Messy Janite seeks well-regulated desk
by Jenetta James
A quick visit to Jane Austen’s house at Chawton, which is about an hour’s drive from where I live, puts me to shame. Her famous writing desk is so small and neat and self-contained. The simplicity of it is somehow redolent of her writing – spare and accurate and perfectly formed. It makes me think of the circumstances that I write in as being ludicrously expansive, disorganised and messy. My desk is piled high with books and bills and notepads. My phone sits on a pile of children’s board books in need of repair. The number of used coffee cups is a bit embarrassing too. It is certainly not a contender for any stylish work space of the year competitions.
This is all the more frustrating because I know that I can work effectively in a tidier space. I wrote almost all of Suddenly Mrs Darcy in my local coffee shop here in London. The idea of the story had popped into my head and I just had to write it down in any spare moment I had. Unfortunately, at the time my two children who are now 2 and 1 would only nap at the same time if taken out for a walk in their buggy. So, I would stash my laptop in the shopping basket and walk until they both dropped off. Once I had two sleeping babies I would run to the café and type for all I was worth until one or both of them woke up.
So, my spring resolution is to try to be a bit more like Jane and work in a smaller, less cluttered space. I wonder what my prospects are? Certainly my family and everyone who has to share a work space with me are hoping that the tentacles of Janeite inspiration can reach into my working practices as well as my stories. Here’s hoping!
About the Author:
About the Book:
Elizabeth Bennet never imagined her own parents would force her to marry a virtual stranger. But when Mrs. Bennet accuses Fitzwilliam Darcy of compromising her daughter, that is exactly the outcome. Trapped in a seemingly loveless marriage and far from home, she grows suspicious of her new husband’s heart and further, suspects he is hiding a great secret. Is there even a chance at love given the happenstance of their hasty marriage?
Facebook About the Author:
Jenetta James is a
lawyer, writer, mother and taker-on of too much. She grew up in Cambridge and
read history at Oxford University where she was a scholar and president of the
Oxford University History Society. After graduating, she took to the law and
now practises full time as a barrister. Over the years she has lived in France,
Hungary and Trinidad as well as her native England. Jenetta currently lives in
London with her husband and children where she enjoys reading, laughing and playing
with Lego. Suddenly Mrs Darcy is her first novel.
About the Book:Elizabeth Bennet never imagined her own parents would force her to marry a virtual stranger. But when Mrs. Bennet accuses Fitzwilliam Darcy of compromising her daughter, that is exactly the outcome. Trapped in a seemingly loveless marriage and far from home, she grows suspicious of her new husband’s heart and further, suspects he is hiding a great secret. Is there even a chance at love given the happenstance of their hasty marriage?
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