Hi friends! I am so delighted to welcome back author Riana Everly to Austenesque Reviews today! 🙌🏼
As you may have seen, Riana released a new Pride and Prejudice variation just last week – Pride and Pursuit! 📖
That sounds like an exciting title, doesn’t it? And what is even more exciting is the different setting and premise for this story. 😮
Riana is here to share a little more about her unique setting and enticing excerpt from Pride and Pursuit. 🤩
We hope you enjoy! 🤗
Why Wales? Some Historical Background on Setting
Thank you for welcoming me here today, as part of a very short blog tour for my new release, Pride and Pursuit.
Why such a short blog tour?
Well, that’s my fault for planning a release while travelling. But I had so many reasons for my release date, even if it meant I wasn’t nearly organised enough to do things properly.
The first reason I chose September 29 to publish my newest novel is that it’s the birthday of someone special to me. That should be good enough, right? One day, many reasons to celebrate!
The second is a bit more involved.
Pride and Pursuit is a bit of a departure from my other P&P variations. It’s a traditional Regency romance, with Darcy and Elizabeth taking centre stage, as they should. But there is no disastrous Meryton Assembly, no insult, no hurt feelings or wounded pride.
Instead, this story takes a very different route to the Happily Ever After we all desire. (Is that too much of a spoiler?)
Our couple are thrown together when Darcy, frantically trying to escape George Wickham’s murderous wrath after foiling his elopement with Georgiana, resorts to the unthinkable: He steals a carriage from a posting inn.
The problem is that the carriage is not unoccupied. Elizabeth Bennet is asleep inside. And thus, the adventure begins.
Desperate to avoid discovery by their foe, the two unwitting companions find themselves travelling through Wales on their journey to the one place Darcy feels he will be safe. Wales is a beautiful country, magnificent even, with its mountains and valleys, ancient castles and wild scenery, but even today it is not always easy to travel through.
How do I know? This is the second reason for my choice of release date.
You see, I’ve just returned from Wales, and oh, what a trip it was. We went to establish my daughter at university there, but we took time to tour around as well. I wanted to release my novel about this country while I was there. It just felt right.
More than once during our explorations, we found ourselves driving down painfully narrow lanes, barely wide enough for a single vehicle, with tall hedges or stone walls on either side, or through a tunnel of dense trees. It felt at times like driving through a maze.
Not my photo, but oh, this brings back memories… and a cold sweat!
If it’s like this now, in 2024, I can only imagine some of the lanes our favourite characters might have found themselves traversing back in 1811.
For fun, I’ve found a few quotations from the past about other travellers’ thoughts about Wales. Enjoy these.
Daniel Defoe (1660-1731) clearly liked a gentler landscape. He had some rather unhappy comments in Curious and diverting journies, thro’ the whole island of Great-Britain, 1724.
The mountains of Breconshire were ‘horrid…’
(My comment: these mountains are some of the most beautiful I’ve seen. We can’t always agree.)
In Glamorganshire:
‘We began to repent our curiosity, as not having met anything worth the trouble; and a country looking so full of horror that we thought to have given over the enterprise and have left Wales out of our circuit but after a day and night conversing thus with rocks and mountains, our guide brought us down to a most agreeable vale … called the Taff.
In Montgomeryshire:
‘We were so tired with rocks and mountains we wished heartily that we had kept close to the sea shore …’
Ah, poor Mr Defoe. Perhaps a desert island would be more to his liking.
Mary Yorke, nee Madocks, had a more poetic view of the land when she wrote to her sister-in-law Jemima around the year 1780. She was based in Llangollen, a town that Darcy and Elizabeth pass through in Pride and Pursuit.
Art is literally the Handmaid of nature. She indeed sometimes presents to our view a magnificent castle, but then it is dressed in so sober a hue, and with such profusion of Moss and Ivy, and placed upon some rising nole [sic] so naturally (if I may use the word) that Art seems modestly to resign the crumbling ruin to her mistress, and nature claims the whole scene for her own!
Over the next decades, as the sensibilities of Romanticism seeped into the ethos, the preference for gentle scenery over rugged majesty relaxes, and people began to appreciate dramatic landscapes more.
