It's a mystery!
Jane Austen fans are mad about mysteries - and these authors are leaning into it. A special guest post from the writers of 'Crime and Culpability'
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For those of you who really, really know the works of Jane Austen - and I mean those of you who have even read what scholars call the Juvenilia but what I call the Teen-age Dreams of Jane Austen - you know that her early writings were chaotic, bold, murderous, and hilarious.
We’ll save a full discussion on this for another time, but today our friend and Janeite author Elizabeth Gilliland Rands is staging a takeover of our Austen Connection pages. This is something she’s done before, with one guest-post called It’s Raining Regency Men and another on Rethinking Caroline Bingley (Elizabeth clearly doesn’t run from a fight, lol). And today Elizabeth returns to talk Murder and Mayhem.
With a new, just-released anthology she’s edited and contributed with Austen Mystery writers, Elizabeth offered to catch up with the authors themselves and ask them two things: Which Austen character would make the best detective, and which would be the most likely to commit murder.
Inspired questions! The 14-year-old Austen would love this so much. (And also probably the 41-year-old Austen.)
So: Just in time for that hallowed month of October where we’re beginning to feel the autumn breezes, the shadows are lengthening, and the stores are full of plastic skeletons, let’s check in with these Austen mystery writers. And make sure to let us know your own answers to these burning questions, and your own ideas about mystery, mayhem, and Austen.
And now - here’s Elizabeth and friends with this guest post. Take it away, Elizabeth!
What makes a great mystery? I think most fans of the genre would agree that a compelling crime, a clever detective, and some well-earned twists and intriguing red herrings make for a great page turner. As many Austenesque writers and fans are discovering, Austen was putting some of these pieces together in her novels, even though they aren’t traditionally considered to be mysteries.
Characters who aren’t what they first seem to be? Check! Secret motivations that cause us to question who’s authentic and who’s only playing a part? Check! Social crimes that change the trajectory of the characters’ lives? Check, check, check!
With that in mind, I set out to gather a group of talented authors to join me in telling a range of Austen mystery stories. This anthology has a little bit of everything, from humorous heists to novel-canon prequels to film noir retellings. Read on to discover more about each author’s perspective on Austen’s hidden detectives and criminals, and to learn more about Crime & Culpability: A Jane Austen Mystery Anthology, just out this month!
-Elizabeth Gilliland Rands
Jeanette Watts
Q: Which Austen character would make the best detective, and why?
A: Well, Catherine Morland would be the WORST detective. ... Maybe with her inquisitive proclivities, with some maturity and training, there could be room for improvement.
Q: Which Austen character would be most likely to commit a murder, and why?
A: How do we know that some of Austen's characters HAVEN'T committed murders? Some of the villains might have done so, it's just "off screen." And it's not just the villains - Colonel Brandon fought a duel with Willoughby. What if one of them hit their target? I believe by the early 1800s, killing someone in a duel was considered murder, was it not? So ANY Jane Austen gentleman could be called upon to commit murder. Or do the murdering in the name of honor.
Michael Rands
Q: Which Austen character would make the best detective, and why?
A: Lydia Bennet when she's much older. Due to her youthful adventures she would have been exposed to delinquent characters, and so she'll understand their motives.
Q: Which Austen character would be most likely to commit a murder, and why?
A: Mr. Wickham. He's good at convincing people of his lies. He's always reckless and impulsive.
Regina Jeffers
Q: Which Austen character would make the best detective, and why?
A: I, generally, go with Mr. Darcy because of his quick mind, but I sincerely believe either Colonel Fitzwilliam or Colonel Brandon would serve well in such a role, for they are accustomed to stratagems.
Q: Which Austen character would be most likely to commit a murder, and why?
A: Though the usual answers would be Mr. Wickham or Mr. Elliot, I believe the volatility of Frederick Tilney's personality could lead to murder. And his father would assist in covering it up.
Elizabeth Gilliland
Q: Which Austen character would make the best detective, and why?
A: Well, I'm cheating a little since I've already made her a detective in my series, but I think Charlotte Lucas would be great at it. She is very pragmatic and great at reading people -- she knows what the problem with Bingley's and Jane's relationship will be before it even becomes an issue, she quickly pieces together what makes Mr. Collins tick to convince him to propose, and she figures out Mr. Darcy is in love with Elizabeth long before anyone else does! In early drafts of my Austen University Mysteries series, Charlotte was a main character, but it ultimately didn't make much sense to keep her there, so sadly I've moved her into the background - but she still gets to be a detective for the Louisiana police, just not one of the amateur sleuths who solves the mystery in the books!
Q: Which Austen character would be most likely to commit a murder, and why?
A: Haha, too many of them are capable of it, probably? I actually did feature a popular Austen character as a murderer in my first book, What Happened on Box Hill, but to avoid spoilers, I'll go with someone who probably won't make an appearance in my series (but never say never!) ... Fanny Dashwood. I don't know that she would kill people willy-nilly, but if she thought her lifestyle was in jeopardy, I don't think she'd feel very bad about it, and she'd convince herself it was their fault, anyway.
Riana Everly
Q: Which Austen character would make the best detective, and why?
