Side by Side with Emma...Ana Galvia

Available on Amazon

Hello, to everyone this morning. I hope you are having a great start to your week and that all your mothers, had a wonderful Mother's Day.

I'm sure you have been following the blog tour for Side by Side, Apart, the novel by new author, Ann Galvia. Don't you just love the cover of her debut book?! I think it is so beautiful and sounds like it is perfect for her story. I have not had the opportunity to read it yet but do look forward to it with much anticipation. From what I have read, it sounds like an awesome read. If any of you have read it, let me know what you think.

In this stop of the tour, Ann continues to talk to us about the influence of other Jane Austen novels in her story. I will let her take over from her. Please welcome Ann Galvia. 

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Side by Side with Emma

Hi, everyone! The Side by Side, Apart blog tour, and my series about the influence of other Jane Austen novels on this very, very Pride and Prejudice story, continues as Janet allows me to post here at More Agreeably Engaged! In the first installment, I talked about the passage of time, world building and naming love interests after characters from Sense and Sensibility. In the second installment, I talked about how the character of parents is reflected in what they teach their children, how Darcy’s character is illustrated by his treatment of Julia Wickham and naming children after characters from Mansfield Park. By now, you might be looking at the title of this post and thinking--”Okay. What did she use names from Emma for?”

Fair question. And the answer is, the servants.

Now, you might be saying, excuse you we already have wonderful Pemberley servants or did you forget Mrs. Reynolds? Or you might be saying, servants were largely invisible to the upper classes. And both of those are totally fair things to say!

There are many schools of thought on when Elizabeth fell in love with Darcy in Pride and Prejudice. One school is that Elizabeth was attracted to Darcy at the Meryton Assembly and her dislike of him was an act of self-preservation after hearing him insult her. Another is that she fell in love after reading his letter. And the third is that she fell in love as a result of going to Pemberley. Personally, I think the first point of view is pretty valid, the second is pretty unsupported by the text and the third is the most supported. Darcy’s taste, his appreciation for nature and the respect of intelligent servants showed Elizabeth that Darcy was the kind of man she could love. When she thought she lost him, the little lightbulb in her heart clicked on.

So. You know. Mrs. Reynolds had to go. She’s too useful. She’d have Elizabeth’s head on straight in five minutes!

Oh, and this house is filled with children. They need a governess.

Oh, and Elizabeth spends nearly the entire novel with a head injury and needs to be nursed. My research on the subject tells me when the mistress of the house was sick, the person who took care of her was her lady’s maid. So, in a move that surprised me even as I was writing it, Elizabeth’s lady’s maid became a frequently appearing character.

Emma’s governess, Miss Taylor, got married and became Mrs. Weston. So I flip-flopped that and the governess is named Miss Weston and the new housekeeper is called Mrs. Taylor. Emma’s father is very dependent on the local apothecary, Mr. Perry, so the nursing lady’s maid Elizabeth depends on was named Perry. Darcy’s infrequently mentioned and never appearing valet was named Wigfield, after another infrequently mentioned and never appearing working character in Emma.

I think Perry and Wigfield probably have a fun dynamic below stairs. There are definitely hints that all of these people get together to chat about the Darcys where no one can hear them. But since the story reminds firmly where Elizabeth can see it, you’ll have to imagine Wigfield for yourself. Personally, I imagine a cantankerous old man that complains about everything and Darcy tolerates it because Wigfield has been with the family for as long as he can remember, but since it’s not in the book, you have free reign. Go nuts. Maybe he’s a cantankerous young man that is smart enough to only complain where the master cannot hear him! The only thing we really know about him is if Wigfield does not complain about, it probably didn’t happen.

I hope you’ll find that Perry’s personality shines through. Miss Weston generally keeps to the background, but it was important to me that the parts of her personality that make her a good teacher were demonstrated.

That’s all for today! The blog tour continues until May 16th! There will be loads of fun things, such as giveaways, guest posts, giveaways, reviews, giveaways, excerpts and eight chances to win a copy of Side by Side, Apart! Hope to see you there!

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Book Blurb:

“You see what a strange circumstance it is,” she said, feeling some fleeting relief. “You know our acquaintance has not been easy.”

Elizabeth Bennet—stubborn, quick to judge but slow to revise her opinions, and entirely prejudiced against the man who had just proposed marriage at Hunsford—awakens to learn she has been in an accident. Bedridden in an unfamiliar house, she learns eleven years have passed since the last moment she can remember.

She finds herself a married woman, the mother of four, and pregnant yet again. Her children are strangers, and most mystifying of all, Fitzwilliam Darcy is her husband! How could she have married a man she loathes?

Confined to the house by her injury, Mr. Darcy’s company is inescapable. But is just being side by side enough to overcome their differences? What happens when Darcy, improved in manners and happily married to Mrs. Elizabeth Darcy, is faced with an obstinate, bewildered Miss Elizabeth Bennet?

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Links:

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Author Bio:

Ann started writing sometime before she knew how letters functioned. Her first books were drawings of circus poodles heavily annotated with scribbles meant to tell a story. Upon learning how letters were combined to represent words, she started doing that instead. This has proven to be much more successful.  

Sometime after that, she decided she wanted to study Anthropology and sometime after that, she decided she liked cats more than dogs. And sometime after that, she decided to become an educator and teach a new generation of kids how to combine letters to represent words, and use those words to express ideas.

And sometime after that, she realized all she really wanted to do was write, which probably should have been evident from the beginning. 

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Side by Side, Apart by Ann Galvia

Blog Tour Schedule

5/2: Guest Post & Giveaway at My Jane Austen Book Club

5/3: Review at Half Agony, Half Hope

5/4: Excerpt & Giveaway at Romance Novel Giveaways

5/5: Author Interview & Giveaway at Skipping Midnight

5/6: Review at Just Jane 1813

5/8: Guest Post & Giveaway at My Kids Led Me Back to Pride and Prejudice

5/9: Review at Diary of an Eccentric

5/10: Guest Post & Giveaway at More Agreeably Engaged

5/11: Excerpt & Giveaway at Best Sellers and Best Stellars

5/12: Guest Post & Giveaway at From Pemberley to Milton

5/13: Review at Margie’s Must Reads

5/14: Excerpt & Giveaway at Liz’s Reading Life

5/15: Review at Babblings of a Bookworm

5/16: Excerpt & Giveaway at So Little Time…

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Giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway
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I am so happy to have you stop by More Agreeably Engaged during your busy time of touring the blog world. It has been a pleasure and I enjoyed reading our entertaining post about the servants and names. Thank you for visiting today and have fun on the rest of your tour. I wish you much success with your debut novel, Side by Side, Apart.

As a reminder to each of you, there are more blog stops and many giveaways. Be sure to take a bit of time to visit them all. Thanks and have a great week!