The Darcy Cousins: Official Launch Day Today!

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Today's the day! The official launch day of the UK hardcover edition of The Darcy Cousins!

Between you and me, The Darcy Cousins feels rather special to me because I had a good time writing it. The Other Mr Darcy was a book that required toil and a lot of energy. Getting into Miss Bingley's mind wasn't easy, and it was also a challenge to show Robert Darcy entirely from her viewpoint. I was determined throughout not to show things from the hero's perspective, because that's what Jane Austen did with Mr Darcy, apart from the famous letter, of course. Don't get me wrong. It wasn't an uphill struggle by any stretch of the imagination, but it required sustained effort.

By the time I got to write The Darcy Cousins, I began to work out how Jane Austen really did that. Her sly style is very deceptive. She doesn't show his point of view, but because of the omniscient narrator there's a great deal that gets slipped in so that we don't miss his point of view at all. I had fun with that idea. I also had fun with having Georgiana and Clarissa interacting -- two very different young ladies with very different ideas about how to approach attractive young gentlemen. And I really enjoyed writing about Lady Catherine, who takes her villainy a step farther. Plus I was able to write about Mr Darcy as a brother, and to give some insight into the Darcys' happy marriage from a different perspective.

In other words, there was a great deal of fun to be had.

Of course all writing is labour intensive, so I should add that the notion of 'fun' is relative...

So here it is -- the one and only: The Darcy Cousins, now available for purchase at Waterstones, Amazon.co.uk and for my international audience, from The Book Depository.

I hereby cut the ribbon and launch the new publication.

I will however have to excuse myself immediately because I hear champagne flutes clinking in another room. Could they possibly have opened the bottle without me?

Comments

  1. Unknown1 March 2010 at 16:17

    Congratulations Monica. Looking forward to read it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Julia Ergane1 March 2010 at 16:22

    Great news, Monica. I really enjoyed The Other Mr. Darcy, though I do wonder if you plan on returning him and Caroline to Boston sometime soon. (Yes, I am a New Englander from Connecticut who just lives a little over an hour and a half from Boston -- Mystic/Stonington area (BTW, there was a bombardment of Stonington harbour by the Royal Navy during the War of 1812)). ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Monica Fairview1 March 2010 at 23:28

    Thanks, Marie. Very kind of you to say so.

    Julia: I would love to have Robert return to Boston, especially since I lived in the Boston area for a long time. Certainly Caroline needs to meet Robert Darcy's family. At this point, though, his sister Clarissa has come over to England, so Caroline and Robert have to stay put until she's been sorted out. But I'll keep it in mind for a future installment, thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Laurel Ann (Austenprose)2 March 2010 at 01:08

    Congratulations Monica. A red banner day! Enjoy the champagne and toast Georgiana and Clarissa. Oh, and Lady Catherine or she won't let you write about her in future.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Monica Fairview2 March 2010 at 12:27

    Thank you, Laurel Ann. Good to see you here! Yes, I'd better be careful not to offend Lady Catherine!

    ReplyDelete

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