My Jane Austen Summer: A Season in Mansfield Park

really meant when she wrote the novels; read the criticism. Find out what other people are saying about their Jane Austens; lurk online and listen to discussion groups. Surf the Web, subscribe to blogs, friend her on Facebook. She's everywhere!

www.austenauthors.com (cooperative blog for Austen-inspired authors)

www.pemberley.com (good starting place, see the links page)

Austen-L Discussion Group/Archives at McGill University

Janeites Discussion Group/Yahoo

Step 5: Bear the inevitable disappointment. If some of Jane's letters seem mean- spirited, if the criticism contradicts beliefs you hold dear about your favorite novels as well as their author's intent, and if it appears that Other People's Jane Austens are completely unrelated to yours, it may be time to pull back. If you have begun to fear Your Jane Austen is laughing at you for wanting to be her best friend, you should probably give the relationship a break. Reconsider the Brontes. Or read something from a current best-seller list.

Step 6: Establish boundaries. Don't give up. Reconcile the person who traded secrets with you in Step 2 with the Irritable Supernova reconciled in Step 5 and remind yourself that Jane Austen is dead, therefore unknowable. What is knowable is the sparkling narrative, the wit and irony, and the joy that comes with every reading of The Six. Allow distance for the real Jane Austen, whoever she was, to rest in peace. The novels live forever.

Questions and Answers

Where did this story come from?

My Jane Austen Summer started when I read a review of Karen Joy Fowler's The Jane Austen Book Club in the New York Times Book Review years ago. The review inspired me to reread all six Austen novels, saving Fowler's book for dessert. But when I came to the end of the last Austen novel and realized Jane Austen was dead and would never write another word, I went into withdrawal. I tried to wean myself with Austen's novel fragments and juvenilia, read Austen's contemporaries, picked at the sequels and fan fiction, but nothing satisfied. I wandered the Internet and found many lost readers like myself, struggling with the void.

Thank goodness for Fowler's book. She led me to realize that I could bring Jane Austen back to life through my writing. I imagined the book I wanted to read: The Jane Austen Book Club, relocated to Howard's End, narrated by an American Bridget Jones. I envisioned Gothic elements and characters immersed in enactments and discussion so immediate it would seem Jane Austen were present. I found myself inventing a literary festival where Jane Austen's novels assume relevance in the life of a troubled young woman. Spending five years writing My Jane Austen Summer thoroughly satisfied my Austen craving.

Where did you get the idea for Lily's imaginary Jane Austen?

The first line of the prologue in The Jane Austen Book Club, 'Each of us has a private Austen,' as well as an essay where John Wiltshire, quoting Katherine Mansfield, suggests that readers imagine Jane Austen speaking to them between the lines of her text, intrigued me, especially since I was certain Jane Austen was my new best friend. I read biographies and criticism, getting to know her really well. But I was surprised when her human side was eventually revealed: irritable and prickly. And shocked by what seems to be a secret: her father's trusteeship of a slave-owning plantation. With the heated debate over the meaning of Mansfield Park and no one to define the truth for me, I had to wonder: Who is this person? Finally, the explanation that our heroine functions for us as a blank slate, upon which we can project our hopes and dreams, allowed me to understand the underlying dynamics of her relationship with fans, put it to rest, and simply enjoy reading her books.

However, the best friend experience demonstrated that a person could carry on a complete relationship, from initial infatuation, to blow-up, to establishing boundaries, with someone who has been dead two hundred years! Thus Lily's relationship with the imaginary Jane Austen embodies my idea of the dynamics of a contemporary woman's relationship with Jane Austen, taken to its end.

Why did you choose to shadow Mansfield Park?

Mansfield Park is my favorite Austen novel. A later work, it seems darker and more mature to me and I like the Romantic elements. However, my favorite aspect is that Jane Austen favors the quiet, reserved Fanny Price over the witty, gregarious Mary Crawford. I like to think of Jane Austen as a Champion of Introspective Women.

Where do you stand in the Fanny Wars?

I love Fanny Price. I completely identify with a person who creates an interior world through reading, and I admire her courage in taking such a strong stand against Henry Crawford and Uncle Bertram. I do sometimes wonder if it is probable for her to endure with such determination, considering her miserable up-bringing. And it would not have bothered me if she didn't marry Edmund, as long as Edmund didn't end up with Mary Crawford. Lily Berry is my contemporary riff on Fanny Price, with Lily indulging in more failure than Fanny was allowed in her story.

How did you research this book?

I'm no scholar, so the task of depicting a literary conference required some work on my part. Aside from a lot of reading (my favorites are listed here in a selected bibliography), I spent years lurking on two Internet discussion lists listening to erudite conversation, learning how it sounds when Austen scholars discuss her work. One could almost get a free graduate degree in Jane Austen Studies by paying attention online. New threads of discussion arrive via e-mail daily, strong positions are constructed and defended, and further resources are regularly suggested.

What were the fun parts to write?

No one in the real world would hire me to develop a Jane Austen literary festival. But in my imagination, I'm in charge. From the volunteer check-in desk, to opening day enactments, I created every atom of my characters' world. And it was fun. I went house hunting on the Internet, seeking the perfect English manor, not too Palladian but big enough to house a literary festival. I have no practical interest in houses or decoration, but on a virtual level, I found it fascinating, poring over books on Georgian architecture, old house renovations, antique furnishings, and floor plans to create the perfect house—in my head. I used my experience at Squaw Valley Writers Conference as a reference for people gathered blissfully around the written word. I drew on memories of growing up in a family of educators where raised voices usually meant my grandfather was making his point. I chose scenes from Mansfield Park and Lovers' Vows to illuminate the action in My Jane Austen Summer. I enjoyed creating the flow of activities at the festival and the intellectual texture of a literary conference.

Which part of this book is written from the heart?

I wanted to write about a woman who breaks her cycle of unhappiness. This was the one aspect that was not negotiable in the many revisions. We all know people who repeat mistakes over and over, as if they were characters in a book, ink on a page with no second chances. But I believe people can change if they can imagine themselves differently. And the first step to imagining a difference is to see oneself truthfully. Self-knowledge is gained through observation, introspection, and examination of experiences.

Novels are a shortcut to examined experiences. Anyone who reads has a head start because the author does all the work, producing a story where complex characters act under pressure and either succeed or fail. The truth of an accurate portrayal in a novel resonates, as if to say: This is how life is. Like a cautionary lesson, sometimes I see myself reflected in the characters' situations, sometimes I see people I know. But when an author shines a light on a situation, and it resonates, and I can relate the experience to myself, I am saved a lot of time and trouble: disasters from which I learn, without having to experience them for myself. Jane Austen is expert at portraying human nature. True life resonates on every page, big scenes and small exchanges. I admire Jane Austen, agree with her judgment, and can't think of a better teacher for a young woman struggling with Lily's issues. Even though reading on the job got Lily fired, the examined experiences in Jane Austen's novels help Lily imagine a better way to confront her problems. Through learning from failures, guidance from Willis, and immersion in Austen's literature, Lily becomes a more stable person. Books are good for you.