Interview with the Author - C. Allyn Pierson

Mr. Darcy's Little Sister  (available September 7th) is the story of Georgiana Darcy and her coming of age.  Having an overprotective brother and being unbearably shy is making for a difficult season in London, but a brand new sister-in-law is there to rescue her! 

I spoke with C. Allyn Pierson (the pen name for Carey Bligard) about her new book and her thoughts on what Jane Austen would think about the sequels and adaptations surrounding her most famous novel, Pride and Prejudice.

Georgiana is a fairly secondary character in Austen’s novel, why choose her as your focus?

Pierson:  I read a retelling of Pride and Prejudice from a different character’s point of view and, although I enjoyed the book, I realized that I didn’t agree with the portrayal of Georgiana and her relationship with her brother. I had a very strong idea about how I thought they would behave. I felt strongly enough that I sat down and started writing, but I actually started writing this book as a portrait of Elizabeth and Darcy in their first year of marriage, including Georgiana’s coming-out as a major influence on their life, but it became more and more Georgiana’s story.

Sourcebooks asked me to rewrite it from Georgiana’s point of view and I felt that that was the natural evolution of the story. I felt strongly that Elizabeth and Darcy would not have any major personal problems in their first year of marriage (they had solved all those in Pride and Prejudice!) and the main stress points were actually Georgiana’s story. Georgiana was also interesting to me because she was such an unknown in P and P. She is important to the story, but, except for two very brief appearances, she is invisible: Caroline Bingley is extolling her as the epitome of grace and talent, Mr. Darcy is always writing letters to her (with Miss Bingley bringing attention to his every move), and Georgiana is held up as Jane’s main rival for Bingley.

The other interesting point to me about Georgiana was that she was an unknown- she was not developed as a full-fledged character so I could build her however I wanted. Even Jane Austen didn’t pay much attention to her- she told her family who Mary and Kitty Bennet would eventually marry, but she did not say anything about Georgiana. I felt a lot of freedom to develop her character.

Do you think teenagers are very different today?

Pierson:  I don’t think humans have changed much in the 5000 years of recorded history, but the societal mores and stresses have changed a great deal. In Jane Austen’s day society was much more structured. Children were taught what their roles and expectations were and they were expected to behave accordingly- a gentleman managed his estates, hunted, etc and a lady was supposed to develop accomplishments such as music and embroidery. Real education was discouraged for women because being cerebral would put off the gentlemen they might marry. Most children in the upper classes were brought up by nursery maids and governesses and their parents would spend a few minutes with them each day before going on with their lives. The strictures of society about what was and was not acceptable for these roles were the guiding force in their lives.

Now, of course, societal roles are much more open and young people have many more opportunities, but they are still strongly influenced by society, in this case their peers. Modern society is much less concerned with rigid formulae of behavior in addressing and meeting people and a misstep today does not permanently separate you from the rest of your peers. As an example, a young woman today who gets pregnant in high school will have a difficult time trying to finished her education, but she will not be ostracized or hidden away. In Jane Austen’s day a young lady would be ruined by simply driving with a young man too far to return home that night and would be sent away, as was Maria Bertram in Mansfield Park.

What do you thinks drives readers to embrace the idea of the continuation of Austen’s novel?

Pierson: I think that Austen’s characters are so well drawn that people almost think of them as real and want to learn more about their future. Even Jane Austen’s family was interested in the fate of her characters and pressed her for details of their future lives. I think contemporary readers are also more used to continuing stories, whether a series of books, or a weekly television program, and naturally jump to the question of “What happens next?”

What would Jane think of all this business?

Pierson:  I am not sure what she would think. I hope that she would be flattered that her books would become so popular, but she would undoubtedly be very shocked at the vast range of the creative efforts inspired by her writings. I suspect that she would think it very bizarre that there are modern people who dress up as her characters and spend hours talking about them. Undoubtedly she would be shocked to the point of swooning if she read some of the more sexually explicit books about her characters!

What are you reading right now?

Pierson: I have been rereading some Georgette Heyer books and was surprised when I saw that many of the Jane Austen-related blogs are celebrating Georgette Heyer month in August. A happy coincidence! In contrast, I also read Stieg Larsson’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo a few days ago. I thought the story somewhat interesting, but thought that it needed some serious editing- there were a lot of awkward parts, and not just because it was translated from Swedish!

I have a suspicion that there was not much editing done since the author died before publication, but everyone needs editing (even Jane Austen had to rework many of her stories before they were accepted for publication),

What’s next for you?

Pierson:  Right now I am working on a second sequel to Pride and Prejudice which deals with some serious issues which develop for Elizabeth and Darcy. I hope to also get further into a modern mystery series I have planned.

Read my review of Mr. Darcy's Little Sister here.

Read more about C. Allyn Pierson here.

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