Today
I’m welcoming a first time visitor to the blog, Shannon
Winslow. Although I haven’t had the pleasure of hosting Shannon
previously, I’ve featured a Persuasion
anthology that she contributed towards. Funnily enough, although most
Austenesque books are based on Pride and Prejudice, Shannon’s latest
book isn’t a P&P work either. Murder at Northanger Abbey
is an NA sequel, which picks up after Austen’s books closes. As it says in Northanger Abbey, “There must be murder” and although Catherine
only now expects to encounter murder in novels, it appears that just has she
has learned to be sensible, she will be encountering it in real life too.
Let’s
look at the blurb and then I will hand over to Shannon Winslow for a guest
post.
Book
Description
Sequel
to Jane Austen’s Spoof on the Gothic Novel
Newly
married to her beloved Henry, Catherine’s eyes are now open to the grownup
pleasures of wedded life. Yet she still hasn’t quite given up her girlhood
fascination with all things Gothic. When she first visited Northanger Abbey,
she only imagined dreadful events had occurred there. This time the horror is
all too real. There’s been a murder, and Henry has fallen under suspicion.
Catherine is determined to clear her husband’s name, but at the same time,
she’s afraid for her own safety, since there’s a very good chance the real
murderer is still in the house.
This
delightful sequel reprises the mischievous spirit of Austen’s original spoof on
the Gothic novel, while giving Catherine a genuine murder mystery to unravel.
Guest
Post from Shannon Winslow
As Jane Austen’s earliest novel (first
written, although last published), Northanger
Abbey occupies a unique place in her canon. And it boasts a few unique
features as well. For one thing, in it, Austen occasionally comes out from
behind the narrator’s mask to address her readers directly, even sometimes
using the words, “Dear reader…”
For the most overt example of what I’m
talking about, I would direct you to chapter five, where Austen (referring to
herself as “I”) launches into a protracted statement in defense of the novel as
a literary form:
Catherine
and Isabella… shut themselves up, to read novels together. Yes, novels; – for I
will not adopt that ungenerous and impolitic custom so common with novel
writers, of degrading by their contemptuous censure the very performances, to
the number of which they are themselves adding – joining with their greatest
enemies in bestowing the harshest epithets on such works, and scarcely ever
permitting them to be read by their own heroine, who, if she accidentally take
up a novel, is sure to turn over its insipid pages with disgust. Alas! If the heroine
of one novel be not patronized by the heroine of another, from whom can she
expect protection and regard? I cannot approve of it…
As with much else in Northanger Abbey, Austen’s diatribe (of
which this is only a fraction), was no doubt written more in tongue-in-cheek
humor than as a serious complaint. In the final line of the book, Austen again
shows herself, as she tells us directly that we readers must decide for
ourselves the lesson to be learned from the
tendency of this work.
This
technique – the author speaking directly to readers – was not uncommon at the
time, but it’s long out of fashion now. In fact, were you as a writer to attempt
such a thing today, or otherwise draw attention to your presence, your editor
would probably shake her head, mark the offending phrase in red, and accuse you
of “author intrusion.”
However, since my goal was to carry on
in my Northanger Abbey sequel with
the same playful tone and quirky style as the original, I thought I might just get
away with it!
And so, dear reader, as you peruse Murder
at Northanger Abbey, keep your eyes open for places, here and there, where your
authoress breaks into the story – sometimes very obviously and sometimes less
so. Here’s an example taken from the final chapter:
…However,
as this tale comes rapidly to a close, you will be wondering about Henry and
Catherine. You will wish to be assured that they are also safe and well, to
witness for yourself their early perfect happiness at Woodston restored, and to
catch at least a glimpse of the years ahead.
Far
be it from me to deprive the reader this satisfaction, although we must agree
to be discreet. We must grant them a degree of privacy. After all, they are
still essentially newlyweds. And yet I owe you this much…
I trust you won’t consider this a
spoiler, since I ALWAYS write a happy ending to my novels!
I’ve read that in certain circumstances
– especially in works of satire or where the narrative voice is firmly
tongue-in-cheek – author intrusions can contribute to the humor. I hope you
agree because, believe me, I wrote Murder
at Northanger Abbey with my tongue firmly in my cheek the whole time!
* * *
Author
Bio
Shannon
Winslow says she was minding her own business - raising two sons and pursuing a
very sensible career - when she was seduced by the writing bug a dozen years
ago. Stirred by the novels of Jane Austen, she set out to produce more stories
in the same vein, beginning with a sequel to her favorite, "
Pride and
Prejudice." "The Darcys of Pemberley" (published in
August 2011) quickly became a best-seller, praised for being true to the
original's characters and style. Several more Austen-inspired novels have
followed. "Winslow is one of the few authors who can channel Austen's
style of prose so well that I could not tell the two apart if I tried,"
reports one reviewer. A life-long resident of the Pacific Northwest, Ms.
Winslow resides with her husband in the log home they built in the countryside
south of Seattle, where she writes and paints in her studio facing Mt. Rainier.
You
can connect with Shannon via her website,
Facebook
and Twitter.
Buy
Links
Murder
at Northanger Abbey
is available to buy now in Paperback and Kindle.
•
Amazon
US • Amazon
UK • Amazon
CA • Add to Goodreads
shelf
Note
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