Another Place in Time – Excerpt by Mary Simonsen

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In Another Place in Time, Mr. Darcy is not the only one who visits the future; Miss Darcy makes the journey as well. In the excerpt below, Georgiana Darcy and modern-day friend Chris O’Malley take in some of Baltimore’s sights:

Prior to walking into Victoria’s Secret, Georgiana had been frugal with her brother’s money, but after seeing an array of beautiful and comfortable undergarments, the twenty dollar bills came out. After enlisting the aid of a saleslady and measurements taken, Georgiana bought bras in several styles, panties in numerous colors, camisoles, lingerie, and pantyhose and left the shop wearing a black bra and matching panties.

From the mall, they went to the nearest Joann Fabric. Georgiana was “all amazement” at the multitude of fabrics and colors available, but noted the absence of feathers. Chris explained that, other than the occasional red-carpet designer gown with a feathery fringe, feathers had gone the way of hats. Girls no longer needed to wear wide-brimmed bonnets to protect their lily-white complexions as a nice tan was a sign, not of someone who labored out of doors, but an indication that a person had money for leisure activities.

After lunch at Five Guys Burgers, they went to the Inner Harbor and the aquarium. It was wonderful to watch Georgiana as she walked the different levels of the aquarium. She had never seen a shark, octopus, or dolphin nor knew that such a thing as jellyfish existed. In the petting area, she picked up a starfish and was as happy as the five- and six-year-olds who elbowed her for space near the petting pool.

Chris was ready to head for the townhouse when Georgiana spied the paddleboats, something Chris had not done since she was in high school and was perfectly happy to leave in her past. But her young friend’s enthusiasm was overwhelming, and so she paid a college student to take Georgiana out. William would never know.

For dinner, William would have suggested the upscale Capitol Grille, but Chris had something else in mind. Knowing Georgiana would live a life of luxury with every morsel on her plate practically pre-chewed, she wanted her to get down and dirty, and there was nothing messier than cracking crabs at Canton’s Dockside with its long tables covered in brown paper with accompanying rolls of paper towels.

When a half dozen crabs and a pitcher of National Bohemian were set before her, Georgiana looked dismayed. After handing her a mallet, Chris assured her that the meat was worth the effort. After the second crab, and with her bib covered with Old Bay Seasoning and her hands coated with crab goo, Georgiana threw in the paper towel.

“The first person to have dined on this creature must have been very hungry indeed,” she said as she assessed the pile of broken shells.

If a time traveler visited you in your hometown, where would you take them?

To read about what it was like for time-traveler Chris O’Malley to visit London in 1812, click here. To read an interview with Chris about Mr. Darcy, click here. An interview with Mr. Darcy is available on Leatherbound Reviews.

Another Place in Time is available on Nook, Kindle, and Amazon in paperback.

 

23 comments

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    • Sarah on February 25, 2014 at 3:27 am
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    Another Place in Time is a fabulous story. I highly recommend it. I particularly loved reading about Darcy’s and Georgiana’s experiences in the 21st century. Who would have thought fish could hold such fascination?!

    As to where I would take a time traveller visiting my home town … the science museum (to blow their mind a bit), the seat of parliament (to see how it all works now), a walk through the city centre and around the lake (for nature and people-watching) and dinner at a restaurant on one of the top eat streets (so many cultural choices).

    1. Sarah, I would love to visit Australia. If there was only a way to drag Australia closer to the U.S., I’d be there in a heartbeat. Thanks for commenting.

        • Sarah on February 26, 2014 at 5:58 am
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        Yes, we’re so far away from most places and it makes travel outside Australia very time-consuming. At least New Zealand is nice and close!

  1. Love the excerpt (and Five Guys!). Thanks, Mary! 🙂
    Oh, I would have to take them to Burger 21 and get a creme brûlée milkshake! It’s a good thing DH and I moved recently, otherwise our wallets would have shrunk, and our waists would have expanded! 🙂
    I always enjoy seeing how people from different time periods adjust to the new era. You did a great job creating that! 🙂 I hope this books sees much success!

    1. Thanks, Jakki. For a skinny little thing, you have a healthy imagination. If a time traveler came to AZ, I’d definitely take them to the Grand Canyon. It’s also an amazing drive from Phoenix to Flagstaff as the scenery changes to much. Also, the old Route 66 is a must.

        • Deborah on February 28, 2014 at 10:17 pm
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        I have been there and the change an in scenery are flabbergasting, (for want of a better word) or maybe otherworldly or unimaginable or even possibly awe inspiring. Amazing….

  2. The excerpt is good, Mary. I feel like I’m in Georgiana’s shoes, full of excitement and taking on the challenge to eat crabs.

    Assuming that the time-traveller comes from the past, I would take the person to visit Petronas Twin Tower, the tallest twin towers in the world and take in the breathtaking view on the observation deck. I hope he or she will marvel at the technology feat achieved by 21st century citizens. If the traveller comes from the future, then I don’t know where to take him or her unless things has changed so much that they did not have what we have now.

