New Anthology of essays about Jane Austen Adaptations & Derivative Work
....with an essay by yours truly!
....with an essay by yours truly!
I'm excited to announce that Retelling Jane Austen is out in the world! Let me first thank the editors, Tammy Powley and April Van Camp. Tammy contacted me about two years ago and invited me to participate in an anthology exploring the world of Jane Austen adaptations, informally known as Austen fanfic or Austenesque fiction. This anthology also discusses some of the movies and mini-series adaptations of Austen's books.
Austenesque adaptions--fan fiction, variations, cartoons, movies, mini-series, YouTube series--have increasingly been a subject of academic study in recent years. Two dozen writers and scholars have contributed essays to this anthology and Drs. Powley and Van Camp got it all organized and saw it to completion. Natalie Vandenberg looks at the 2022 version of Persuasion that kicked up such a kerfuffle in Austen circles, and Damianne Candace Scott, aka "Black Girl Loves Jane," looks at the pushback against diversity in Austen interpretations.
My essay looks under the hood at the popular Austenesque book, Captain Wentworth's Diary (2007) and explores how author Amanda Grange refashioned Jane Austen's Persuasion, transforming it from a book told mostly from the consciousness of Anne Elliot the heroine to the POV of Captain Wentworth.
It was a pleasure working with Tammy on this project and it's wonderful to finally see it out in print! The book is priced for the academic market, so your best bet might be to recommend it for purchase to your local university, college, or municipal library.
For space reasons, an accompanying book review of Captain Wentworth's Diary was not included in the anthology, so I am posting the book review below:
My essay looks under the hood at the popular Austenesque book, Captain Wentworth's Diary (2007) and explores how author Amanda Grange refashioned Jane Austen's Persuasion, transforming it from a book told mostly from the consciousness of Anne Elliot the heroine to the POV of Captain Wentworth.
It was a pleasure working with Tammy on this project and it's wonderful to finally see it out in print! The book is priced for the academic market, so your best bet might be to recommend it for purchase to your local university, college, or municipal library.
For space reasons, an accompanying book review of Captain Wentworth's Diary was not included in the anthology, so I am posting the book review below:
BOOK REVIEW
Captain Wentworth’s Diary by Amanda Grange, third in Grange’s “Jane Austen’s Heroes” series
Captain Wentworth’s Diary by Amanda Grange, third in Grange’s “Jane Austen’s Heroes” series
Accurate depiction of Capt. Wentworth: Naval officers would not wear their uniforms when off duty Captain Wentworth’s Diary is a re-telling of Austen’s classic tale of lost love and second chances from the hero’s point of view. There are no deviations from the plot of Persuasion, but Grange includes many additional scenes. Fans of the love story of Anne Elliot and Frederick Wentworth will especially appreciate the fact that the diary commences when the confident young lieutenant first meets the gentle and lovely baronet’s daughter. Wentworth’s diary entries relate their growing attraction to one another, his proposal, and their traumatic separation. (Since this is a re-telling, this book review does not avoid spoilers.)
Grange populates the neighbourhood around Kellynch Hall with some new characters, in addition to people who are mentioned—but who do not actually appear—in Persuasion, such as Frederick Wentworth’s brother, the curate. He bluntly outlines the social and financial objections to Wentworth’s courtship of Anne Elliot: ‘I cannot encourage you in this, Frederick. You will not have the blessing of her family, or Lady Russell. They want to see her marry a man of wealth and rank, and with good reason. Her entire future depends upon her choice.’
‘You do not think I am a good match?’ I asked him, surprised and a little wounded.
His answer was matter-of-fact. ‘You have a long way to go in the world before you are a good match for a baronet’s daughter…’
Grange populates the neighbourhood around Kellynch Hall with some new characters, in addition to people who are mentioned—but who do not actually appear—in Persuasion, such as Frederick Wentworth’s brother, the curate. He bluntly outlines the social and financial objections to Wentworth’s courtship of Anne Elliot: ‘I cannot encourage you in this, Frederick. You will not have the blessing of her family, or Lady Russell. They want to see her marry a man of wealth and rank, and with good reason. Her entire future depends upon her choice.’
‘You do not think I am a good match?’ I asked him, surprised and a little wounded.
His answer was matter-of-fact. ‘You have a long way to go in the world before you are a good match for a baronet’s daughter…’
Young Lieutenant Wentworth, as portrayed by Grange, is a man with a pretty good opinion of himself. He reacts with pride and resentment when he cannot persuade anyone—not even his own brother—that he and Anne ought to marry. As well, he unabashedly enjoys female attention. After his first dance with Anne, Wentworth complacently notes: “I believe it will provide her with some much-needed attention, too. There is nothing like being singled out by an eligible bachelor to raise a young lady in the estimation of her friends.” Establishing this aspect of his character foreshadows his behaviour with the Musgrove girls when he returns to England eight years later.
Grange’s Captain Wentworth is a very thorough diarist, relating entire conversations word-for-word in a fashion reminiscent of the epistolary, or novel-in-letters style, which was popular in Austen’s time. Readers of Captain Wentworth’s Diary are better off if they don’t quibble with whether a naval commander would rehash the details of a ball like a schoolgirl.
Unfortunately, the diary format also leads Grange into narrative monotony. Much of Wentworth’s first-person account consists of declarative sentences that follow a subject-verb-object or adverbial pattern. For example, when he resolves to propose marriage, his thoughts are conveyed in a series of simple, direct statements: 'I rose at half past five, for I could toss and turn in bed no longer, and then I dressed carefully. Eschewing breakfast, I lifted the latch and went quietly outside. I turned my steps toward the river. As I did so, my spirits rose… I walked on, and at last I was rewarded by the sight of her.'"