Lady Jane Crewe wrote this of the topography near Bangor, North Wales, in 1826.
The scenery was grand and magnificent in the extreme, enormous masses of rock seemed to have been thrown in wild confusion one upon another by an almighty hand – we could not help remarking how calculated such scenes were to raise our poor and low ideas of our creator’s powers and goodness.
And by the mid-1800, people positively raved about North Wales.
Here is what Louisa Costello write in the introduction to The Falls, Lakes and Mountains of North Wales in 1844.
It would seem as if …part of the country called The Principality had been created by nature, in a holiday humour, expressly for the recreation and delight of English Tourists, whose limited time did not allow them to seek for beauties abroad; for, collected into a small space, more that is graceful, beautiful and romantic, may be found in North Wales than in any other spot in Europe.
Artists had their say as well. Here is a view of Carnedd Llewelyn and Carnedd David, Carnarvonshire, Seen Across the River Ogwen, by John Warwick Smith, 1749–1831.
The same artist painting this landscape of Llyn Geirionedd not Far from Trefriew, on the River Conway, Carnarvonshire.
Richard Wilson (1714-1782) found inspiration in this vista of Dinas Bran from Llangollen, 1770 to 1771.
And here is a painting of Overshot Mill, North Wales, by David Cox (1783-1859).
I wonder what our dear couple would have thought of the wild and wonderful landscape they struggled through if they hadn’t been running for their lives. I suspect their thoughts changed considerably once they achieved their happy ending.
Enjoy this excerpt from Pride and Pursuit, wherein our intrepid adventures find their travels are a bit taxing.
~ Excerpt from Pride and Pursuit ~
The damp weather did little to brighten their spirits, and they fell into an argument before even leaving the
inn. Will insisted upon Elizabeth riding in the cart under the tarpaulin, and she refused.
“You are a lady, and it is my obligation as a gentleman to keep you from harm.” He pulled himself to his full, rather impressive, height, and crossed his arms over his chest, glaring at her. She, in turn, straightened to her full and much less impressive height, and glared right back, craning her neck to do so.
“I am not some delicate flower that can withstand neither heat nor rain, Will. The weather is wet, not cold, and I am as able to survive it as are you.”
“No.” His face went cold and stony. “I will not have it. You must ride under the canopy. You will take ill.”
“And I will not be treated like a helpless incompetent. Coachmen and servants sit out in the rain all the time.”
“You are neither a coachman nor a servant.”
“And neither are you. Do we spend another night here and wait until the sun shines once more? Your Mr Wickham is unlikely to look this far from his estimation of our route.”
The icy scowl turned angry. “The longer we remain in one place, the greater the danger. We must ride, and in the wrong direction, at that.”
He was stubborn, this strange and proud man. Elizabeth felt a thread of pity for him, being forced into such a dire position as this. “Will…” She softened her voice and reached for his arm.
His eyes fluttered closed for a moment, and he let out a sigh. “Are you always this determined to have your own way?”
“Only when I am told what I should do for my own good.”
In the end, they reached a compromise, where Elizabeth sat right beside him on the bench, holding her umbrella over both of them. They draped an extra length of the tarpaulin over their shoulders for more protection and managed to stay relatively dry. If Dobbin objected to being the only one of the party fully exposed to the rain, he said not a word in complaint.
The roads grew narrower and rougher as they travelled, and villages fewer and fewer as the terrain became more and more hilly. It would become even worse once they found the tracks through central Wales, Will explained. At times, Dobbin slowed to a pace that a moderate walker could match with ease, and sometimes patches of mud almost brought the cart to a complete stop. They ate the last of the buns they had purchased at the inn under the canopy of the tarpaulin, and stopped only long enough for the horse to take rests when necessary.
Although they had departed the inn shortly after dawn, it was almost full night when they arrived at Abergavenny, both in low spirits and wanting nothing more than a hot meal and a quiet bed, without even the pretence of dismay at having to share a single room.
In another lifetime, Elizabeth would have loved to spend some time in the lively Welsh town. It was a charming place, gifted with beautiful scenery and friendly people, but now she could not wait to leave. The pretty high street with its interesting shops, the Mediaeval priory, and the old ruined castle would have to wait for another time.
