“But I hate to hear you talking so, like a fine gentleman, and as if women were all fine ladies, instead of rational creatures. We none of us expect to be in smooth water all our days.” —Persuasion
Jane Austen: True romantic or rational creature? Her novels transport us back to the Regency, a time when well-mannered gentlemen and finely-bred ladies fell in love as they danced at balls and rode in carriages. Yet her heroines, such as Elizabeth Bennet, Anne Elliot, and Elinor Dashwood, were no swooning, fainthearted damsels in distress. Austen’s novels have become timeless classics because of their biting wit, honest social commentary, and because she wrote of strong women who were ahead of their day. True to their principles and beliefs, they fought through hypocrisy and broke social boundaries to find their happily-ever-after.
In the third romance anthology of The Quill Collective series, sixteen celebrated Austenesque authors write the untold histories of Austen’s brave adventuresses, her shy maidens, her talkative spinsters, and her naughty matrons. Peek around the curtain and discover what made Lady Susan so wicked, Mary Crawford so capricious, and Hettie Bates so in need of Emma Woodhouse’s pity.
Rational Creatures is a collection of humorous, poignant, and engaging short stories set in Georgian England that complement and pay homage to Austen’s great works and great ladies who were, perhaps, the first feminists in an era that was not quite ready for feminism.
“Make women rational creatures, and free citizens, and they will become good wives; —that is, if men do not neglect the duties of husbands and fathers.” —Mary Wollstonecraft
Q&A with Beau North
Q: Though feminism wasn’t coined for several more decades after
Jane Austen, do you think she was a feminist?
A: I do. Jane Austen did something that
was—at the time—rather revolutionary in that she wrote about the lives of
women. When I say ‘lives’ I mean their inner lives, their hopes and dreams and
fears, their foibles. And she wasn’t afraid to point out how life in a
patriarchal society affected women at the time. Her sly portrayals of Caroline
Bingley, Lucy Steele, Isabella Thorpe, and Penelope Clay provide a picture of
the marriage-minded lady of the time, who sought (perhaps somewhat
underhandedly) to put themselves in the best possible situation, usually at the
expense of the women in their circle. They scheme, they whisper, they pull our
heroines into intrigue. But were they wrong? Or are they objects that the
level-headed Eliza Bennet, Elinor Dashwood, and Anne Elliot might feel sympathy
for? She did something few (if any) authors had done at that point, gave us
female characters that ordinary women
could identify with.
Q: Her love stories are what drive new readers to her but it’s her
witty discourse on society she knew, the details of family and community that
retains them for years. Do you think she was laying clues to her beliefs within
her novels?
A: I would think so. It’s almost impossible for a writer not to
bleed themselves into their work, even when they try not to. I think she was a
woman that accepted her situation as best she could, facing the challenges of
her situation with humor and wit...but always with an edge to it. Her disdain
for certain aspects of society comes through in her characters, whether from
the nobility like Lady Catherine de Bourgh, or the simple Clergy like Mr.
Collins or his handsomer counterpart, Mr. Elton. You can see the values she
embraced, the standards she expected in others. The often-maligned Fanny Price
is a prime example. She rejects Henry Crawford not because of her love of
Edmund, but because she has too much self
respect to marry a rakish man who will quickly tire of her. Fanny loses her
home, her position, and clings to her convictions.
Q: As a writer, how important is music to you while you write or
develop ideas?
A: The music usually comes after-the-fact. I usually get an idea
and start with some notes, as I get started plotting the playlist begins to
take shape. It’s kind of symbiotic, the playlist and the writing. They sort of
feed each other.
Q: Your story features Louisa Musgrove from Persuasion. In
Austen’s canon she isn’t an obvious choice as the most rational creature by
acting rashly and even foolishly: jumping off the sea wall and incurring a head
injury. Tell us why you consider her a strong character and what compelled you
to write her parallel tale.
A: I think that’s exactly WHY I chose
Louisa. Who doesn’t look back to their teenage years and cringe at things we’ve
said and done? Ever flip through your high school yearbook and say “what was I thinking?” I have a soft spot for
Louisa, and I think she’s a strong counterpoint to Anne, because Anne has been
tempered by life, but she’s also has the perspective of experience. Anne has
come to truly know herself, whereas Louisa is still trying to figure out who
she is, where her place in the world might be. She’s a young woman who think
she knows
everything about herself, and is quickly proven wrong. It’s a hard
lesson (quite literally) and I wanted to give her the chance to say “Okay, I
get it, I still have a lot to learn.”
Q: Why did you select the Oceans by Seafret for your playlist
song?
A: In Persuasion, we know that Louisa and Captain Benwick become
close while Louisa is recovering from her injury. We know that Benwick himself
is a passionate soul with a heart full of poetry, made poignant by loss. I
chose this song because it beautifully describes that impossible, heady longing
of young love, especially when the obstructions seem so insurmountable.
Thanks so much for hosting me! Here is the link to our playlist
for the anthology: https://open.spotify.com/user/dimuzioc/playlist/6lKbcmr6UQLtvUcqyC37VX
About Beau
She is the author of 3 books and has contributed to multiple anthologies.
Beau North hails from the kudzu-strangled wilderness of South Carolina but now hangs her hat in Portland, Oregon. In her spare time, Beau is the co-host of the podcast Excessively Diverted: Modern Austen On-Screen.
Giveaway!
RATIONAL CREATURE SUPER GIVEAWAY: THE RANDOM NAME PICKER WILL REVIEW ALL BLOG COMMENTS AND SELECT ONE WINNER FROM THE BLOG STOP COMMENTS DURING THE TOUR FOR ALL 21 PRIZES.
WINNER’S CHOICE OF ONE TITLE FROM EACH AUTHORS’ BACKLIST (THAT’S 16 BOOKS, EBOOKS, OR AUDIOBOOKS), OUR BESPOKE T-SHIRT/SOAP/CANDLE; #20, A BRICK IN WINNER’S NAME TO BENEFIT #BUYABRICK FOR CHAWTON HOUSE; AND #21, THE QUILL COLLECTIVE ANTHOLOGIES IN EBOOK OR AUDIOBOOK. WHAT AN AMAZING GIVEAWAY!!!!
