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Harriet: A Jane Austen Variation

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Harriet: A Jane Austen Variation

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Overview

Harriet is an intriguing and original "take" on Jane Austen's immortal Emma, by Publishers Weekly's 2021 BookLife Prize Quarterfinalist, Alice McVeigh.

Emma, a privileged young heiress, decides to mentor Harriet Smith, a pretty boarding-school pupil, and to matchmake her as eligibly as she can... But how is she to guess that Harriet has a secret?

Meanwhile, the brilliant, penniless Jane Fairfax consents to a clandestine engagement with Frank Churchill - though not daring to confess, even to him, that she is being relentlessly pursued by her best friend's husband.

Harriet sidelines Emma herself in favour of the ingenious Harriet and the fascinating Jane Fairfax. It is Emma - but an Emma with a surprisingly believable twist in its tail.

"A dynamic take on a revered classic. This is still Austen's Emma-but the story that unfolds through the recollections of these two 'side' characters feels remarkably fresh... With or without an understanding of Emma, Harriet contains a fully-formed narrative that should satisfy even the choosiest Austen fans... Readers will rarely find the words 'page-turner' and 'Jane Austen' in the same sentence, but McVeigh's impeccably written Harriet certainly fits the bill." (IndieReader)

"A highly engrossing novel that captures the spirit of Austen and celebrates all the best qualities of her work from new and innovative angles... The characters are vibrant and full of life - McVeigh hits the mark spot-on." (Readers Favorite editorial review)

"An enchanting recreation of Austen's world" (James Conroyd Martin)

"McVeigh puts a unique spin on this fresh take of one of Jane Austen's most popular works. The characters are vibrant and full of life. McVeigh hits the mark spot-on, capturing the essence of Jane Austen's work and providing a rare glimpse into the headspace of some of her most popular secondary characters. I can honestly say that I didn't foresee the twist towards the end, yet in hindsight, it felt satisfying. Any fan of character-driven novels should grab a copy. (Readers Favorite Editorial review)

Classic regency fiction in the tradition of Pride and Prejudice: Harriet will appeal to Jane Austen groupies, Bridgerton fans and Georgette Heyer lovers alike.

Product Details
About the Author

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781916882331
Publisher:	Warleigh Hall Press
Publication date:	02/03/2022
Series:	Warleigh Hall Press Jane Austen , #2
Pages:	332
Product dimensions:	5.06(w) x 7.81(h) x 0.74(d)

About the Author

Alice McVeigh is a London-based ghost writer previously published by Orion Publishing in contemporary fiction (While the Music Lasts and Ghost Music). A professional cellist, who performed for over fifteen years with orchestras including the BBC Symphony and Royal Philharmonic, she is married with one daughter, is addicted to tennis, and spends part of every year in Crete.

From the B&N Reads Blog

Page 1 of

Editorial Reviews

2022-06-01
Two of Jane Austen’s supporting characters tell their own stories in McVeigh’s latest novelistic homage.
In Austen’s classic 1815 novel, Emma, the eponymous Emma Woodhouse provides obstacles to her own happiness as she turns her attention solely to those around her. Harriet Smith, Emma’s penniless friend, becomes her unrefined protégé, and village neighbor Jane Fairfax comes off as an aloof object of envy amid Emma’s romantic scheming. In this new novel, McVeigh, whose previous work, Susan: A Jane Austen Prequel(2021), also delved into Austen’s literary canon, attempts to fill in what Harriet and Jane are thinking as Emma deals with the many consequences of her own actions. Their first-person accounts alternate every few chapters, staying on the fringes of Emma’s well-known story and imbue Harriet with a compelling self-awareness; she displays a cunning desire to rise above her station, using the expectations of others against them to befriend Emma and those in her circle: “I believed there to be a vacancy—not for another governess, but for someone youthful and doe-eyed, submissive and easily led, to give the young mistress of Hartfield an object. And though supremely unqualified for the post…I had faith in my powers to appear so.” Jane is not shaded as deeply as a character, but she shows a vulnerability while navigating various suitors’ affections and keeping her engagement to Frank Churchill secret. McVeigh deviates from the source material by interpolating characters from other Austen novels and changing Harriet’s parentage, and purist fans may object to such alterations. Over the course of the work, the two girls’ stories occasionally intertwine, and the pair appear to have much in common; both are outsiders in the Highbury community by birth and class, for example. However, one may wonder what might have happened if they’d ever had a conversation about Emma rather thanwithher. Whenever the characters adhere to Austen’s plot points, Emma’s plotline simply becomes a distraction. Harriet’s protracted naïveté and obsession with rising from her station and Jane’s clandestine and imperfect love with Frank allow for some of McVeigh’s strongest prose: “I could not deny the ache in my heart when I remembered Frank’s kisses on the bridlepath—that terrifying temptation to yield—my breaking away—and the desolation I felt, on turning around, to find that he had gone,” reflects Jane at one point. That said, although the setting and tone are certainly era-appropriate, the expansive cast of supporting characters has a tendency to muddle some of the bigger scenes. Harriet is the stronger of the two main players here and exploits the potential for creative liberties; indeed, some readers may feel that she could have led this novel alone, allowing McVeigh to more deeply explore her origins and her ambitions for a life in which she has agency. Jane’s romantic encounters with Frank are sweet respites from all the gossip and social maneuvering, but they do little to make her more dynamic.
An earnest tribute to immortal characters that doesn’t quite offer enough novelty.

Kirkus Reviews

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