tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post504804395160675723..comments2024-03-28T12:00:47.858-04:00Comments on Jungle Red Writers: Stephanie Barron--Jane and the Waterloo MapJungle Red Writershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16646429819267618412noreply@blogger.comBlogger35125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-69603382709577755732016-01-16T07:35:38.340-05:002016-01-16T07:35:38.340-05:00Nicely done, Stephanie! Thanks for the detailed ex...Nicely done, Stephanie! Thanks for the detailed explanation!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-55838839210995023622016-01-15T18:14:10.562-05:002016-01-15T18:14:10.562-05:00That's wonderful to hear, Kathy. I had a terri...That's wonderful to hear, Kathy. I had a terrific time in Raleigh--my seventeen year-old son took a greyhound bus from his fencing tournament in Richmond and met me there. We visited a few colleges in the area and I was quite struck by the beauty of the North Carolina countryside. I hope you had a good Bouchercon, too. Looking forward to meeting again in New Orleans--and best of good wishes regarding the family health crisis. I know I am constantly juggling so many things in life, that the few minutes I steal to read, with a glass of wine by a good fire, are my conception of heaven.Stephanie Barronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08231632672832682010noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-65115586005125569072016-01-15T18:07:56.615-05:002016-01-15T18:07:56.615-05:00Oh, yes, I'm definitely a Jane Austen fan, and...Oh, yes, I'm definitely a Jane Austen fan, and Emma is a special one of her books for me because a couple of years ago, my adult daughter and I read it together, something we seldom can coordinate. And, of course, I really enjoyed it. Now, Stephanie, you have me wanting to do a second reading. <br /><br />I am working my way to your Jane Austen Mysteries. It's one of the series I most want to read, and I so hope to get caught up this year. With a family health crisis, my reading year has been pretty much put on hold until another couple of weeks, but I'm going to at least get started on your series by Bouchercon in New Orleans this year. Your answer to Debs' question about how you choose the episodes to make into your mysteries was a nice piece of information to have before I start the series. I did manage to meet you very briefly in Raleigh and get a Jane Austen Mystery signed. I should have more to sign in New Orleans.<br /><br />Kathy Reelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17004247271452356577noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-5906995882845119592016-01-15T16:47:21.062-05:002016-01-15T16:47:21.062-05:00Foreword. NOT forward. :)Foreword. NOT forward. :)Stephanie Barronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08231632672832682010noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-68732760478998488482016-01-15T16:45:27.888-05:002016-01-15T16:45:27.888-05:00You're not dreaming, Brenda, but it was indeed...You're not dreaming, Brenda, but it was indeed fictional--what a writer calls a framing device for the story. I was attempting, in that forward, to position myself as the editor of Jane's recently discovered journals, which recount her detective adventures, much as Dr. John Watson is presented as the chronicler of Sherlock Holmes's work. Laurie King does something similar in the BEEKEEPER'S APPRENTICE, when she suggests that the first Mary Russell story is a "found" manuscript. These are all ways to heighten the reader's suspension of disbelief. I had a personal bit of fun with that forward, however, because I had the manuscripts discovered in the drystone cellar of a friend, Philip Carroll, who is descended from Charles Carroll of Carrolton, one of the original signers of the Declaration of Independence. Another ancestor of Phil's is Archbishop Carroll, one of the Jesuit founders of Georgetown University, who allegedly helped spirit the illegitimate son of the Prince Regent and Maria FitzHerbert out of England to Maryland, where he was raised as an adopted child. (This has never been fully documented, I should say.) Descendants of Jane Austen's brothers eventually emigrated to the United States, and as some of her letters were in their possession, I thought it would be fun to send the "journals" with them, too.Stephanie Barronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08231632672832682010noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-79508482973101694472016-01-15T16:22:26.717-05:002016-01-15T16:22:26.717-05:00Stephanie, I have gotten behind in the series so a...Stephanie, I have gotten behind in the series so am grateful for this gentle reminder to catch up. Way back when, I read the first book in the series and have had this question ever since. Is my memory correct? There was a foreward that talked about you having access to a trunk of letters of Jane's and Cassandra's (and others) that a family member, who lived in the States had ownership of. Was that fictional? Am I dreaming that memory?? I thought how lucky you were to have access to that.Brendanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-1963092602000027342016-01-15T15:50:01.230-05:002016-01-15T15:50:01.230-05:00Appreciate all the feedback, folks! So often the l...Appreciate all the feedback, folks! So often the life of a writer feels like just so much talking to yourself. Stephanie Barronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08231632672832682010noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-32675732151490795602016-01-15T14:20:03.455-05:002016-01-15T14:20:03.455-05:00Hello, I'm also a Jane Austen fan, and it'...Hello, I'm also a Jane Austen fan, and it's difficult to decide which book I like best. Your essay discussing her story construction is very interesting, and new to me. Thank you for the info. <br />Jgalnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-59468484099453726932016-01-15T14:18:35.286-05:002016-01-15T14:18:35.286-05:00I am a fan of Jane (of course!) and also of Stepha...I am a fan of Jane (of course!) and also of Stephanie. Happy to see there is a new Jane mystery out soon.Trisshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08058396345946250313noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-37555299872796226442016-01-15T14:03:38.797-05:002016-01-15T14:03:38.797-05:00Thanks, will