Interview with a Janeite, with Special Guest Pamela Hunter

Hello, and welcome to another month of meeting some kindred spirits! This month, our guest is Pam Hunter, a longtime fan of Jane Austen and Austenesque works. Her host is our dapper George Wickham, so stick around and see how he acquits himself!

AV: Tell us a little about your background?

PH: Hi! It’s such an honor to be invited here!
I was born and raised in Winston-Salem, NC. I had a wonderful childhood. My time was spent playing outside with my younger sister, riding bikes, visiting the neighbor kids, getting suntanned and bee-stung…and having a ball doing it! I developed a deep love of music and reading at a young age. I give my mom credit for the love of music. She was forever playing records, especially Elvis Presley. I never developed the Elvis-love my mom had, but I do love the music from my teens- 70s and 80s music. The Bee Gees, Hall and Oates, Chicago…good stuff! I have no idea where my love of reading came from. My mom and dad only read the newspaper and some magazines. My sister and I, however, both became voracious readers. I read a lot of romances in my younger days, but I eventually tired of them. I eventually found my way to the thrillers and mystery section of the library. Dean Koontz is a favorite of mine, and his novels “Lightning” and “Watchers” are two of my all-time favorite books.

I was considered to be a “brain” in school, but those days are looooong gone, unfortunately! I attended college VERY briefly (maybe 2 weeks?) before I decided to come back home and take a year off from school. God had something different in mind for me, though. I met a really nice guy on a blind date and married him about a year later. We just celebrated our 37th anniversary on August 1st. We have 2 daughters, 1 son, and 2 grandsons. I never got back to school, but life has kept me pretty busy!

AV: What keeps you busy these days? Any special hobbies or passions?

PH: I stay busy with family, books, television, and crafts. I learned to crochet when I was a child, and I still enjoy making things for friends and family. I used to cross-stitch, but my old eyes aren’t able to handle that anymore. I live very near my two grandsons, and I love it when they come over to visit. My church and my faith are a very big part of my life as well.

AV: How did you first meet Jane Austen?

PH:I didn’t meet Jane Austen until I saw the 1995 miniseries. Can you believe it? I had heard of her and her books, of course, but I’d never read them nor seen any movie adaptations until 1995. After seeing Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth portray Elizabeth and Darcy, I was hooked! I eventually found pemberley.com to help feed my addiction. I can remember the first JAFF book I found- ”The Bar Sinister” by Linda Berdoll. Happy happy, joy joy! That was the beginning of a wonderful hobby for me!

A little side story- Jennifer Ehle was born here in Winston-Salem, as some of you may know. My oldest daughter, who was also a Pride and Prejudice fan, worked on her high school newspaper when she was a senior, around 2000-2001. She wrote a piece for her newspaper about Jennifer. Jennifer’s parents, actress Rosemary Harris and author John Ehle, lived in Winston, and my daughter found their address in the phone book. Daughter thought they might enjoy seeing the article about Jennifer, so she mailed them a copy. Daughter received a lovely thank you letter from Rosemary Harris. My daughter was so thrilled to hear from her. She still has that letter.

A couple of years later, I was manning a charity table outside a Borders bookstore, when I happened to look up, and there in front of me were Rosemary Harrris and John Ehle! I told them about my daughter (they remembered) and talked to them for a few minutes. Two lovely, gracious people. I was sad to hear of his passing this year.

AV: Name a Jane Austen character you would love to shake some sense into! And what about one who needs a good comeuppance?

PH: I think Lydia and Kitty Bennet both need to be shaken quite frequently! Marianne Dashwood could use a good shake or two as well. I’d give shakes to Sir Walter Elliot, Elizabeth Elliot, Mary Musgrove, John Dashwood, Emma Woodhouse, and Frank Churchill. Wow, I didn’t realize that I had such violent tendencies! Those who need a good comeuppance? Two come to mind right away- George Wickham and Caroline Bingley. Oh, Lady Catherine as well. I don’t care for her bossy ways. Fanny Dashwood, Lucy Steele, and John Willoughby as well. Last, but not least, Mrs. Clay and Mr. Elliot. Those two are pretty despicable.

AV: How about a Jane Austen character who deserves a happier ending than they got?

PH: I think our dear Jane did a great job with matching up her characters. If I must pick someone, I have to pick Charlotte Lucas. I understand why she married Mr. Collins, but I’d like to have seen her find a real HEA with a deserving gentleman. Thank goodness for all the wonderful variations, some of which do take Charlotte down a different path.

AV: How do you like your Austenesque variations? Sweet or spicy; canon or off-canon; Regency or retelling? What would you like to see more of?

PH:I’m not very picky when it comes to Austenesque variations. I love the sweet ones, the spicier ones, canon or off-canon. I don’t favor a modern retelling, however. To me, the Regency time period is a major “character” in the story. I love the manners, the etiquette, the clothing, and the speech from that period.

AV: What kinds of things do you enjoy most here at Austen Variations?

