Monica Fairview's Blog, page 27

The Life of a House

Basildon Park – Netherfield 2005

Sometimes the life of a house is as full of twists and turns as an angsty novel that follows a beleaguered heroine from riches to rags and back again. Basildon Park in Berkshire is a house with such an adventurous history.

An eminently Regency house, it was built in the late 1700s for Sir Francis Sykes, an East India Company nabob. It passed down to his son, who became notorious for his gambling and a very expensive court case for seducing the wife of a fellow of...

Unmasked: The Darcys in Venice – The Arrival of Shelley

 Percy Bysshe Shelley

Lord Byron had quite forgotten about his dinner invitation to the Darcys, as Shelley’s arrival had distracted him. They had not met in several years, and after warm greetings Shelley lost no time in freeing his mind about his first concern: the fate of Byron’s little daughter Allegra. The child’s mother, Claire Clairmont, lived with Shelley and his wife Mary, her half-sister, and she had come to Italy to try to see her child. Shelley represented to Byron Claire’s grief and ...

Throwback Thursday-Knightley Discourses

**This post originally appeared in 2022**

“But I hate to hear you talking so like a fine gentleman, and as if women were all fine ladies instead of rational creatures. We none of us expect to be in smooth water all our days.”

~Jane Austen’s Persuasion

 

How marvelous would it be to traipse through a world with all our favorite heroines from Jane Austen’s novels? To learn about their back stories, their futures, and maybe even a parallel event which isn’t mentioned in original canon? Christina Bo...

Cover reveal! Cursing Mr Darcy is coming soon!

Cursing Mr Darcy is coming soon! Its a Pride & Prejudice variation with just a dash of witchy-magic tossed in just in time for spooky season (pumpkin spice, colored leaves and a break in this heat… who is with me?)

Here is the first excerpt I posted in case you missed it. Keep reading for a second excerpt and to see the cover, designed by the wonderful Josephine Blake from Covers and Cupcakes.

You can preorder Cursing Mr Darcy HERE.

As their carriage bumped and jostled its way down a poorly-kep...

JAFF Bonanza-Free Books!!!

 

Hello, Janeites!

June 28th, 2024 is a date that will go down in the history of JAFF readers!

 

 

Our very own Elizabeth Adams, Nicole Clarkston, Amy D’ Orazio, L.L. Diamond, Monica Fairview, Maria

Grace, Alix James, Lucy Marin, Abigail Reynolds, and Anngela Schroeder have teamed up with numerous

additional authors to to bring you a Jane Austen Fan Fiction Bonanza!

Use the link below or the QR code to download 60 FREE books to feed your Kindle!

Make Haste!  This event is only good today, Jun...

P&P The Untold Stories: Georgiana Worries About Darcy

Her brother’s efforts to battle through the pain of heartbreak weigh heavily on Georgiana’s mind. Is there anything she could do to help him?

June 26, 1812

 

“Another cup of tea, Brother?”

Georgiana’s quiet question was met with a faint start and a swift, “I beg your pardon?” which served to confirm what she already suspected: that his thoughts were hundreds of miles away. She suppressed a sigh and schooled her features into a pallid smile.

“I was merely wondering if you cared for more tea.”

“O...

Anne DeBourgh Crashes Georgiana’s Birthday Ball

This is a short story I wrote several years ago, when I was working on The Ladies of Rosings Park, but I don’t think I ever shared it here. It came about this way:

When I mentioned on Facebook that I was writing the scene where Anne de Bourgh crashes Georgiana Darcy’s 18th birthday ball, I started receiving comments from enthusiastic friends about what they thought that scene should contain – creative suggestions I wished I could use for the book but couldn’t, since it had to match the tone of P...

Elizabeth Elliot Seeks a Husband Part III

Here’s the conclusion of my short story. Will Elizabeth Elliot have her happily ever after?

You can find Part I here and Part II here.

 

Part III: October (An autumn stroll settles it all)

Elizabeth Elliot would never admit to feeling desperate, but desperate she was. After two months, she was no closer to finding a husband than she had been when her scheme had been born on the day of Anne and Captain Wentworth’s wedding. In addition to Sir Richard and Mr Needham, she had done everything possibl...

P&P The Untold Stories: Postponing the Northern Tour

What led the Gardiners to choose Derbyshire instead of the Lake District for their summer travels with Elizabeth?

Early Summer, 1812

The cat had just begun dancing with the mouse when Susan cried, “Papa, Papa! Come listen to Mama’s newest story!”

Margaret Gardiner turned to see her husband leaning against the doorjamb of the nursery, his smile weary but warm. Now all three children were calling to him, begging him to take part in the bedtime ritual he was, of late, rarely at home to witness. B...

P&P The Untold Stories: Darcy Invites Bingley to Pemberley

Darcy invites Bingley and his family to Pemberley

June 17, 1812 

Fitzwilliam Darcy looked across to his good friend, Charles Bingley. They were sitting at their club having just enjoyed a light meal. The past two months, during which he had been in London, had passed easily enough, he supposed, although he knew he was not in good spirits. How could he be, after what had happened in Kent? He was haunted by nightmares of his ill-advised proposal to Elizabeth Bennet and their subsequent argument. ...