Jane Odiwe Jane Austen Sequels

The lovely weather we've been having here in England always makes me think of Lydia Bennet's adventures in Brighton! Here's a little taster of the fun and scrapes she experiences with her friend Harriet Forster. Lydia and Harriet were dressed and downstairs by seven o’clock next morning to go bathing. They left the Colonel snoring away, as he was not due to inspect his troops till one o’clock, and hastened down to the beach to be dipped by Martha Gunn and her ladies. The girls decided to share a bathing machine for changing, but as there was hardly any room to manoeuvre, they kept falling over, partly because of the necessity of standing on one leg to undress and partly because they were laughing so much. Once they had on their flannel gowns and caps, it was time to face Martha Gunn, chief dipper and a woman not to be opposed. She stood in the water whilst her servant and helper led them hand in hand down the steps, but as soon as they hesitated with a first toe in the free...

I love using pictures and prints for inspiration. When I was writing Lydia Bennet's Story, I drew on many that I was able to find in museums and books. These prints of contemporary scenes in Brighton by the seaside helped me to write a scene where Lydia and her friend, Harriet Forster, are interrupted by the attentions of a certain gentleman. The following afternoon found Harriet and Lydia taking a turn along the seafront. They were standing watching some ladies riding on donkeys when Lydia was startled by a voice in her ear which seemed to come from nowhere. “Mr Wickham,” she cried as she turned to face him, “whatever do you mean by pouncing on young women in such a manner?! You quite frightened the life out of me.” “Forgive me, Mrs Forster, Miss Bennet, but you were so engrossed, I could not resist making you jump. I declare, Miss Bennet, that I never saw you in such studied contemplation since I saw you outside the milliner’s in Meryton!” Lydia could not help herself; she struck...

Phoebe Hessel was born in Stepney in 1713. A colourful character in and around Brighton in her later life, she enthralled passers by with her tales of being a soldier in her youth. Phoebe disguised herself as a man and enlisted in the British army to be with her lover Samuel Golding according to the stories told about her. It is believed that she served as a soldier in the West Indies and Gibralter. She and her lover both fought and were wounded in the battle of Fontenoy in 1745. Eventually, she admitted to the Colonel's wife that she was indeed a woman, which led to their being discharged in order for them to marry. They moved to Plymouth where they had nine children, none of whom survived Phoebe. After Golding died, she moved to Brighton to marry Thomas Hessel, a fisherman. After he died, leaving her a widow at 80, she made a living by selling fish. Later Phoebe became something of a celebrity in Brighton amusing people with her tales as she sold oranges, toys and gingerbread on ...

In Lydia's imagination, a visit to Brighton comprised every possibility of earthly happiness. She saw, with the creative eye of fancy, the streets of that gay bathing place covered with officers. She saw herself the object of attention to tens and to scores of them at present unknown. She saw all the glories of the camp - its tents stretched forth in beauteous uniformity of lines, crowded with the young and the gay, and dazzling with scarlet; and, to complete the view, she saw herself seated beneath a tent, tenderly flirting with at least six officers at once. From Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. The reality of life for the officers was most certainly quite different to that of Lydia's imagination. Like Wickham, many of the officers lived well beyond their means and were in debt. The entertainments were very tempting, including gentleman's clubs where fortunes could be lost at the gambling tables. Ragget's was typical of this type of establishment and in Lydia ...

I found this extract from a satirical poem which paints such wonderful pictures in the mind of Brighton in the late 1790's. It's taken from 'A Moral Epistle from the Pavilion at Brighton to Carlton House' by Anthony Pasquin. 'Tis the rage but to walk on the Steyne in the eve, When the dew falls as rapid as sand through a sieve; Till their clothes hang dependent absorbing a damp, More fatal than steams from an African swamp: When the blast's south or east the spray rides in the gale, Till you're crusted with salt like Dutch herrings for sale; And when north or east, the impertinent wind Incessantly cuts, like a razor behind: If the nerves are too fine, the pedestrian decays; If not he's lumbago'd the rest of his days. If you've ever walked near the seafront in Brighton you will know how true this rhyme is to this day!

This is the new cover for Lydia Bennet's Story which is being published in October by Sourcebooks. I am absolutely thrilled with it; I think the designers have done a wonderful job. The illustration is by Brock and shows Lydia and Kitty being introduced to Mr Wickham. The following extract is from Lydia's journal when Lydia learns that her favourites are about to leave for Brighton. Saturday, May 8th My world as I know it has ended! I have received such dreadful news today that I do not think I shall ever recover! I met with Mr Wickham (who looked as handsome as ever in his scarlet coat) in the High Street in Meryton this morning, and he informed me that the regiment is leaving to be encamped at Brighton for the summer! I could not believe it, nor disguise my disappointment, and asked him what on earth we shall all do without the society of all the officers we have come to know so well. His replies were gentlemanly and thoughtful, yet he seems keen to be gone and spoke of littl...

Maria Fitzherbert at 27, was twice married and widowed before she met George, Prince of Wales, then aged 22, in 1784. He became quickly besotted with her but as a deeply religious person and a Roman Catholic, she resisted his attentions at first. It was impossible for them to be married because of her religion (the Act of Settlement made it impossible for the heir to marry a Catholic) and because he needed permission from his father to marry (the Marriage Act). One night he sent two of his friends and a surgeon, Mr Keate, to fetch Mrs Fitzherbert to Carlton House in London, where they said the Prince lay dying, having stabbed himself in despair over his love for Maria. Mrs Fitzherbert agreed to visit him, but took the Duchess of Devonshire to accompany her. They found the Prince lying on a sofa covered in blood and crying that nothing would persuade him to live unless she agreed to marry him. Maria consented, but convinced she had been tricked, decided to leave for France where she kne...