A Curious Statistical Anomaly

When I was offered the opportunity to have Sharon Lathan write a guest blog – I did happy dance about the office. Then I began to think of what topic to ask her to write about. I tried to come up with something erudite and not something she’d answered a million times already. But, you know what? In the end, I simply asked the question that had been rolling around in the back of my mind. It’s the same one that I ask myself. Why do I feel drawn to this couple? Why do I read and reread Pride and Prejudice? So, I asked:

What got you started on writing follow-on stories for Elizabeth and Darcy from Pride and Prejudice? What drew you to these characters as opposed to say the sisters in Sense and Sensibilities or and of the couples in Austen’s other stories.

Hanging Out With The Darcys by Sharon Lathan

“Once upon a time..” is a phrase naturally associated with fairy tales and legends rather than real life happenings a mere five years ago, yet for me I already connect the phrase with how I began writing. Somehow the initial days and months feel like the stuff of myth rather than logical steps. Like the heroine on a written page my journey began simply when I walked into a movie theater to watch the 2005 cinema adaptation of Pride and Prejudice as directed by Joe Wright and starring Keira Knightley as Lizzy Bennet and Matthew Macfadyen as Mr. Darcy. The story was entirely new to me, I being largely a Jane Austen virgin at the time. Much like a literary heroine, emotions overtook me. Passion surged and curiosity raged! I was insatiable in my desire to learn more of Jane Austen, this story and these characters, the Regency Era, history in general, and so on.

Events snowballed and before I hardly knew what was happening I was writing a sequel. Wait, didn’t Mr. Darcy say something similar in regards to his love for Elizabeth? What was it again?

“I cannot fix on the hour or the spot or the look or the words which laid the foundation. It is too long ago. I was in the middle before I knew that I had begun.”

Yes, that sums it up well. Thank you Mr. Darcy! Just as our favorite hero was lost amid the throes of passionate love before he admitted it to himself, so was I. This story had captured my heart in a way no other story ever had. These characters were real, viscerally embedded within my soul, speaking inside my head. Rather frightening I suppose, but I wasted no time fretting over it. I simply sat down and started typing and researching and typing some more. It was heaven!

Later, especially after curious folks began asking me the questions of why and what, I tried to narrow it down. I am not sure if I have ever adequately explained why this story so mesmerized me. I am not sure if any artist can logically explain their creative inspiration. But I have tried to step aside – so to speak – and look at it objectively.

Everyone loves Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet! Sure the other characters who inhabit Austen’s wonderful novels are adored and appreciated, and some are even favored over Lizzy and Darcy, but there is little dispute that these lovers rank highest. Readers delight in Lizzy’s wit, spunk, personality, bravery, humanness, independence, etc. Readers swoon over the handsome, honorable, intelligent, misunderstood, and, yes, rich Mr. Darcy. For two centuries these two have provided joy to millions of readers, their love and infatuation similar to mine. Certainly in my case the visual of the movie spurred and enhanced my inspiration, but Colin Firth fans have experienced that for over a decade so nothing new in that regard!

I have often wondered if it also comes down to timing. Being in the right place at the right time in my life for the unrealized creative spark buried deep inside to be kindled. Honestly I do think that has something to do with it, but I also do not think the fire would have burst forth from any other story. At least it never had!

In truth I prefer to keep it a mystery. I know how this passion makes me feel and for once this clinically minded gal is content to ignore her obsessive need to figure out every puzzle. Maybe someday another Austen character or story will hit me in the same way. For the present I am fine with hanging out with the Darcys. They are quite hospitable!

Now, if you are up for a treat, here is an excerpt from The Trouble With Mr. Darcy. Enjoy!

“He is quite active at this moment.”

Her whispered words broke into the silence, momentarily halting the fingers trailing over her hipbone. Eagerly they altered their random path, purposefully brushing along her inner thigh until reaching the swell above. As she said, the baby was moving with gentle nudges against his palm.

“Hmm… Wonderful. You continually say ‘he’ as if sure of the sex. Another vivid dream as with Alexander?”

“No. Not this time. More of a feeling.”

“Ah, a feeling. So scientific.” He accented his tease with a tiny pinch.

“As scientific as my dream, but that proved true.”

“Very well then. I suppose that means we do not have to assign a female name, and since Alexander was instantly agreed upon, we have a task on our hands. Any choices? Do you wish to name him after your father?”

“Thomas? Perhaps, although we could reserve it as a secondary name after your father’s. James should be chosen before Thomas.”