Ooh! This is quite a new adventure! A murderous Wickham? A new country to explore? Darcy and Elizabeth forced to travel and stay together for protection?
I’m so excited to read this story and see Regency Wales through their eyes! It seems both wonderfully charming and untamed!
Thanks so much for sharing, Riana!
~~~
GIVEAWAY TIME!!!
In conjunction with her visit, Riana is giving away an ebook copy of Pride and Pursuit to 1️⃣ lucky reader!
To enter this giveaway leave a question, comment, or some love for Riana!
- This giveaway is open worldwide. Thank you, Riana!
- This giveaway ends October 12th!
I already have this on my tbr list as soon as I can get my hands on it, either in ku or by purchasing it. I vacationed in Wales in 2001 and loved it. Driving through Northern Wales was an eyeopener for this Georgia girl. Plus, I LOVE D&E forced proximity adventures. Congrats on the new release!
Wales is wonderful. We spent some time in the north a couple of years ago and hope to return soon. It’s just a wonderful place.
I hope you enjoy P&Pursuit when you get to it.
I’m loving this already! The ideal storyline – Darcy and Elizabeth together fighting a common enemy! I certainly hope the despicable Wickham gets his just desserts in this one, however it happens. I can’t wait to read it.
I really enjoyed following D and E as they learned to work together. Without the trappings of society, and with a common threat, they had to get to essentials and really learn who the other was. I hope you enjoy this book.
I am reading this right now and loving! The tempo of the action is fantastic!
Congratulations on your fun release!
Thank you so much! I’m thrilled to hear that you’re enjoying it.
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Loved the snippet, and your reasoning behind the Welsh adventure. I’ve already read this on KU and loved it. Speaking as someone who lives in South Wales, and has driven down many a country lane, your picture certainly captures the right image. It can feel quite claustrophobic, especially if the lanes have trees growing over the top, which makes it more like driving through a leafy tunnel.
Diolch!
And oh, lucky you, to live in South Wales! I’m quite jealous of my kid, getting to spend the next 3 years there at school.
We drove through our share of tree-canopied lanes, but the photographs didn’t turn out well. Still, it was like driving into a fairytale at times. And so beautiful! I will be back to “visit” my kid frequently, and I might even see her once or twice.
I’ve just finished reading Pride and Pursuit on KU. From start to finish it was wonderful; thank you so much for such a fascinating story. This book is definitely going on my ‘I need to buy this’ list.
Thank you so much. I’m thrilled that you enjoyed it. I had such fun writing it and getting to know the characters in a slightly different way.
I’ve got this book on KU and it’s in my queue. Now more excited to read it than ever! I visited Wales almost ten years ago and it was an amazing experience. Would love to return some time!
This was my fourth trip to Wales, and every time I’m astounded by the incredible and varied beauty.
When you get around to the book, I hope you love it!
Sounds very interesting. Can’t wait to read it.
Thanks. I hope you enjoy their adventure. It was such fun to write.
Thank you for putting this book on KU. Because of your generosity, I was able to read this wonderful story almost as soon as it was released and I appreciated everything about it: the writing, the pace, the story itself. I could feel the anxiety of D&E; their fear, their need to breech propriety, their hunger, their determination. And, Elizabeth being a skilled archer–who knew! Congratulations on publishing a true winner.
Oh wow, thank you! I always work hard to write the best book I can, and it’s music to my ears to hear that I’ve achieved some of what I set out to do.
Can’t wait to dig into this. Sounds like a real treat!
I hope you really enjoy it.
“We were so tired with rocks and mountains…” LOL! So different from Miss Austen’s sentiment in P&P! Lovely cover and interesting sounding story.
So many rocks and mountains! 😉
I’ll pass your kind words to my cover artist. She is just starting out in cover design and I was thrilled with what she made for me.
I’d love to read this! Thanks so much for the chance to win a copy. For the record, from what I’ve seen of Wales on television, it’s absolutely stunning.
Wales is really as lovely as the photos, more so, even. Good luck in the draw.
