A Better Fate For Jane

Have you recovered yet from the 200th anniversary of Jane Austen’s death a week ago? Although it was gratifying to see how many people and groups think enough of her to offer special tributes and commemorations, it was still a dark date on the calendar. Heart-wrenching, really. We were reminded all over again of the painful illness she suffered, of her tragic premature end in Winchester, of her family’s grief, of the years of promise she didn’t get a chance to live out, of the stories she never had time to write. So sad!

I was prepared to mourn over this anniversary, but then I decided I really didn’t need to. Why not? Although the official record says Jane Austen died July 18, 1817, I prefer to believe something else.

I am no different than any other fan. Which of us hasn’t, even this past week, wished Jane Austen had met with a better fate? She, who has given so much pleasure to countless thousands through her novels, surely deserved the same romance and happy ending she carefully crafted for all her heroines! For years, I wished I could do something about the injustice of it all, but what?

Hmm. The more I considered the question, the more excited I became. Perhaps there was something I could do for her after all. I couldn’t turn back the clock exactly, but I could use my super powers as a novelist to reinterpret the existing facts into a more felicitous outcome for Jane. And really, I had a lot of leeway to work with – gaps in the record, time unaccounted for, missing letters.

There was probably a lot more to Jane Austen’s story than is generally known, I decided.

First, since most authors draw heavily from people and situations in their own lives, it didn’t seem unreasonable to me that she might have had more real-life experience in the field of romance than the record suggests. Obviously not a married-her-sweetheart-at-twenty-and-lived-happily-ever-after kind of affair. But what about a bitter-sweet romance marked by grand passion, misfortune, and long separation? That would be a better fit. Perhaps something on the order of Persuasion.

Yes! What if Austen actually wrote her last, most poignant novel as a public homage to a very private romance with the man who was the one true love of her life? Soon I was off and running with what would become The Persuasion of Miss Jane Austen.

Image result for persuasion by jane austen movieI introduced her to the dashing Captain Devereaux, and they really hit it off. More romance for Jane: check! That’s great, but I still wasn’t content; I desperately wanted it ALL for her. Including the happy ending? How fabulous would that be?

So, that became my new (and audacious) goal – to find a plausible and more pleasing alternative outcome for Jane, something that would fit within the framework of what we know (or think we know) about her life. It would be tricky to pull off – a real challenge. For starters, why would the historical record be wrong? …unless Jane and/or her family had deliberately misled everyone about her fate. But why would they have decided to do that?

I was already well into the book when the answer came to me. Of course! It all made perfect sense! Then everything else fell into place too.

That’s why I no longer have to mourn over an early death for Jane Austen. Instead, I think of her plausible alternative. The Persuasion of Miss Jane Austen is my gift to her – to her and to anybody else who prefers a believable fiction to the uncharitable slap of harsh reality. I think Jane would have approved. After all, she subscribed to happy endings too!

What do you think? Do you insist on realism, however bleak? Or would you, like me, prefer to believe Jane Austen met with a better fate? All it takes is a little imagination and a little suspension of disbelief in a good cause. Borrowing a line from Atonement by Ian McEwan…

I like to think that it isn’t weakness or evasion, but a final act of kindness, a stand against oblivion and despair, to let my lovers live and to unite them at the end.

19 comments

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    • Deborah on July 25, 2017 at 12:28 am
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    I much prefer her ending in The Persuasion of Jane Austen. It is my favorite fictional story about Jane.

    1. High praise, indeed, Debbie! Thanks. We believe, don’t we?

        • Deborah on July 25, 2017 at 3:36 pm
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        Yes we do. 🙂

    • Reina on July 25, 2017 at 12:33 am
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    Lovely post! I’ll have to make sure I have this book on my tbr list. I prefer to leave bleakness out of endings when possible. 🙂

    1. That’s great, Reina. As JA herself says in MP, “Let other pens dwell on guilt and misery. I quit such odious subjects as soon as I can, impatient to restore every body not greatly in fault themselves to tolerable comfort, and have done with all the rest.” That means a happy ending!

    • Mary on July 25, 2017 at 4:32 am
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    The fact that Jane died so young and in such painful circumstances offends and hurts the most devoted of her fans as nobody would wish such an ending for such a person.

    And yes,I would dearly love to think that she fooled the world into thinking that she’d died, while securing, for herself, in her own inimitable way, her very own HEA!

    This ending is so much sweeter,so befitting an author who graciously matched lover to lover, allowing us to think of the unparalleled happiness that lay ahead for beloved characters like Anne and Capt.Wentworth and Darcy and Lizzy.

    1. I’m glad you agree with me on this, Mary!

    • Andrea Murray on July 25, 2017 at 12:34 pm
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    You birthed a masterpiece in Austenesque novels! I keep it right next to Jane’s “kids” on my favorites’ shelf. : )

    1. I’m so honored, Andrea!
      I think TPoMJA is my best work and wish more people would give it a read.

    • Carole in Canada on July 25, 2017 at 2:11 pm
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    You knocked it out of the park with that book! One of my favourites! I think Jane would have loved your ‘events’ too!

    1. Thanks so much, Carole! I do hope she would have approved. 😀

    • MeriLyn on July 26, 2017 at 1:42 am
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    Thank you for this, Shannon. Seriously. I found last week’s “in memoriam” to Jane hitting a little too close to home, just a little too sad given some recent events in my life. Rewriting her personal story to give her a happy ending instead of an untimely death is just . . . beautiful. So, thank you. I hope it’s a tremendous hit. 🙂

    1. Thank you for your good wishes, MeriLyn. Life can be brutal, and I’d rather offer a little hope where I can.

    • Rosa on July 26, 2017 at 4:21 am
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    I definitely prefer your ending! Excellent! Anytime I think of her death, your story comes to my mind and I feel much better. Thanks!

    1. I’m so glad, Rosa! That was my goal.

  1. Since discovering Jane’s stories I’ve suspected there was more to her life than what we think we already know. Perhaps I’m a cynic but I cannot believe that anybody could create such poignant stories and such thoughtful characters without some first-hand experience in at least the emotional sphere if not the physical manifestation. BTW I do not “celebrate” Jane on the date of her death but on the date of her birth; not the date she left this world but the date when the world welcomed her. Looking forward to reading your take on her life and experiences.

    1. Your thoughts are very well expressed, Janis. You have a flare for writing too, I think.
      I hope you find TPoMJA a satisfying rewrite of our beloved Jane’s story!

    • Sheila L. Majczan on August 5, 2017 at 2:59 pm
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    I read this book back when it came out and had to have it in paperback because of the cover. As I said then: this is the story I want to have in my mind for Jane’s HEA! Thank you for this story.

    1. Absolutely my pleasure, Sheila!

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