“I do want to pay homage to my father if possible, yes. However, I do want to add Charles as a secondary name as well, if you do not mind? He is a dear friend and instrumental in my meeting you.” He gently drew her away from his chest, attempting to see her eyes in the dark, but to no avail so he kissed her instead, his fingertips flittering over her most sensitive zones while maintaining contact with their unborn child.

“How sweet,” she said once her mouth was released. “Charles is mutually agreed upon. So, we have numerous secondary name choices but nothing for the Christian name. Do you have a favorite?”

“I have always liked Nathaniel. And Adam. Not common, I know, but nice names.”

“Possible. What do you think of Gabriel? Lisle’s son is Gabriel and it struck me as pleasant.”

Suddenly Darcy chuckled. “Gabriel, Thomas, Nathaniel, Adam. I think we are cornering Biblical names!”

“Indeed,” she joined his laughter. “Of course, if we have this many babies you alluded to last night, we may work our way through the entire Bible. Just do not ask for Methuselah. I draw the line there.”

“Does that mean Shadrach and Meshach are eliminated? And no on Potiphar or Boaz?”

She shook with laughter and a fair dose of arousal now that his fingers had crept to the apex between her legs and were confounding her senses with their antics. “Absolutely not! I have no urge to torture our son with a hideous name. What say we remain in the realm of non-ridiculing names like Matthew or Daniel or Michael…”

“Michael,” Darcy interrupted, although Lizzy’s voice had paused on the name. Even his fingers had ceased moving, a fact Lizzy did not initially register as she too was dwelling on the name. “That has a nice ring. Michael. Michael Darcy. Michael Charles Darcy. What do you think?” He tried vainly to see her eyes, but the room was still too dark. He felt her gaze upon his face, the gap of inches separating allowing him to feel her exhaled breaths. Somehow he knew she was smiling.

“I love it. Yes, very much. It does not have to be definitively settled as yet, but… It fits for some inexplicable reason. Michael Darcy.”

“Michael Darcy. Yes. At least the choice for the present and much better than Methuselah. Shall we seal it with a kiss, Mrs. Darcy?”

About the Author: Sharon Lathan is the author of the bestselling novels Mr. and Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy: Two Shall Become One, Loving Mr. Darcy: Journeys Beyond Pemberley, My Dearest Mr. Darcy and In The Arms of Mr. Darcy. Sharon also wrote a novella as part of an anthology with Amanda Grange and Carolyn Eberhart, A Darcy Christmas. In addition to her writing, she works as a Registered Nurse in a Neonatal ICU. She resides with her family in Hanford, California in the sunny San Joaquin Valley. For more information, please visit www.sharonlathan.net. Come to Austen Authors – www.austenauthors.com where Sharon and twenty other authors of Austen fiction blog together.

Sharon Lathan’s newest book:

The Trouble With Mr. Darcy by Sharon Lathan
Sourcebooks Landmark ISBN 1402237545

Even charmed lives will encounter troubles along the way….

After a time of happiness and strife, Darcy and Elizabeth gather with family and friends in Hertfordshire to celebrate the wedding of Kitty Bennet. Georgiana Darcy returns from a lengthy tour of the Continent with happy secrets to share, accompanied by the newlywed Colonel Fitzwilliam and Lady Simone, who may have secrets of their own. The stage is set for joy until the party is upset by the arrival of the long absent Mr. and Mrs. Wickham.

Wickham’s jealousy and resentment of Darcy has grown steadily throughout the years and Darcy rightly suspects that Wickham is up to no good. Darcy enlists the aid of Colonel Fitzwilliam to keep an eye on Wickham’s activity, but neither anticipate the extreme measures taken to exact his revenge. Nor do they fathom the layers of deception and persons involved in the scheme.

George Wickham returns to Hertfordshire bent on creating trouble, and Elizabeth and her son are thrown into danger. Knowing that Wickham has nothing left to lose, Darcy and Fitzwilliam rush to the rescue in a race against time. This lushly romantic story takes a turn for the swashbuckling when Mr. Darcy has to confront the villainous Wickham and his own demons at the same time… devoted as he is, what battles within will Mr. Darcy have to face?

The Trouble with Mr. Darcy by Sharon Lathan. Sourcebooks Landmark. ISBN: 978-1-4022-3754-6. 368 pages. (Trade Paperback: $14.99 / Amazon: $9.47 / Kindle $9.00)

Book Description: Just as Darcy and Elizabeth are facing the most intense challenges of their marriage George Wickham returns to Hertfordshire bent on creating trouble. But Wickham is only a pawn for someone who is even more unscrupulous than he is, and everything Darcy cherishes most is thrown into deadly danger.

