SUSAN

By Alice McVeigh

McVeigh’s Susan was inspired by her wondering what the wicked 35-year-old Lady Susan Vernon, from Austen’s novella, might have been like, at just sixteen.

After being expelled from her London ladies’ school, Susan has the great good luck to charm Lady Catherine de Bourgh, who takes her under her wing. Unluckily, she also entrances a young nobleman, a circumstance which alarms her uncle/guardian. He sends her on an extended visit to his brother in Hunsford, Kent – her other uncle and aunt being none other than Mr and Mrs Collins (from Pride and Prejudice). However, there is temptation everywhere, if one is as young, pretty and mettlesome as Susan is, at sixteen…

Excerpt from Susan: A Jane Austen Prequel:

Susan rushed from the chair to her uncle’s door, recalling some of Aunt Emily’s warnings. (‘A gentleman will never restrain you. Should this happen, you must instantly reprove him’… ‘A woman’s reputation is her most precious asset. Any rumour that she might be likely to yield is itself a stain, which might never be erased.’)

But had she truly been restrained by Mr Oliver? She had been some danger of falling, which might serve as his excuse – but she could not forget the moment when she had tried to move, and he had held her.

Only the dozing housekeeper awaited her: her aunt and uncle, in full dependence on her ladyship, had long since retired. Susan accepted a lit candle and ascended the stairs, still nervously wondering, ‘Am I safe?’

She was not to know until the morning.

A second excerpt:

Lady Catherine started, saying, ‘Nay, I was not asleep. You should take care not to sink your tone at the end of a section, Miss Smithson. Now, be so good as to play to me upon the pianoforte.’

Susan seated herself at the instrument, recalling an early work by Corri, which she had recently memorised. Lady Catherine beat time with her forefinger throughout and at its conclusion announced that she had always been devoted to Haydn. But when Susan enquired whether she might like another air, she said, ‘No. You may go, Miss Smithson – but come tomorrow at half-past two, to read to me again.’

Susan, hiding her dancing eyes, promised to attend her with the greatest pleasure. However, back at home, Aunt Emily took some time to quite believe her. ‘What, she summoned you, and with such little ceremony? And you read for so long a time?’

‘I doubt she was aware of the time, but I was quite hoarse by the end of it.’

‘And you are really to return tomorrow?’

‘So she said, though she might as easily dispatch me home again. She might go out – she might forget. She is – capricious.’

ISBN: 978-1916882317

Publication: June 2021

Publisher: Warleigh Hall Press

Editions: Paperback, ebook, audiobook

Amazon bestseller, rated 10/10 by Publishers Weekly's BookLife Prize

A Jane Austen Prequel

“She possesses an uncommon union of symmetry, brilliancy, and grace. One is apt to expect that an impudent address will naturally attend an impudent mind – but her countenance is absolutely sweet. I am sorry it is so, for what is this but deceit?”

— from Jane Austen’s Lady Susan.

Sixteen-year-old Susan Smithson – pretty but poor, clever but capricious – has just been expelled from a school for young ladies in London.

At the mansion of the formidable Lady Catherine de Bourgh, she attracts a raffish young nobleman. But, at the first hint of scandal, her guardian dispatches her to her uncle Collins’ rectory in Kent, where her sensible cousin Alicia lives and “where nothing ever happens.”

Here Susan mischievously inspires the local squire to put on a play, with consequences no one could possibly have foreseen. What with the unexpected arrival of Frank Churchill, Alicia’s falling in love and a tumultuous elopement, rural Kent will surely never seem safe again…

“This exceptionally crafted Austen-inspired novel echoes the master herself. McVeigh offers an outstanding addition with this utterly charming period novel, a prequel to Austen’s sharp-elbowed Lady Susan… McVeigh’s Austenesque prose and plotting are pitch-perfect, and in fact many readers will forget they’re reading the words of a contemporary novelist. Susan, of course, is a mischievous and clever heroine in the tradition of Austen’s pluckiest characters, and McVeigh populates her story with a cast of first-rate supporting characters, especially Susan’s cousin Alicia, who in the end provides the biggest surprise of the taleWhile this title will be catnip to dedicated Austen fans, even new initiates into her work will be captivated by this lively tale.”

– Editors’ starred pick Publishers Weekly

“A young woman of no fortune and immense wit manoeuvres her way into the good graces of landed gentry in Alice McVeigh’s novel of manners. Characters from Pride and Prejudice appear…Their incorporation is clever: Mr. Collins is Susan’s uncle; Colonel Fitzwilliam had the misfortune of having killed Susan’s father in duel; Lady Catherine becomes her benefactress. Susan’s personality does break through the rigid strictures of Regency society, helping to make this an engaging historical novel with classic influences.”

– Clarion/Foreword Indies editorial review

“Fans of Jane Austen are in for an indulgent treat with the brilliantly crafted novel. Alice McVeigh has mastered the period parlance, immersing readers fully in this charming historical romance. The polished story features a few familiar characters, such as the hard-to-please Lady Catherine de Bourgh, and the unending perorations of one Mr. Collins. But the impertinent Susan is the unmistakable star.”

– Indies Today editorial review

“Fans of Jane Austen will be enraptured by Susan: A Jane Austen Prequel. Honoring the original voice of characters more than two centuries old and capturing the subtle tension and emotional complexity of youthful independence, this stylistic gem is an ambitious and memorable homage… McVeigh has set a strong foundation for a stunning six-book series”

– SPR editorial review

“Think Emma or Pride and Prejudice – but with the added sense of humor, mischief, and determination that elevates the character of Susan.”

– Midwest Books Review (MBR)

Click here to read about the Warleigh Hall Press Jane Austen series.