Carrie Bebris
| The Intrigue at Highbury |
| “I do believe . . . this is the most troublesome parish that ever was.” —Mrs. Elton, Emma |
The Intrigue at Highbury
(Or, Emma's Match)
A Mr. & Mrs. Darcy Mystery
Tor Books, March 2010
Hardcover, ISBN-13: 978-0-7653-1848-0
Book #5 in the Mr. & Mrs. Darcy Mystery series
Excerpt
Available through your favorite local bookstore, or order
now through:
An independent bookseller
Barnes & Noble
Books-A-Million
Borders
Macmillan (publisher's website)
(Or, Emma's Match)
A Mr. & Mrs. Darcy Mystery
Tor Books, March 2010
Hardcover, ISBN-13: 978-0-7653-1848-0
Book #5 in the Mr. & Mrs. Darcy Mystery series
Excerpt
Available through your favorite local bookstore, or order
now through:
An independent bookseller
Barnes & Noble
Books-A-Million
Borders
Macmillan (publisher's website)
The Darcys seek out the parish magistrate, who is having a difficult evening of his own. Mr. Knightley and his new wife,
the former Miss Emma Woodhouse (the heroine of Jane Austen's Emma) are hosting a party to celebrate the marriage of
their friends, Mr. Frank Churchill and Miss Jane Fairfax. During dinner, Mr. Edgar Churchill, uncle and adoptive father of
the groom, falls suddenly ill and dies. The cause of death: poison.
When the Darcys and the Knightleys join forces to investigate the crimes, they discover that the robbery and Edgar
Churchill's death may be connected. Together they must work to quickly locate the source of the poison and the
murderer's motive--before the killer can strike again.
Other books in the series:
Pride and Prescience (#1), Suspense and Sensibility (#2), North by Northanger (#3), The Matters at Mansfield (#4).
Praise for The Intrigue at Highbury
"Of the many writers dabbling in the world of Austen's novels, Bebris is one of the best, and readers will be thoroughly
hooked by her latest whodunit." -- Booklist
Bebris' favorite Regency crime-sleuthing couple are perfect foils for the ingenuous, and occasionally ingenious,
matchmaking of Emma Knightley (nee Woodhouse)." -- RT Book Reviews (4 stars)
"Beguiling." -- Publisher's Weekly
the former Miss Emma Woodhouse (the heroine of Jane Austen's Emma) are hosting a party to celebrate the marriage of
their friends, Mr. Frank Churchill and Miss Jane Fairfax. During dinner, Mr. Edgar Churchill, uncle and adoptive father of
the groom, falls suddenly ill and dies. The cause of death: poison.
When the Darcys and the Knightleys join forces to investigate the crimes, they discover that the robbery and Edgar
Churchill's death may be connected. Together they must work to quickly locate the source of the poison and the
murderer's motive--before the killer can strike again.
Other books in the series:
Pride and Prescience (#1), Suspense and Sensibility (#2), North by Northanger (#3), The Matters at Mansfield (#4).
Praise for The Intrigue at Highbury
"Of the many writers dabbling in the world of Austen's novels, Bebris is one of the best, and readers will be thoroughly
hooked by her latest whodunit." -- Booklist
Bebris' favorite Regency crime-sleuthing couple are perfect foils for the ingenuous, and occasionally ingenious,
matchmaking of Emma Knightley (nee Woodhouse)." -- RT Book Reviews (4 stars)
"Beguiling." -- Publisher's Weekly
Mr. and Mrs. Darcy are looking forward to a relaxing stay with dear friends when their
carriage is hailed by a damsel-in-distress outside of the village of Highbury. Little do the
Darcys realize that gypsies roam these woods, or that both their possessions and the woman
are about to vanish into the night.
carriage is hailed by a damsel-in-distress outside of the village of Highbury. Little do the
Darcys realize that gypsies roam these woods, or that both their possessions and the woman
are about to vanish into the night.
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Readers often ask me how I come up with my titles. The answer: I sweat blood.
All right, not literally (that would be creepy), but it certainly feels that way. I usually have a working title in mind, but the final
title eludes me until somehow the right words come together and I smack myself on the head (again, not literally—that would
hurt) and say, “Of course! Why didn’t I think of that sooner?” The working title, incidentally, has often become a book’s
subtitle.
With this book, however, I did not have even a working title until very late in the writing process. It was simply “Darcy #5
(Emma)” in all my drafts and notes. And when I eventually came up with a title that seemed to capture the story, I was told
that it was too long to fit on the book spine above the thumbnail of the cover art. That might sound like a superficial reason to
reject a title, but publishers really must consider these things, especially since most books in a store are shelved spine-out.