PH: I love being able to keep up with the authors and learning about their upcoming projects. I enjoy reading the interviews. I like learning more about the Regency era and how things were done back then. Most of all, I love the contests! I really appreciate the chances to win copies of new releases, plus other goodies. I’ve been very fortunate in the past and have won quite a few times. I’m so thankful for the generosity of all the authors.

Good day, Mr. Wickham.  How are you?  I hope you are well.

Good day to you from my current rural escape in Yorkshire, sipping claret and listening to the stream. I am always well, it is one articulately pleasing aspect of being born George Wickham.

As a reader of Pride and Prejudice, I know a bit of your backstory.  I’d like for you to tell me yourself about your childhood.  Was it a happy one?  Did you have many friends?  Did you consider Darcy a friend?  

My childhood was what one might loosely term idyllic, if a little free. I was as you see me now, garrulous, rather quick to act and rather fond of the outdoors, come rain or shine, winter or summer. I was blessed with a wealth of friends and together we might tadpole in our innocent days and wench in our rather less boyish years. Not all of them are with us today, more’s the pity, but those that are always enjoy a warm welcome int he house of Wickham. Growing old, you know, it robs one of the most precious pals.

Darcy was a friend and brother to me. A sensible older brother, I fancy, who regarded my merriment with rather a careful eye.

How old were you when you decided that you deserved to have what Darcy had?  Is that when you began your campaign of flattery with old Mr. Darcy?

My goodness, what Darcy had? I can assure you that the weight of managing an estate is the last burden I would ever care to have fall upon my shoulders. Respectability, dour dinners, welcoming the neighbours and pretending to care for their prattle of yields and shares? Perish the thought of all that, it would have put me in the grave long before my time! Darcy is suited to such high-minded matters. Wickham, never.

There was no call for me to flatter the senior Mr D for I was but a lad when I met him and whatever you may think of what I became, he looked on me as his own when my dear father passed away. It would be a sorry business indeed if a boy had looked to flatter a gentleman with a heart so welcoming as the late Mr Darcy!

Why didn’t you use the bequest you received from Mr. Darcy to make something of yourself?  Did you really think Darcy would continue to give you a never ending supply of funds?

You have rather fallen into the supposition that Darcy is at the foremost of my thoughts when in truth, the person who holds that particular position is yours truly, George Wickham. I used the bequest in exactly the way the late Mr Darcy would likely have guessed I would – squandered in the pursuit of pleasure but my God, I can say that I have lived and when I breathe my last, there will be no if only on my lips. The good lord gives us one turn around the racetrack and though I have fallen at the occasional fence, I’ve run to the finish with the best of them.

As to whether I thought Darcy would fund me, no, in so far as I thought about him at all it was merely to wonder why he didn’t smile more. I still wonder now!

Do you think old Mr. Darcy and your own father would approve of any of the choices you’ve made in your life?

I have asked myself this question and my life has been long so I think that I might have made the odd choice that they would approve of. Life is ours to live though, mistakes and all, and live it we must. One cannot live for the approval of men who are no longer with us, no matter how fine those men were. Perhaps somewhere there exists an exalted monk on a hidden hill who has lived a blameless, godly life but until he reveals himself to the world, I would be willing to wager that no such faultless fellow exists. Perhaps others are more wily than I at keeping their occasional wrinkles hidden!

Have you ever been in love?  Other than with your own reflection, I mean.

I have loved often and well, but I am too much a gentleman to share those stories.

I know that you were forced to marry Lydia Bennet.  Do you feel any true affection for her?  Has your marriage been blessed with children?  Or are children only good for absconding with and attempting to elope with for their inheritance?

Lydia is a force of nature, how could one not adore her? One might occasionally adore her from the other end of the county, but one adores her no less. As to the final part of your question, tell me more about these children you’ve absconded with – it sounds like quite a tale!

What are your future plans?  How long can you remain in the military?

As long as I look so dashing in the uniform, I shall be a military man! My future plans are to continue with business as usual – it’s served me well enough these decades, after all.

Do you have any regrets?  If you could go back and change something in your life, what would that be?  Why?

No regrets in the house of Wickham, for regrets are the shackles that might hold a man down. If one might choose between dwelling on the past or dancing in to the future, then I say strike up the orchestra!

Thank you for your time, Mr. Wickham!

Always a delight, madame, I assure you!

Catherine Curzon is an author and royal historian of the 18th century.

She has written extensively for publications including HistoryExtra.com, the official website of BBC History Magazine, Who Do You Think You Are?, Your Family History, Real Crime, Explore History, All About History, History of Royals and Jane Austen’s Regency World. Catherine has spoken at venues and events including the Stamford Georgian Festival, the Bath Jane Austen Festival, Lichfield Guildhall, the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich, Dr Johnson’s House, Kenwood House, the Hurlingham Club, Godmersham Park, and the Royal Pavilion, Brighton. She has provided additional research for An Evening with Jane Austen, starring Adrian Lukis, and has introduced the performance at venues across the UK.

Catherine holds a Master’s degree in Film and when not dodging the furies of the guillotine can often be found cheering for the mighty Huddersfield Town. She lives in Yorkshire atop a ludicrously steep hill with a rakish colonial gentleman, a long-suffering cat and a lively dog.