Melinda Hammond's Brand New Story on an Age-old Theme

The latest anthology in the Regency Romantics series is now published, containing six wonderful romances from myself and five fellow authors. My contribution to this edition is a brand new Regency romance, but I confess it is based on a very familiar theme.

Is there anyone who doesn't like the story of Cinderella?  It is certainly one of my favourite fairy tales and a re-working seemed perfect for this winter collection. Waldo, Duke of Charingden is reluctant to marry so his family decide they will bring  a selection of eligible ladies to the winter ball for him to choose from. Of course, nothing goes to plan, and Waldo becomes  entangled with the very ineligible young woman staying at Dove Cottage. Here is a short excerpt for you. I hope you enjoy it!

Waldo has just stepped out of his drawing room for a breath of air....

          And there, dancing on the snow-covered grass, was the girl he had met in the woods yesterday. She was so caught up with the dance that she did not see him and he stood for a moment, watching her. The strains of the piano music floated out into the still night air and she was turning and swaying, her cloak swirling around her. Then she swung around and saw him on the terrace and she stopped, her eyes widening in apprehension.

'Do not run away,' he ordered, when she turned to flee. He ran lightly down the steps and as he approached she slowly turned back towards him.

'I beg your pardon, I meant no harm,' she said breathlessly.

'Who are you?' he asked her. 'And tell me the truth this time. I mean no disrespect to the Goodliffes but I doubt any relative of theirs ever learned to dance like that.'

He watched as she caught her full bottom lip between her teeth.

'You are right, sir, I was given a good schooling, but I am an orphan, and my circumstances are now such that I am forced to throw myself upon the Misses Goodliffes' generosity. Miss Harriet was my nurse, you see, and I knew she would not turn me away. However, to avoid any awkward explanations I decided to remain here as their niece.'

'And not content with frightening my horse I find you spying upon my guests,' he said. 'You have no permission to collect sticks from here.'

          'No.' She hung her head. 'Your housekeeper sent over the remains of a game pie for our dinner and I promised Miss Hannah that I would return the dish. The snow and the moon made it light as day, so I thought I would bring it back tonight, rather than wait for the morning. Then I heard the music.' She glanced up at him. 'I love to dance,' she said simply. 'It is the one thing I have missed most since I came to Dove Cottage. I did not think you would mind if I just watched, through the window. But then, I just could not stop myself from dancing, too.'

She was looking so wistful that he came to a decision.

'Come along.'

He took her hand and she said in some alarm, 'What are you doing?'

'If you want to dance, you shall come inside and join us.'

'No, no, I cannot.' She dug in her heels and held back. 'Pray, your Grace, let me go.'

'But why? There is time for you to join in with one dance, at least.'

'No, no, I pray you, sir, do not humiliate me so!'

The anguished note in her voice made him stop.

'I have no wish to upset you,' he said gently.

'I should never have come here. Oh, your Grace, I beg your pardon.'

'Very well, I shall not force you to come indoors if you do not wish it.' Looking down into her face, pale and beautiful in the moonlight, a madness came over Waldo. 'But since you are here it is a pity to waste the music.' He pulled her closer. 'We shall tread a measure here, on the lawn.'

Distress was replaced by suspicion and a sudden contraction of her brows.

'Now you are making a May-game of me.'

Not at all. I am deadly serious. Well?' He smiled, at his most charming. 'Listen, another dance is starting. A waltz.' He took her hands. 'Come along, Clara, dance with me.'

'This is ridiculous.'

'Humour me.'

He was smiling down at her and Clara found it impossible to look away. His warm, strong fingers were wrapped around her hands and when he moved she followed him, dancing to the faint, sweet strains of the pianoforte that drifted out on the still night air. He led her through the dance, moving with a lithe grace as they glided across the lawn while the full moon hung like a silver lamp in the night sky. Clara forgot that she was wearing a red flannel petticoat beneath her old dimity gown, forgot the outdoor boots on her feet and the woollen cloak around her shoulders. She felt like a princess, dressed in the finest silks, skipping and twirling around the ballroom. The duke was still smiling and she found herself smiling too, laughing aloud as the joy of the music swelled within her. He lifted her hands high for the final rotation but at that moment a dip in the lawn caught Clara unawares. She stumbled and would have fallen if the duke had not caught her in his arms and pulled her against the hard wall of his chest.

She laughed up at him, breathing in the mixture of crisp, cold air, freshly laundered linen and a spicy rich scent. Then the glow in his eyes deepened and she could not breathe at all. She felt hot, giddy. Her heart was beating so hard she felt sure he must hear it. When he lowered his head she did not draw back, instead she turned her face up to meet him, her lips slightly parted. His kiss was soft, gentle as a breeze, but it sent a bolt of excitement zinging through to her core and she found herself reaching up, pushing up on her toes to prolong the moment.

When he ended the kiss and raised his head, she felt bereft. He was gazing down at her, a faint, puzzled frown creasing his brow and suddenly the chill night air rushed in, bringing her back to the reality of her situation. The duke was clearly ashamed of what he had done, disgusted with himself for kissing someone he saw as little better than a servant. And she had kissed him back! No respectable young lady would ever do such a thing. Tears were threatening. She must leave, before she made even more of a fool of herself.

She stepped away from him.

'Oh, I beg your pardon.'

Her anguished whisper hung on the night air.

'Clara, I – '

As he reached out for her she whisked herself out of reach, turned and fled.

***

Melinda Hammond

www.melindahammond.com

Candlelight Courtships is available now for you to enjoy from Amazon, with six spell-binding romances from Elizabeth Bailey, Monica Fairview, Amanda Grange, Fenella J Miller, Wendy Soliman and Melinda Hammond!

The English country house - Lyme Park

One of the things I love most about living in England is visiting magnificent country houses. England has many such houses, built by wealthy landowners in previous centuries, and they demonstrate the best of English architecture and taste over a millennium.

One of my favourites is Lyme Park , on the border of Cheshire and Derbyshire. Lyme Park is one of the most famous, and beautiful, houses in England. It's probably most well known for its appearance as Pemberley in the 1995 BBC mini-series of  Pride and Prejudice. It's immediately recognisable because of the mirror lake in front of the house, which, on a clear day, perfectly reflects the house. Nowadays, visitors approach the house from the other side but in its heyday, the drive led up to the side by the lake.

