The Suspicion at Sanditon (Or, the Disappearance of Lady Denham) Read online

  As you might have guessed by now, I love a good mystery. And the Darcys have become experienced at solving them.

  The Suspicion at Sanditon is not the tale Austen would have told, had she lived long enough to complete her novel. That lost tale is one that only she could tell. But like all the previous Mr. & Mrs. Darcy Mysteries, the story between these covers is woven from threads Austen left behind. As a fragment, Sanditon abounds with loose threads: a setting currently undergoing transformation, relationships and situations rife with possible plotlines, dynamic characters left in a state of suspended animation. I wanted to give those characters a story, one that, with Austen’s indirect guidance, I could tell.

  Although I had read Sanditon before (the first complete transcription of the fragment was published in 1925 by R. W. Chapman, and others have been published since), this time I immersed myself in Austen’s handwritten manuscript. I read the draft in her own hand so that I could study it from the perspective of a novelist—a fellow practitioner of the craft—rather than through the filter of other transcribers, many of whom had approached it from a more scholarly perspective. I wanted to see every crossed-out sentence, every added phrase, every punctuation change—to see her writing in process, and learn all I could from the experience. (For a first draft, it is strikingly clean—truly genius in action.) Creating my own transcription, word by word, comma by comma—working with her words on such an intimate level—was like an apprenticeship with a master.

  When I had done, I began writing my own story, and you hold in your hands the result. I hope you have enjoyed the Darcys’ Sanditon adventure. If it has inspired you to seek out Austen’s fragment to meet her characters firsthand, you can obtain Sanditon (often as part of a collection with other Austen novels or minor works) from your favorite bookseller or library. (To view Austen’s handwritten manuscript, see the note below.) If my story has inspired further interest in the Mr. & Mrs. Darcy Mysteries, I invite you to visit me at my website, www.carriebebris.com, to learn more about the series, forthcoming books, and author events, or to sign up for my electronic newsletter. While there, consider dropping me a note—I always enjoy hearing from readers! I thank all of you who have already shared with me your thoughts about the series. Your words mean a great deal to me, and I remain—

  Your most obliged and

  humble servant,

  Carrie Bebris

  Notes on the text

  All quotations from Sanditon are from my own transcription of Austen’s 1817 handwritten manuscript, accessed in electronic facsimile through Jane Austen’s Fiction Manuscripts: A Digital Edition, edited by Kathryn Sutherland (2010), available at www.janeausten.ac.uk. In most cases, I preserved Austen’s spellings, capitalizations, punctuation, and emphases. I have written out superscripts, abbreviations, and numerals; ampersands are changed to “and.” The long “s” form of the lowercase letter “s”—printed as ∫—is changed to a short (i.e., ordinary) “s.”

  Sources of Sir Edward’s literary quotations

  Assoiled from all encumbrance of our time: William Wordsworth, “Occasioned by the Battle of Waterloo—February 1816.”

  The best-laid schemes of mice and men often go awry (The best-laid schemes o’ mice an ’men/Gang aft agley): Robert Burns, “To a Mouse,” 1785.

  on this gay, dewy morning: Robert Burns, “Lovely Young Jessie,” 1793.

  fair imperial flow’r: William Cowper, “The Lily and the Rose,” 1782.

  If this be dying … there is nothing at all shocking in it. My body hardly sensible of pain, my mind at ease, my intellects clear and perfect as ever. Samuel Richardson, Clarissa, 1751.

  not to see the lady of this castle … who disappeared so strangely: Ann Radcliffe, The Mysteries of Udolpho, 1794.

  She walks in beauty, like the night/Of cloudless climes and starry skies;/And all that’s best of dark and bright: George Gordon, Lord Byron, “She Walks in Beauty,” 1815.

  About the Author

  Award-winning author CARRIE BEBRIS holds a master’s degree in English literature and is a member of the Jane Austen Society of North America. A Wisconsin native, she now resides in Ohio. This is her seventh book in the critically acclaimed Mr. and Mrs. Darcy Mystery series. Visit her website at www.carriebebris.com. You can sign up for email updates here.

  Other Mr. & Mrs. Darcy Mysteries by Carrie Bebris

  Pride and Prescience (Or, A Truth Universally Acknowledged)

  Suspense and Sensibility (Or, First Impressions Revisited)

  North by Northanger (Or, The Shades of Pemberley)

  The Matters at Mansfield (Or, The Crawford Affair)

  The Intrigue at Highbury (Or, Emma’s Match)

  The Deception at Lyme (Or, The Peril of Persuasion)

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  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Notice

  Dedication

  Acknowledgments

  Epigraph

  Prologue

  Volume the First

  Epigraph

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Volume the Second

  Epigraph

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Volume the Third

  Epigraph

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Epilogue

  Author’s Note

  About the Author

  Other Mr. & Mrs. Darcy Mysteries by Carrie Bebris

  Copyright

  This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  THE SUSPICION AT SANDITON

  Copyright © 2015 by Carrie Bebris

  All rights reserved.

  Cover art by Teresa Fasolino

  A Tor Book

  Published by Tom Doherty Associates, LLC

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  New York, NY 10010

  www.tor-forge.com

  Tor® is a registered trademark of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC.

  eBooks may be purchased for business or promotional use. For information on bulk purchases, please contact Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department by writing to [email protected].

  The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.

  ISBN 978-0-7653-2799-4 (hardcover)

  ISBN 978-1-4299-4307-9 (e-book)

  e-ISBN 9781429943079

  First Edition: July 2015

 

 

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