Diana Birchall

A Jane Austen Variation

The Bride of Northanger

Although she was now between forty and fifty years old, Mrs. Darcy was still a handsome woman, known for her wit and good humour; still slender, light of foot, with sparkling eyes and hair that, under her matron's lace caps was still smooth and abundant. She was as much as ever the delight of Mr. Darcy's mind and the beloved of his heart... But in the affairs of her children, visits from her nieces, and more than one scandal, Mrs. Darcy finds much to occupy herself in the new Victorian age that is opening upon Pemberley...

A Sequel to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice

Mrs. Darcy's Dilemma

Beginning twenty-five years after Darcy and Elizabeth's wedding, their life together has been wonderful and their marriage is still thriving. Their grown children bring them great delight, along with some trepidation, Mrs. Darcy's nieces come for a visit, and a theatrical scandal threatens to embroil them all. The Victorian age is dawning, and Pemberley's new generation is coming into their own. "The very title makes you want to read it right away! Fascinating, and such wonderful use of language." —Joan Austen-Leigh "Birchall's witty, elegant visit to the middle-aged Darcys is a delight." —Professor Janet Todd, University of Glasgow "A refreshing and entertaining look at the Darcys some years after Pride and Prejudice from a most accomplished author. —Jenny Scott, author of After Jane

Jane Bennet in January

Abigail Reynolds

Regina Jeffers

Jack Caldwell

Marilyn Brant

Mary Simonsen

Susan Milks-Mason

What did Mr. Darcy think when he first saw Elizabeth Bennet? How did Miss Bingley talk her brother out of proposing to Jane Bennet? And how did Lady Catherine de Bourgh find out Mr. Darcy was on the verge of proposing to Elizabeth? 22 authors of Austen-inspired fiction decided to answer these questions and more. Here are the scenes Jane Austen never wrote: ones that happened off stage, such as Mr. Collins proposing to Charlotte Lucas, and actual Pride and Prejudice scenes from the point of view of different characters. Each author wrote according to their own inspiration, so PRIDE & PREJUDICE: THE SCENES JANE AUSTEN NEVER WROTE is not a complete novel in and of itself. It is a collection of scenes written independently and designed to complement the original. The reader can start at the beginning or dip into any scene they choose. Contributing authors include Abigail Reynolds (Mr. Darcy's Noble Connections), Sharon Lathan (Miss Darcy Falls in Love), Regina Jeffers (The Mysterious Death of Mr. Darcy), Mary Simonsen (Becoming Elizabeth Darcy), Susan Mason-Milks (Please, Mr. Darcy), Jack Caldwell (The Three Colonels), C. Allyn Pierson (Mr. Darcy's Little Sister), Shannon Winslow (The Darcys of Pemberley), Colette Saucier (Pulse and Prejudice), Jane Odiwe (Project Darcy), Monica Fairview (Steampunk Darcy), Maria Grace (Twelfth Night at Longbourn), Diana Birchall (Mrs. Darcy's Dilemma), Marilyn Brant (Pride, Prejudice, and the Perfect Match), Karen Doornebos (Undressing Mr. Darcy), Nina Benneton (Compulsively Mr. Darcy), Susan Adriani (The Truth About Mr. Darcy), J. Marie Croft (Mr. Darcy Takes a Plunge), Vera Nazarian (Mansfield Park and Mummies), Cailin Rubino-Bradway (Lady Vernon and her Daughter), Kara Louise (Pirates and Prejudice), and Heather Lynn Rigaud (Fitzwilliam Darcy, Rock Star). All proceeds from sales of PRIDE & PREJUDICE: THE SCENES JANE AUSTEN NEVER WROTE will be donated to Jane Austen-related charities. Sample from the Table of Contents September 18, 1811 - Netherfield Park is Let at Last! September 19, 1811 - Lady Catherine Interviews Mr. Collins September 20, 1811 - Bingley Seeks Darcy's Opinion of Netherfield September 25, 1811 - Bingley Takes Possession of Netherfield October 5, 1811 - Mr. Bingley Returns Mr. Bennet's Call October 9, 1811 - Mr. Bingley Goes to London October 15, 1811 - The Bennet Sisters Prepare October 15, 1811 - Louisa and Edward Hurst at the Meryton Assembly October 15, 1811 - Charlotte Lucas at the Meryton Assembly October 15, 1811 - Post Assembly Discussion at Longbourn October 16, 1811 - Darcy Realizes He is Susceptible to Elizabeth Bennet's Charms : : March 30, 1812 - Darcy Begins His Campaign to Win Elizabeth's Affections March 31, 1812 - Fitzwilliam and Darcy Visit the Parsonage Again April 3, 1812 - Darcy Hints Elizabeth Would Know Rosings Park Better on Future Visits April 7, 1812 - Darcy is Determined to Make Elizabeth His Wife April 9, 1812 - Fitzwilliam and Elizabeth Walk in the Woods April 9, 1812 - Darcy Plans His Proposal April 10, 1812 - Fitzwilliam Takes His Leave of the Parsonage April 10, 1812 - Elizabeth Reads Darcy's Letter : : September 23, 1812 - Darcy Apologizes to Bingley for His Duplicity September 24, 1812 - Much Ado About Nothing September 27, 1812 - Mr. Bingley Proposes October 1, 1812 - Mr. Collins Shares Gossip with Lady Catherine October 3, 1812 - Darcy Learns of Lady Catherine's Confrontation with Elizabeth October 3, 1812 - Lady Catherine Leaves Longbourn in a Dudgeon October 4, 1812 - Mr. Bennet Hears from Mr. Collins : : November 16, 1812 - I Plight Thee My Troth, or, The Wedding November 16, 1812 - Caroline Bingley Acknowledges the New Mrs. Darcy November 16, 1812 - The Wedding Night (Charles and Jane) November 16, 1812 - Wedding Night on the Road to Pemberley