The estate was granted to Sir Thomas Danyers in 1346 and passed to the Legh family in 1388. The house itself was built in the late sixteenth century, with alterations being made in the 1720s showing the influence of Baroque and Palladian styles. It was passed to the National Trust in 1946 and is now held in trust for the nation. The National Trust owns many of England's historic houses, since most of them are too expensive for individual families to maintain.




The houses are open to the public and I've spent many a happy hour wandering through perfectly preserved rooms, examining architecture, enjoying the gardens, learning about the history or just soaking up the atmosphere. I'm also lucky enough to do frequent book signings at Lyme Park, where Mr Darcy's Diary proves very popular in the shop. They often have exhibitions linked to Pride and Prejudice. My favourite was probably the costume exhibition, which featured the famous white shirt which became the famous wet shirt! Here I am, standing next to it (although, alas, Mr Darcy was not wearing it at the time). As you can see, I dressed for the occasion!





If you're looking for a quintessentially English day out, I can thoroughly recommend Lyme Park. It's a beautiful house with interesting rooms, glorious gardens, a deer park and a folly. It has a wide variety of displays and exhibitions, which vary from season to season, and it has an excellent shop full of Pride and Prejudice inspired items. It's one of my favourite places and I hope it becomes one of your favourite places, too.

Amanda Grange

Why I love Regency romance

I first discovered Regency romance in my early teens with Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer and I was hooked. Of course, Jane Austen wasn't really writing Regency romance, she was writing contemporary novels, but she set the template for a whole genre with Pride and Prejudice. Georgette Heyer picked up the baton in the twentieth century and made the Regency romance her own.

So what do I love about it? I love the chance to escape to an elegant age where courtesy was the order of the day; where witty conversations took place in crowded ballrooms or gracious drawing-rooms; where men and women danced and rode and took tea as they gradually fell in love. Many Regencies are comedies of manners about impoverished ladies who meet rich, handsome and arrogant gentlemen, causing the sparks to fly. Or sometimes it's the reverse, with heiresses meeting their match in impoverished gentlemen,

The language is another thing I particularly love about the genre. Georgette Heyer introduced a lot of wonderful phrases to the genre, which came from her detailed research. Characters are not poor in Heyer's novels; instead, they don't have a feather to fly with or they have pockets to let. They aren't drunk, they are a trifle disguised. There's a fantastic list of Heyer slang here This kind of rich and exuberant language peppers the pages of Regency romance and provides a unique and very entertaining read.

Regencies also offer a chance to delve into history and find out more about how our ancestors used to live. Some Regencies focus on the day-to-day life of the characters in small country villages. Others highlight historical events and place their characters in the turbulence of the Napoleonic wars or other similar events. I love reading and writing smuggling stories similar to Poldark, or stories about highwaymen or daring rescue attempts from the shores of revolutionary France, as well as elegant comedies of manners. Most of my own Regency romances have some kind of adventure as well as a romance. There is so much choice in the genre, it offers something for everyone, which is why I suppose it is still so popular, over 200 years after the first publication of Pride and Prejudice.

Amanda Grange

Getting to know you - Amanda Grange

I expect most people reading this blog already know quite a bit about me but I thought it would be fun to add some new information and images. I'm probably best known for my series of Jane Austen retellings - Mr Darcy's Diary, Mr Knightley's Diary, Captain Wentworth's Diary, Colonel Brandon's Diary, Edmund Bertram's Diary, Henry Tilney's Diary and Dear Mr Darcy, as well as my paranormal sequel to Pride and Prejudice, Mr Darcy, Vampyre. I've also written a lot of Regency romances, a Regency whodunnit called Murder at Whitegates Manor, and an additional Regency romance which is lighter than my other, more adventurous Regencies, called The Rake, published under the name of Amy Watson.



So where did it all begin? Well, I was born and bred in Yorkshire, a beautiful county in the north of England. Yorkshire is famous for its moors, which look particularly lovely when the heather is out. You can see for miles when you're actually on the moors, but the towns and cities are often in bowls, with the moors rising up around them. We often went for family walks on the wild and windy moors. Yes, that's a link to Yorkshire's most famous authors - no, not me, but the Bronte sisters, famous for the brilliant novels Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.


Yorkshire is also famous for its food. Yorkshire puddings  are a must at Sunday lunch time. Despite their name, they're not sweet. They're traditionally eaten with roast beef, but they taste so good they're often served with other roast meats or stews as well. Another famous Yorkshire food is the Yorkshire fat rascal, which is a special kind of fruit scone with cherries and almonds making a face. These are best eaten at Bettys tea rooms , famous for their afternoon teas and their traditional English ambience. (The absence of an apostrophe is deliberate - Bettys no longer use one.)

One of my favourite occupations as a child was visiting my local library, which was housed in this beautiful Victorian building. It's easy to see where my love of history came from! The children's library was on the right and the adult library was on the left. I can still remember my excitement when I graduated from one to the other. I quickly discovered some of the authors who were to become my lifelong favourites: Jane Austen, Georgette Heyer, the Brontes, Anthony Trollope, Agatha Christie, Charles Dickens, Henry James, as well as many others. I loved travelling to the different worlds opened up by the books. I enjoyed reading in the garden on sunny, summer days and curling up by the fire with a good book in winter. We had an open, coal fire at home and I loved dreaming as I looked into the dancing flames.

On leaving school, I went to Nottingham University. I loved both English and music and couldn't decide which subject to pursue, but in the end I chose music. The campus was gorgeous and the buildings were once again beautiful. I could just imagine Mr Bingley living here! I carried on reading, of course, and I wrote my first novel in my spare time. It was a children's book, similar to the C S Lewis Narnia books. I wrote it in the back of an old exercise book but I never thought about approaching a publisher. Sadly, over the years the book was lost but I wrote quite a few more books. A lot of them were unfinished as I tried out different genres and different styles.

I went on to teach, but at the back of my mind was an ambition to become a published novelist. I started writing in earnest, and, because I loved all things historical and the Regency period in particular, I started writing Regency romances. At the time, the only route to publication was through a traditional publisher and, after my fair share of rejections, my first book was accepted by Robert Hale Ltd I will always be grateful to them for taking a chance on an unknown author and putting me into print. Hale are a long-established publishers and it gave me a thrill to know they had published a lot of my favourite authors in the past, including Jean Plaidy. I was in very good company!

