast from Persuasion 1995 enacting it. The previous anthology of scenes from P&P was a wonderful collection and this looks as though it’ll be just as good. Indeed, how can it not be with the authors involved in the collaboration?
Sorry, forgot to say thanks for offering such an amazing prize package for the lucky winner, and for making it a ailable to thise of us across the pond, too. Fingers crossed!
Oh, Anji, thank you!!
🙂
So true, Anji! I cannot wait to see all the behind the scenes vignettes these authors have dreamed up!
I love the weaving of family, history, & complications!
Austen was a master at that, wasn’t she? Thanks, Pamela!
I already own the book. I am so happy this will go toward Jane Austen Charities. Well done authors, well done. I am so excited about this work. I saw the cover reveal on Maria Grace’s website. It was so much fun watching the reveal slowly come to life as we tried to guess what was on the cover. Thanks to the authors for the generous giveaway and to you Meredith for hosting [say hello to your Mr. Bingley, we don’t want to leave him out].
Thanks so much!
Happy reading, Jeanne! I hope you get the chance to enjoy this one soon!
So excited!! Persuasion is my favorite Austen novel and can’t wait to read this.
Perfect!! It’s great to have a new Persuasion-inspired story to enjoy!
Thanks, Meredith, for kicking off our blog tour! As Persuasion is my ‘second favorite’ Jane Austen novel, this was great fun to do!
My pleasure!! I’m so happy for you all! Thank you so much for sharing this work and your generosity!!
I enjoyed the excerpt and am eager to read the book, but am amazed that Mary Musgrove could have so much to say, when no doubt she was patiently suffering through one of her terrible sore throats that are so much worse than anyone else’s.
There is always room on my bookshelf for a Persuasion-esque book. Congratulations on what looks to be a wonderful read, and thank you for the giveaway.
Thanks so much for your comment! We hope you enjoy it!
Yes! So true!
Meredith, thank you so much for hosting us as we begin our blog tour!!
And to all the wonderful Austen friends who commented & entered our giveaway, HUGE thanks to you, too!!
Wishing you all a fabulous Valentine’s Week!! xox
My pleasure, Marilyn! I’m so happy about this release and wish you all so much success! Thanks for everything you all do for this genre and for collaborating and creating such fun collections like this one!
I can’t wait to read more. Persuasion is in my top two Austen favorites! Thanks for the chance to win.
Huge thank you, Meredith, for kicking off our blog tour! What a great way to start! Thanks also to everyone who has stopped by and commented and supported us. Y’all are awesome!
So happy to take part in your blog tour celebration!! I’m thrilled to hear how many people are loving/wanting Persuasion-inspired stories!
SO SO SO SO SO happy to see a book like this for Persuasion!!! I think Captain Wentworth is the best of all Austen men….I mean how can you top that letter!!! And I love Jack Caldwell and know he will do a great job with giving us an unique insight.
Woot woot! Love your enthusiasm, Danielle! 🙂 For sure!
Mainly because I love second chances!! Yes you also get that in Pride and Prejudice… But in Persuasion it must be earnt more & that speaks to me somehow. In life nothing comes easy. So getting your HEA in the end by a second chance is simply a most wonderful story!
Persuasion is a favorite of mine, as Anne is a more mature woman as apposted to Emma. Which is also a favorite book of mine. Like my own character, Anne is quiet, not putting herself foreward. Being realistic about her chances in life and the mistake she made. Not that I want to put my marurity or strength of character forward here. But I can relate to her the most & I have a (not so) secret crush on Captain Wentworth 😀 Thanks for a chance to win!
Persuasion is also a favorite of mine, and I too, can relate much better to Anne than to Elizabeth Bennet–primarily because Anne is more mature than Elizabeth and faces life more realistically. Thank you for a chance to win this fabulous book. 🙂
Persuasion is one of my favorite from Jane Austen Book. I enjoyed the excerpt and am eager to read the book.
Thrilled to see this book at last! Can’t wait to see what these delightful authors have provided for our entertainment!
🙂 🙂 Thank you, Carole!! xo
As always, it’s always fun to visit Austenesque Reviews. 😀 Thank you, Meredith!
So lovely of you all to stop by! I’m thrilled to host you and celebrate this wonderful new release!
Persuasion has always been one of my favorite Austen, because Anne is such a relatable character. The theme of love and second chances gives us hope.
So happy to see it get a little love , look forward to reading these stories.
Thanks for hosting the giveaway.
Congratulations to everyone involved in this project! I’m delighted that it is finally published. I love Persuasion as much as P&P and I look forward to reading the whole book as I have missed some parts when it was posted on Jane Austen Variations blog. Great excerpt, btw.
Congratulations to everyone involved in this project! I’m delighted that it is finally published. I love Persuasion as much as P&P because I feel I can relate to Captain Wentworth’s rejection and why he is cold towards Anne. I also understand what Anne is going through and how her family didn’t think much of her but used her for their own benefit.
I look forward to reading the whole book as I have missed some parts when it was posted on Jane Austen Variations blog. Great excerpt, btw.
I love the love story between Captain Wentforth and Anne. Thanks for the chance to win a copy .
I can’t wait to read this collection!! So excited!!! 🙂
Warmly,
Susanne 🙂
Thank You for this giveaway. I do find beautiful the Persuasion love story.
The collective talent and wonderful literary output of this group of authors is a huge weight on the scale in favor of this book. (Multiple exclamation marks!) I love Persuasion, I love these authors, and I love the cover (very Patrick O’Brian) it’s all a win-win! Can’t wait to read it.
Persuasion is my second favorite – love that letter. Thanks for a chance to win.