Rosings Park: A New Look for My First Book
Diane Morris | Thursday, February 25th, 2016 | Anne de Bourgh, Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, Publishing | No Comments
Having had great success with the designers at CreateSpace, who developed the cover for my new novel, Cousin Anne, I decided it was time to make some changes to my first book, Rosings Park. I added a discussion section for readers and hired the CreateSpace design team to develop a new look. The stunning new cover, […]
Read More »Who Directs the Story: the Writer or the Characters?
Diane Morris | Thursday, February 11th, 2016 | Anne de Bourgh, Pride and Prejudice, Writing | No Comments
Following on my previous blog post about Anne de Bourgh, I wish to address a quirky topic. Who controls the story? The writer or the characters? My first introduction to the idea that characters were in control of their stories occurred some twenty-five or thirty years ago. I was reading an article about or by […]
Read More »Let’s Talk about Anne de Bourgh
Diane Morris | Thursday, January 28th, 2016 | Anne de Bourgh, Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, Writing | 10 Comments
My new novel about Anne de Bourgh is nearly live—it’s being processed by Amazon for both its website and Kindle store as I write. Today seems like a good day to write about this fairly minor character in Jane Austen’s popular novel Pride and Prejudice. One thing became clear to me after publishing Rosings Park, my first book about […]
Read More »Finding a Good Cover Image: An Indie Publisher’s Challenge
Diane Morris | Thursday, January 14th, 2016 | Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, Publishing | No Comments
I’m thrilled with the cover for my second novel—Cousin Anne—which is a prequel to Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. The cover, shown at left, was designed by a team at CreateSpace. I love its colors, its ornamental border, the faded roses in the background, and the stylish typography. I love the way the image spreads across […]
Read More »Cousin Anne: A New Novel for the New Year
Diane Morris | Wednesday, December 30th, 2015 | Anne de Bourgh, Jane Austen, Mr. Darcy, Pride and Prejudice | No Comments
My new novel, Cousin Anne, is due out in January, and I can now present the book’s cover, shown at right. Cousin Anne is a prequel to Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. The story focuses on three characters from Austen’s most popular novel—Fitzwilliam Darcy, George Wickham, and Anne de Bourgh (the “cousin” in the title). The […]
Read More »New Book “Cousin Anne” Explores Darcy and Anne de Bourgh’s Engagement
Diane Morris | Thursday, December 10th, 2015 | Anne de Bourgh, Jane Austen, Marriage, Mr. Darcy, Pride and Prejudice | No Comments
Have you ever wondered about arranged marriages? It must be awkward to build a life with someone you barely know or don’t like. It must be trying to submit to duty, especially if your heart lies elsewhere. In Jane Austen’s day arranged marriages were still common, although the trend favored seeking affection in marriage over building […]
Read More »Mr. Darcy’s Breeding Problem
Diane Morris | Thursday, November 5th, 2015 | Jane Austen, Mr. Darcy, Pride and Prejudice, Regency Gentleman | No Comments
A Regency era gentleman was a man who knew his place in the world. He guarded his reputation; dressed elegantly; and treated lords, servants, and lowly commoners with great civility.1 By these criteria, Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy of Pride and Prejudice fame was every bit a Regency gentleman—except when he wasn’t. In his dealings with his fellow characters […]
Read More »A True Regency Gentleman Had Good Breeding
Diane Morris | Thursday, October 22nd, 2015 | Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, Regency Gentleman | No Comments
What did Jane Austen mean when she said that a gentleman had good breeding? For example, in Pride and Prejudice Jane Bennet tells her sister Elizabeth that in Mr. Bingley she never saw “so much ease, with such perfect good breeding.”1 In Persuasion Sir Walter Elliot was flattered to have himself described to Admiral Croft as […]
Read More »Is Mr. Darcy the Ideal Regency Gentleman?
Diane Morris | Thursday, September 24th, 2015 | Mr. Darcy, Pride and Prejudice | No Comments
My previous post addressed the issue of why Mr. Darcy—the much loved suitor in Pride and Prejudice—is a gentleman but not a lord. While working on that post I began to wonder: “What exactly is a gentleman?” As it happens I have a book here in my office that describes the rise and fall of […]
Read More »Why Isn’t Mr. Darcy a Lord?
Diane Morris | Thursday, September 10th, 2015 | Jane Austen, Mr. Darcy, Pride and Prejudice | 8 Comments
The most frequently asked question that brings visitors to my blog is this: Why isn’t Mr. Darcy a Lord? In Jane Austen’s popular novel Pride and Prejudice, Mr. Darcy is a gentleman and a Derbyshire landowner with a beautiful estate (Pemberley). He has a handsome annual income of £10,000—an income worthy of a duke or earl. It seems […]
Read More »