Hi friends! I’m so thrilled to announce that author Heather Moll is visiting today! Heather has been gracious enough to share 6️⃣ splendid cover reveals with us over the years. And I’m so honored (and excited!) to welcome her back to share number 7️⃣! As you may already guess, this cover reveal is one that I’m especially excited about because Heather Moll’s next book centers upon different characters from a less popular Jane Austen novel! 😯

Heather is here to share the beautiful cover reveal of her upcoming release – Loving Miss Tilney. We hope you enjoy! 🙌🏼

~ From the Author ~

Thanks for the warm welcome back to Austenesque Reviews. This is where I always come to reveal the cover for my latest novel, but this time, it isn’t a Pride and Prejudice variation. Are your gasps of shock over? I’ve wanted to write about the real gothic heroine of Northanger Abbey for a long time, so today I’m sharing the cover for my variation about Eleanor Tilney, Loving Miss Tilney.

In the last few paragraphs of Northanger Abbey, we’re teased with hints of Eleanor getting a happy ever after. The long-suffering Eleanor—constantly oppressed by the general and lonely at home after her brother Henry Tilney is banished—finally marries the man she’s always loved when he unexpectedly becomes a wealthy viscount. Only now does General Tilney think this nameless man is a good match, and since he’s so thrilled that his daughter can now be called “Her Ladyship”, the general lets Henry marry Catherine Morland.

A man she’s always loved but forbidden from marrying, a sudden inheritance, a happily ever after? That’s a lot to throw at us at the last minute, Jane! I like to write about regency women and power, and how little power most women had to affect change in their own situations. And Eleanor’s situation is dire! So what story could I write that fits into that canon paragraph at the end of Catherine and Henry’s story and also gives Eleanor a little more agency?

Are you ready to meet Eleanor? Evelyne Labelle of Carpe Librum Cover Design designed the cover. She’s a master at what she does. Namely, taking my ramblings about a blonde, sweet, resilient woman with an important choice to make and designing a cover that makes you want to hear her story. Isn’t she gorgeous?

Why write about Eleanor? She’s lost her mother. There’s a villainous patriarch, a forbidden love, and years of suffering. Catherine Morland isn’t the gothic heroine of Austen’s first novel; Eleanor Tilney is. She’s serious, lonely, pensive, kind, and can match wits with anyone. I’m so excited for Eleanor to get the happy ever after she deserves…and to put a name and a personality to this mysterious man who deserves her.

~ Book Description ~

She’s forbidden to wed a nobody. He’s nothing in society’s eyes. Will their desperate schemes backfire before they find a way to be together?

Northanger Abbey. Eleanor Tilney can’t bear her lonely life any longer. Distraught when her tyrannical father throws her friend out of the house because the girl lacks an inheritance, the long-suffering general’s daughter decides anything is better than a future all alone. So in a frantic bid for freedom, she puts aside her tender feelings for a man of no standing to pursue a wealthy husband.

Philip Brampton understands that fortune is against him. And he tries gallantly to bury his distress and support his lonely beloved, even after she starts pursuing an arrogant buffoon. But when he catches the fellow about to kiss her, their resulting harsh words cause a heartbreaking rift.

Stiffening her spine in a world that refuses to acknowledge her value, Eleanor attempts to navigate the impossible situation without quashing her desires. And though his shy nature abhors a scene, Philip braces himself for a confrontation with her cruel and abusive patriarch.

Do these childhood sweethearts have any hope of achieving lasting happiness?

And without further ado….here is the big reveal!!!

(Expected release date August 1st)

and the full wrap…

A most emphatic yes – on all counts! This character, this premise, this stunning cover! 🤩

Teal is one of my favorite colors, and I just love how it is used in this cover – for both Eleanor’s exquisite dress but also a moody and gothic sky. 🌩

Why Eleanor Tilney – why not?! She is a perfect choice for a secondary Austen heroine and her story needs to be told – it is very unique compared to other Jane Austen heroines. 📘

I love the poses for both subjects in this cover – her embracing him, but at the same time troubled by some internal thoughts or emotions. Not to mention that hand on her hip… 😍

What do you think, friends? 🤔

~~~

Preorder Loving Miss Tilney now! 

Feel free to leave Heather a comment, question, or some love!