WiDo to Publish Austen Fan Fiction by Carol Pratt Bradley
August 24, 2022
When historical fiction author Carol Pratt Bradley submitted her newest novel to WiDo Publishing, Managing Editor Karen Gowen was surprised to see such a departure from her usual genre. Gowen, instrumental in bringing four of Bradley’s works to publication and herself a huge fan of Jane Austen’s books, chose to personally review the recent submission.
“It was such a change for Carol yet it made sense, given her knowledge of England and her love of history. I wondered how she would handle lighter subject matter, how near to Austen’s voice and approach she could get.”
Gowen admits to feeling doubtful as well as curious, which soon gave way to excited enthusiasm. “It’s Jane Austen with the added depth and historical details of Carol Pratt Bradley. I devoured ‘The Making of Margaret Dashwood’, read it right through. It felt like I had discovered a new Austen novel I had somehow missed.”
Bradley discusses how she chose to incorporate historical background into the story: “Most times I compartmentalize history. I never thought to put together the historical time in which Austen wrote her books, just enjoyed the compelling way she wove a story, and the romance, of course, and the happy endings after it looked like all was lost. At the time I got the idea for this novel, I was reading a book about William Wilberforce and the fight for abolition in Britain. I realized, wait a minute, this is during that same time.
“Austen placed her characters in the center of village life. But lurking on the edges of the stories is the larger world in which she lived, full of wars and the blight of the slave trade and other social injustices. After Pride and Prejudice was published, Austen wrote to her sister Cassandra: ‘The work is rather too light, and bright, and sparkling; it wants shade….’ She said perhaps she should have put in more ‘things of substance….the history of Bonaparte…or anything that would form a contrast.’ The time in which Austen wrote her works was crammed with drama and conflict. So, in writing about the character of Margaret Dashwood from Sense and Sensibility, I determined that I would add some shade.”
Bradley’s previous approach to her work has been to write about real characters from history. “This book about Margaret Dashwood would be a different way to write and it intrigued me. I could place a fictional character from a beloved novel with some of the people who lived during that time period and put Margaret inside the historical events. What may have happened to Margaret after the marriages of her sisters, Marianne and Elinor, could happen alongside real-life people of that time, such as William and Barbara Wilberforce and abolition and education activist Hannah More. My imagination could weave her story alongside history. What could be more fun!”
The author found she couldn’t get the words down fast enough, every writer’s dream. “It just flowed out of me like it had always been inside waiting for me to let it out. I adore Margaret and want to return to her story in a sequel. But first I’m writing the story of another Jane Austen character.”
“Carol most definitely should continue with the Austen fan fiction genre,” Gowen says. “I think she’s come across a niche that has real potential to be very successful for her.”
Bradley happened to write the book almost by accident. “I got the idea during the Covid pandemic in 2020. I’d published my fourth novel earlier that year, Daughter of Anne-Hoeck, and was itching to write another one. Since everything shut down, I certainly had more time on my hands. One afternoon I re-watched an adaptation of Sense and Sensibility. I turned it off and sat quietly. What about the younger sister Margaret? What happened to her? How did she respond to the events that happened to her sisters? How would that have shaped her?
“I kept on wondering. Over the next several days, I got out my big book of Jane Austen works and read all of Sense and Sensibility, probably for the first time. Austen portrayed Margaret as a young girl who was not very promising. But that didn’t seem fair at all. Why should Margaret get short shrift? She wrote that Margaret had imbibed much of her sister Marianne’s sensibility and over-emotion and her romantic ideas about life and love. How would Jane Austen portray her as she grew older and came out into society? Would she still think her to be not very promising? The only mention she gets at the end of the book is that she had reached the age where, according to Mrs. Jennings and Sir John Middleton, she might be supposed to have a lover. Did she? Jane can never tell us and that is unfortunate. So I had a thought–maybe I could write Margaret’s story. Did I dare? I closed the book. I would do it.”
The folks at WiDo Publishing are glad she did. “We have become much more selective about the books we acquire through our traditional imprint,” states Gowen. “We were happy to say a quick yes to this one.”