Hello, dear readers! I am very excited to welcome back author Suzan Lauder to Austenesque Reviews today! And she is here to celebrate her newest release, The Barrister’s Bride, which sounds fascinating – Mr. Darcy working as a barrister and having an arranged marriage!?! I’m already hooked! 😍 And not to mention there is a new original character on the scene and it sounds like he causes some mischief!
Suzan is here to share her interview with George Darcy, Master of Pemberley! We hope you enjoy! 🤗
I love coming to “Austenesque Reviews” as part of my blog tour because it’s such a lively blog and Meredith is such an interesting host. I have a special treat for the readers today: a character interview.
Suzan Lauder (SL) is curious about the character of George Darcy (GD), master of Pemberley, who is an important minor character in The Barrister’s Bride.
SL: As the older brother of Fitzwilliam Darcy, exactly how old are you?
GD: I am about to enter my thirtieth year.
SL: Were you two close as boys?
GD: Fitz is shy and strait-laced. I was always closer friends with George Wickham. Wickham knows how to enjoy himself.
SL: I see. Does that situation continue to the time of the events in The Barrister’s Bride?
GD: Indeed, it does. Wickham is my right-hand man.
SL: Rumour has it that the two of you are up to no good when you get together.
GD: Who said that?
SL: It is generally known among the ton.
GD: Oh, I thought you might have been talking to Fitz. My brother is a paragon. Best of manners, you know. Barrister and all. Never gets into trouble. Even when we were young children, he would get Wickham and me out of scrapes.
SL: I think you are avoiding my original question, but we’ll get back to that. What sorts of scrapes did you get into as children?
GD: The usual. Letting the chickens out of the coop, eating all the mincemeat tarts, pulling the laundry off the line, frightening the maids, playing dice. Little devils, we were.
SL: How has that remained as you have matured into adults?
GD: For the most part, at university we learned to excel at games of chance and spend the rest of our free time with wanton women.
SL: Did you attend well to your studies?
GD: I studied as much as it took to matriculate. The tutor helped in facilitating that part. A few coins in the right places helps a man go far.
SL: Was there ever a time you got into more trouble than you were capable of managing?
GD: Yes, but Fitz would usually help me out then. Or Papa. He had deep pockets for the heir.
SL: When you became the master, you had a great estate to care for. How did things change?
GD: I kept an honest steward. Men like me do not work. We play.
SL: So you are accustomed to all play and when you get in trouble, someone else bails you out?
GD: You make it sound so sinister. It’s all good fun, betting on pugilism and the ponies, maybe some cards or dice once and again. And the ladies all love me since I am the preferred catch in England these days. I do have the best life.
SL: I am sure Mr. Wickham enjoys trailing along with you.
GD: Of course he does! He enjoys the good life too.
SL: Now, I heard you were courting Miss Elizabeth Bennet.
GD: Your questions have gone too far there. A gentleman never tells. You will have to read the book.
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There you have it, readers, a glimpse into Mr. George Darcy, master of Pemberley.
Oh, this sounds so delicious, Suzan! Fitzwilliam Darcy is the younger brother? And an older less dutiful brother is the heir and friends with Mr. Wickham? I love the idea of two Darcy brothers begins so dissimilar in their personalities. And what novelty it is to not see our Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy as master of Pemberley. Thank you so much for sharing this enlightening chat with us, Suzan! All the best with The Barrister’s Bride!
~ Book Description ~
A pact that will change their lives forever…
Fitzwilliam Darcy is a successful young barrister with a bright future. His late uncle has guided his career, made him his heir, and even selected a bride for him—sight unseen—whom he’ll meet and marry upon her majority. Who could have predicted that making the acquaintance of Miss Elizabeth Bennet in Meryton would throw those careful plans into disarray?
Elizabeth Bennet doesn’t know what to make of “Fitz” Darcy, who intrigues and draws her notice like no other. Despite Fitzwilliam’s warnings, she allows Mr. George Darcy, Fitzwilliam’s older brother and master of Pemberley, to charm her. Little does she know that she, too, has been promised in marriage by her late father—to an unknown barrister, no less. What is she to do when her hopes to marry for love disappear in the blink of an eye?
Is George Darcy’s suit in earnest? Can this mysterious bridegroom of her father’s choosing become the husband of her dreams? With the danger of duels and deceit, what will come of the initial attraction between her and Fitzwilliam? Will she become the barrister’s bride?
Note: contains scenes with adult content.