    1. That would be an eye-popping experience. I remember going to the Empire State Building as a kid and oohing and aahing about how high I was! That was nothing compared to Petronas. Thanks for commenting.

  3. Well, Mary, if you’d ever visit my Nova Scotia hometown, I’d gladly show YOU the places that I’d show a time traveler!

    1. That’s a date. I hope by the time I get to NS I won’t be using a cane!

    • Deborah on February 26, 2014 at 12:57 am
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    OK. I’d have to take them to a Broadway Shoe, and since I just got home from seeing The Phantom of the Opera for the fifth time I’d take them to see that show, go to yhr Bronx Zoo, the Museum of Natural History. The Metropolitan Museum of Art as well as a concert at the MET.

    Of I could take them out of my hometown Yellowstone National Park, Death Valley and the Grand Canyon would top that list.

    I have your book for my NOOK, but am behind on my reading list ( I actually preordered it) and am looking forward to reading it.

    1. I grew up in North Jersey, so I know what you’re talking about. (I never got to the Bronx Zoo though. I wonder why?) My daughter has seen the Phanton four times. She’d see it every year if she could. We took her to the Paris Opera House, and she was drooling.

      Hope you enjoy the story. Thanks for commenting.

        • Deborah on February 28, 2014 at 10:24 pm
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        Haven’t seen the Paris opera House but have seen Phantom 5 times on Broadway and like your daughter would be happy to see it every year. My husband and I were married a month to the day before it opened. If you evee get back to the northeast the Bronx Zoo is a must see. Just thought of adding the South Street Seaport as well as Battery Park (because of Colonel Fitzwilliam) and the Cloisters.

    • Sophia Rose on February 26, 2014 at 1:27 am
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    Loved the excerpt, Mary! I love the idea of beloved characters getting a chance to step out of their stories into ours.

    Oddly, I have given tours of my hometown several times b/c we had many people stay with us for their first time in the area. I grew up in Sacramento. I always took them past the Capitol to visit Old Town, walks along the river where the restored river boats are moored, Sutter’s Fort and a few even got to experience Jazz and Crawdad festivals if they came at the right times of the year. I suppose for time travelers, I would take them to all the same places except I would put in the new shopping areas and riding the light rail about instead of the older sites.

    1. I’m a fan of The Mentalist, and Sacramento looks like a beautiful city. I’d like to visit it. Thanks for stopping by.

    • Kathy on February 26, 2014 at 11:17 pm
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    I loved all the highlights of Baltimore that you presented – it’s a great city! I also love the trip to Victoria’s Secret – how great to go crazy on fancy lingerie! I think like in the scene you presented, a time-traveler would probably be really fascinated by changes in what people eat – I always think that lack of fresh food was probably a big negative if you ever had to go into the past! Since I’m from Northern California I would introduce a time-traveler to all the huge range of amazing restaurants (with cuisine from all over the world) available in the Bay Area. There’s also a lot of gorgeous scenery, so I’d probably want to show off Yosemite.

    1. I’ve been to San Francisco twice. Absolutely gorgeous city. Also visited Yosemite twice. One of my favorite national parks. Thanks for stopping by.

    • Stephanie L on February 28, 2014 at 9:41 am
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    I’m with Deborah ^^, I have the book on my Nook, but homework has hampered my reading. If I took someone out here…some of the choices are somewhat macabre in a sense. The OKC Bombing memorial…haunting and emotional. OU Natural History Museum with the full dinosaur skeletons…National Cowboy Hall of Fame…for food I would have to go with The Earth and it’s amazing vegan food (which would be interesting to someone who has NO idea what vegan is) and my favorite sushi place which would also be somewhat shocking, followed by some good spicy tex-mex@ I think all the steak places around here would be old hat to them. LOL

    Looking forward to reading this one Mary!!

    1. Hi, Stephanie. Love Tex Mex! Lived in TX for 13 years. My DH and I are driving east from AZ this summer, and we are going to stop at the OKC memorial. Your suggestion about dinosaurs is a great one. A generation earlier than the Darcys, they were starting to find skeletons of large birds and mammals in England. Can you imagine what they would have thought of a full skeleton of a T-Rex?

      Thanks for commenting. I hope you enjoy APIT (not a great acronym). 🙂

    • BeckyC on March 2, 2014 at 12:44 am
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    I would take my time traveler to our extensive parks with hiking, biking, golf, disk golf, swimming holes, and so.much beauty.

    I am amazed at how.many commenters are from Northern California. I thought I was all alone in this neck of the woods in my Austen world.

    1. Becky, Northern California is gorgeous–San Francisco and the Redwoods. You really can’t beat that. Thanks for commenting.

  4. Fabulous concept, Mary. Your creative genius is a delightful surprise each time I open one of your books.

  5. Regina, Thank you for your kind and generous words.

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