Today I am thrilled to have C. Allyn Pierson, the author of the new novel Mr. Darcy's Litle Sister as a guest blogger. I just finished Mr. Darcy's Little Sister last week, and I loved it (see my review here). I can't wait to get my hands on it! Thank-you for writing a great guest post Ms. Pierson!Why I Chose to Write About Georgiana
by C. Allyn Pierson
Georgiana Darcy is an interesting figure for me because her name and description are scattered throughout Pride and Prejudice, but the reader does not actually meet her until after Elizabeth Bennet meets Darcy again at Pemberley, when she finds that he has greatly changed. Darcy brings Georgiana to meet Elizabeth as soon as she arrives the next day, and Elizabeth and her aunt return the call the next morning. Because the reader knows only the varied descriptions of Georgiana by her brother and Miss Bingley, we are surprised to find that Georgiana is not haughty and proud, as she sounded from Miss Bingley’s description, but is painfully shy and reticent. Even at the end of the book we do not have a clear grasp of Georgiana’s personality and she remains an enigma.
This mystery of who Georgiana really is intrigued me and I reread Pride and Prejudice again multiple times to get a feel for her character. In addition, the sketchy portrait of Georgiana gave me ample license to fill out her character as I wished. If I were writing about Darcy or Elizabeth I would have to make them fit into the world Jane Austen created and there would be many fewer options to use to develop my story. In addition, Austen clearly states that Georgiana has such great respect for her elder brother that it almost overcomes her affection for him and when she meets Elizabeth there is a lot of tension when Darcy enters the room and Georgiana feels she must exert herself to meet his expectations. She clearly struggles to meet his expectations. This tension between the two Darcy’s: the pull of love and affection for a brother and the natural rebelliousness of a teenager struck me and made me want to explore it.
Although children were much more strictly brought up in the 19th Century, I am sure that teenagers experiences the same feelings of needing to break out from their families control as modern teens do, but they were given many fewer choices. Children were not really considered individuals, but were an extension of their families, so there was a lot of pressure to conform to the standards the parents set down. Georgiana struck me as a very conformable young woman, but she was clearly well educated for her day and had many accomplishments, so I think her transition from girlhood to adulthood would be a difficult one. These qualities attracted me to her character and made me want to explore who she was in my book.
MR. DARCY’S LITTLE SISTER BY C. ALLYN PIERSON—IN STORES SEPTEMBER 2010
Pride and Prejudice continues...Georgiana Darcy grows up and goes in pursuit of happiness and true love, much to her big brother's consternation
Georgiana Darcy is an interesting figure for me because her name and description are scattered throughout Pride and Prejudice, but the reader does not actually meet her until after Elizabeth Bennet meets Darcy again at Pemberley, when she finds that he has greatly changed. Darcy brings Georgiana to meet Elizabeth as soon as she arrives the next day, and Elizabeth and her aunt return the call the next morning. Because the reader knows only the varied descriptions of Georgiana by her brother and Miss Bingley, we are surprised to find that Georgiana is not haughty and proud, as she sounded from Miss Bingley’s description, but is painfully shy and reticent. Even at the end of the book we do not have a clear grasp of Georgiana’s personality and she remains an enigma.
This mystery of who Georgiana really is intrigued me and I reread Pride and Prejudice again multiple times to get a feel for her character. In addition, the sketchy portrait of Georgiana gave me ample license to fill out her character as I wished. If I were writing about Darcy or Elizabeth I would have to make them fit into the world Jane Austen created and there would be many fewer options to use to develop my story. In addition, Austen clearly states that Georgiana has such great respect for her elder brother that it almost overcomes her affection for him and when she meets Elizabeth there is a lot of tension when Darcy enters the room and Georgiana feels she must exert herself to meet his expectations. She clearly struggles to meet his expectations. This tension between the two Darcy’s: the pull of love and affection for a brother and the natural rebelliousness of a teenager struck me and made me want to explore it.
Although children were much more strictly brought up in the 19th Century, I am sure that teenagers experiences the same feelings of needing to break out from their families control as modern teens do, but they were given many fewer choices. Children were not really considered individuals, but were an extension of their families, so there was a lot of pressure to conform to the standards the parents set down. Georgiana struck me as a very conformable young woman, but she was clearly well educated for her day and had many accomplishments, so I think her transition from girlhood to adulthood would be a difficult one. These qualities attracted me to her character and made me want to explore who she was in my book.
MR. DARCY’S LITTLE SISTER BY C. ALLYN PIERSON—IN STORES SEPTEMBER 2010
Pride and Prejudice continues...Georgiana Darcy grows up and goes in pursuit of happiness and true love, much to her big brother's consternation
A whole new side of Mr. Darcy...
He's the best big brother, generous to a fault. Protective, never teases. But over his dead body is any rogue or fortune hunter going to get near his little sister! (Unfortunately, any gentleman who wants to court Georgiana is going to have the same problem...)
So how's a girl ever going to meet the gentleman of her dreams?
About the Author
C. Allyn Pierson is the nom-de-plume of a physician, who has combined her many years of interest in the works of Jane Austen and the history of Regency England into this sequel to Pride and Prejudice. She lives with her family and three dogs in Fort Dodge, Iowa. http://www.callynpierson.com/
Giveaway Details
Danielle of Sourcebooks has been kind enough to offer two copies of the Mr. Darcy's Little Sister by C. Allyn Pierson for this giveaway. I have decided to give a try at simplifying my giveaways so lets see how this experiment works . . .
Danielle of Sourcebooks has been kind enough to offer two copies of the Mr. Darcy's Little Sister by C. Allyn Pierson for this giveaway. I have decided to give a try at simplifying my giveaways so lets see how this experiment works . . .