And, truthfully, I am particular enough about the appearance of any book I own (I go to great pains to avoid breaking the
spines of paperbacks while reading—do you?) that it would distress me to see this fifth Mr. & Mrs. Darcy novel on my shelf
with a spine that did not match the others. (In case you are wondering, the rejected title was “The Mysterious Affair at
Highbury.” I liked its resonances of Agatha Christie’s The Mysterious Affair at Styles, which also involves the death of a
wealthy elderly person through poison, and an outsider who solves the crime. I did not, however, have Christie’s book in
mind while plotting mine.)
I finished writing the book—still no title. As the deadline for my publisher’s catalog loomed and the manuscript headed into
production, my editor and I agonized. We needed something that fit in with the previous titles of the series and that clearly
linked my book to Austen’s Emma, yet without emphasizing Emma’s name so much that readers might mistakenly think it
was a Mr. & Mrs. Knightley mystery and wonder what happened to the Darcys. Hoping for something alliterative to echo the
previous titles, I even went so far as to pore through the entire “H” and “E” sections of the Oxford English Dictionary in
search of something that would work nicely with “Highbury” or “Emma.” While I learned all sorts of interesting, obscure new
words (new to me, anyway) alas, “Hugger-Mugger at Highbury” just did not seem to have the tone we sought!
In the end, we sacrificed alliteration, and found a good synonym for “mysterious affair” with fewer letters. After all the
distress and vexation, I am well pleased with The Intrigue at Highbury, and the subtitle, Emma’s Match, is perfect on multiple
levels: (1) The mystery Emma helps solve presents her with a challenge worthy of her intellect. (2) In Elizabeth Darcy, Emma
finally has a friend who is her equal. (3) The object of Emma’s latest matchmaking scheme (with Emma in the book, you
knew there had to be a matchmaking subplot!) presents such a challenge that she has truly met her match.
In finding a title, I certainly felt as if I had met mine. The next book in the series is thus far known as “Darcy #6
(Persuasion).” Wish me luck!
All right, not literally (that would be creepy), but it certainly feels that way. I usually have a working title in mind, but the final
title eludes me until somehow the right words come together and I smack myself on the head (again, not literally—that would
hurt) and say, “Of course! Why didn’t I think of that sooner?” The working title, incidentally, has often become a book’s
subtitle.
With this book, however, I did not have even a working title until very late in the writing process. It was simply “Darcy #5
(Emma)” in all my drafts and notes. And when I eventually came up with a title that seemed to capture the story, I was told
that it was too long to fit on the book spine above the thumbnail of the cover art. That might sound like a superficial reason to
reject a title, but publishers really must consider these things, especially since most books in a store are shelved spine-out.
And, truthfully, I am particular enough about the appearance of any book I own (I go to great pains to avoid breaking the
spines of paperbacks while reading—do you?) that it would distress me to see this fifth Mr. & Mrs. Darcy novel on my shelf
with a spine that did not match the others. (In case you are wondering, the rejected title was “The Mysterious Affair at
Highbury.” I liked its resonances of Agatha Christie’s The Mysterious Affair at Styles, which also involves the death of a
wealthy elderly person through poison, and an outsider who solves the crime. I did not, however, have Christie’s book in
mind while plotting mine.)
I finished writing the book—still no title. As the deadline for my publisher’s catalog loomed and the manuscript headed into
production, my editor and I agonized. We needed something that fit in with the previous titles of the series and that clearly
linked my book to Austen’s Emma, yet without emphasizing Emma’s name so much that readers might mistakenly think it
was a Mr. & Mrs. Knightley mystery and wonder what happened to the Darcys. Hoping for something alliterative to echo the
previous titles, I even went so far as to pore through the entire “H” and “E” sections of the Oxford English Dictionary in
search of something that would work nicely with “Highbury” or “Emma.” While I learned all sorts of interesting, obscure new
words (new to me, anyway) alas, “Hugger-Mugger at Highbury” just did not seem to have the tone we sought!
In the end, we sacrificed alliteration, and found a good synonym for “mysterious affair” with fewer letters. After all the
distress and vexation, I am well pleased with The Intrigue at Highbury, and the subtitle, Emma’s Match, is perfect on multiple
levels: (1) The mystery Emma helps solve presents her with a challenge worthy of her intellect. (2) In Elizabeth Darcy, Emma
finally has a friend who is her equal. (3) The object of Emma’s latest matchmaking scheme (with Emma in the book, you
knew there had to be a matchmaking subplot!) presents such a challenge that she has truly met her match.
In finding a title, I certainly felt as if I had met mine. The next book in the series is thus far known as “Darcy #6
(Persuasion).” Wish me luck!
| What's in a Name? More on The Intrigue At Highbury (Or, Emma’s Match) |