Interview with the Author - Jane Odiwe

Jane Odiwe is the author of the infamous Lydia Bennet’s Story and Willoughby’s Return.  She joins us die hard core Austenites once again with Mr Darcy’s Secret, a Pride and Prejudice sequel about Elizabeth discovering some old love letters in Darcy’s library.  But wait!  Are they truly old? 

I had the opportunity to ask Jane some interesting questions regarding time travel, the original P & P and her favorite Austen adaptation.

Read my review of Mr Darcy’s Secret here.

Read more about Jane Odiwe here.

You're sent back in time, specifically back to the regency period and you can take one modern luxury item with you.  What is it?

Oh my goodness, this question makes me laugh! Only one; how will I survive? I suppose it would be foolish to suggest my laptop, my kindle or hairdryer, which will all be useless without electricity, so I’ll plump for my favourite moisturizer because I’m not sure I fancy the idea of my face falling off with the use of Gowland’s lotion!  

The character of Mr. Darcy is becoming something more than just part of Jane Austen's novel.  For example, Colin Firth has a large fan base due to his work on Pride and Prejudice.  Do you think things are getting out of control or is it all in good fun?

I think every actor who has played Mr Darcy has added something to the character we all fantasize about, and I’m not sure I’ve ever met a single Janeite who hasn’t thought about a relationship with him at some stage in their lives. I certainly wouldn’t believe them if they protested against it too much. I think it’s all good fun, and I think Jane Austen would be highly amused at the idea. She had a wonderful sense of humour.

What is your favorite part of the original Pride and Prejudice novel?

This is incredibly difficult as there are so many parts I love, but if I had to choose, it would be volume three, chapter seventeen, when Elizabeth slowly reveals the fact that she and Darcy are engaged. Jane Austen manipulates our emotions as we see Elizabeth’s hopes, fears and final desires realized. I love all the different reactions and the astonished exclamations from the family members. One of the funniest responses from Elizabeth to Jane’s questioning of how long she has loved him is this one, which sounds a bit mercenary but always makes me chuckle:

  "It has been coming on so gradually, that I hardly know when it began. But I believe I must date it from my first seeing his beautiful grounds at Pemberley."

A bit further on Darcy is coming to Longbourn to visit Elizabeth. We alone know how wonderful he has been in securing Lydia’s marriage, and also how much he loves Elizabeth. We share the secret of the engagement with her, and how we want to tell Mrs Bennet before she puts her foot in it once more. This speech makes me laugh and cringe at the same time whenever I read it.

   "Good gracious!" cried Mrs. Bennet, as she stood at a window the next morning, "if that disagreeable Mr. Darcy is not coming here again with our dear Bingley! What can he mean by being so tiresome as to be always coming here? I had no notion but he would go a-shooting, or something or other, and not disturb us with his company. What shall we do with him? Lizzy, you must walk out with him again, that he may not be in Bingley's way."

Of course this is exactly what Elizabeth wants; a chance to be alone with her love.

In the same chapter we’re almost in tears when Lizzy informs her father that Mr Darcy is her choice, and although he needs convincing, he comes round to deliver a line that gets me reaching for my hanky every time.

 "Well, my dear," said he, when she ceased speaking, "I have no more to say. If this be the case, he deserves you. I could not have parted with you, my Lizzy, to any one less worthy."
 
When we finally get to Mrs Bennet’s reaction we are laughing out loud again. I love to think of Elizabeth’s expression when she tells her the news. Elizabeth’s mother is struck dumb at first, and then it slowly sinks in until she is absolutely beside herself and full of his praises.

 "Good gracious! Lord bless me! only think! dear me! Mr. Darcy! Who would have thought it? And is it really true? Oh, my sweetest Lizzy! how rich and how great you will be! What pin-money, what jewels, what carriages you will have! Jane's is nothing to it - nothing at all. I am so pleased - so happy. Such a charming man! - so handsome! so tall! Oh, my dear Lizzy! pray apologise for my having disliked him so much before. I hope he will overlook it. Dear, dear Lizzy! A house in town! Everything that is charming! Three daughters married! Ten thousand a year! Oh, Lord! What will become of me? I shall go distracted."

Do you have a favorite Jane Austen book or movie adaptation you like to pull out again and again?

If I can only choose one, it would have to be Persuasion with Pride and Prejudice coming right up behind. Although imperfect in some ways as she hadn’t finished editing it before she died I find Persuasion to be the most powerful of her books. It’s the most modern in its sensibility and has all of Jane’s mastery of language, wit and humour stamped all over it, plus it’s a fantastic story of love recaptured. The fact that you can visit all the places in the book and walk in Jane’s footsteps particularly adds to the charm especially as places like Bath and Lyme are little changed from Jane’s day and you get a real sense of being there. I love the 1995 adaptation with Amanda Root and Ciaran Hinds, and have watched it over and over again.

Tea and biscuits or coffee and scones?

Definitely tea, and my favourite is Earl Grey, though I always enjoy a coffee mid-morning. I don’t particularly have a sweet tooth so I might not necessarily have a biscuit or a scone!

What is next for you?

I am very excited to be a part of Laurel Ann Nattress’s anthology, Jane Austen Made Me Do It, which is to be published in the autumn by Ballantine Books. There are so many wonderful authors featured in it, and I feel very privileged to have been asked to contribute. I’ve written a short story inspired by Persuasion. I wanted to know how the family would react to Anne and Frederick’s engagement, and it also gave me an opportunity to write a little of their back story.

I’ve just written another novel inspired by Persuasion, which I hope will be out next year, but I’m still editing. This is not a sequel, and it’s quite different to anything I’ve done before. I’ve really enjoyed writing it!

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