In 2003, my career took a turn that was going to prove momentous. I was working on a Gothic romance called Stormcrow Castle - Gothic as in a young woman goes to a lonely house, where she has to unravel secrets - when I became stuck. I didn't know what was going to happen next. I decided to take a break. I went into the garden - it was one of those idyllic spring days we sometimes get in England, when March or April throws out a few hot days as though it's midsummer - and for a treat I took Pride and Prejudice with me to read. As soon as I started reading it, I was struck by how modern it seemed. I'd read it many times, but I hadn't read it since becoming a published author. It had a lot of dialogue, a fast pace and a brilliant opening sentence.


I thought, 'The only thing it doesn't have, that an editor would be looking for today, is any scenes from the hero's point of view'. There were occasional glimpses into Mr Darcy's mind, but no whole sections entirely from his viewpoint.

I started wondering about the things that happened to Mr Darcy when he wasn't with Elizabeth and I found myself inspired to go inside and write the "missing scene". I wrote the scene when he visited London, to find Wickham and Lydia, and then I went back and wrote the scene where he went to Ramsgate. Once I'd brought him safely back to London with Georgiana, I couldn't stop writing. I wanted to know what he thought of Netherfield Park, what was going through his mind when he was so rude to Elizabeth at the Meryton Assembly . . .

Before I knew it, I had written Darcy's Diary (the hardback title; the paperback is called Mr Darcy's Diary). I hadn't intended it for publication, but once I was about half way through I knew that, if I hadn't written it, I would love to read it. I wasn't sure what my publishers would make of it. Jane Austen inspired novels were few and far between at the time, especially in England, where the genre is still not as popular as it is in the US. Luckily my publishers loved it and the rest is history. The diaries are now travelling around the world in French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and a variety of other languages. But it all began in Yorkshire, when I sat dreaming by the fire and reading Pride and Prejudice.

Amanda Grange

You can find Amanda's books in all good bookshops and online from all Amazons including UK and US , or from your favourite seller.

Regency Brighton - a historical Wednesday post

Welcome to one of our new-look Wednesday posts on a historical topic. One of the things I love most about writing - and reading - historical romance is finding out something new about the past. It surprises me in two ways: one, how different things were a few hundred years ago and two, how similar they were. As it's a hot and sunny day here in England (for a change - this has been an awful summer so far) I thought I'd blog about the seaside, and what better place to blog about than Brighton? The town was immortalised by Jane Austen, who brilliantly portrayed two completely different attitudes to the town in Pride and Prejudice, by showing us Lydia and Elizabeth's feelings on the subject:

Lydia's attitude is typical: "They are going to be encamped near Brighton: and I do so want Papa to take us all there for the summer! It would be such a delicious scheme, and I dare say would hardly cost anything at all. Mamma would like to go too of all things! Only think what a miserable summer else we shall have!"

"Yes," thought Elizabeth, "that would be a delightful scheme indeed, and completely do for us at once. Good Heavens! Brighton, and a whole campful of soldiers, to us, who have been overset already by one poor regiment of militia, and the monthly balls of Meryton."

Lydia goes to Brighton after all, but Jane Austen never shows us the town. So what was it like? As with any town at the time, assembly rooms were very important. There were two rival assembly rooms at the two principle inns, the Castle, and the Old Ship and Lydia no doubt visited both of them. The Master of Ceremonies at the time was probably Cpt William Wade, who had a great influence on the social life of the town. I say "probably" because he died in 1808, and we're not certain when Pride and Prejudice was set (Jane Austen never includes the date). However, I'm sure the Master of Ceremonies, whoever he was, introduced Lydia to plenty of eligible partners!

Brighton is famous for the Pavilion, but what was it like in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries? In 1786, when the Prince of Wales first leased it, it was a small house on the Steine just to the north of the Castle Inn. Over the years he transformed it, first by rebuilding it in the classical style, and later by rebuilding it again in the Indo-Chinese style.

The image at the left shows it in 1804, and the image at the right shows how it was gradually transformed. I think Elizabeth would prefer the classical style, but I'm quite sure Lydia would prefer the more opulent building!

Lydia would almost certainly have visited the circulating library. The first library was erected in 1760, on the east side of the Steine. Books could be bought, borrowed or read, and there was also a billiard room. Later a rotunda was added where a small band could play. In 1767, another library opened on the south side of the Steine. Small shops were established round the libraries selling, amongst other things, tea, which was known to have been smuggled. Did Lydia drink some of this contraband tea? Probably! 

She would also have enjoyed promenading along the grassed area of the Steine, where she could flirt to her heart's content with any officer who happened to be passing. She would have had to watch her feet, however, as the Steine was also used by fishermen for spreading their nets and many promenaders complained about falling over them.

Other places of gaiety included the South Downs, which were perfect for horse riding and trips in horse-drawn carriages. One of the most popular destinations was Devil's Dyke, some 5 miles north-west of Brighton. It was the site of an Iron Age fort and Roman road and had impressive views from the summit. Although I suspect Lydia would have been more interested in the red coats of the officers who escorted her! The grassed area known as The Level was where formal festivities, such as celebrating the Prince's birthday, were held, including sports and ox roasting.

There were pleasure gardens, similar to the Vauxhall gardens, although on a smaller scale, known as  Brighthelmston Promenade Grove at their opening in 1793. Brighthelmston was the original name for Brighton. It's impossible to know exactly when the change of name occurred, since it probably gradually mutated, and had probably been pronounced Brighton, even when it was written as Brighthelmston. However, by the time Pride and Prejudice was published in 1813, it had morphed into Brighton. 

When the weather was hot, what better than a spot of sea bathing? I can just imagine Lydia's squeals of delight as she ventured into the water. She would have rented a bathing hut and changed into her bathing dress inside. The hut would have been on wheels and it would have been pulled into the water by a horse, ridden by an urchin. She would then have been helped down the steps by a woman known as a dipper. Men and women bathed on different sections of the beach, but I wouldn't be surprised if Lydia had ignored the restrictions!

I set one of my own Regency romances in Brighton. You can see how the cover artist used the contemporary Nash illustration (above) as a basis for the book cover. It shows Cassandra attending an evening at the Pavilion. I thoroughly enjoyed the research. If anyone else is researching this period, then I can recommend The Creevey Papers. These diaries of Thomas Creevey (1768 - 1838) are full of information about the society, culture and politics of the day. It was in the Creevey Papers that I discovered what it was actually like to spend an evening in the Pavilion. In fact, one of the incidents in the book is based on an incident recounted by Lady Creevey.

