On Its Way – The Bride of Northanger

My own “Austen in August” excitement is that I can now announce that I have a new, complete, actual, full length novel coming out, at long last!  The title is The Bride of Northanger, and it is a variation – sequel – continuation – riff, call it what you will, on Northanger Abbey, from White Soup Press!  I will be posting regularly in the buildup to publication date, which will be on September 19.

Excerpts and ordering details will be along soon, and a Cover Reveal, but in the meantime I will provide just a teaser:  a “detail” of the cover, which is a lovely portrait by the 18^th century artist Elizabeth Vigee Lebrun.  The cover also features a snippet of a painting of Netley Abbey (which Austen visited) by Constable, so the tout ensemble of the cover is artistic, in the period, and in my opinion as pretty as one’s darling child ought to be.

Is Northanger Abbey not  your favorite of Austen’s novels?  I hope to persuade you to think differently, for it is delightful. Her earliest full length novel, though not the first published, it is fresh and playful, witty and romantic, and truly there is no more charming hero in all the Austen canon than Mr. Tilney. There are people who adhere passionately to Team Darcy and Team Knightley, I know (perhaps not so many on Team Edmund Bertram), but the appeal of clever, amiable, handsome Mr. Tilney inspires equal passion, especially in those who like a reading man, a talking man, and the very best of company.

Catherine in Northanger Abbey is an unformed young heroine, whom some don’t appreciate as much as the scintillating Elizabeth Bennet or romantic Anne Elliot. But I have amended Catherine’s primary fault by making her older and wiser! The story opens a year after the ending of Northanger Abbey.  Catherine Morland and Henry Tilney are about to be married, and the year of their engagement has been a very happy one, even though they were obliged to wait due to his father General Tilney’s objections. They have been corresponding, and are more in love than ever, while Catherine has improved in sense and education. But this is the world of Northanger Abbey, where strange and Gothic things can happen – or are they only imaginary? Certain it is, that there is a Monk’s Curse, a Murder, and a Grey Lady, among other things, for our young couple to contend with…so do come along and enjoy the this combination of the familiar and the unexpected!

Although I’ve been writing plenty of stories all along, this is my first book publication in some years; my husband’s illness prevented more ambitious projects, but he has thankfully recovered, and I am in “dancing, singing, exclaiming spirits” (like Emma) in being able to have a new book out at last.

Serendipitously, Northanger Abbey is the conference theme at the JASNA (Jane Austen Society of North America) Annual General Meeting this year, October 4-6 in Williamsburg, VA.  There will be some great book releases and authors signing at the conference, but The Bride of Northanger will be the only new novel based on the theme book, and as a speaker, I’ll be the only fiction author represented at the book signing!  All reasons for excitement in October, and you will find me blogging from and about the conference, like a bonneted on-the-scenes reporter, flitting between ballroom and book room.

So get ready for a Gothic, romantic, mysterious and funny ride, from my launching pen!