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- Herausgeber: Honno Press
- Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
- Sprache: Englisch
This is the third volume of short stories shortlisted for the Chawton House Library Short Story Award. It takes as its inspiration minor characters from the famous novels and tells the tales that continued behind the scenes, at Pemberly, Mansfield Park and elsewhere. Award winner, 'The Wedding Planner' takes the characters from Austen's novella Lady Susan and transports them to the 21st century. Other stories focus on the less well known of the Bennet sisters,Kitty and Lydia, and of deceased Mary Price. There are tales of George Wickham and Charlotte Collins. Some are contemporary to Austen others contemporary to current readers. All are an intriguing insight into the inner lives of one of our most loved authors' best loved works.
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Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2015
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Contents
TITLE PAGETITLES IN THIS SERIESFOREWORDINTRODUCTIONTHE WEDDING PLANNER – Pamela HolmesLADIES OF ENGLAND – Marybeth IhleA THING OF BEAUTY – Sarah BaillieFORGOTTEN THINGS – Emily Ruth VeronaALL AT SEA – Sandy NorrisMARY CRAWFORD’S LAST LETTER – Elisabeth LenckosTHE TELLTALE SIGNS – Jocelyn WatsonMY NAME IS KATHERINE BURROWS – Mary FitzpatrickMARY’S SILVER KNIFE – Janet LeeTHE AUSTEN FACTOR – Marian FordCANDOUR – Price W GrishamFIVE THEORIES – Leslie McMurtryBENWICK’S TALE – Eithne CullenFAREWELL LADY CATHERINE – Fiona SkepperROMANCE AND REHYDRATION – Sarah ShawTHE NEMESIS OF MERYTON – Clare GirvanMONEY THE HARD WAY – L E YatesTHE GREY LADY – Susan PiperTHE POWER OF NURSE ROOKE – Anne ThomasGORGEOUS GEORGE – Deirdre MaherBIOGRAPHIESTHE EDITORSABOUT HONNOADVERTISEMENTSCOPYRIGHT
Titles in this series also available from Honno
Dancing with Mr Darcy
Wooing Mr Wickham
FOREWORD
Two hundred years ago, on 8September 1815, whilst dealing with the publication of her fourth novelEmma,Jane Austen wrote to her beloved sister Cassandra. The letter is addressed from their home in Chawton, a home provided to the Austen women by their brother Edward Austen, later Knight. This third brother had the good fortune to be made the heir of Thomas and Catherine Knight, distant and childless relations. Jane gives an account of a letter just received from their youngest brother Charles, who is planning a visit to the village. Her message gives a sense of the complicated logistics involved in housing their extended family in the cottage Jane and Cassandra share with their mother: ‘He does not include a maid in the list to be accommodated, but if they bring one, as I suppose they will, we shall have no bed in the house even then for Charles himself – let alone Henry.’ Thank goodness, then, for the ‘Great House’ along the road – a house that also belongs to brother Edward: ‘We shall have the Gt. House quite at our command; it is to be cleared of the Papillons’ servants in a day or two’.
This ‘Great House’, first constructed in the late sixteenth century, and now a rich blend of architectural styles and features, was once nearly lost forever. In the twentieth century, in common with other estates, inheritance taxes and increased running costs prompted a long period of decline, involving the sale of most of the outlying manor and the sub-dividing of the house into flats. In 1993, the dilapidated building was sold on a long lease to the American entrepreneur and philanthropist, Dr Sandy Lerner OBE. Ten years later, after extensive conservation work, the house was transformed and given a new lease of life for the new millennium.
Today, the ‘Great House’ is Chawton House Library, an internationally respected research and learning centre for the study of early women’s writing from 1600 to 1830. As a registered charity with no government support, the Library is responsible for the conservation and development of its unique collection, for ensuring open access to it for the benefit of scholarship and wider society, and for raising the funds to secure its long-term sustainability. There are award-winning activities for schools, a programme of lectures, talks and conferences, and a prestigious visiting fellowship scheme which facilitates more specialised research. Chawton House Library is immensely proud to be working with Honno to publish this third collection of award-winning short stories inspired by Austen’s work as a result of the short story competition held in 2014.