Pride and Prejudice: the Scenes Jane Austen Never Wrote

In 1901, the young Winnifred Eaton arrived in New York City with literary ambitions, journalistic experience, and the manuscript for A Japanese Nightingale, the novel that would sell many thousands of copies and make her famous. Hers is a real Horatio Alger story, with fascinating added dimensions of race and gender.While commercially successful women writers were uncommon a century ago, Winnifred Eaton (1875-1954) cultivated a particular persona to set herself apart even within this rare breed. Born to a British father and a Chinese mother, Winnifred decided to capitalize on her exotic appearance while protecting herself from Americans' scorn of Chinese: she "became" Japanese, assuming the pen name Onoto Watanna. While her eldest sister, Edith Maude Eaton (now acknowledged as the mother of Asian American fiction), was writing stories of downtrodden Chinese immigrants under the name Sui Sin Far, Winnifred's Japanese romance novels and stories became all the rage, thrusting her into the glittering world of New York literati.Diana Birchall chronicles the sometimes desperate, sometimes canny, always bold life of her "bad grandmother," about whom she knew almost nothing until her own adulthood. Here are the details of an amazing professional career as a journalist, a bestselling novelist, and a Hollywood scriptwriting protge of Carl Laemmle at Universal Studios. Here, too, is the personal saga of a woman who bore "a book and a baby a year" during her troubled first marriage--and who, at the age of fifty-six, wooed back her estranged second husband when her Hollywood career hit the skids during the Great Depression. Having achieved early fame as a Japanese romance writer, Winnifred later jettisoned the kimono and wrote books (including one entitled Cattle) set on the plains of Alberta, where her husband owned a ranch.A chameleon? A desperate poseur? A shrewd businesswoman? She was all that, and much more, as Diana Birchall demonstrates. Navigating the shifting boundary between life and art, Birchall probes Winnifred's conflicting stories, personal tempests, and remarkable accomplishments, presenting a woman whose career was "sensational" in every sense.

Diana Birchall

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