~ Connect to Suzan ~
Website ❧ Facebook ❧ Twitter ❧ Instagram ❧ Pinterest
~ About Suzan ~
A lover of Jane Austen, Regency period research and costuming, yoga, fitness, home renovation,
design, sustainability, and independent travel, cat mom Suzan Lauder keeps busy even when she’s not writing novels based on Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, all of which are published by Meryton Press.
She and Mr. Suze and their rescue tabby split their time between a loft condo overlooking the Salish Sea and a 150-year-old Spanish colonial casita in Mexico. Suzan’s lively prose can be found on her Facebook author page, www.facebook.com/SuzanLauder; on Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest as @SuzanLauder; and on her Meryton Press blog, road trips with the redhead www.suzanlauder.merytonpress.com.
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GIVEAWAY TIME!!!
Meryton Press is generously giving away 6 ebook editions of The Barrister’s Bride in conjunction with this blog tour!! Woot woot!
…and
Suzan Lauder has prepared a BONUS SWAG giveaway, and it includes a personalized signed copy of the book, a Suzan Lauder reticule, an embroidered handkerchief, and a fan.
Commenting on this post and entering through the rafflecopter widget on this blog enters you in a chance to win!
- This giveaway is open worldwide. Thank you, Meryton Press!
- This giveaway ends May 19th!
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My gratitude to Janet, Meryton Press, and Suzan Lauder for making this blog tour possible! Be sure to check out the rest of this tour!
Oh my goodness. That sounds so absolutely amazing! Now I can hardly wait for this to become available. My heart was racing at just the thought of all the chaos that the premise could generate. Fabulous!
I also adored the “character interview”. It brings a whole new dimension to the “bad” older brother persona because while someone like him and wickham are generally presented as horrible people to be avoided, this really just presents him as a flawed individual who just doesn’t see the error of his ways. Could he potentially be a good match? It almost feels possible with a little personal growth.
Amazing! I simply can’t wait! Congratulations Ms. Lauder.
You do have a good point. George can be a sympathetic character at times. One must beware of his true flaws and how they might affect Elizabeth, and similarly, Mr. Wickham. Thanks, Melissa, and I hope you get to read the book! Also, thanks to Miranda for hosting!
I’m so sorry for calling you Miranda, Meredith!
Wonderful Character interview, Suzan! It’s great to get this glimpse into George Darcy’s character. It makes me wonder if the Darcy patriarch understood the flaws in his heir’s character before he died.
Good question. I shall have to think about the older Mr. Darcy. Thanks, Kelly!
Oh my!
This is much intriguing, a still straitlaced Darcy but not the heir.
Awesome!
This author tried to form Fitzwilliam Darcy to be much like in canon, but without some of the character traits that would come from being the heir. His elder brother was to be different, as you can see in the interview. Thanks for the helpful comment, Elodie!
An older brother that is friends with Wickham? The possibilities are intriguing. I enjoyed the character interview. It appears that George is more careless than evil. Good luck with this new release and thank you for the giveaway.
George may be careless, but what about those he leaves in his wake. The same goes for his buddy in crime, Wickham. Thanks for your well wishes and good luck with the giveaway, Robin.
The two Georges (Darcy and Wickham) are obviously the worst kind of man! I’m a little surprised that Elizabeth was taken in after her first introduction to the pair, but I suppose she gave them the benefit of the doubt? She was also confused by Fitzwilliam Darcy, not knowing he was betrothed to a mystery woman.
What a great book! Thank you Susan.
You can see into George’s bluster and understand what’s going on with him. He’s a charmer, is he not? I thought so in that interview. Fitzwilliam shouldn’t be so wishy-washy, otherwise E wouldn’t be able to have her head turned. Authors love admiring reviews, no matter how brief! Thanks, Glynis!
Loved the interview and this story sounds so fun. Congratulations Suzan and I can’t wait to read this one.
Thanks, Jennifer! I hope you get a chance to read the book soon. Good luck on the giveaway!
Best of luck on your book! 😀
Thank you, Julie!
George is a piece of work! Character interviews are always a fun read. Congrats on the new release, Suzan!
He really is! And fun to write. Thanks for stopping by with your warm wishes, Leslie!
Darcy as the younger son – interesting story idea and I’m looking forward to reading about it!