It seems fitting that Jane Austen is inspiring new writers – and especially new woman writers – in the twenty-first century. For although she is the most famous woman novelist of her time, she was, in fact, only one of a thriving community of early literary women who influenced and inspired each other. In fact, Austen so admired one of the other women writers in the Library collection, Frances Burney, that her name is listed as a subscriber to Burney’s third novel,Camilla(publishing by subscription was a popular method of publication in this period). These women published not only novels, poetry and drama but also everything from travel journals to political debate. Many of the writers in our collection were famous in their day but, unlike their male counterparts, they have since been forgotten in mainstream publishing and popular culture. Chawton aims to foster understanding and research of these early women writers, restoring them to their rightful place in the history of English literature and enabling them to speak directly to – and inspire – future generations.
Chawton House Library holds over 10,000 works by and about women including rare first editions and original manuscripts. This collection gives a remarkable sense of the diversity and richness of women’s writing during this time. It includes works by Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-1797), the famous philosopher who made a powerful case for women’s rights, and Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (1689-1762), whose Turkish Embassy Letters, written while she was in residence in the east, circulated widely in manuscript before publication after her death. Here, a reader can discover the poetry of Ann Yearsley (1753-1806), whose poems cover such subjects as the inhumanity of the slave trade, and read it alongside the works of Margaret Cavendish (1623-1673), the Duchess of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, who published extensively on philosophy and early modern science, and wrote one of the earliest examples of science fiction.
I hope that those of you who enjoy and are inspired by this collection of short stories will visit Chawton House Library for further inspiration. The library collection is open, by appointment, to anyone who would like to use it. And the house and grounds are regularly open to visitors too. Please visit the website http://www.chawtonhouselibrary.org for further information.
Gillian Dow
Executive Director, September 2015
INTRODUCTION
The idea of a competition for stories inspired by Jane Austen and her work originated with Lindsay Ashford, an ex-Honno staffer working at Chawton House Library. It proved to be a fruitful one. This third collection of shortlisted stories includes writers from all sides of the world, male and female, writing tales set in Georgian times, in the 21stcentury and points between. This particular volume includes a prize winner taking advantage of the myriad forms of communication available to modern lovers and which Austen’s original readers would have wondered at in ‘The Wedding Planner’. Even the steampunk hero of ‘The Nemesis of Meryton’ might have struggled to explain the nature of the Twitter feed to Mary Bennet…though I believe Jane Austen would have enjoyed trying her hand at the pithy 140 word Tweet!
I don’t profess to be an Austenite or literary expert, though I did study some of the books for a novel course I took at university many moons ago. I read my first during one summer holiday from junior school; in hindsight rather too early to catch the nuances which shine so brilliantly. However, in some ways this makes me an ideal judge for a series of short fictions taking less well-known characters as their heroines and heroes. If the story works for me – who may not be well acquainted with the original the viewpoint character is based upon – then it will work whoever reads it. But the stories have also been through the Chawton House Library filter and Lindsay’s expert eye, so you can rest assured that they intend no disrespect to the author, rather the opposite. What I enjoyed most about sifting through the collection is that imaginations have been let loose to riff upon themes and personalities… What would Jane do? has become what would Frederika do, or Lydia or George? In the case of the latter that is ‘no good at all’: ‘Gorgeous George’ Wickham, as Deirdre Maher envisions him, is a predatory male with his eye not only upon the young ladies but also the main chance.
There’s something for everyone in this volume from a crochety old Scotswoman who’s been stymied by true love, to genuine compassion and concern from Frederick Wentworth for his new bride, Anne, and the desperate ghost of Mary Price who wishes to stay in this world and see more of it than her cloistered home allows, even if at one remove. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed editing it and more.
