Question J

[Jonetta]

Jane Austen's romance writings centered around the realities of their society as it existed at the time. If you've read any of her books, could you see elements of that life in this story? Is Anne Preston's situation a strong illustration?

[Charlene]

I think I definitely need to read Jane Austen again. I wasn't paying attention to the circumstances before, only the characters.

[Jonetta]

I must confess...I've never read Austen:(

[Phrynne]

She is one of my favourite authors:)
I am never really impressed when authors bring famous people into their stories for no real reason. Maybe I missed something but I didn't really see the point of having her there. I assume the author did her usual good research though and knows Austen visited London at that time.

[Veronica]

It's a pretty common occurrence in the historical mystery genre, for whatever reason. Maybe to lend some realism to the story or to help anchor it to specific years, I suppose.

I've never read any of Austen's books though I've seen many of the film and/or tv series adaptations. Oddly enough, I never thought I'd like period stories at all until after I read the first Sebastian book. I can't even recall why I selected the book to read. I'm glad I did though because it launched my love affair with handsome men in Hessian boots! :-)

[Lauren]

I love Austen's books and have read them all. She was a gifted author with a great deal of critical and witty insight into the society of her times. All of the details of Austen's life as presented in the book are real and, for me, it was an added bonus having her in the story :0)

The intertextuality in this book is very rich and my impressions of the characters were influenced by my knowledge of her works. Wyeth reminded me of Wentworth in Persuasion. Comparisons are made to Willoughby (Sense & Sensibility) and Wickham (Pride & Prejudice) although these turn out to be baseless as his intentions toward Anne were honorable.

Of course, the cat is named after Mr. Darcy (the sexy brooding hero in Pride & Prejudice) and Knightly is from Emma although he is the anti-thesis of Austen's Knightly.

[Jonetta]

Thanks, Lauren as that's very helpful. I wondered if Harris had effectively woven Austen's characters and society into the story.

[Jasmine]

I love Jane Austen. I teach a course in Women Writers that begins with Pride and Prejudice. As Lauren said, Wyeth seems very like Wentworth in Persuasion. That whole plot seemed very based on Persuasion, including the heroine's name (Anne). Stanley Preston's characterization seems based on the slave-owner Sir Thomas Bertram in Mansfield Park.

I was really enjoying all the connections made between Jane Austen's "real" life in this book and her fiction.

Different literary reference, but the whole collection of heads was reminding me of Mr. Venus's shop in Dickens' Our Mutual Friend, though Mr. Venus is a much more likable character than Priss Mulligan.

[Jasmine]

Now that I've finished, I see that the author points out the Mansfield Park connection. I also noticed that Wyeth's mother's family & financial situation was reminiscent of Pride & Prejudice (all girls, the inheritance entailed to the male line).

The whole Jamaica connection and miscegenation theme was reminding me of a somewhat later author and book--Jane Eyre.