A “Progressive” Book Launch for “Mr. Knightley in His Own Words”!

Have you ever participated in a “progressive dinner”? It was a fun, social thing they did back in the day – church groups, etc.. You all ate the appetizer at one person’s house. Then you moved on as a group to somebody else’s for the salad, then the main course at a third place, and dessert at a fourth – progressing from house to house. That’s what I’ve got planned for you today to celebrate the launch of Mr. Knightley in His Own Words!

You start right here at Austen Variations for the appetizer (the book blurb and Prologue below) – just enough to  whet your appetite. Then you’ll be moving on to The Calico Critic to read the first half of chapter 1. Think of it as a flavorful salad – tasty, but not quite enough to completely satisfy your hunger. And so you’ll find the second half of the chapter (the main course?) at my own website/blog – Jane Austen Says. I promise you will discover some tasty bits to surprise your palate as you go!

Of course, you’re welcome at any time along the way to cut to the chase – skip directly to dessert! Simply get your own copy (Kindle, paperback, Nook, audio coming soon), to  enjoy in the comfort of your own home. Devour it slowly, one bite at a time, or binge to your heart’s content!

I’m delighted to bring Mr. Knightley’s full savory story to you, and I hope you’ll enjoy getting to know our deliciously handsome hero much better. One ARC reader said this is my best “in His Own Words” book of all!  Now here’s your appetizer followed by the link to your next course:

Mr. George Knightley. According to Emma Woodhouse, you won’t see one in a hundred who is so clearly the gentleman. Respected by all, he’s kind, unpretentious, and scrupulously honest, with an air so remarkably good that it’s unfair to compare other men to him. We also know he’s been his “own master” from a young age. But Jane Austen tells us little more.

What were his early years like, and how did he lose his parents? A man in his mid-thirties, he must have had at least one romance along the way. Did it end badly? Is that why he’s never married? When and how did his relationship with Emma shift from friendship to love? And what can explain his incredible forbearance towards the eccentric Mr. Woodhouse? Now, Mr. Knightley reveals these answers and more in His Own Words.

This is not a variation from but a supplement to the original story of Emma, chronicled in the hero’s point of view. Two-thirds completely new material, it features key events in Mr. Knightley’s past – events that still haunt him and yet have shaped who he’s become, the superior man Emma can’t help falling in love with.

Prologue (told in Mr. Knightley’s own words)

Mr. Woodhouse is my hero and always shall be. This assertion will no doubt come as a great surprise to some, especially to his more recent acquaintances, for he may not appear heroic in any way.

Mr. Woodhouse is now a somewhat elderly man with what I will call habits of gentle selfishness. He is not autocratic or demanding. On the contrary, he is mild mannered and the soul of charity itself. It is simply that he wishes to keep those he cares about near to him and cannot reconcile himself to change of any kind. These predilections seem so obvious and natural to him that he can never suppose there to be any good reason for other people to feel differently. Why should anybody wish to marry? It is so disrupting to the family circle. What reason could there be for one choosing to leave Highbury, when it is not to be supposed that there is a more comfortable place in the whole world? I have heard him say as much.

His scope of interest has contracted over the last twenty years to where his view now rarely reaches beyond his own village and the nearest concerns of himself, his two daughters, and a few intimate friends. Moreover, his valetudinarian propensities have in this same period taken a firmer grasp on him. Mr. Woodhouse is afraid, if not of his own shadow, then certainly of the threats posed by an unwholesome piece of cake and a chill draft.

But it was not always so. No, I have known him all my life, and I remember him as the man he once was, the mentor and champion of my youth. Do not mistake me; he was never by nature brave-hearted or bold. There was at least one time, however, when he faced up to a formidable foe to see that right was done. This is true heroism, not that one has no fear but that one is willing to go into battle anyway. Mr. Woodhouse did that, and he did it for me. I can never forget the priceless service he rendered those many years ago. It is for that I honor him still.

I owe him everything, perhaps even my life. So, as long as I have breath, I will be his grateful servant and faithful friend. I will do my best to see no harm comes to him or to anybody he cares for. I will put his needs and wishes above my own in every case – even when it is most painful, as it is now. For the sake of that longstanding debt I can never repay, and respecting certain promises I made, I will deny myself as long as… Well, as long as it is necessary.

It would be tempting to say, “Oh, but things are different now. Circumstances have changed. One must not feel bound by promises made two decades ago.”

Yes, many things have changed in that time – it would be easier if they had not – but Mr. Woodhouse’s wishes remain the same. Therefore it is my clear duty to keep my promise to him, even now. If there is one thing a man can and always must do, it is his duty.

Was the appetizer unexpected? Intriguing? Left you hungry for more? I hope so! In your next course (chapter 1), Mr. Knightley makes a confession about Emma. Then he goes back to begin his story at the beginning, when he was 17 and his whole world changed. Continue reading here!