Caroline Oakley
September 2015
THE WEDDING PLANNER
Pamela Holmes
Facebook status update: Frederica Vernon is now engaged to be married to Reginald De Courcy.
Instagram: The happy couple
Text: Amelia Johnson to Frederica Vernon
‘Omigod, Freds, you and Reggie? I saw the selfie. You look so happy!’
Text: Frederica to Amelia
‘I’m over the moon, Ames, I can hardly believe it. Going into a meeting, email you later.’
To: Amelia
Subject: Reginald De Courcy
Yea, it’s true, I’m going to marry him! He asked me on bended knee, natch. It was so romantic. The ring is beautiful. It belonged to his grandmother and glistens like the tears I shed!!! LOL Frederica De Courcy (to be)
Instagram: The ring
Tweet: @AmJohn
Put on your shades, girl, the ring sparkles!
Text: Frederica to Amelia
A, How can a girl be so happy one day and devastated the next? Mother’s refusing to come to our wedding. How can she miss the biggest day of her only daughter’s life? F
Text: Amelia to Frederica
Oh F, What’s up with Susan? Thought she’d be pleased you’re getting hitched. Reg is a lovely guy. A
Text: Frederica to Amelia
M’s been trying to marry me off for years, anything to get me off her hands. Now I’m doing what she wants, she’s refusing to stand by me. In bits. F
To: Frederica
Subject: Odd
Darling, thought about you all last night. Not like Susan to miss a chance to be the centre of attention. Mother of the bride, that’s a big number. Why is she behaving this way? Ames
To: Amelia
Subject: Re: Odd
I knew she was furious with me, I just didn’t think she’d show it this way.
To: Frederica
Subject: Re: Odd
How could she be cross with the sweetest daughter a mother could ever wish for?
To: Amelia
Subject: Secret
If I tell you, you must promise never,ever, to tell anyone else. I’d feel terrible. Sometimes I do things that Mother herself would be proud of. Call you at lunch.
Facebook status update: The wedding of Frederica Vernon and Reginald De Courcy will take place in June
Mobile call: Frederica Vernon to Amelia Johnson
‘Hi Amelia, it’s Frederica.’
‘Freds, darling, you poor love. What are you going to tell me? You know you can trust me, one hundred and one per cent. Our mums are best friends and so are we. I’m going to be your chief bridesmaid, aren’t I?’
‘Prepare yourself, girl. Mother was having an affair with Reginald when I first met him. I’m not sure how far it had gone but she had her eye on him. AndI stopped it.’
‘How the hell did you dothat? It’s impossible to stop Susan getting what she wants, surely?’
‘What? You’re breaking up. My battery’s flat. I’ll email.’
To: Amelia
Subject: Cougar
It’s true, I stood in her way when she wanted Reggie.
To: Frederica
Subject: Re: Cougar
OMG!!! Respect, as they say. Your mother and Reg? But she’s much older than him. She’s got lovely eyes and looks loads younger than she is, but a mother and daughter after the same man? Must be a novel in it. Call you later.
Mobile call: Amelia to Frederica
‘Hi Freds. Why haven’t you told me all this before? I’m agog! Spill the beans.’
‘About two years ago, do you remember that I was as an intern for my lovely Uncle Charles? He has that country stoves and Aga business… One evening they held a drinks thing for local people to come and see the showroom. Auntie Caroline’s brother, Reginald, came too. The same night, Mother tips up dramatically saying she’d “escaped” from a ghastly situation. She’d been holidaying in Spain with friends, the Mainwarings, and there’d been “a bit of trouble”. She had this man in tow – James Martin – who she wanted me to meet. She’d shown him photos of me, thought we’d hit it off…’
‘James Martin? Isn’t that the guy your mother married only last year! I’m confused..?’