A: Since I've written a series featuring Mary Bennet, I have to say her. She's quiet and everyone ignores her, but she's smart and sees everything! Once she's given the encouragement to think for herself, she puts things together that other people miss.
Q: Which Austen character would be most likely to commit a murder, and why?
A: Ah, now that's a fascinating question. I think many of Austen's characters have it in them, given the proper incentive. I can easily see Fanny Dashwood offing someone if it benefitted her enough. And General Tilney probably wouldn't lose too much sleep over it either.
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Linné Elizabeth
Q: Which Austen character would make the best detective, and why?
A: I love this question. I think Emma would think she's a great detective, but she would get everything wrong. That's a funny thought. So my real answer is that Charlotte Lucas would make an excellent detective. She really sees the whole picture and is beloved in her circles demonstrating that she can connect well with people. She strikes me as a bit introverted so she spends time on the periphery analyzing people around her. This gives her a mature and broad perspective. We can see this in the advice she gives Elizabeth about Darcy and about Jane and Bingley. Also people trust her, and, unlike Elizabeth she has a discerning eye for character. She could easily convince perps to spill the beans at the station.
Q: Which Austen character would be most likely to commit a murder, and why?
A: Lucy Steele. That girl will try to secure whatever she wants by any means necessary. She takes her incredible gift of understanding people and twists it to her advantage by being manipulative and horrid. Like the Ted Bundy of securing a high-status relationship, Lucy would eliminate any obstacle between her and financial security. If Austen wrote a story that included Lucy Steele of poisoning someone, I would be like, yeah, that checks out. I can't blame Lucy for deviously scheming and being one of the most unlikable characters in Austen's canon because women had a lot riding on marriage. Without the option to work and secure a life of their own, it was a bit of a challenge to be a girls’ girl. But also you can get more out of life with honey than you can with vinegar.
Emma Dalgety
Q: Which Austen character would make the best detective, and why?
A: I would have to say Mr. Knightley! Not only is he best known for being a voice of reason in Emma Woodhouse’s life, but he is usually one step ahead of her when it comes to figuring out people’s true intentions — including Emma’s own. He correctly lays out evidence for his ”bad feelings” about others, and always gives Emma good reasons why to distrust suspicious would-be suitors like Mr. Elton and Frank Churchill. Plus, even when it annoys Emma to no end, Mr. Knightley correctly identifies the flaws in her own character, and has no trouble bringing the uncomfortable truth to light when he feels it is necessary.
Q: Which Austen character would be most likely to commit a murder, and why?
A: Caroline Bingley. In Pride and Prejudice, Mr. Wickham might seem like the most obvious choice, but Caroline has always struck me as much more jealous, spiteful, and conniving. I could see her plotting and executing a brilliant murder with a bitter motive behind it, then just as easily turning on the charm and shifting the blame to someone else!
Thank you, author/editor Elizabeth Gilliland Rands and thanks to all of these Austenesque mystery writers - Regina Jeffers, Riana Everly, Jeanette Watts, Michael Rands, Linné Elizabeth, and Emma Dalgety - for helping us tap into the murder and mayhem, and the “crime and culpability” of the Jane Universe.
And - the anthology, just released this month, is: Crime & Culpability: A Jane Austen Mystery Anthology. You can get the book here - available in paperback, ebook, and on Kindle Unlimited.
Also, friends - do let us know your answers! Which Austen character would make the best detective; which is most likely to commit murder? Which is most likely to get by with murder? Have you thought about, or even researched, Austen’s contribution to the mystery and detective genre that would become an actual thing later in the century, with Wilkie Collins’ The Moonstone, and Charles Dickens’ Bleak House? Let us know all your thoughts!
Meanwhile, enjoy your PSLs and the massive amounts of Halloween paraphernalia being forced upon us. Hope you are able to find some quiet moments to enjoy your own mystery, enjoy some Jane Austen, and embrace your own inner mayhem.
Have a beautiful week,
Plain Jane
We found some fun and joy in NYC!
“Everybody’s Jane Austen” was a one-day conference hosted by JASNA New York Metropolitan Region’s one-day conference in September 2024 about Austen in contemporary culture.
Fellow panelists Renata Dennis, a member of the Jane Austen Society of North America (JASNA)’s board of directors, and producer Tia A. Smith, executive producer of the Hallmark Channel’s 2024 adaptation of Sense and Sensibility, joined me on the stage of Manhattan’s Peter Norton Symphony Space Leonard Nimoy Thalia, for a discussion about “Everybody’s Jane Austen.” Stay tuned for the podcast episode!
Have a beautiful weekend!
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Well Mr Darcy actually takes on the private eye role when he tracks down Wickham and Lydia. At least a part of the role, for the wisecracks (given that's the really essential skill for an aspiring eye) it would have to be Henry Tilney . Murder? Mr Price (Fanny's Dad) for your standard pub brawl. But for your full-on body-parts found in the fridge would be Mr Collins. Except no murder mystery as he's so obviously a deeply creepy guy . So Mr C as the red herring suspect (body parts found by Charlotte) but was actually Lady Catherine de Burgh put them there.
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