Fortunately, Grange weaves much of Austen’s original dialogue and—yes, the famous letter—into her version, interspersed with Wentworth’s interior monologues. It’s interesting to compare his reactions and feelings (in the Diary) with hers (in the original) as we re-visit every little encounter. When Wentworth speaks of the possibility that he might have been lost at sea in his first ship, the Asp: I thought I saw Anne shuddering, and I felt as though the years had rolled away, leaving us close once more. But then I saw her pull her shawl higher and I realized she had done nothing more than shiver with the cold.
While we see little of Wentworth’s life at sea, Grange brings the Napoleonic wars—kept far in the background by Austen herself—into sharper focus, with descriptions of the celebrations in London and gossip about the crowned heads of Europe. Grange also has fun with a nervous woman who imagines that her quiet village is about to be overrun by invading French soldiers.
Grange’s Captain Wentworth is a very thorough diarist, relating entire conversations word-for-word in a fashion reminiscent of the epistolary, or novel-in-letters style, which was popular in Austen’s time. Readers of Captain Wentworth’s Diary are better off if they don’t quibble with whether a naval commander would rehash the details of a ball like a schoolgirl.
Unfortunately, the diary format also leads Grange into narrative monotony. Much of Wentworth’s first-person account consists of declarative sentences that follow a subject-verb-object or adverbial pattern. For example, when he resolves to propose marriage, his thoughts are conveyed in a series of simple, direct statements: 'I rose at half past five, for I could toss and turn in bed no longer, and then I dressed carefully. Eschewing breakfast, I lifted the latch and went quietly outside. I turned my steps toward the river. As I did so, my spirits rose… I walked on, and at last I was rewarded by the sight of her.'"
Fortunately, Grange weaves much of Austen’s original dialogue and—yes, the famous letter—into her version, interspersed with Wentworth’s interior monologues. It’s interesting to compare his reactions and feelings (in the Diary) with hers (in the original) as we re-visit every little encounter. When Wentworth speaks of the possibility that he might have been lost at sea in his first ship, the Asp: I thought I saw Anne shuddering, and I felt as though the years had rolled away, leaving us close once more. But then I saw her pull her shawl higher and I realized she had done nothing more than shiver with the cold.
While we see little of Wentworth’s life at sea, Grange brings the Napoleonic wars—kept far in the background by Austen herself—into sharper focus, with descriptions of the celebrations in London and gossip about the crowned heads of Europe. Grange also has fun with a nervous woman who imagines that her quiet village is about to be overrun by invading French soldiers.
Janeites will enjoy the way Grange extends the story beyond Austen’s ending, as each of the main characters learns of, and reacts to, the engagement. Unfortunately the narrative comes with more of those sing-song subject-verb-object/adverbial clauses:
I had a letter from Edward this morning, thanking me for mine, and telling me he was delighted to learn that Anne had accepted me. He invited us to visit him on Thursday. Anne agreed to the idea and I wrote back to accept Edward’s invitation.
The novel ends with their wedding and a hint that Captain Wentworth, who has risen so far in the world, might rise still further.
One final note: If you’re an avid Janeite, you’ll enjoy spotting the many allusions Grange weaves into her tale, such as when Wentworth dances with a “Miss Shepherd” before handing her over to a “Mr. Clay,” or when he overhears Mr. Musgrove, senior, vowing to enlist his wayward son Dick into the navy. There’s even a nod to the plot contrivance that brings Wentworth and Anne together after seven years. Wentworth muses on the remarkable coincidence:
[H]ow strange it was that my brother-in-law should have rented Kellynch Hall. Of all the houses in Somersetshire, why did he have to rent that one?
In the end, and despite its shortcomings, Captain Wentworth’s Diary offers Austen devotees an opportunity to revisit the tenderness and angst of a beloved love story. And if you haven’t read Persuasion, this version stands alone as an enjoyable Regency romance.
I had a letter from Edward this morning, thanking me for mine, and telling me he was delighted to learn that Anne had accepted me. He invited us to visit him on Thursday. Anne agreed to the idea and I wrote back to accept Edward’s invitation.
The novel ends with their wedding and a hint that Captain Wentworth, who has risen so far in the world, might rise still further.
One final note: If you’re an avid Janeite, you’ll enjoy spotting the many allusions Grange weaves into her tale, such as when Wentworth dances with a “Miss Shepherd” before handing her over to a “Mr. Clay,” or when he overhears Mr. Musgrove, senior, vowing to enlist his wayward son Dick into the navy. There’s even a nod to the plot contrivance that brings Wentworth and Anne together after seven years. Wentworth muses on the remarkable coincidence:
[H]ow strange it was that my brother-in-law should have rented Kellynch Hall. Of all the houses in Somersetshire, why did he have to rent that one?
In the end, and despite its shortcomings, Captain Wentworth’s Diary offers Austen devotees an opportunity to revisit the tenderness and angst of a beloved love story. And if you haven’t read Persuasion, this version stands alone as an enjoyable Regency romance.
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| Manning, Lona. "" I am not yet so much changed." Retelling Jane Austen: Essays on Recent Adaptations and Derivative Works eds. Tammy Powley and April Van Camp (2024): 116-123. You can learn more about my own efforts at Austenesque fiction here. |
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