Another interesting resource in A History of Brighton and Hove by Ken Fines, and for a video tour, see the Brighton Pavilion website , which also has an online shop.

I hope this has whetted your appetite to discover more about Regency Brighton.

Amanda Grange

Titanic Affair

It’s over a hundred years since the sinking of Titanic, but the disaster still resonates with us today. The ship struck the iceberg on the night of April 14th, 2012 at 11.40 pm and sank in the early hours of April 15th at 2.20 am. I’m going to be blogging about my historical romance set on board the ill-fated ship.

 I believe it’s important to keep the story of Titanic alive because, to quote Edmund Burke, “Those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it”.

Writing Titanic Affair was a new experience for me. Although I’d written a lot of historical romances by the time I wrote Titanic Affair, they were not based around any specific event, so the research process was very different. It was very important to me that the book was factually accurate and so I turned to survivors’ accounts and newspaper reports from the time, as well as the findings of the official investigation. I knew that my book would cover the entire voyage and so I didn’t just research the disaster, I also researched accounts of life on board before disaster struck.

My heroine, Emilia, is leaving England to live with her godmother in Ireland. She is poor, but her godmother has given her a first-class ticket and so she is able to enjoy everything the first-class passengers have at their disposal. One of her friends on board uses the gym, with its cycling and rowing machines as well as its more exotic pieces of apparatus such as an electric horse and an electric camel. She visits the Turkish Baths, with their lavish Moorish-style decorations, but stops short at using the swimming pool. She eats in many of the cafés and restaurants including the Café Parisien, with its beautiful trellis work and wicker furniture. She also dines in the dining saloon as well as the à la carte restaurant, which was run by Monsieur Gatti, who had previously managed the restaurant of the Ritz.

But her plan to stay with her godmother is destroyed when she runs into an old adversary. By the time she escapes, Ireland has been left behind and she is forced to remain on board as the ship heads out to America. Which brings her into an increasingly close relationship with  the wealthy Carl Latimer . . .

You will find a lot more about life on board, as well as the love story between Emilia and Carl, in Titanic Affair. It’s in a special promotion at the moment on the Kindle. You can buy the book at Amazon UK
Amazon US

How exciting!

How fabulous! Two of our authors are in the Top 10 Historical Romances on Kindle.  Darcy's Diary by Amanda Grange is at number 5 and Regency Pleasures by Louise Allen is at number 7. What a way to end the year!

Jane Austen, The Unseen Portrait

There’s been a lot of controversy recently about a portrait of Jane Austen which may, or may not, have been drawn from life. When I first heard about it I was sceptical for many reasons, the main ones being that the portrait is not mentioned in documents of the time, eg family letters, and that the inscription on the back reads Miss Jane Austin, not Austen. The consensus of opinion seemed to be that it was an imaginary portrait, ie one drawn by a fan who had never met Jane, and that it had probably been done many years after Jane’s death. But Dr Paula Byrne felt it could have been drawn in Jane’s lifetime, by someone who knew her, and a BBC programme, “Jane Austen, the Unseen Portrait”,  set out to investigate the theory.

I tuned in with the expectation of being entertained and nothing more. However, against my expectations, I found myself being won over to some degree by the arguments in the documentary. Whilst there is no direct evidence that the portrait was indeed drawn from life – no handy letter discovered which said, Dear Cassandra, This afternoon I sat for my portrait – I found the theory put forward interesting, at the very least, and surprisingly compelling. So much so that I would like to see further investigation undertaken because I think it is actually possible that the portrait was drawn from life.

Much of the evidence was circumstantial and I’ll briefly summarise it for those who didn’t catch the programme (which can be seen again here http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b018nz2x/Jane_Austen_The_Unseen_Portrait/ ) My own observations are in brackets.

1) The costume in the portrait is right for the period. (This doesn’t mean very much, since it would be easy for the artist to copy a fashion plate from the era, but if the costume had been wrong then it would have disproved the theory very quickly.)

2) The type of white ink used for the highlights was used as a matter of course in 1811 but had fallen out of favour by 1869. (This again doesn’t mean a lot but it helps the theory that it was drawn in Austen's lifetime rather than working against it.)

3) There is a family resemblance to other Austens of whom we have verified portraits. (Again, an artist drawing Jane from their imagination could have looked at these and made their portrait a good match. It’s another piece of evidence which doesn’t prove anything but seems to help rather than hinder the theory. However, one thing I found very interesting was that the woman in the portrait is noticeably very tall and slim, much more so than in the authenticated portrait of Jane by her sister Cassandra, and I see no reason for an artist drawing from imagination to do this. Yet it is accurate, because judging from a pelisse worn by Jane Austen – which has been authenticated – she was very tall and slim, about 5’8” and thinner than Kate Moss. So this fact seemed very suggestive to me and started to make me think that maybe, just maybe, the artist had met Jane.)

4) The misspelling of Austen as Austin (a big stumbling block for me to begin with) was shown to be a common misspelling of her name at the time by various people who knew the Austens. But the thing that convinced me absolutely that the misspelling was not a sign of inauthenticity was that her name was spelt as Austin on one of her royalty cheques. The cheque had been endorsed with the name Jane Austin (with an i) in Jane’s own handwriting. (Perhaps I should say, in what appeared to be Jane’s writing, as there were no tests done on the handwriting.)

5) The church in the background has been identified as St Margaret’s.

The St Margaret’s connection led to Eliza Chute, who knew the Austen family. She married at St Margaret’s, meaning the church had significance for her. She lived close to it in London – at one point in the programme it said that she had a view of St Margaret’s from her window, which means it is possible that Jane sat for her portrait in Eliza’s home – and she was a talented amateur artist. This led to the speculation that she could have painted the portrait.

And this is where, for me, the programme started to get really interesting. The Austen portrait is graphite on vellum, a technique which had fallen out of favour at the start of the eighteenth century. It was therefore a curious technique to use at the time the portrait was executed because it was already about a hundred years out of date, but it is known that Eliza Chute used this technique in a portrait of her sister. There are more details of this here: http://smithandgosling.wordpress.com/ This link also has an image of the portrait – I didn’t post one myself because I know that some bloggers have been asked to remove the image for copyright reasons.

