Austenesque Extravaganza: My Guide to Jane Austen Para-literature

Welcome to my blog! First of all, I would like to thank Meredith, the gracious hostess of Austenesque Extravaganza for inviting me to participate. To those who have come over from Austenesque Reviews, I hope you are having a wonderful time celebrating this event. Remember to leave your comment(s) for an opportunity to win a prize of more than 70 Austenesque novels and gifts at her blog after you have filled up the giveaway form. For this fifth and final edition of Traveling Tuesday post, I would like to talk about the various published Jane Austen para-literature available in the book industry.

Prequel — occurs before the opening chapters of Jane Austen's novels

For those who have read Persuasion, you will know that the book is set eight years after the broken engagement between Frederick Wentworth and Anne Elliot. Prequel forms part of the back-story and might tell you what could have happened in the intervening years such as how Wentworth overcome his heartbreak and set out to become successful and make his fortune in the Navy.

Or take Pride and Prejudice for example since there are so many novels inspired by the famously proud and aloof Mr Darcy and quick-witted Elizabeth Bennet. It is mentioned in the novel about his sister Gerogiana's trouble with a certain rake so fiction may focus on Mr Darcy's thoughts and action to overcome this family problem and ends just before he sets foot in the Meryton assembly. Alternatively, you may want to read how Mr Darcy grew up to be the way he is in Pamela Aidan's novella, Young Master Darcy: A Lesson in Honour.

Sequel — continues the elements of Jane Austen's original story
By far the most common and popular genre in Austen-inspired works. In many cases, it has the same characters and settings which usually takes you beyond the wedding of the heroes and heroines. It can lead to a series of novels such as The Pemberley Chronicles by Rebecca Ann Collins, Marsha Altman's The Darcys & the Bingleys series and The Darcy Saga by Sharon Lathan where all three series concentrate on the married lives of key characters in Pride and Prejudice.

Other than that, secondary characters which are not fully developed by Jane Austen are given their own story to tell. Such examples include Elizabeth Elliot from Persuasion where she lives in the Mercy's Embrace series by Laura Hile, Emma's Mrs Elton in The Compleat Mrs. Elton by Diana Birchall and Jennifer Becton's Charlotte Collins of Pride and Prejudice fame.

Retelling — focuses on the heroes' point-of-view and tell their sides of the stories
You may be aware that Jane Austen did not write scenes between men if ladies are not present in them. Thus it gives us much to ponder about how men behave and converse when they are not in the company of genteel women. What do they do to pass their time and what are they thinking of?

My favourite retellings include Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman trilogy immortalised by Pamela Aidan, Susan Kaye's Frederick Wentworth, Captain series, the excellent novels of George Knightley, Esquire by Barbara Cornthwaite and the many Austen men diaries written by the talented Amanda Grange such as Mr. Knightley's Diary, Colonel Brandon's Diary and Edmund Bertram's Diary.

On the other hand the same plot can be disclosed from the eyes of secondary characters which gives it more depth but there are very few books on this that are published. Notable examples are Jane Fairfax written by Joan Aiken and Joan Ellen Delman's Lovers' Perjuries: Or, The Clandestine Courtship of Jane Fairfax and Frank Churchill where both talks about an accomplished girl whom Emma is envious of.

Variation or what-if — spotlight on what would happen if the story took a different turn in the middle

What if Mr Darcy did not utter the humiliating remark about Elizabeth Bennet and instead dance with her in the Meryton Assembly? (Alexa Adam's First Impressions) What if Anne Elliot of Persuasion did not turn down Wentworth's proposal years ago? How would their marriage be like? Or how about Mansfield Park's heroine Fanny Price accepts Henry Crawford's hand in marriage? Will she be able to change him for the better or will he eventually hurt Fanny with his dissipated ways? These are some of the questions readers are curious to know when there is a slight change to the circumstances for it does open up a whole world of possibility. Where will the story lead to? Will it come back to the same conclusion as Jane Austen wrote or will it take a drastically different path?

The pioneer for this genre is Abigail Reynolds who has published a succession of novels about Pride and Prejudice's famous couple in her aptly named series The Pemberley Variations. These include Impulse & Initiative (re-titled as To Conquer Mr. Darcy), Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy: The Last Man in the World, Mr. Darcy's Obsession, What Would Mr. Darcy Do? and the upcoming release, Mr. Darcy's Undoing.

Modern adaptations — updates Jane Austen's works into contemporary settings

They should at least follow the gist of the plot but it is not necessary to include all the themes present in the original text. Some of these books have often added scenes that would only suit the twenty-first century sensibilities with most writers focusing on turning up the angst and conflict to make the story more exciting. The Three Weissmanns of Westport (Sense and Sensibility), Pemberley by the Sea which is re-titled as The Man Who Loved Pride & Prejudice (Pride and Prejudice) and The Importance of Being Emma (Emma) are some of the modern novels that come to mind.

Apart from the five genres, there are other types of spin-offs that have spawned the market for Austen-inspired tales. Time travel is one of them where a modern woman goes back in time to the Regency world of Jane Austen and vice-versa. This can be seen in Laurie Viera Rigler's two romantic comedy novels, Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict and Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict. Then there is also a Stephanie Barron's Being a Jane Austen Mystery series which fictionalise Jane Austen as a Regency detective looking for clues to solve gruesome murders. Most recently the authoress herself is reincarnated as a vampire who is still living among us in Michael Thomas Ford's trilogy with Jane Bites Back and Jane Goes Batty released so far. Let's not forget about the mash-up phenomena of embellishing the text with supernatural elements as seen in New York Times bestseller's Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and their likes.

Truly Jane Austen para-literature is continuing its growth of reaching out to people who have read her original works but yearn to learn more of their favourite characters. If you are lost in the sea of this emerging phenomenon, there are always her six novels to return to. For a complete list Austen-themed novels, visit Austenesque Review's blog page.

Do share about your favourite genres that you tend to read in Austenesque novels. Do you prefer sequels, prequels, retellings, etc. or combination of more than one? Or if there are other genres which I left out, please share it. You can include examples about the storyline that you have in mind but have not read it anywhere before. I look forward to hearing from you.