do, Stephanie!Thanks, will do, Stephanie!Lisa Alberhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12591430453957883948noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-21421311262845025102016-01-15T13:52:10.621-05:002016-01-15T13:52:10.621-05:00Debs, Raphael West is a real person. He was the el...Debs, Raphael West is a real person. He was the eldest son of Benjamin West. I've got a catalogue of his sketches, along with his father's. There isn't a lot known about him, but all the details of his life (wife, daughter, parents, brother, Newman Street house, etc) are true. The little detail of his working as a spy for the Crown is explained in the previous book, TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS. <br /><br />As an American family from Pennsylvania, the Wests were conflicted about becoming naturalised British subjects, which in effect they did--Benjamin was head of the Royal Academy and a court painter to George III. But he left England and took his family with him to Paris after the Revolution, believing it was a great moment for humanity and individual freedom from tyranny. When Napoleon crowned himself Emperor, they left Paris in disgust--and returned to London, where Benjamin died in 1820. He had a huge influence on a whole generation of American painters, however, who crossed the Atlantic to apprentice in his atelier, like Raphael and Rembrandt Peale. <br /><br />I like using Raphael West as a character because just enough is known about him to make him interesting--but not enough to disqualify him for fiction.Stephanie Barronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08231632672832682010noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-72639026590718505222016-01-15T13:45:03.883-05:002016-01-15T13:45:03.883-05:00So much to talk about, Lisa, in your comments.
Fir...So much to talk about, Lisa, in your comments.<br />First, the last Poirot novel, CURTAIN--as you may know, but I'm just going to set down here--Christie wrote during World War II, when she was worried about the possibility of being a civilian casualty and leaving her family, who relied on her income, destitute. She set it aside along with the final Jane Marple--SLEEPING MURDER--in a safe, as sort of "investment properties" to be published after her death. It's fascinating to me that she could foresaw the end of her series characters' lives so many decades in advance.<br /><br />I have serious reservations, myself, about writing the end of Jane Austen's story. She has been a friend of mine for too long to enjoy watching vigil at her deathbed. But I have no intention of prolonging her life. I've been quite faithful to the record, aside from strewing bodies in her path every few months, and going paranormal would violate that. But as for your larger question, writing fiction about characters who have actual existences and ends--I love doing it, and seek it out. While I have written a series about an entirely fictional detective (the Merry Folger Nantucket mysteries), I prefer historical fiction embedded in real people's lives. Other than Jane, I've written about Virginia Woolf during the three weeks her body waited to be found after her suicide (THE WHITE GARDEN). Queen Victoria and her children are the subjects of A FLAW IN THE BLOOD. As Francine Mathews, I write spy novels about real people--most recently Jack Kennedy as a college student in World War II (JACK 1939) and Ian Fleming as a British intelligence officer in TOO BAD TO DIE. For whatever reason, I find the gaps in the historical record--the moments when events might have gone differently, or events and personalities coincide--to be rich territory for storytelling. <br /><br />Now: as for starting the Jane series. I often tell readers to start with the second book--JANE AND THE MAN OF THE CLOTH. When I wrote the first Jane mystery, JANE AND THE UNPLEASANTNESS AT SCARGRAVE MANOR, I was still finding my Austen voice. I grew more confident in it as the series went on. So if you do start with book one--I hope you'll persevere. Stephanie Barronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08231632672832682010noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-81078880429571531612016-01-15T13:43:42.508-05:002016-01-15T13:43:42.508-05:00Stephanie, I love Raphael West. Is he based on rea...Stephanie, I love Raphael West. Is he based on real person? Deborah Crombiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16988750789088153601noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-72692720480752563312016-01-15T13:26:19.399-05:002016-01-15T13:26:19.399-05:00I love Jane Austen. I find her fascinating -- the ...I love Jane Austen. I find her fascinating -- the fact that she bucked the system by not marrying a man she didn't love. This is the first I've heard of your series, Stephanie, which, frankly, seems ridiculous. :-) I'm going to start with the first--looking forward to it!<br /><br />I'm intrigued by the fact that you have a natural end to your series (unless you go paranormal and have her become a ghost, or God forbid, a zombie -- I can't believe Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is a movie!). I wonder how writing a series differs in your case versus most cases (open-ended timeline with main detective not based on a real person). Did you ever think you'd get so far along that you would HAVE to think about Jane's death?<br /><br />It makes me think of the last Poirot novel and how Agatha Christie handled his finale.<br /><br />I'm like Hallie: I go back to P&P for comfort reads.Lisa Alberhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12591430453957883948noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-8658465177710160372016-01-15T12:55:26.698-05:002016-01-15T12:55:26.698-05:00And yes, Pat, it is like working a puzzle. I think...And yes, Pat, it is like working a puzzle. I think of the books as mosaics, actually--fragments of fact set with fragments of fiction, the pieces making a different whole.