Maria Bertram's Daughter Blog Tour ~ Excerpt & Giveaway!

Hello, my friends! I'm happy to welcome Lucy Knight here to So Little Time...! She is here with an excerpt from her new book, Maria Bertram's Daughter. What a fantastic idea for a story! To follow that thread of what might have happened to Maria after running off with Henry Crawford. Interesting!

Maria Bertram's Daughter

A Mansfield Park Sequel

by Lucy Knight

Blurb 

She could be mistress of Mansfield Park. But is that what she wants? 

An unwanted child—conceived in circumstances her mother would rather forget—Dorothea Henrietta Rose grows up solitary and neglected with her dissatisfied mother and unpleasant great-aunt Norris. Raised without the knowledge that her mother is her mother or that their occasional visitor, Sir Thomas Bertram, is her grandfather, she is forbidden ever to set foot in Mansfield Park. 

Dorothea hopes for a happier life when sent away to school, but her difficulties are not over. She is obliged to make her way in the world as a governess and, thus, encounters human frailty, hypocrisy, good, and evil in her travels throughout England. 

She meets the Crawfords—Henry and Mary (now Lady Drumroth)—and inevitably does the one thing she must not do: unwillingly makes herself known to the inhabitants of Mansfield Park.

 

Thank you so much, Candy, for hosting me on my blog tour. This excerpt is short but extremely crucial. I love that it shows that my heroine, Dorothea, who is often so self-contained that she appears passive, is actually prepared to assert herself when she feels it is necessary. This action has many unforeseen consequences and I hope your readers will be left wanting to know what happens next! 

Excerpt

     “However, as it turned out, John was not to leave. Mr Allbright put him to work teaching the boys more of the practical skills so beloved of Mrs Edgeworth, so Dorothea saw him only at mealtimes when they ate with the family, and they had few opportunities for conversation. John continued to cast searching and ardent glances towards Dorothea, who was grateful for the fact that she was sitting next to Mrs Allbright and not closer to the pining swain. He hung about looking moody and disconsolate, and the atmosphere became strained between them. Eventually, she decided that she could not endure it any longer without speaking to him.

     One day while the little girls were engaged with their music teacher, an old lady who came up from the village once a week to coax the girls to make a pleasant sound on the pianoforte—at which attempt she was so far unsuccessful—Dorothea slipped away to the workshop that had been set up in an unused part of the stable block. She knew John would be alone because she heard the boys begging their father for a morning’s fishing at breakfast and saw them setting off across the lawn with their fishing rods shortly thereafter.

     John was alone, tidying up and putting new edges on the tools blunted by the careless schoolboys. He flushed as Dorothea entered.

     “Oh,” was all he said. He looked uncomfortable.

     “Mr Greenwood—” Dorothea began.

     “John,” he said quickly.

     “I feel we need to clear the air between us.”

     “I do not know what you mean,” said John hastily.

     “Oh yes, you do know what I mean. All this staring and looking like a dying codfish.”

     “You know, then?” He had turned pale.

     “I do not know what I know,” said Dorothea, who was determined not to admit what she thought she knew. Heaven knew she was not vain (though she knew she looked well now that the good food and fresh air at the Allbrights’ had filled out her figure and rosied her cheeks), but to suggest that she suspected a man of romantic leanings would sound like vanity indeed.”

This exchange between my young heroine and the handsome engineer who has been employed to build a Panorganon is about to precipitate a crisis. What is a Panorganon, you ask? Obviously, you need to read the book to find out, but I will just let you know that it was recommended by Maria Edgeworth as a useful aid to teaching the principles of mechanics to children. 

In addition to the crisis, this crucial conversation will lead to rediscovery of things that were thought lost, and, eventually, to some extraordinary revelations. 

I hope that has whetted your appetite? 

Buy: Amazon US (paid link) • Amazon UK • Amazon FR

FTC Disclaimer: Link to Amazon US. I am an Amazon Associate. Should you purchase a copy of the book through the link provided, I will receive a small commission. Thanks!

About the Author

Lucy Knight grew up in Whitby, North Yorkshire, now a tourist
town but until recently a small and historic port which was known for shipbuilding, fishing (including whaling) and having an important Abbey. During her life she has moved around a great deal both in England and on the continent of Europe; she now lives in a tiny hamlet lost in the French countryside with two rescue dogs, two rescue chickens, an unknown number of bees and eight sheep. 

Lucy has two children and three grandchildren, all of whom live in England.

Lucy has only recently begun to write historical fiction but she enjoys it so much she can’t stop! Her background is in comedy and drama, so there will always be some jokes and plenty of dialogue. 

When she is not writing, Lucy teaches English and French, and she love to take long walks with her dogs during which she revels in the birds, butterflies, trees and flowers which are so abundant in her part of France. 

Connect with Lucy Knight

Facebook • Twitter • Blog

Maria Bertram’s Daughter Blog Tour Schedule

April 11 My Jane Austen Book Club

April 12 So little time… (you're here!)

April 13 Babblings of a Bookworm

April 14 From Pemberley to Milton

April 15 Austenesque Reviews

April 16 The Literary Assistant

April 18 My Vices and Weaknesses

Tour Giveaway

It's giveaway time! Meryton Press is giving away 6 eBooks of Maria Bertram's Daughter by Lucy Knight.

Enter through the Rafflecopter below. 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Congratulations to Lucy Knight on the release of Maria Bertram's Daughter!

Many thanks to Janet Taylor @ More Agreeable Engaged for organizing and including me in this blog tour!

So friends, does this book sound wonderful to you? Please leave us a comment!