In my new time-travel romance, Another Place in Time, Mr. Darcy travels through
time to meet with Chris O’Malley, an expert on the Regency Era and the novels
of Jane Austen. I recently interviewed Chris to find out more of her thoughts on Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy.
Mary: Easy question. What was your first impression of Mr. Darcy
when he showed up at the Baltimore Jane Austen conference in 2012?
Chris: Thanks, Mary, for having me on your blog. I feel like I already know you. To answer your question, please keep in mind that I saw the conference as
an opportunity to increase my exposure in the Austen community, so when this “imposter”
showed up and basically took over the session, I was not amused. What I
remember thinking is that this guy is one hot dude—better than Colin—better than
Matthew. But after I stopped admiring his assets, I was pretty steamed. When I
spoke to him in the lobby, I thought this “actor” had Mr. Darcy’s arrogance down
pat. It was all about him.
Mary: At first, you refused to help Mr. Darcy. What changed
your mind?
Chris: I realized that this guy, whoever he was, was deeply
in love with his Elizabeth Bennet. Because he was willing to ask for help in
repairing the damage he had done when he had proposed marriage, I thought I might
give him some advice. By showing some humility, he had already taken the first
step.
Mary: When was your first inkling that this Mr. Darcy might
be the genuine article?
Chris: Today, you practically get a smart phone at your kindergarten graduation, so when I watched Mr. Darcy using his iPhone, he reminded me of a kid in a
candy store. He kept showing me all the things he could find by “Googling,” a
word that delighted him. Another clue was that whenever a plane flew over, he
would stop and look up in the sky until it was out of sight. Who does that now?
Mary: I think I would be nervous getting into a time
capsule.
Chris: That’s because you’re smarter than I am. (Chris laughs.)
The main reason I went back to 1812 was because the Regency Era is my area of
expertise. I couldn't pass up a chance to see what London looked like during the
Regency. Also, I was at a rather low point in my personal life. I think that
was why I was willing to take the risk.
Mary: I understand that you will be talking about Regency
London on Maria Grace’s blog. Is that correct?
Chris: Yes, I will. When I was in London, my guides through Town were Georgiana Darcy and
Fitzwilliam Darcy. I look forward to sharing the experience with you.
Chris will be doing an interview on Random Bits of Fascination on February 12th. We hope to see you there.
Another Place in Time is available on Nook and Kindle. The paperback will be available in about two weeks.
Nice interview!!! I'd like to have a time capsule. :)
ReplyDeleteI think we would all like a time capsule. So many places to go.
ReplyDeleteQuestion for Chris - was there any part about the Regency Era that you discovered that you were completely mistaken about?
ReplyDeleteNot mistaken, but underestimated just how smelly and dirty Regency London was. It's hard to imagine now, but a black pall hung over London, and on foggy days, the particulates could kill you. In 1952, it did kill over 1,000 people, and that started a clean-air campaign in London.
ReplyDeleteIt's also hard to imagine how close wealthy Londoners lived to absolute squalor. A few streets in the wrong direction, and you could be in deep doo doo--literally. It could also get you mugged.
ReplyDelete