Do you ever wonder about the lives that shaped Jane Austen's characters before their stories began?
England, 1770. Long before Emma Watson's world took shape, two families-one steeped in quiet respectability, the other shadowed by a secret scandal-cross paths in a tale of resilience and unexpected courtship.
For Cassandra Willoughby, a disastrous first marriage left scars she dares not show. Her late husband's gambling, drinking, and infidelities taught her to guard her independence at all costs. For Robert Watson, a country clergyman of steady principles, winning her trust will require patience, sincerity, and the support-or interference-of both their families. With his sense of duty matched by genuine kindness, his feelings prove harder to ignore than she expected.
Their courtship unfolds against the backdrop of two intertwined families: the Willoughbys and the Watsons of Yorkshire. Old friendships, carefully guarded secrets, and the expectations of marriage in Georgian England weave together in a story where trust must be earned and love can alter the course of generations.
Arc One: Courtship and Marriage is the first part of The Watsons Beginnings, a prequel to Refined and Returned, my full-length completion of The Watsons by Jane Austen-an unfinished fragment written circa 1803-1804.
Set more than thirty years before The Watsons, this prequel arc explores family histories, early connections, and the delicate dance of love in an age when marriage could mean safety... or ruin.
About the Author :
Eireanne Michaels is an introvert who is currently living in Korea among some of her rescue cats. She is one of those women who is perfectly happy to be considered a 'crazy cat lady' as it both keeps people away and is simply the unavoidable truth.
She is a fan of fantasy, science fiction, and old British literature. She has been a fan of Jane Austen's novels for many, many years (possibly 'since tigers were smoking' which is the Korean way to say 'since dinosaurs roamed the earth.') Every year, she reads her favorites again, and the others, usually get their time every two to three years, but, since COVID-19, she began to feel the need for more and started reading JAFF (Jane Austen Fan Fiction). While it can be fun, the author most appreciates Austen's knowledge of psychology which is sadly lacking in most JAFF novels.
To Eireanne, Austen's works are like good lasagna; it's full of layers that bring new delicious tidbits to the surface each time they are reached. However, most people only notice the cheesy bit on top and miss the real meat underneath. Jane Austen was not just a great author, she had depths that many have not and may never discover. It has created a passion, or possibly obsession, in this author to discover all of the hidden gems in her sarcastic and witty novels.
For her own reasons, and her own amusement, she has decided to take up writing JAFF in order to help her better understand the time period, the characters, and the original author. However, rather than writing in a way that obfuscates the truth so that one has to search it out like Jane did (though it is fun), this author has more of an interest in finding ways to uncover the truth in order to encourage readers to look past the surface.
The author hopes that you, the reader, will be able to understand her love and appreciation for Jane Austen, her world, and her characters. It is this author's intention to write more JAFF in the future, including and especially mergers between Austen's books (Across the Austenverse). If you are interested in reading more, then please follow the author on her blog.