If you would like to win a copy of Mr. Darcy's Little Sister, please leave a comment about what intrigues you about Mr. Darcy's Little Sister or what you liked about Ms. Pierson's guest blog.
As part of your comment, you must include an email address. If I can't find a way to contact you I will draw another winner.
I will be using random.org to pick the winners from the comments.
This contest is only open to US and Canadian residents (Sorry!).
No P.O. Boxes.
The deadline for entry is midnight, Friday September 24th.
Good luck!
I like books about Georgianna, because as Ms. Pierson says, there is so much of her story just waiting to be told. I like the idea of Darcy chasing all of her suitors away, too. Plus, the author is from Iowa! I live in Ames, so we are practically neighbors!
ReplyDeletePlease contact me on goodreads:
http://goodreads.com/jvmimo
I also find it interesting about Georgiana's shyness. This does make her seem very mysterious. I always connect Georgiana to Mr. Darcy, her big brother. Both love one another so much. Surely, she loses a part of him when he marries Elizabeth.
ReplyDeleteteakettle58(at)yahoo(dot)com
I'm interested because lately I've been reading books that I normally wouldn't pick up and I've had great luck with most of them. I'm interested in broadening my tastes I guess I would say.
ReplyDeleteThis looks like one I'd be lucky with so I'm eager to give it a try. :)
my email is babyjulie@atlanticbb.net
Oh course I'm intrigued by Georgiana because I wnat to know what made her such a wild child...first almost running away with Wickham, then running away to war then getting knocked up. Georgiana! Still waters run deep!
ReplyDeletewebbJM@verizon.net
I have been reluctant to read any of the P&P follow-ups, but this one sounds good. Thanks for the giveaway.
ReplyDeletelcbrower40(at)gmail(dot)dom
What intrigues me about this book is that it's a continuation of a book written over two centuries ago.
ReplyDeleteiii.141592653589793238462643383[at]gmail[dot]com
Having read P & P, and having seen the movie recently, what intrigues me about this story is the new focus on Darcy's little sister, Georgiana: what makes her tick, her quest for true love in the days of arranged marriages, and the relationship between a sister and her protective older brother.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this guest post very much.
Laura, thanks for hosting this giveaway. I will post it in my blog's sidebar. :)
suko95(at)gmail(dot)com
This book sounds wonderful! We only know a little bit about Georgiana and I love the idea of a story all her own. And who could resist reading more about Mr. Darcy!!:o)
ReplyDeletehackerfamily14@yahoo.com
I like the fact that the book goes into more detail about a character I know little about.
ReplyDeletehewella1 at gmail dot com
I love a good Pride & Prejudice story (well, any Austen-related story, if we're real honest, haha), and this one sounds great. I've not read anything about Georgiana before, but this looks super intriguing -- what must it have been like to have the amazingly perfect-but-flawed Mr Darcy as your big brother? Protective is good and all, but if he keeps your legitimate chance at love away too? Hmm ... Very very intriguing. I think I'd love to get to know this Miss Georgiana Darcy :o)
ReplyDeletequarterback.girl[at]gmail[dot]com
I am a sucker for two things:
ReplyDelete1. more Darcy and Lizzy and 2. free books.
I have to say I will be interested to see how the author handles the Darcy's marriage with a teenager. Lizzy who grew up with sisters would be understanding but will Darcy allow her much say in Georgiana's care? And Georgianna whose never had to share her brother's attention? Sounds like tension. Sounds like fun and a good read.
Lani@writing.com
I'm actually reading P&P there's not much of Georgina's life told in the book. I would like to further know on how Georgina became who she is in Mr. Darcy's little sister.
ReplyDeletenancysoffice at gmail dot com
I have read P and P and would love a more full description of Georgina! Some things can be embleshed and this is one of them. Please enter me!
ReplyDeleteladymluv @ yahoo . com
would love to get georgiana's perspective - especially on darcy ;-D
ReplyDeletethanks
vvb32 At yahoo.com
There's a great convo at Reading the Past about teenagers and historical fiction, which links perfectly with Ms Pierson's comment ...I am sure that teenagers experiences the same feelings of needing to break out from their families control as modern teens do.... I think there's something about being on the cusp of adult life that makes teenage life so painful (and thus, so delicious to read about). Thank you for the giveaway -- I'm a new follower (found you via Historical Tapestries).
ReplyDeleteOops, forgot my email: thesibylqueen at gmail.com
ReplyDeleteI would LOVE to win this book--it sounds amazing!
ReplyDeleterandhrshipper1@hotmail.com
--Rachel
I think this is a great foundation for a book, i.e., a character with which the reader has only a passing acquaintance. She is right: She had the ability to really construct the character as she saw fit & I would love to read the book and see what she did with the opportunity!
ReplyDeleteJHS
Colloquium
jhsmail at comcast dot net
I watched a small part of BBC's "Pride and Prejudice" a couple of years ago, which lead me to read the book, and then saw the 2005 "P&P" movie, which sealed my love of Jane Austen's works. I don't consider myself a "Janeite" (love that terminology) since I haven't read all of her books yet, but I'd love to read this book --the only "inspired by" Jane Austen novels I've read were Amanda Grange's "Mr. Darcy's Diary" and "Mr. Knightly's Diary" --though I've just realized that there's a ton of Austen "sequels" written by numerous authors.
ReplyDeleteGeorgianna seems like a sweet, loving younger sister, and I agree with the above comments --it would be neat to see other "P&P" characters from Miss Georgianna's "point of view."
Thanks for the opportunity to win!
jafuchi7 [at] hawaii [dot] edu
This giveaway has now ended. Winners will be posted shortly.
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