‘This was all the yearbeforeMother and James got married. Remember how she has always been desperate to marry me off to someone with cash? With James she smelled lots of it. He’s done well in property deals or something – always meant to check out what. Anyway, after that, she starts inviting him over to ours, dropping hints, you know how she is. He’s OK but talks incessantly and I just didn’t fancy him. I told her so and she was furious; called me the “torment of her life”. The pressure was intense!’
‘I do remember that time. My mum talking on the phone to Susan for hours about how difficult you were being and—’
‘Meanwhile, Mother was making a beeline for Reginald. His family may have lost all their money paying inheritance tax, but she knew he still had some holiday cottages and a successful business. And he’s dead handsome. So, one Sunday we were all having lunch at Charles and Caroline’s. Mother was behaving badly as usual: flirting with Reggie, giggling at his jokes, that sort of thing. You know how men fall for her. Perhaps you don’t but, believe me, they do.
‘Anyway, when Auntie Caroline dropped a few acid remarks over the washing up I knew I was right. We had a heart to heart and she told me what had happened in Spain. She’d had a teary call from Mrs Mainwaring, saying how Mother had lain by the pool in her bikini, making eyes at Mr M who started following Mother around like a puppy, offering to rub sun lotion on her back. Mrs M was furious and insisted Mother leave.
‘Must go, boss alert!’
Tweet: @FredericaV
Getting hitched Parklands Country House Hotel. ReadPride and Prejudiceas Pemberley-style wedding and need yr ideas! #Pemberley @FredericaV
Tweet: @AmJohn
Top hat for Darcy, demure gown for Liz, carriage and candles @FredericaV #Pemberley @AmJohn
To: Frederica
Subject: Miss B
Saw tweet. Wicked!!! Remember Lizzie B had a tricky mother so chin up. What next?
Mobile call: Frederica to Amelia
‘Is this a good time, Ames…?
‘So a few days later, Reg drops by our house to see Mother. Lucky for me she was still out having her hair or nails done, can’t remember which. Must remember to book myself a manicure before wedding… Anyway, I told him that Mother had been flirting with someone else’s husband and almost caused a divorce. At first he was furious with me, asked me what I thought I was doing, speaking so badly about my mother to someone – him – who I’d only recently met? What a big girl’s blouse. Didn’t frighten me at all; I think that’s when I started fancying him. I told him to check it out with Caroline. So he calls his sister and she confirms everything. Said Mother had caused terrible ructions in the Mainwaring household, that they might get divorced.’
‘That was brave, girl!’
‘There’s more! When Mother came home, Reg confronted her. It was fireworks! She showed her true colours. Said he had no business to criticise her, who did he think he was? Mocked him about his fancy family name and losing all their money. That riled him. Then she starts screaming at me, calling me an interfering cow. Reggie’s face was thunderous. He left without saying anything and sent her this letter saying he didn’t want to see her again.’
‘Wow, Freds, it must have been weird seeing Susan get her comeuppance. How did she cope?’
‘She was quiet for a few weeks. But if she was unhappy, she didn’t show it. Brave really, or bonkers. Then starts dropping hints about James Martin, invites him to over to ours again. I ended up going back to uni early, said I had to prepare for finals. Gotta go, Ames, speak tomorrow. Did I tell you Reggie’s family used to live in Parklands, the place we’re getting married? So cool! Let’s talk bridesmaid’s dresses.’
Tweet: @FredericaV
Desperate need for yr ideas re bridesmaid and flower girl dresses mid-June nuptials #Pemberley @FredericaV
To: Frederica
Subject: You and Reg
Hi F, Remind me. Howdidyou get together with Reggie in the end? A
To: Amelia
Subject: Re: You and Reg
Thanks to lovely Auntie Caroline. I stayed there for Christmas last year when Mother was skiing with James. Caroline asked Reggie to stay, too. At first he was dead unfriendly but when we played ‘sardines’ after a boozy lunch and ended up squashed up in the broom cupboard, things got friendlier. Thinking blue for the bridesmaid’s dresses, WDYT?