Knowing that Wickham has nothing left to lose, Darcy must confront his villainous enemy and his own demons at the same time.

There’s a lot going on in this book. For example there’s a trip to the continent, a birth, a wedding, an engagement, betrayal, and more. Reading the story is like being on a roller-coaster ride; just when you think that Elizabeth and Darcy are safe, you turn a corner and once again are thrown into doubt as to what will happen. It’s a book that I found almost impossible to put down until I finished it and then immediately read it again. I laughed. I cried. And when I closed the covers after the first reading — I felt drained and satisfied that things were now as they should be.

Lathan has a masterful feel for Austen’s Elizabeth Bennet Darcy and Fitzwilliam Darcy. You can hear their voices as if you were reading Austen. Their characters remain the same but with a responsibility to each other that marriage and a child have given them. Their first child is a bit older and we see Darcy as a caring parent. Elizabeth is still a forceful personality but tempered with motherhood and a bit more understanding towards her sisters and mother. First and foremost, Elizabeth and Darcy are in love — romantically, passionately, and totally. The ups and downs of married life have tempered them but their love sees them through the trials of their lives.

However, books need conflict and Lathan manages to come up with some interesting twists and turns. Some of those conflicts involve problems that are as relevant today as they’d have been in Austen’s time — only then such problems would have been hidden away and not dealt with at all. Lathan has a nice touch making the plotlines relevant to today’s women but firmly grounded in the historical and social era that gave birth to Elizabeth and Darcy.

I can’t say much about plot other than, as the book description mentions, Wickham returns with malice and a plan. However, that is only the later half of the book. Once you finish reading, you’ll find yourself wondering how so much fit into such a normal size book. Based on how many events occur, you’d expect one of those huge doorstopper volumes.

All our favorite characters from the previous books by Lathan and from the original novel of Jane Austen are here. Take the time to immerse yourself in another time with characters that we’ve come to enjoy. The only nit I have with the book is that the title implies that Darcy is the problem when, in fact, he’s more the victim of these troubles. The Trouble with Mr. Darcy by Sharon Lathan is in bookstores now. If you’re a fan of her previous books , you’ll be sure to enjoy this one. If you haven’t yet read Lathan’s books that continue the story of Pride and Prejudice, you may get confused by the larger cast of characters which can readily be solved by getting her earlier works.

In the Arms of Mr. Darcy by Sharon Lathan. Sourcebooks landmark, Trade Paperback, October 2010, ISBN: 978-1-4022-3699-0. Pages: 384. List Price: $14.99. (Amazon: $10.19 / Kindle: $9.68).

In the Arms of Mr. Darcy by Sharon Lathan is a follow-on to Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Elizabeth and Darcy have been married for a year. Elizabeth is settling into her role as mistress of Pemberly, and they now have a child, Alexander.

The Bennet family and other friends and relatives are gathering at Pemberly for the holiday season. Naturally, with the new child and a houseful of family and friends there is a lot of grist for the plot mill. Lathan manages to squeeze a story of married bliss, new romance, thwarted love, a mystery, a betrayal, and a couple of presentations at court into one book.

What is achieved is an interesting look into the life of the landed gentry at the time of Pride and Prejudice. Then there is the continuing romance between Darcy and Elizabeth. As a married couple, they do their best to see that all those they love become as happy as they are. Darcy is more than the standoffish aristocrat of the original story and is shown to have depth of feeling and good sense.

However, the fact that the book has so many subplots, makes it seem unfocused. The mystery subplot has potential, as did several of the other subplots, to be fleshed out and become a stand-alone novel. Instead these interesting sub-stories are set up, minimally touched on, and dropped or solved to get back to the main story of the married live of the Darcys.

That’s not to say the book isn’t worth reading, after all, it’s well written and continues to allow readers to see the Darcys after their marriage. They manage to have a full life that, as with all newlyweds, is rife with the compromises needed to live together in harmony, as well as the usual minor dramas involved in daily living on a large estate with the responsibility for many other depending on their ability to stay solvent as society changes about them.

In the Arms of Mr. Darcy will not leave you wishing you hadn’t read it, but instead will leave you wondering what is going to happen to the people in the subplots that weave in and out of the main story. Will there be another book filling us in on those characters and incidents, particularly those that involve friends and family or business relations of the Darcys’? We can but hope.

Meanwhile, In the Arms of Mr. Darcy is now in bookstores and available so you don’t need to wait to find it and see for yourself if you agree or disagree with my assessment.