Fitzwilliam, Wentworth, Watson and Woodhouse - Jane's characters have more in common than you might think!
I've been very busy writing a new book which always involves a certain amount of research. I was looking for a surname for a character of my own; it had to be linked to the name Wentworth in some way, so I decided to put in a search in google. I hit upon a site about Wentworth village in south Yorkshire Wentworth village.net and have found it totally fascinating, as I am sure you will too. I discovered that the family names of Fitzwilliam, (as in Darcy) Watson, Woodhouse and Wentworth are all linked - they are all related in some way in a family tree that goes back to the 1200's. There was even an Emma Woodhouse born in 1220. Do have a look at it - I can't help thinking that Jane Austen was inspired by this family for the names she uses in Pride and Prejudice, Emma, The Watsons, and of course, Persuasion. I am having a lot of fun with my latest book - there's still a way to go, but at least I've finally got a name for my hero. I wonder if you can guess which surna...