All Things Austen – Imagining Characters Beyond the Book

Welcome to All Things Austen in April!

Isn’t it delightful to imagine Jane Austen’s characters after their roles in her novels have ended? Well, Austen thought so, too! Read on for more…

 


In this “History & Culture” snippet from Bio, authors Claire Bellanti and Iris Lutz list several intriguing facts about our dear Jane. As longtime fans of her work, many of you probably know most of these (http://www.biography.com/news/jane-austen-biography-facts) already, as did I, but the one that continually captures my interest as a writer is this one:

knightley and emmaJane Austen continued to imagine how the lives of her characters evolved long after she finished a novel. In A Memoir of Jane Austen, her nephew James Edward Austen-Leigh wrote, “She would, if asked, tell us many little particulars about the subsequent career of some of her people.” For example, Anne Steele, Lucy’s silly and vulgar sister in Sense and Sensibility, did not catch Dr. Davies after all. And, after the close of Pride and Prejudice, Kitty Bennet eventually married a clergyman near Pemberley, while Mary ended up with a clerk who worked for her Uncle Philips. Some of the most interesting revelations, however, related to Emma. Mr. Woodhouse not only survived Emma’s marriage to Mr. Knightly, but also kept his daughter and son-in-law living at Hartfield for two years. Deirdre Le Faye has also noted in Jane Austen: A Family Record that “According to a less well-known tradition, the delicate Jane Fairfax lived only another nine or ten years after her marriage to Frank Churchill.”

Many of the JAFF stories that have been written over the years have had their beginnings in authors’ individual imaginings of what may have happened to Austen’s characters once the original books concluded. And haven’t we all wondered, not just about what life was like for Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth five or ten years after their marriage, but what might have happened to Anne Elliot’s older sister once Anne and Captain Wentworth were wed? Or what romantic fate befell Mr. Willoughby in the years following Col. Brandon and Marianne Dashwood’s nuptials? Or what about Henry Tilney’s elder brother? Or…or…??

accordingtojane[1]It’s ever fascinating to me the way characters live on in the minds of their authors—because it’s quite true for me personally. The characters I’ve created have long, rich lives that extend far beyond the scope of the novel they starred in. I’ve been asked by readers many times to tell them what happened to Ellie and Sam, my heroine and hero from According to Jane. And, while I really do believe it’s the choice of the reader to determine for herself whether the couple stayed together after the conclusion of the book, had children, moved away from home, etc., etc., I do know—and very clearly—what I believe happened to them  😛 .

So, I loved this little insight into Jane Austen as an author. Loved that she continued to think about her characters—even the more insignificant secondary ones like Lucy Steele’s sister—and keep them alive in her imagination.

What about you? Do you have any speculations about Jane’s characters beyond the original stories? Which characters’ lives most appeal to you, spike your curiosity about their future, and keep you wondering, long after the last page of the book has been turned? I’d love to know your thoughts!

38 comments

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    • Dorothee on April 21, 2016 at 5:37 am
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    I always wished for a long and happy life for Darcy and Elizabeth, living at Pemberley and raising many children. Perhaps my wish results from the rocky road they had to take until they arrived at their marriage. Of course, I also image that Darcy has still some pride which may sometimes clash with Elizabeth´s tendency to judge quickly. In other words: I´d like to know whether they have really learnt from their experiences.

    1. Lovely thoughts, Dorothee!! I think you’re right — it would definitely be interesting to know to what degree Darcy and Elizabeth learned from their mistakes 😉 .

  1. I believe you’ve hit on the reason so many of us read JAFF. We all want more. I love stories that take me past the novels’ ends. It is the reason I began reading, and eventually writing, fan fiction based on a Japanese manga whose ending dissatisfied many readers. It was left too open ended, and even though the author when interviewed gave us some clues, we ventured out on our own. Austen, too, provided us with a fertile field to plant in!

    1. June,
      How fascinating that your write Japanese manga!! And I love that the opportunity to make a more satisfying ending is part of what drew you to it. Really cool 😀 .

    • Kristine Shore on April 21, 2016 at 7:22 am
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    I always imagine a happy life for Darcy and Elizabeth and for Anne and Fredrick. I think both would be happier away from their families.

