I have done my best to imitate Jane Austen’s voice. I have suppressed some of my own habits, and have tried to use her vocabulary instead of my own. The Meryton Murders is set in 1814, so I was constantly checking the online version of Merriam-Webster to determine when a word became part of the English language. This meant I had to delete words such as fiancé and détente and sabotage and to find appropriate alternatives. Spelling, however, is modern as my many editions of Pride & Prejudice are inconsistent and I prefer not to do battle with my word processor.
Jane Austen was born about a month later than expected, rather to the embarrassment of her parents, George and Cassandra Austen. As she was the 7th of 8th children, her father acknowledged that they should have reckoned better. I have paid homage to this by making Jane Bingley rather late in giving birth to her first child.
As for the plot based on blackmail and extortion, remember that it was a time when reputation was much easier to sully than it is now, and the consequences could be more severe, especially for a lady. As Mary Bennet says in Pride & Prejudice: “loss of virtue in a female is irretrievable; that one false step involves her in endless ruin; that her reputation is no less brittle than it is beautiful … .”
I have something in common with Mr. Clarke. I am making up stories about Jane Austen’s characters, and I am trying to use her voice, just as Clarke makes up false histories and attempts to use their voices and handwriting. But I hope that, unlike the unfortunate recipients of Henry Clarke’s inventions, The Meryton Murders will please and not distress its readers.
Thanks for reading!
Victoria Grossack
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Victoria Grossack, married with children, is the author of several novels and more than seventy articles on the craft of writing. If she is not hiking or gardening, she is working hard on her next project.
If you want to read more of her work, consider:
The Highbury Murders: A Mystery Set in the Village of Jane Austen’s Emma (most like The Meryton Murders)
Academic Assassination: A Zofia Martin Mystery is a contemporary mystery with an emphasis on science. If you like the TV show The Big Bang Theory, this may appeal to you.
The following novels are based on Greek mythology and are written with Alice Underwood. They are different in voice and style from Victoria Grossack’s other works, but they are entertaining, especially if you like historical fiction. The Niobe trilogy solves a mass murder that took place more than 3000 years ago:
Jocasta: The Mother-Wife of Oedipus
Antigone & Creon: Guardians of Thebes
Children of Tantalus: Niobe & Pelops
The Road to Thebes: Niobe & Amphion
Arrows of Artemis: Niobe & Chloris
And, if you want to know more how Victoria Grossack writes as she does – if you wish to author stories and novels yourself, consider:
Crafting Fabulous Fiction: Levels of Structure, Characters & More
The Meryton Murders Page 30