I’m looking forward to you reading it too, Cath. It’s quite different.
mmmgh mmmgh…clink, clink, clink… Do I have your attention? Good. It’s ABOUT TIME we got a new Suzan Lauder to read! Oh joy, and this sounds so good. Double trouble for sure. Intriguing premise, I’m really looking forward to reading this Suzan. Unique, and beautiful cover, but now that I know a little about the story I can understand some of what’s going on there. Congratulations on your new book launch, Suzan. All the very best.
And I hope you took my opener as the compliment I meant it.
Thank you Meredith, for hosting Suzan’s book tour. The interview was clever!
Thanks! It was one of the fastest books I’ve written, but I was writing two others at the same time, then it takes some time to edit with such a spectacular editor as Leigh Stewart. Janet Taylor did that book cover so it shows some of the story. The blog tour has hints of the story in the excerpts and this interview. I love your post Thanks so much!
I am always eager to add to my JAFF libary. A book where Darcy has an older brother? Color me intrigued!
My JAFF library builds and builds too. I love that we have so much choice in reading material. This one’s not a canon book, so it’s different. I hope it suits your interest.
Thank you for hosting Suzan and her new book, The Barrister’s Bride. It is great to visit your blog.
Suzan, the interview with George Darcy was enlightening. He does sound like a trouble maker, but like one person said, maybe he is not bad to the core like the other George. Maybe he is just influenced too easily, and he is selfish. He wants his cake and to eat it too. 🙂 Thanks for all your interesting posts and excerpts on the blog tour.
I thought of Steph from Pretty in Pink for George. Pretty, haughty, caught up in rich boys’ schemes. Selfish is a good word for him. Self-indulgent as well, yet as charming as the other George. According to his brother, he’s fun to be with, but it gets him into trouble. Thanks for all you’ve done for this book, Janet. Your cover and publicity are the best.
What a fun interview & have this book in my to read list, thank you for sharing
George was fun to interview because he’s charming. A sort of devilish bad boy. I hope you enjoy the book.
Ohh dear, A few coins in the right places helps a man go far. I’m not sure I’m going to be tgat fond of the older brother… But I am really interested to read this book, it sounds like a great and original story 😀
You’ll be surprised with how a silver-tongued devil can warm you up to him, even when the danger signs are going off. The story’s not canon, so it’s original, and with any luck, it’s the kind you find interesting. Thanks, Charlotte.
Oh my! I don’t think I like George Darcy, and I hope Elizabeth doesn’t either!!
Elizabeth liked George Wickham in canon, though, and you know how that turned out. We have to have a little drama! Thanks for your comment, Cyndy!
I have conflicting feelings about this one since it sounds as Lizzy is again somewhat easy to fool or plain stupid and I dearly love a clever, strong a Lizzy.
I appreciate what you’re saying, but Elizabeth has a soft heart, that’s all. She’s bright and friendly and doesn’t like to think ill of others, so she befriends anyone who she doesn’t think of as evil. In canon after the Lydia elopement, she makes amends with Wickham. It’s not that she was easy to fool or stupid there either, she’s just a nice person. She’s still clever and strong in this book. You should see what she does to George!
Sounds so great. I can’t wait to read!!
Thanks so much for your comment!
Sounds wonderful and would love to win a copy!
I can see you’re a faithful blog tour follower and that should help your luck. I’ll add mine: good luck!
It seems I’ve read some of these excerpts before, but can’t remember when. Is this by chance a re release? It sounds fun, with many twists, so I can’t imagine why I haven’t finished it.
The excerpts are new to readers except for those associated with the publication at Meryton Press, so you couldn’t have seen them so far. But I think you should read what goes between to get a good feel for the freshness of this novel! Have fun!
Thank you for this post/interview. I kinda like this Mr GD, he is setting himself up with his answers (great questions SL) I wonder what enticed him to EB (rivalry or just to annoy or something more sinister)? I will have to heed the advice of GD, and read the book
George can be likeable, as can Wickham, and that’s the magic of their ability to get away with murder. Not literally, of course. And that’s not a hint. It’s an expression. Elizabeth’s fresh vivacity is the draw. She’s sweet and friendly enough to charm. Everything that drew in Fitzwilliam has drawn in George.
Quite a different story. I like the idea!
You’re right! We take the characters and ideas of canon and turn the whole thing around. It’s definitely a likeable novel. Enjoy your read.
That’s a great premise and I’m interested to read more. The interview with George Darcy was great. Thanks for the giveaway and congratulations on the novel. –Leslie
I just want to put the book in front of you right now and tell you to go at it! Best of luck on the giveaway!