I was by this time so far persuaded that I thought it at least possible that the portrait was a genuine likeness of Jane, drawn from life, and to want to know more. Sadly, there were no conversations with art experts about the likelihood of it being by Eliza Chute, nor were there any definite datings of the vellum, ink and graphite. Both of these areas need further exploration.

There were / are some more problems, of course. Why would Jane sit for a portrait? And why is there no mention of the portrait in any family letters?

From a purely speculative point of view, the first question is not so difficult. Jane could have wanted to commemorate her success as an author. Or there could have been a more tragic reason. She could have suspected she was dying and wanted to give a portrait to Cassandra as a keepsake.

The second question is more difficult. Why, if it is a genuine portrait of Jane drawn from life, has there been no mention of it in family letters or other documents. What happened to it after it was drawn? How did it end up in the estate of an MP (my memory of the programme is a little hazy here, I need to rewatch it, but if memory serves it came from the estate of an MP).

Again from a purely speculative point of view I think it is at least possible that the portrait was mentioned in letters which Cassandra burned. In addition, if the portrait was drawn as a keepsake for Cassandra, then the sisters might never have told anyone else about it, and might have asked Eliza Chute not to mention it; or indeed Eliza might have mentioned it but this fact might never have been recorded, or been lost down the centuries.

So although I won’t go so far as to say that I’m convinced that this portrait was drawn from life, or that it was drawn by Eliza Chute, I’m no longer convinced that it wasn’t. Either way, it was an interesting programme and one which will not doubt keep Austen fans arguing for a long time to come.

Amanda Grange

Henry Tilney's Diary - US paperback

Today I'm celebrating the release of the US paperback of Henry Tilney's Diary. I feel an enormous sense of satisfaction in seeing this book make it to the US in paperback, just as I felt a sense of satisfaction when the UK hardback came out, because it's the last of my Jane Austen retellings. I absolutely adore Jane Austen. I love her humour, her sharp eye for detail and her memorable characters and it's been a labour of love for me to look at her novels through the eyes of the heroes. Sometimes the results have been very surprising.

It all began back in 2005 when Darcy's Diary came out. The US rights were quickly snapped up by Sourcebooks, who brought out the US paperback (called Mr Darcy's Diary) two years later. Then followed the other books in the series, with beautifully romantic covers from Penguin in the US, and classic covers from Hale and Sourcebooks in the UK (also Mr Darcy's Diary in the US).

And now, to cap it all, the books are all out in ebook form, including Kindle. In fact, Captain Wentworth's Diary is out in a special edition combined with Jane Austen's Persuasion. There's an active table of contents to let you navigate easily around the book, and at a special price of 86p (yes, 86p!) it's a perfect treat.

What a way to celebrate Christmas!

Jane Austen Made Me Do It!

When Laurel Ann Nattress of Austenprose contacted me about a new anthology she was putting together I knew straight away I'd like to be a part of it especially as I'd be sharing the wonderful company of fellow authors Amanda Grange, Monica Fairview and Jo Beverley.
Our brief was to write a 5000 word short story for the anthology, Jane Austen Made Me Do It, and as long as it related to Jane Austen in some way we were invited to let our imaginations take flight. The result is a collection of 22 stories-a veritable chocolate box of tales inspired by Jane Austen, some historical and some contemporary.

Amanda Grange's story is Mr. Bennet Meets his Match.
On his daughters’ wedding day, Mr. John Bennet’s mind drifts back to the events of twenty-three years before, and the events leading to his own marriage . . . Encouraged by his parents to marry sooner rather than later and thereby provide a new generation of Bennet heirs for the estate, John laughed at their hurry. However, a meeting with his Cousin Collins, who was next in line for the entail, and an unfortunate accident, made him reconsider his position, and the proximity of the lively, pretty Miss Jane Gardiner sealed his fate.

Monica Fairview's story is Nothing Less than Fairyland.
In this gently humorous story inspired by Jane Austen’s novel Emma, the day has come for Mr. Knightley to move into Hartfield, but Mr. Woodhouse is still not reconciled to the marriage. Trouble looms on the horizon, unless Emma can quickly come up with a way to convince her papa to accept Mr. Knightley’s presence.

Jo Beverley's story is The Mistletoe Kiss.
Elinor Carsholt is living on the charity of a connection of her late husband’s in the village of Chawton, facing a dismal future for her three young daughters, until she begins to hope that her oldest daughter Amy has caught the eye of local baronet Sir Nicholas Danvers. Amy must have been sneaking out for clandestine meetings, which disturbs her, and there is a ten-year age difference, but still, it would be the saving of them all.
When she and the girls go out on Christmas Eve to look for holly, ivy, and mistletoe, Elinor is still undecided and rejects Amy’s urging to go to Sir Nicholas’s estate in search of mistletoe, but then local resident Miss Austen drives by in her donkey cart and pauses to chat.Elinor doesn’t really approve of Miss Jane Austen, for she’s been told she writes novels, which Elinor thinks a bad influence on young female minds, but she has to be polite. Miss Jane turns talk to love and marriage, expressing far too romantic a view, but she also assures them all that Sir Nicholas would be delighted if they searched his orchard for mistletoe, changing the course of their lives.

My story is Waiting.
Captain Wentworth and his beloved Anne Elliot have waited almost nine years to be together. At last all misunderstandings are swept aside. They have declared their love for one another, and all that remains is for their union to be blessed by Anne’s father, the irascible Sir Walter Elliot, and for the family members to be told. As Anne and Frederick ponder their futures each is reminded of the past, and all that has happened.
Persuasion is my favourite Jane Austen novel, and so I knew straight away this was the story I wanted to write. I'd always wondered how Anne Elliot's family would react to the news that she and Captain Wentworth were going to be married, and I also couldn't resist having them look back to the time when they first met. It was such fun writing the characters of Sir Walter Elliot, Anne's sisters Elizabeth and Mary, and of course Anne and Frederick Wentworth too!

Here's a short excerpt:

Captain Wentworth was awake early to witness the greyness of the day, mists rising in a smoking pall above the city along with the icy rain which lashed at the windows of his lodgings in a manner fit for any storm at sea. His spirits were high, though to tell the truth, he was more than a little nervous at the prospect of the interview he was about to face. As he adjusted the cuffs at his wrists, he glanced out of the window to observe the dash of carriages rolling round the square depositing new arrivals in Bath.