To: Frederica
Subject: Your triumph
You’ve never told me all that before – Frederica taking a stand against Susan Vernon at last! We must celebrate. Blue is cool, white for you, obv? A
To: Amelia
Subject: Re: Your triumph
Everyone thinks I’m the shy weed who’s pushed around by her mother. I did run away from school once; why does everyone always forget that? Had to stop her manipulating me and running my life. So, I scuppered her thing with Reg. Not toomean, just honest. But it makes me sound scheming, just like Mother, and that feels awful. Might need tricks to get her to the wedding, though. Any ideas?
To: Frederica
Subject: Idea
Say Mr M will be there?
To: Amelia
Subject: Re: Idea
Ha-ha. Saturday to shop for dresses. Seymour Street at noon?
Instagram: Selfie of Frederica and Amelia in petticoats and chemises with thumbs up
To: Amelia
Subject: Fantastic day!!!
That pop-up shop issoooocool, the woman got the Pemberley-thing right away. The white lawn dress will be perfect and love the bonnet with the Mechlin veil. And my Darcy in a white shirt and cravat, buff breeches and black pumps is brilliant. Wonder if he’ll agree? Second fittings booked. Love, excited Lizzie B
Tweet: @FredericaV
Did Lizzie Bennet have a hen party? #Pemberley #Wedding @FredericaV
To: Frederica
Subject: What’s up?
Hi. You’ve gone quiet. No calls or emails today. Are you OK?
Text: Amelia to Frederica
Hi Fred, you didn’t update your Facebook yesterday. Everything all right?
To: Frederica
Subject: Reply!!!
Frederica, your mobile is switched off. People will think you are dead.
To: Amelia
Subject: Re: Reply!!!
Hi A, I’ve been sorting out important wedding things like who will sit next to Mother on the top table. Would you mind?
Mobile call: Amelia to Frederica
‘This has to be quick, I’m at work, hiding in the loos. Your mother is coming to the wedding? How did you managethat?No probs sitting next to her, by the way.’
‘Oh Ames, that’s marvellous. Yea, I’ve been very busy. I was looking for wedding ideas, you see, and I found someawesomeinformation about James Martin. Seems he used to run an events business in Suffolk; catering, marquees, fancy cars, that sort of thing. That he bankrolled some dodgy exports, avoided taxes, misused investor funds. I found him on the Companies House website. You’ll never guess what. He was declared bankrupt about eight years ago…’
‘What? That’s terrible…’
‘And he was jailed for fraud for two years! So I contacted him and suggested we needed to talk – without Mother. He took me to this lovely place for lunch, better than my usual Pret wrap. Told him what I’d found. Pathetic, really, to watch a man choke on his oyster but the maître d’ whipped out a napkin so it was all sorted.
‘Assured him that I would, of course, nevertellMother about these past misdemeanours. But I mentioned the social media we all use these days. Like Snapchat. How I could, for example, send a scan of the newspaper report on his court hearing to all my friends knowing that it would self-destruct a few minutes after they opened it. And my lovely new iPhone app: Secret. Means I can send out informationanonymously. What fun.
‘It’s amazing how pale James was as we talked. Then he asked me what it was that I wanted. “Only Mother to be at our wedding,” I said. “Oh, and a helicopter.”’
‘A helicopter?’
‘I know it’s not very Pemberley, but I’ve always harboured a fantasy of arriving at my wedding in a helicopter. It will make great photos, don’t you think? My satined-foot descending from the belly of the great bird, my veil billowing in the breeze of the blades. James was sweet and agreed it would be splendid, and we had a glass of champers to celebrate. Next day my phone goes and it’s Mother saying sweetly she’dloveto come to the wedding.’
‘I wonder what he said to her.’
‘I don’t want to know the details, Ames. I’m just happy to know that she will be there. See you at the fitting next week, darling. It’s going to be a glorious wedding.’
