JULIA
The latest novel, Julia, has at its heart the problem of nervous illness and its affect on those around the sufferer. This may seem an unusual theme for a romantic novel, but when those most seriously affected are two young ladies, it becomes clearer. Julia Mariot and Vanessa Grey are trapped in a narrow, unsatisfying life with Mr Grey, who has developed a nervous condition. I suppose now we would call it an anxiety condition with associated fear of open spaces. In Emma, by Jane Austen, Emma’s sister has a mild cardiac condition, which she says she gives her the flutters and Mrs Bennett in Pride and Prejudice has a banging in her side when she is very wrought up. So, in Julia, we have nervous Mr Grey, whose condition has been exacerbated by years of watching his young wife dying very slowly. He deteriorates into a recluse, attended by a male nurse/secretary called Morrison.
Mr Grey’s affliction, however, is not limited to his own feelings and welfare. He rules his household ruthlessly, laying down conditions for both family and servants; and one of the main concerns of the book is wondering whether Julia and Vanessa are going to turn into the faded, querulous spinsters everyone thinks is inevitable.
As Julia says at the end of the first chapter, it will take a significant event to alter things and that event appears in the form of good-looking, twenty-eight year old, impoverished relative, Jeremy Carfax. But you will have to read the book to see what sort of man he is; and what sort of man, Will Roystan is, when he comes to Wavenhurst, the next estate, to inherit from a rich cousin. Wavenhurst is interesting. I got the idea for its look, when visiting Claydon House in Buckinghamshire, UK. If you haven’t been there and can’t go, then look it up on the net and when you read the scenes set there, it will give a pleasing amount of background to your visualisations.
Another character is Phillip Walker, a witty, woman-hating, no, not really, merely, woman-avoiding, barrister. This has also been interesting because I have been attending an Appeal recently, which has involved the cut and thrust of barristers interrogating witnesses. Phillip has cartoons in his house and in his Chambers; and the cartooning and lampooning of the early nineteenth century was pretty strong. I think he would have liked blogging, and would not have been too shocked by the ferociousness of some of the comments. It intrigues me when my comments are moderated. I would not be offensive, when skill with words is so much more effective. So, the book will be out soon, just looking for a more usual type of publisher, and have recently submitted it to a mainstream publisher.