Had it only been yesterday when the unimaginable had happened at last? Frederick recalled every second of the encounter, revived every feeling. They’d met in Union Street. He’d been almost afraid to witness her reaction to the heartfelt letter he’d sent. But he needn’t have worried. Her eyes had spoken the sentiments she could not immediately express. Anne Elliot had taken his arm, and he’d sheltered her from the rain with his umbrella.

From his viewpoint past the railings on the other side of Queen Square, Gay Street effortlessly progressed up its steep incline, elegant façades on either side ascending to the Circus much as he and Anne had advanced before turning off to find the relative quiet of the Gravel Walk. Heedless of the sauntering politicians, bustling housekeepers, and flirting girls around them, they had confessed all their hidden, secret feelings, buried for so long.
“She loves me, as I love her,” he said out loud to confirm the truth to himself. He wanted to open the window and shout it out to the muffin man below. “Anne Elliot never stopped loving me from the day we parted. Oh, that my stubborn pride had not prevented me from seeking her out sooner. I’ve wasted almost nine precious years when we could have been together! I admit; I felt very differently all those years ago when she rejected me. I held her in contempt then, although sweet Anne, I now believe, was perfectly justified in withdrawing from our engagement. I was proud, made to feel that I was not good enough for a baronet’s daughter, and the truth of it stung me to my very soul. But there is little point in grieving over the past; I must look to the future with the girl I love most in the world by my side. My only fear, nay dread, concerns the interview I am to have with her father this morning. Not that his consent really matters. Anne will not be persuaded against her wishes this time, not like the first time. We are older, and, I hope, much wiser, both secure in the knowledge that our love is ever true and constant. But, this will not do, I have an appointment with Sir Walter, and I must not be late!”

I had a lot of fun writing this story-if you know a Janeite, why not pop it in their stocking this Christmas?!

Jane Odiwe

Colonel Brandon's Diary - UK paperback

I'm absolutely thrilled that the UK paperback of Colonel Brandon's Diary is finally here. Its publication date was chosen to coincide with the bicentennial of Sense and Sensibility and it's a beautiful edition, I just love the cover. It's taken from the same portrait as the hardback cover, but it shows more of it, so that we see "Brandon" is holding "little Eliza" by the hand.

When I set out to write my retelling of Sense and Sensibility, I was intending to write Edward's diary, but as soon as I came across the short passage in which Brandon recounts his tragic past, I knew that his was the diary I had to write. From optimistic youth to devastated young man to bereaved adult - and then, miraculously to a man of hope and love again, courtesy of Marianne Dashwood - I loved every minute of writing his diary, and I hope you love reading it, too.

Here's a taster from the middle of the book, when Brandon challenges Willoughby to a duel.

The carriage pulled away. The horses’ hooves sounding strangely muted and the turning of the wheels was no more than a grating whisper as the carriage bumped over the cobbles.
‘This damnable fog,’ said Green, peering out of the window. ‘I hope it clears by the time we reach the heath or you will not be able to see each other, let alone fire.’
We were in luck. When we stepped out onto the heath we could see for twenty paces, enough for our business.

There was no sign of Willoughby’s carriage.
Ten minutes later Willoughby arrived, attended by two men who looked nervous, as well they might. They were dandies, not soldiers, and had probably never been seconds in their lives.
‘I will give him another chance to change his mind,’ said Green.
He went over to Willoughby, they had words, and Green returned, saying, ‘The duel is to go ahead. It is for you to choose the distance, Brandon.’
That done, the seconds met in the middle and loaded the pistols in each other’s presence to ensure fair play, then Green and Wareham returned to hand me my weapon.

‘Willoughby’s man is to count the paces. After the count of ten, you may turn and fire at will. Is this agreeable to you?’
‘It is.’
‘Then let us get it over with.’
I removed my coat. Across the heath, Willoughby removed his. The fog was lifting minute by minute, and I could see him clearly. We came together and stood back to back. His man counted the paces. One . . . two . . . three . . . four . . . five . . . I thought of Eliza abandoned and left all alone . . .six . . . seven . . . eight . . . nine . . .
‘Ten!’
I turned.

He turned, too, his arm already raised. He rushed his shot, firing without taking proper aim, and the bullet went wide, so wide I did not even feel it pass. He blanched, and dropped his arm. I saw his knees begin to buckle. I lifted my arm. And then he turned and I thought that he would run. But the horrified look on the faces on his seconds curtailed his cowardice and he turned back towards me, white faced and trembling, turned sideways on to present as small a target as possible.
For Eliza, I thought.
I took aim.

But as I did so, I saw not Willoughby and not Eliza, but Marianne. I imagined her face as she heard that Willoughby was dead; I imagined her grief, and I was horrified, for, if she was still enamoured of him, she would not grieve easily or quietly, but would suffer with all the depth of her being. If I killed him, I would cause her great pain, and with her nature, it was a pain she would not be certain of overcoming. And so I raised my arm and fired into the air.
Willoughby fell to his knees, and had to be assisted to his feet by his seconds.
I walked over to him and looked at him in disgust.
‘You are not worth shooting,’ I said.

Then Green brought me my coat and we climbed into the carriage. It pulled away, jolting over the heath before turning on to the road.
We went back to Green and Wareham’s lodgings. By the time we reached them, a wind had sprung up and it had driven most of the fog away, revealing a cold, clean light as a pale sun broke through the clouds.
‘You deloped,’ said Wareham, as we went inside. ‘Why?’
‘Because there is another young woman caught in Willoughby’s toils,’ I said, as I took off my outdoor clothes and threw myself into a chair, ‘and I feared that, if I killed him, she would love him for ever.’


Colonel Brandon's Diary is in UK bookshops now, or you can order from The Book Depository which offers free worldwide postage and packing, as well as Amazon and other sellers.

Amanda Grange

Austenesque Extravaganza!

August sees a month-long celebration of Jane Austen, organised by Meredith at Austenesque Reviews and I'm very happy to be a part of it. My contribution is a quiz about my heroes' diaries, which look at Jane Austen's novels from the heroes' points of view.

1) Which was the first diary to be published?

2) One of the diaries had its title changed for the paperback edition. Which one, and what were both titles (hardback and paperback)?

3) In Mr Knightley's diary, what happens to Miss Bates?

4) In what year does Captain Wentworth's Diary begin?

5) Which was the last diary to be published?

6) In Mr Darcy's Diary, Elizabeth hopes to meet  . . . .  at the Netherfield Ball.

7) In Colonel Brandon's Diary, why does he not marry his first love?