<br />Stephanie Barronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08231632672832682010noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-64461280532991033772016-01-15T12:52:47.228-05:002016-01-15T12:52:47.228-05:00Then you need to pick up with the two most recent ...Then you need to pick up with the two most recent books at least, Pat, because Jane has a new romantic interest in her life...with links to Lord Harold. :) Raphael West, painter and government spy (son of Anglo-American artist Benjamin West) enters Jane's life in JANE AND THE TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS. He reappears in WATERLOO MAP.Stephanie Barronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08231632672832682010noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-82616708583358974882016-01-15T12:26:59.402-05:002016-01-15T12:26:59.402-05:00I'm afraid I got way behind on your books Step...I'm afraid I got way behind on your books Stephanie. I admit I was brokenhearted when Jane's relationship with the Gentleman Rogue ended. It must be like working a puzzle to weave Jane's recorded life with a mysterious happening.Pat Dnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-72283162710438390782016-01-15T11:36:34.342-05:002016-01-15T11:36:34.342-05:00Rhys, AWAY IN A MANGER made my Christmas. So glad ...Rhys, AWAY IN A MANGER made my Christmas. So glad we got to trade books at the Poisoned Pen!Stephanie Barronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08231632672832682010noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-91883505864943256412016-01-15T11:32:08.682-05:002016-01-15T11:32:08.682-05:00Julia, I agree that Austen is remarkably modern--I...Julia, I agree that Austen is remarkably modern--I think that's why she's still being read and filmed. Harold Bloom maintains that PERSUASION is the point of departure for the modern novel, because of its remarkable concision, and the interiorality (is that a word?) of its characters. It's one of the most tightly plotted books out there, and one of the first to track a woman's emotional course through, and out of, depression. Stephanie Barronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08231632672832682010noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-33882972729764917542016-01-15T11:27:27.504-05:002016-01-15T11:27:27.504-05:00Hank, I think we all read books differently once w...Hank, I think we all read books differently once we've taken on the challenge of writing them. I know I edit other people's prose far too often in my own head. :) A book is successful for me when I don't find myself doing that! But certainly I know I'm far more aware of plotting and structure in the novel--the way events are choreographed and "evidence" is released, to both reader and protagonist at different times. Jane was adept at what I call "privileging" information. Certain characters have pieces of the puzzle before her main characters, and often her readers, learn them. I'm thinking here of how Darcy possesses the key to Wickham's past and character when no one else does, or how Elizabeth Bennet's Aunt Gardiner knows that Darcy has saved Lydia long before Lizzie is aware of it. Those are crucial but hidden parts of the P&P. Jane understood the narrative power of the "reveal."Stephanie Barronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08231632672832682010noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-34011981209446936832016-01-15T11:22:38.389-05:002016-01-15T11:22:38.389-05:00Debs, the books generally follow one of two paths:...Debs, the books generally follow one of two paths: either I use a few letters Jane wrote during a particular period in her life (October-December 1815, in the case of WATERLOO MAP) as a springboard for setting the novel, or I use a period where no letters exist at all, and fill the gap in her history. Both are fun to play with. When she's left a record of six weeks, you know exactly what she did on different days, whom she spoke with, where she shopped, what she bought and ate--even the weather--and all of that can be used as the background or framework to the story. When there's no record at all, the book can use historical events in England and her personal life as a starting point. That's very much what I did with JANE AND THE STILLROOM MAID, the fifth book in the series; I send her to the town of Bakewell three miles from Chatsworth, the Duke of Devonshire's estate, when no letters have survived for those weeks in her life. She mentions Bakewell specifically in PRIDE AND PREJUDICE when Lizzie visits Darcy's home, Pemberley, in Derbyshire, so I riffed on that--and it was truly fun to do.Stephanie Barronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08231632672832682010noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-23471325088192541382016-01-15T11:15:18.484-05:002016-01-15T11:15:18.484-05:00And as I can't quite figure out how to reply t...And as I can't quite figure out how to reply to each comment individually, I'm going to just go down the list. Hallie, P&P is one of my comfort reads, too, and has been since about the age of 12. But my favorite Austen novel, hands-down, is PERSUASION. I've just reached the point in her life where she's starting to think about writing it. Knowing that it was published after her death gives that fact a certain poignancy.<br />Stephanie Barronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08231632672832682010noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-67115421341119582372016-01-15T11:12:12.835-05:002016-01-15T11:12:12.835-05:00Just starting my work day out here in Colorado. So...Just starting my work day out here in Colorado. Sorry to join the conversation late!<br />Stephanie Barronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08231632672832682010noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-61460327351052852292016-01-15T11:10:50.669-05:002016-01-15T11:10:50.669-05:00Definitely a fan of Jane Austen and, like many oth...Definitely a fan of Jane Austen and, like many others, I rely on Pride and Prejudice (both book and movie [Colin Firth as Darcy]) to get me through life's ups and downs.<br /><br />Don't know how I missed your Austen novels, Stephanie, but am remedying that right now. Thanks, Reds, for bringing yet another fantastic author to a broader audience.<br /><br />~TriciaTFJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01145220939173150233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-2410313797485683052016-01-15T11:06:46.399-05:002016-01-15T11:06:46.399-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Stephanie Barronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08231632672832682010noreply@blogger.com