Alice McVeigh - Utterly Charming Jane Austen-inspired Fiction

Alice McVeigh has been published by Orion/Hachette in contemporary fiction, by Unbound in scifi, and by Warleigh Hall Press in multi-award-winning Austenesque fiction. Her novels have been honoured at the last London Book Fair in the UK Selfies Awards, been runners-up for Foreword Indies' "Book of the Year" and starred "Editors Picks" on PUBLISHERS WEEKLY. The series won last year's Chanticleer International Book Award's First Place in Series (historical) and the gold medal in the Global Book Awards (series, all genres). A professional London cellist, McVeigh is married, with a second home in Crete.  As our Author of the Day, she tells us all about her book, Harriet.Please give us a short introduction to what Harriet is about.Harriet is an award-winning novel exploring Emma as seen through the points of view of the enigmatic Jane Fairfax, and Harriet Smith. (Austen did Emma’s point of view perfectly.)Harriet is often seen as passive in Emma, but your version gives her more agency. What influenced your decision to reframe her character?I couldn't help thinking that - probably, all over England! - there were relatively poor young ladies in Harriet's position hoping to make their fortunes through fortunate marriages. And that flattering the fortunate “Queen” of the area - here, Emma - was one way of making this happen.Harriet has won multiple awards and received critical acclaim. Did you expect such a positive reception? How has this impacted your writing journey?Harriet has been acclaimed, but has been outsold and out-acclaimed not only by my Susan (a prequel to Austen's Lady Susan) but also by Darcy, my bestselling book, and the only one so far honoured in the UK Selfies Book Awards. In fact, I regard Harriet as my "Cinderella" novel, and rejoice more in its triumphs than in any of the others!I took more risks in Harriet.Jane Austen’s novels have been reimagined in many ways. What do you think sets Harriet apart from other Austen variations?The writing style is unusually good.I was born American, and emigrated to the UK – unknowingly – in my early twenties. (I thought I was coming for a single year, to study cello with Jacqueline du Pre… and married an Englishman, and stayed.)If it’s hard for any 21st-century writer to get anywhere near Austen’s style – and it IS – I’m supposed to nail it, and I still do it imperfectly – it’s just about impossible for any non-British author to.Also, as kids in Asia, my sister and I read nothing but British books, while our mother had earlier won a Fulbright Scholarship to the London School of Economics. Wherever we stopped, heading back to the US on home leave, London was never omitted. We were raised as ardent Anglophiles.Almost all Austen variations involve Pride and Prejudice. This is true, but annoyingly predictable.How did you approach fleshing out Jane Fairfax, a character often overshadowed in Emma?To be fair, MANY authors - even back in the later 1800s – have been drawn to Jane Fairfax. I was personally drawn to her through music. My first career was as a professional London cellist, performing with major London orchestras on four continents. Jane Fairfax, were she alive today, would probably have done the same – probably better!Harriet’s secret adds an unexpected twist to the novel. Without giving too much away, what inspired this plot development?I woke up in the middle of the night, convinced about it!Were there any challenges in maintaining Austen’s world while expanding on events that were only hinted at in Emma?One needs a strong nerve. The abuse was tough to take - but the plaudits and awards were compensation. My daughter at Harvard has a boyfriend who put his finger on it: “The trouble with being able to write like Jane Austen,” he told me, “is that every reader in the world thinks they own her.”This is well beyond true.The novel explores themes of deception, agency, and social expectations. What message do you hope readers take away from Harriet?I can’t really answer this without spoilers, sorry. But – without being a “romance” – it’s meant to explore different kinds of love.How does Harriet challenge or reinforce the themes of marriage and class that Austen explored in Emma?Well, my Harriet is determined to do as well for herself as she can... but, being rather savvier than Austen's Harriet, in the end she chooses to make up her own mind, and to determine her own destiny.Given your background as a professional cellist, did music influence your portrayal of Jane Fairfax’s character?Yes!! – Beyond Marianne Dashwood, I feel more empathy with Jane Fairfax than with any other Austen character. Their passions - private and secret - emerge through their music. They also both use music not only as a refuge, but also as an escape. I suspect that every professional musician has done these things.If you could have a conversation with Jane Austen about Harriet, what do you think she would say?I really don’t know. Perhaps she’d say, “She’s a better foil to clever Emma being dim!”However, the dream of my life is that, when I die, and when we meet, she says, "You did well." Even “You did OK” would be enough. It’s what I work for.Harriet is part of the Warleigh Hall Press Jane Austen Series. Can you tell us more about how it fits within the series?It's the second, out of four, so far. But they’re all standalone, because I have ADHD and hate having to read things in any particular order.Are there other Austen characters or novels you would like to reimagine in the future?My next novel, out in 2025, envisions Marianne Brandon, in a sequel to Sense and Sensibility.