Congrats on winning an eBook of Pride and Pursuit!
Please contact me at riana.everly@gmail.com to let me know where to send your book.
Just f finished this intriguing book – and stayed up too late to do it as I couldn’t stop! Well-written and fascinating story, which taught ODC so much about each other after being thrown together very much by accident. I especially appreciated the good proof-reading as there were no “bumps” to slow down or detract from the story. I’m already looking at another of this author’s books! Thanks for a great read!
I’m thrilled you enjoyed it. It was a lot of fun to write. Thanks for the lovely words.
Wonderful extract and a very entertaining interview! The best of luck with your book!
Thanks so much!
Thanks for a chance to win a copy of this. It does sound like a premise I would enjoy. Good luck with the release.
Good luck in the draw!
I am so happy to see a book set in Wales! I look forward to reading this one.
It was such fun to set a book in this beautiful country. Good luck in the draw.
O….that sounds different… the book is on my list. All the best to you for the release of your book. So exciting.
Thanks so much! I hope you enjoy it.
Oooh! This looks like a fun one, and Wales too, how lovely!
Thanks. I hope you enjoy it.
This one sounds fabulous! Thanks for the excerpt and the opportunity.
Good luck in the draw!
This sounds so good. I loved the forced proximity. Thanks for the excerpt. –Leslie
Thanks! I hope you enjoy it.
Sounds great, congrats on the release!
Thank you!
Riana, thank you for a terrific ride of a book. The pace never slackens and the characters are so true to canon yet adapt to this new situation as demanded. I loved this plucky Lizzy, with her unusual accomplishments that were perfect for this journey.
Thanks so much! I’m thrilled you enjoyed it. I had such fun writing this book.
Can’t read to read more about our favorite couple in Wales!
I really loved working with this setting. It’s so far from the parlours and ballrooms we usually read about. It was a fun challenge.
Wow! Just wow! That was an exciting and exquisite excerpt. I would love to read this.
Thank you! Good luck in the draw, and I hope you love the book.
This book is already in my library waiting to be read soon.
I like the premise very much so had it on preorder.
Thanks anyway for the chance to win good luck to everyone.
Oh wow, thanks! I hope you love it!
The account of the narrow roads reminds me of driving through parts of Pennsylvania where the highways seemed to be constantly under construction. One had to drive at highway speeds on narrowed lanes bound by orange barrels and cement barriers. I think the slower pace Elizabeth and Darcy would have taken through their narrow roads would have been less harrowing than the trip through Pennsylvania!
Hahahaha… I also have memories of highways through Pennsylvania! Back in the days of MapQuest, we ended up at the wrong end of the lake the campground was on! I hadn’t thought of that in years. Thanks! 😀
I hate to say it, Elizabeth and Darcy, but you will be forced to marry. This will be such fun to read and to see Wickham even more wicked than he already is. Thank you for the excerpt and giveaway.
It does seem their future is set out for them… but will Lizzy agree? She has qualms.
I hope you enjoy the story and good luck in the draw.
I am really looking forward to this variation set in Wales. Riana has a way of describing the setting of her books in a way that makes you easily see it. Thank you for the excerpt and giveaway. Congrats and best wishes on the new release!
Thank you for your very kind words. I hope you enjoy the setting in this story just as much.
Congrats on winning an eBook of Pride and Pursuit!
Please contact me at riana.everly@gmail.com to let me know where to send your book.
I love Riana Everly’s writing, and this one has ‘winner’ written all over its premise and that great excerpt. Really looking forward to reading this. What a beautiful cover, quite unique. Best all luck, Ms. Everly.
You’re so sweet. Thank you. I hope you love this story, and thanks re: the cover. I’ll pass your kind words on to my new cover artist. She’ll be thrilled.
Looking forward to this one! I added it to my read/wishlist
I hope you love it! Good luck in the draw.
I have done a draw with a random number generator, and the winner of a copy of Pride and Pursuit is….
Pam Hunter!
But wait! I was so amazed at the huge number of comments, that I’ve decided to give away another copy as well.
The second lucky winner is Robin G!
Congrats to both of you. Please contact me at riana.everly@gmail.com to let me know where to send your books.