Warleigh Hall Press

The Warleigh Hall Jane Austen series

Alice McVeigh first conceived the idea for the series when she began to wonder how the characters from different Austen’s novels might interact, were they to meet. From there, it was only a step to imagining a plausible timeline. However, like Austen’s own novels, they can be read in any order.

The first in the series introduces Austen’s beautifully heartless Lady Susan when she was only sixteen, and takes place both in London (where she is mentored by Lady Catherine de Bourgh) and in Hunsford, Kent. It takes place a year before Austen’s Emma, and five years after Mr Darcy marries Elizabeth Bennett in Pride and Prejudice.

The series won Chanticleer International’s 2023 Series Award (historical) and the gold medal in 2024 in the Global Book Awards.

A prequel to Austen’s Lady Susan, it shares with Mansfield Park a dramatic conclusion to home theatricals – as well as a youthfully exuberant Frank Churchill. A quarterfinalist for the BookLife 2021 and starred “Editor’s pick” on Publishers Weekly, McVeigh’s Susan won the Global, eLit, Pencraft awards in its first year. It was a finalist in CIBA’s Goethe Award, though her second book (Harriet, a Jane Austen Variation) was a finalist instead for its Chataleina Award.

Harriet is Emma – but seen from the points of view instead of a rather more clued-up Harriet Smith and the enigmatic beauty, Jane Fairfax. It also has a twist near the end – though all the principals end up married to the correct people. It was joint runner-up in 2022 for the prestigious Foreword Indies’ “Book of the Year” in general fiction, and also…

Darcy, which is mostly P&P from Darcy’s point of view (but with more humour, more backstory and an enhanced role for Lizzy’s sister Mary) is McVeigh’s most successful and bestselling work. Honoured at the last London Book Fair in the UK Selfies Book Awards,

Most recently, McVeigh released Pride and Perjury – Twelve stories inspired by Pride and Prejudice. Currently a finalist in Chanticleer International Book Awards (Short story collections), it won a Gold medal in the most recent Global book awards, a silver medal in the Global ebook Awards, and a perfect rating from Foreword/Clarion editorial reviews.

Alice is currently completing the fifth in the standalone series.

Warleigh Hall Press publications

Regency readers will find Susan both enjoyable and entertaining; her naughty flouting of the rules walks the tightrope of remaining cheeky and endearing while hinting at the colder, self-centered woman that is depicted by Austen in Lady Susan.

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The reader is introduced to Susan, who relies on the good social standing and charity of her aunt and uncle. It is her sole duty, according to her relatives, to pursue economic security through marriage. Extremely beautiful and charming, yet openly rebellious against the expectations of her social status, she causes quite the headache for her relatives. The writing style is witty, fun, and has all the hallmarks of an Austen novel. It will likely appeal to those who seek a modern continuation of British gentry romance and intrigue.

McVeigh has created a strong character unwilling to conform to the expectations for women of the early 1800s. Susan's charm and beauty allures many, giving her the freedom that other women would not have had during the period. The writing style is witty, fun, and has all the hallmarks of an Austen novel. It will likely appeal to those who seek a modern continuation of British gentry romance and intrigue.

Fans of Jane Austen are in for an indulgent treat with the brilliantly crafted novel, Susan. Alice McVeigh has truly mastered the period parlance, immersing readers fully in this charming historical romance. The story features a few familiar characters such as the hard-to-please Lady Catherine de Bourgh and the unending perorations of one Mr. Collins. But the ever impertinent Susan is the unmistakable star in this polished novel...

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This book contains a charming awareness of Jane Austen’s novels that careful readers can collect like small tokens. As Susan says, she is neither “handsome, clever, well-travelled, rich,” and McVeigh flaunts her success with reinvention...Emma mingles with Pride and Prejudice in a delightful confrontation between the two books' worlds.10 stars.

Novelist, editor, and ghostwriter McVeigh (While the Music Lasts) offers an outstanding addition to the canon of Jane Austen-inspired fiction with this utterly charming period novel, a prequel to Austen’s sharp-elbowed Lady Susan… Susan is a mischievous and clever heroine in the tradition of Austen’s pluckiest characters, and McVeigh populates her story with a cast of first-rate supporting characters, especially Susan’s cousin Alicia, who in the end provides the biggest surprise of the tale.

While this title will be catnip to dedicated Austen fans, even new initiates into her work will be captivated by this lively tale.

Warleigh Hall Press

The Warleigh Hall Jane Austen series

Warleigh Hall Press publications

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