About Clara Rowsley
Clara Rowsley writes Pride and Prejudice variations: novellas that change one thing in Jane Austen’s novel and follow it, honestly, to a happy ending for Darcy and Elizabeth.
Her first books are Compliments of the Season, three novellas set in the winter of 1811, between the ball at Netherfield and Easter in Kent. In one a parcel of songs arrives at Longbourn; in another, a letter written twenty-three years before; in the third, Lady Catherine’s nephew, sent to see her rector married.
Each keeps to the novel until the moment it turns aside: the people, the places and the days of the week are Austen’s. After that, everything that happens has a reason in who these people are.
The name comes from Rowsley, the village at the gates of Chatsworth, the house most often taken for Pemberley. Clara Rowsley is a pen name.
Questions readers ask
Are the books clean?
Yes: kisses only, and no oaths or bad language. Each book says so in its description, and keeps to it.
Are they low-angst?
Yes. There are misunderstandings, as there are in Austen, and Mr. Collins is as trying as ever, but nobody is made to suffer for the sake of it, and every book ends happily for Darcy and Elizabeth.
Do I have to read them in order?
No. Each one begins from the novel and stands alone. The list of books gives them in the order of the season, for readers who like to follow the winter through.
Do I need to know Pride and Prejudice?
They are written for readers who know it well, and they keep faith with it. A reader who knows the story from a film will follow them; one who knows chapter 23 by heart will find it as Austen left it.
Why the British spelling?
The books are set in England in 1811, so they are written in British English: honour and colour, and a fortnight rather than two weeks.
Where can I get them?
They are Kindle ebooks, sold on Amazon. You do not need a Kindle; the free Kindle app works on any phone or tablet.
What comes next?
In the new year: Four-and-Twenty Families, variations for the rest of the year. The newsletter will be the surest way to hear.