Q: Do you think there would be grounds for a real lawsuit if this were a true story? Do you think Cressida would have a chance to change the trust?
Although it is possible to set up trusts of this sort in English law, it is a challenge to keep them going over long periods of time, and in chapter 24, I have had to do some explaining that the lawyers amongst you may appreciate. The reality is that, to some extent because of the period of time, the trust is something of a flight of fancy. However, it is certainly true that, if a class of beneficiaries were to be the descendants of “person x” and somebody had evidence that a person involved was not so descended, they would have a case to challenge that person receiving anything from the trust. The key would be finding the evidence, which in the circumstances would be remarkably, probably prohibitively, difficult. In other words, the advice that Cressida says her solicitors have given her is bang on: you’ve got a case, but you’ll never prove it!
Q: The group portrait Mrs. Darcy and Her Daughters plays a major role in this story. What is the inspiration behind it?
The group painting of Elizabeth and her daughters that features in the story is the product of my imagination and not based on any particular work of art. However, it is inspired by the fashion for domestic group portraits in late eighteenth and nineteenth century European houses. These paintings were used to celebrate the particular family’s wealth and power but also to memorialise family relationships. Often—because of the cost involved—the whole family would be included. In this case, I deliberately had Fitzwilliam subverting the genre by making it a female-only painting.
In terms of the artist, Mr. Clerkenman is also fictional. However, in imagining his work, I think of the nineteenth-century painters John Prescott Knight, Richard Rothwell, and the Royal portraitist Sir George Hayter. The style of the painting I imagine to be soft and not excessively formal, a sort of pre-cursor to the work, some decades later, of John Singer Sergeant.
The image on the front cover is taken from Mother with Her Young Daughter by Belgian artist, Gustave Leonard de Jonghe. It was painted in 1865, and readers will no doubt note that the fashions are slightly late for the period of this story. Despite this, something about the softness and intimacy of it really touched me. However, it is not intended to be a detail from Mrs. Darcy and Her Daughters. In my mind, I think of it as being Elizabeth and Victoria relaxing between sittings rather than in their formal poses.
Q: You have chosen to end the modern story in an unusual way with Charlie and Evie being glimpsed in the street, laughing, by a third party. There is no explanation and no real “happily ever after” as in typical romance stories. What is your reader to make of this?
Well, I think it is just the beginning for Charlie and Evie. The reader can assume that they are together, and they are happy in that particular moment. You will have to judge for yourself whether they are well suited to one another, but I think they are. What happens next belongs to another story.
Acknowledgements
Thank you to Michele and all of the Meryton Press family for taking me in and being lovely.
To the inestimable Christina: speed editor, scene tweaker, character masseur, error corrector, US/UK diplomatic language envoy, head-hopping trouble shooter, big picture observer, social media co-ordinator, confidence builder, idea believer, friend; thank you.
Ellen, where would my grammar be without you? The Chicago Manual of Style also has a lot to answer for. :-) Your corrections were all improvements, and your comments always make me smile; thank you.
Zuki, for another beautiful cover, fusing so cleverly the historical and the modern, and for all the colouring against the clock. It’s lovely; thank you.
Jakki, for organising another blog tour and for doing so much behind the scenes to promote this and other stories. Thank you for the many bloggers who have supported and encouraged me.
Thank you to my fantastic beta readers, Chanda and Beau, who gave up time to read this story pre-edit.
Adam and Sophie, for their support and medical advice, and to Liz, for her obstetrics expertise. All errors and omissions are mine, of course.
Thank you to my brilliant, nurturing, observant Mum.
To my children, who are the bees’ knees.
Thank you to my husband Marc, who is an unfailing enthusiast, believer in unlikely plans, and general all-round top person.
Lastly, thank you to all the readers and reviewers of Suddenly Mrs. Darcy and anyone who reads this book. I love to hear from you, so please message me. I am on twitter @JenettaJames, and my Facebook page can be found at: https://www.facebook.com/jenettajameswriter/
Author Biography
Jenetta James is a mother, lawyer, writer, and taker-on of too much. She grew up in Cambridge and read history at Oxford University where she was a scholar and president of the Oxford University History Society. After graduating, she took to the law and now practises full-time as a barrister. Over the years, she has lived in France, Hungary, and Trinidad as well as her native England. Jenetta currently lives in London with her husband and children where she enjoys reading, laughing, and playing with Lego. She is the author of Suddenly Mrs. Darcy, which was published by Meryton Press in April 2015. The Elizabeth Papers is her second novel.
The Elizabeth Papers Page 24