8) In Edmund Bertram's Diary, Fanny falls in love with . . .

9) Does Mr Darcy's Diary end before, at, or after Lizzy and Darcy's wedding?

10) There is a short story sequel to Mr Darcy's Diary in an anthology. Which anthology?

For the answers click here

And last but not least, Meredith is holding a mammoth giveaway, with 80 Austenesque books to be won! Simply leave a comment on any of the participating blogs and the winners will be selected at the end of the month. If you win, you will win a book at random, not necessarily a book by the author on whose blog you leave a comment. You can find full details of the giveaway at  Austenesque Reviews
Good luck!

Amanda Grange

The Jane Austen House Museum, Chawton

I had a wonderful day at the start of June, giving a talk at the Jane Austen House Museum. The house is in the beautiful village of Chawton set deep in the English countryside and it was Jane's home for the last eight years of her life. She wrote Persuasion, Mansfield Park and Emma whilst living there, and she also revised her three other major works -  Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility and Northanger Abbey - there.

The atmosphere of the house is amazing. Even standing outside I am immediately reminded of Emma: "A mind lively and at ease, can do with seeing nothing, and can see nothing that does not answer." Once inside, the atmosphere intensifies. For me, the highlight is the table at which she wrote:

I gave the talk in the new lecture hall, which is a light and airy building in keeping with the style of the house. It's in the garden and provides the setting for talks, concerts and other Austen-related activities. There is always something going on there and if you're planning a visit, then it's a good idea to see what events might be on at the time. You can find a list of events here The Regency Butler talk looks particularly useful for Regency authors, and don't miss Victoria Connelly's talk on 9th July!

I was surprised to see so many people there at my talk and had a lovely time, chatting about my Austen heroes' diaries and my love for Jane Austen. I signed books afterwards - the museum has a lovely shop - and thoroughly enjoyed my afternoon. I'm sure you will love it if you haven't been.The staff are very friendly and very knowledgeable, and their genuine love for Austen shines through.

Amanda Grange

Austenesque extravaganza quiz

(Please ignore the date on this post. I was hoping to post the answers on my website but it's being updated and so I've had to improvise, removing an old blog post and using the space for the answers to the August 2011 quiz)

Here are the answers from the Austenesque quiz:

1) Darcy's Diary

2) Darcy's Diary (hardback) was renamed Mr Darcy's Diary for the paperback.

3) She gets married.

4) 1806

5) Henry Tilney's Diary

6) George Wickham

7) She is forced to marry his brother

8) Edmund Bertram

9) After

10) A Darcy Christmas

Thanks for taking the quiz. I hope you enjoyed it and that you have fun with the rest of Austenesque August!

A Day Out with Amanda Grange

Recently Amanda Grange and I had a lovely day out at Jane Austen's House Museum - don't you think we look very much at home? Jane Austen moved to Chawton, a large cottage on her brother Edward's estate in July 1809. It was possibly a former coaching inn at one time and in Jane's day was a busier place as coaches rumbled past the windows day and night. One of Jane's nieces remembered how comforting it was 'to have the awful stillness of night frequently broken by the sound of many passing carriages, which seemed sometimes even to shake the bed' - perhaps not a sentiment that would be enjoyed by many today. Jane Austen looked forward to the move. After her father's death in Bath, their circumstances had been greatly reduced and eventually they had moved to Southampton to live with one of the sailor brothers. An opportunity for a home of their own for the Austen women was not a chance to be passed up, and Jane looked forward to buying a piano again instead of renting one as she had had to do in Bath and Southampton. '...as good a one as can be got for thirty guineas, and I will practise country dances, that we may have some amusement for our nephews and nieces, when we have the pleasure of their company.'
Jane's sister-in-law thought the rector of Chawton, Mr Papillon, might be a suitable marriage prospect for Jane. In a letter Jane joked about it in typical fashion - 'depend upon it that I will marry Mr Papillon, whatever may be his reluctance or mine.'

Jane and her sister Cassandra became increasingly responsible for running the household. Mrs Austen devoted herself to the garden and needlework. When the sisters were at home it was Jane's responsibility to make the breakfast and to order tea, sugar and look after the wine stores. When Jane came down in the morning she would start the day with practising on her piano so as not to disturb the others later on. She would then put the kettle on and make the breakfast. Cassandra took care of all the other household chores giving Jane invaluable time to write. It was at Chawton that she started to revise the books she had already written - Elinor and Marianne, which became Sense and Sensibility, and First Impressions, which became Pride and Prejudice. Though callers could see her writing through the window a creaky door gave her warning when anyone was about to enter the room. She would cover her work and was able to keep her writing secret.
The house remains largely unchanged today. It is still possible to wander through the sitting room, dining room and bedrooms where Jane walked and worked, and to see examples of clothing and jewellery that belonged to her. Recently, the kitchen has been renovated, and there is a new bookshop which sells not only a wonderful selection of books, but lots of other momentoes and souvenirs.
Walking through the village gives a sense of going back in time, and a walk to the 'Great House' where her brother Edward and his family lived must have very similar views to the ones back then with old cottages lining the road. At the church you can find the graves of Jane's sister and mother. I always feel it's rather sad that Jane is buried in Winchester away from them and far from the place that she loved.
We had a lovely day out - it's a place I never tire of going to see! There are more pictures on my blog Jane Odiwe

Jane Odiwe

Is this a first?

I had a very nice surprise in the post this morning when my author copies of the Hebrew edition of Mr Darcy's Diary arrived. It's the first time one of my books has gone into a foreign language and so I'm very excited about it. Which made me wonder, is it the first Austen related novel to go into Hebrew? If anyone knows of any others I'd be interested to hear about it.

I wanted to post a picture of the cover, which is very attractive, but unfortunately my computer was hit by a virus recently and now I can't scan anything. But if I can manage to get a cover pic somehow I'll post it for you. I'm also trying to find out whether the book will be available online and if so I'll post details.

What an exciting start to the new year! I hope that your new year has started as well and that it will be a fantastic time for all our readers.

Amanda Grange

The Mr Darcy Gift Set

I'm taking a break from Henry Tilney's Diary to tell you about The Mr Darcy Gift Set, available from the Jane Austen Centre in Bath.