    1. Kristine,
      LOL!! I don’t doubt that both couples would be happier away from their families, too!! 😀

    • Theresa M on April 21, 2016 at 8:51 am
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    I agree that our wondering what happens to these beloved characters are what draws us to JAFF.
    Couples like the Darcys, the Bingleys, and the Wentworths can easily be imagined as having happy futures. I have high hopes for the Brandons too. The Wickhams life can only be disappointing for Lydia. The money-grubbing Lucy Steele probably deserves her rather empty future but is shallow enough to not care.
    The one couple I see with the most unsettled road is Emma and Knightley. He has just always struck me as too much a father figure rather than a lover/confidant.

    1. Theresa,
      You make a really interesting point about Emma and Knightley — he *is* very father-figure like, and it would be fascinating to watch their relationship play out a few years into their marriage. Perhaps once they had children together, he would have an easier time seeing her in a more adult light…?

    • Madenna on April 21, 2016 at 9:10 am
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    This imagining the characters in different ways is definitely the reason I read so many variations. I have so much respect for the authors that put their ideas out there for me to enjoy.

    1. Madenna,
      Oh, thank you!!
      Your comment is so wonderful to hear 🙂 .

    • Vesper Meikle on April 21, 2016 at 9:14 am
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    Just makes you wish Jane had written more books

    1. Vesper,
      AGREED!!!
      It’s incredible to me what an impact she made on the world with just those few, but, ohhhh, to have been able to have more of her stories available to us…that would have been heavenly!

    • Debbi T on April 21, 2016 at 9:28 am
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    I would have loved to read a sequel written by Jane for Persuasion. I’m certain Wentworth and Ann survived all the bumps in their marriage. But what happened to Snotty Sis and Mirror Obsessed Orgre Dad?

    1. Debbi,
      I know, right??!
      I’ve wondered about Anne’s vain father and sister, too — ever since I first read Persuasion!! I’d love to know what JA thought would happen to them… 😉

    • Michele on April 21, 2016 at 10:15 am
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    I started reading JAFF for this very reason and am so grateful for the authors that help us not have to wonder what happens next.

    1. Michele,
      I’m pretty sure I speak for many JAFF authors when I say that getting that reaction from readers is one of the reasons we love to write!! Thank you 🙂 .

    • JanisB on April 21, 2016 at 11:19 am
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    Marilyn, you’ve clearly explained why I became attracted to Austen pastiches — I had some thoughts about “the rest of” some of the stories but wanted — needed! — to know what others thought about them.

    Being a lifelong Sherlockian (I treat myself to a re-reading of the complete canon every year for my birthday) I have to say that I have never had any such interest in Sherlock Holmes pastiches. In fact, I avoid them completely — well, except for Benedict Cumberbatch!

    It truly is sad that Jane was lost to us so soon — but delightful that others have taken up her mantle.

    1. Janis,
      I love Benedict C. too!!
      And thank you. I’m so glad you liked this post. Before I got my first publishing contract (8 years ago today, actually!!), I had no idea what a vast world of Austen-inspired fiction there was out there. But it was such a delightful discovery to learn that so many other readers/writers also craved more of Jane: Continuations of our favorites of her novels, reimaginings, modernizations (which are my personal favorite, since her vision is still so relevant, IMO), prequels, sequels, and more 😀 . I think that’s why we have such a passionate community…

    • Stephanie L on April 21, 2016 at 1:17 pm
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    The thing that we all love…where they went after the book…even Jane was creating JAFF. LOL There are so many that I think of randomly. Of course I love the books based on the primaries and their HEA’s. But I often think about the minors. Did Mary find love and get her nose out of Fordyce? Did Elizabeth Eliot ever marry or did she and Caro start the club for Perfect Women with Disappointed Hopes? Did Anne sail with Frederick? Did Elinor actually trust Edward or did it take time? Did Jane Fairfax loving Frank make him a better man? I could go on…LOL Thus the reason I read.

    1. Stephanie,
      LOL!! Yes, even Jane was creating JAFF 😀 – love that!!
      And, ohhh, you made me giggle when I read your suggestion about Elizabeth Eliot and Caro starting that club – HAHA!! That would be a story I’d read for sure… I so wish Jane could write it for us 😉 .
      xoxo

  2. And thus we write and read JAFF!! 😉

    I have always been most curious regarding the characters in Mansfield Park. I’m sure that Edmund and Fanny were happy as larks, but I have amused myself with concocting all kinds of awful scenarios for the Crawfords.

    And if I believed in reincarnation, I would firmly agree with J.K. Rowling that Mrs. Norris was indeed reincarnated as Argus Filch’s nosy cat at Hogwarts.

    Thank you for a lovely and thought-provoking post, Marilyn! 🙂

    Warmly,
    Susanne 🙂

    1. Susanne,
      I’m so glad you enjoyed my post today — thanks for the kind words!
      FWIW, I think the Crawfords deserve every awful scenarios coming to them 😀 .
      And LOL about Mrs. Norris’s reincarnation!!! I *love* that!

  3. Great post, Marilyn. I’d heard it before, but I’m sure our readers are delighted to now know some of what JA imagined for her characters after “The End.” Wanting to know more about her characters is what made me start writing sequels. But I think I had even more fun trying to get inside JA’s head – exploring how she felt about her characters and how much of what they said and did had its origins in events of her own life. That story became The Persuasion of Miss Jane Austen – still my best work, I think. 🙂

    1. Shannon,
      I loved your novel The Persuasion of Miss Jane Austen 😉 . Brilliant story!
      And, IMO, I think you gave readers a lovely glimpse into what JA may have really been thinking and feeling.

      1. Thank you! I hope so.

        1. 🙂 🙂

    • Glynis on April 21, 2016 at 2:29 pm
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    I read my first JAFF book in 2014 and now have many many books all based on Darcy and Elizabeth as they are my favourite couple. I love all the scenarios whether modern, historical or somewhere in between. Obviously I prefer the ones without too much angst or where they as a couple deal with problems thrown at them. It is a tribute to the wonderful characters that Jane created that allows so many variations and I am so grateful to all the wonderful authors who create them 📚

    1. Glynis,
      Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts!! I appreciate a range of Darcy/Elizabeth scenarios, too — historical, modern, time-travel, etc. And I totally agree with you that JA created characters who could be in such a variety of storylines! 😉

    • Eva Edmonds on April 21, 2016 at 2:54 pm
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    I have always wanted Elizabeth and Darcy to have a long life together. I do not want to think of an early death for either of them. I have always loved how Jane Austen thought of her characters as her children.

    1. Eva,
      Agreed! I love that JA thought of her characters as her children, too!! And, wow, did she ever bring up those kids beautifully! 😀

    • Stephanie Carrico on April 21, 2016 at 8:29 pm
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    While I adore all of Jane Austen ‘s tales, she left a lot to the imagination. So of course we will fantasize farther adventures for our favorite characters and sorrow for the villains.it is the appeal of JAFF.

    1. Stephanie,
      That’s so true! Probably the one real silver lining of JA having only published six books 😉 .

    • Carole in Canada on April 22, 2016 at 12:57 pm
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    Thank goodness we have JAFF! I had to have more Darcy and Elizabeth, the Bingley’s…Caroline included, Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, Mary, Kitty and even Lydia and Wickham…I always imagine a better life for her than Wickham, Georgiana, the Colonel, etc.! I love sequels that give me a possible glimpse into their married lives. It is just so satisfying.

    1. Carole,
      It *is* satisfying! I love reading a range of alternate story ideas, continuations, and reimaginings too — they entertain and inspire me 😉 . And it’s so fun to get to write some as well & share them with readers who love the characters as much as I do! xo

    • Sheila L. M. on April 22, 2016 at 5:53 pm
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    I truly have no imagination as to creating sequels in my mind for all of Jane’s dear characters. (Not one of my strengths.) So maybe that is why I read so many JAFF stories. There are so many surprises there and if I chose to dream it is usually picturing one story or another and playing it out. Never seem to finish it before I fall off to sleep.

    1. Sheila,
      I especially love your comment about trying to picture a story but falling asleep before you finish playing it out in your mind. That happens to me so often! I remember it strongly as a child — falling in love with a book or a film and then trying to reply it at night in bed, changing certain elements of the story (usually to include myself as a new character, LOL), but I’d rarely make it anywhere close to the end before I drifted off… 😉 Thanks for reminding me of that fun memory!! ♥

    • Anji on April 23, 2016 at 5:07 pm
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    Great post Marilyn. Jane Austen left us a wonderful legacy didn’t she? Such a shame that there isn’t more of it.

    Like Sheila, I sometimes try to think up stories as I’m settling down to sleep but never get very far. I’ve even written down some of the fragments I can remember but they’ll never see the light of day!

    1. Thanks so much, Anji!! I’m so glad you liked the post 🙂 .
      And you never know about those story fragments… They just might blossom into something bigger sometime!
      xox

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