The set contains:
- Mr. Darcy's Diary by Amanda Grange - allow him to tell you how ardently he admires and loves her.
- Mr Darcy Bookmark - Our favourite and best-selling Darcy item
- Mr Darcy Magnet - with Pride and Prejudice quotation
- Mr Darcy Keyring - So he will be with you wherever you go.
- Mr Darcy Luxury Writting set - Scribe as the mistress of Pemberly
- Mr Darcy Portrait Postcard

I was really excited to see that Mr Darcy's Diary was a part of the set and I hope it brightens up a lot of stockings this Christmas. What better present for the Darcy fan in your life!

Amanda Grange

Henry Tilney's Diary

As I've mentioned before, when I'm writing the diaries I like to catch something of the hero's personality in the diary entries, so that the tone of the entries in Mr Darcy's Diary is very different to the tone in Edmund Bertram's Diary etc. In Henry Tilney's Diary I'm constantly aware that Henry is an ironic character and so I've tried to reflect this in his diary entries. I'm also aware of the strong elements of novelistic parody running through the book, as Jane Austen constantly pokes affectionate fun at the Gothic novel.

I wanted to have a house party in Henry Tilney's Diary because I wanted to explore the back story, introducing Eleanor's future husband, the man we only learn about right at the end of Northanger Abbey. I also wanted to show some of the family dynamics and to delve deeper into Fredeick's character.

I have had house parties in other novels but I have written them very differently.

In Mr Darcy's Diary I have this:

Monday 15th December

At last, they are here. Bingley and Jane were the first to arrive, bringing with them Caroline and Louisa.
‘Mrs Darcy,’ said Caroline, with an excess of civility. ‘How pleased I am to see you again.’ She smiled as though she and Elizabeth had always been the best of friends, then turned to me. ‘Mr Darcy, how well you look,’ she said. ‘And Georgiana. How you have grown! It must be this Derbyshire air. It is so invigorating.’
Louisa was less vocal but greeted us pleasantly. Mr Hurst merely grunted before retiring to the billiard room. Caroline and Louisa went upstairs, led there by Georgiana, and Elizabeth and I were free to talk to Jane and Bingley.

In Henry Tilney's Diary, the entry about the start of the house party is far more detached. It also plays on the theme of Gothic novels.

Thursday

And so, the characters are assembled: Eleanor Tilney, heroine; General Tilney, loud and irascible, demanding and domineering, determined to marry his daughter to the highest bidder; Mrs Tilney, soft and sweet; Frederick Tilney, the son and heir, a rake and a wastrel; Henry Tilney, the younger son, an ironic creature with - perhaps - the soul of a romantic; Sir Charles Borson, maybe hero, maybe villain, a man of fortune who seeks to take the heroine off to his castle in the remote reaches of -shire; friends of Frederick Tilney, idle and extravagant; a collection of military gentlemen, friends of general Tilney; and a group of young ladies and gentlemen, friends of Miss and Mr Henry Tilney.

Of course, this is just an early draft. As I'm writing it, I'm constantly asking myself questions, for example:

1) Should I leave it as

And so, the characters are assembled

or should I expand it to:


And so, the scene is set, the characters are assembled.

2) Should I keep it simple with Eleanor Tilney, heroine; or should I expand it, giving her some of the attributes of Gothic heroines, like this:

Eleanor Tilney, sweet and innocent, beloved of everyone who knows her

And if I expand it, do I want to expand it in that way, or do I want something even more over the top - more pointedly Gothic, with a greater element of parody, such as

Eleanor Tilney, friend to small animals in distress, saviour of wilting rose bushes,with a voice like a lark in the glowing dawn of a summer's day

Or should I have something even longer and more over the top?

These are the sort of things that will change a dozen times or more as I write the novel. On some days I'll prefer the simpler option, on other days I'll prefer the more over the top version, and I will probably only decide which to use when the book is nearly ready to send off to the publishers, because then I'll know how much parody is in the rest of the book, so I will know if I need more, or less, here.


Henry Tilney's diary is proving great fun to write. It's a very different writing experience to my other diaries, and it promises to be a very different reading experience.

Amanda Grange

Henry Tilney's Diary - Part 6: beginnings

I've been thinking a lot about beginnings lately as I'm at the beginning of Henry Tilney's Diary. In modern novels writers are often advised to begin the book at a moment of change and I thought about where Jane Austen's novels begin.

Pride and Prejudice - begins when Bingley and Darcy move to the area.
Sense and Sensibility - begins when Mr Dashwood dies.
Persuasion - begins when Wentworth returns to the area after a long absence
Mansfield Park - begins when Fanny arrives at Mansfield Park
Emma - begins with Mrs Weston's marriage
Northanger Abbey - begins with Catherine going to Bath.

In other words, they all start at a moment of change.
This is probably another reason why the books seem so modern and are still enjoyed today.

Henry Tilney's Diary - Part 5

When I write the heroes' diaries I try to keep the tone similar to the tone of the original, bearing in mind that it's seen through the hero's eyes, so in Henry Tilney's Diary I want to reflect the fact that Northanger Abbey is a Gothic, albeit a kind of spoof.

I agonised over this idea for ages because I couldn't see how to do it. In Northanger Abbey it's Catherine who brings the Gothic element because she imagines herself to be in one of Mrs Radcliffe's novels, but with Henry being a very different kind of person it was difficult to see how to do it. And then a line in the original gave me the clue because Henry and Eleanor read Gothic novels together.



This is perfect from my point of view because I can have some Gothic scenes, with thunder rolling outside the Abbey window and Henry and Eleanor sitting indoors, reading one of Mrs Radcliffe's novels by candlelight. If I add in some over-the-top Gothic elements like a few flashes of lightning the Gothic scene will be set.

It will also allow me to do something else I wanted to do, that is, introduce some text from The Mysteries of Udolpho. I know that not everyone will have read Mrs Radcliffe's classic, and that some people won't realise it's an actual novel, so this will allow me to give them a taste of the book.

I want to include something about the black veil, because Catherine and Isabella mention this in Northanger Abbey. Readers in Jane Austen's time would have read the scene and so they would know exactly what Austen was talking about. I want to give modern readers the same kind of knowledge.

The only thing I can't decide at the moment is whether or not I should have a later scene in which Henry and his sister read the passage that reveals what lies behind the veil. Would that spoil it for anyone who hasn't read Udolpho, or do I anticipate that everyone who is likely to do so has already read it and therefore they know the answer to this question?

At the moment I can't decide. One thing's for sure, there will be some very Gothic scenes in Henry's diary.

Amanda Grange