Guest Blog and Giveaway with Amanda Grange Author of Mr Darcy, Vampyre

Hi and a big thank you to Roxanne for having me on her blog today!

Roxanne asked me: “How do you think Pride and Prejudice would have turned out if Mr. Darcy didn’t have to hide his true identity?” and I immediately thought, what a great question!

With the way I reimagined the world of Pride and Prejudice in Mr. Darcy, Vampyre, it would have been very different. Darcy isn’t the only character from Pride and Prejudice I recast as a vampyre, and the other vampyres would have then been open about their true identity as well. I’d better not say any more about the others because I don’t want to spoil it for people who haven’t read it yet! But three of the other major characters are also vamps…

A lot would still be the same, though. Darcy and Bingley are such firm friends in Pride and Prejudice that I think they would still be friends even if Bingley knew Darcy’s secret. So I think Darcy would have stayed at Netherfield with Bingley and still gone to the assembly where he first saw Lizzy.

Lizzy’s feelings towards him would have been similar to the ones in Pride and Prejudice, but for different reasons. She’s drawn to him in the original because he represents a challenge but she’s also repulsed because of his pride. If she knew he was a vampyre she would be drawn to him because of the vampyre glamour, but repulsed because of his true nature. I think that’s one of the things that attracted me to the idea of writing Mr. Darcy, Vampyre, a lot of the reactions in the book fit in so well with Darcy being a vampyre.

If there was general openness about vampyres in Pride and Prejudice, there would be a lot more trouble with the sinister vampyres who haunt Mr. Darcy, Vampyre. I introduced vampyres who feed off the emotions of others as well as bloodsuckers. They’re found in myth but not so often in literature. I took this one step further and gave them the power to distort reality in order to create the powerful emotions they need to survive.

The Netherfield ball might then have been something like this scene from Mr. Darcy, Vampyre, where Elizabeth is manipulated by one of the most powerful, ancient vampyres:


She turned towards him and had difficulty in making out his face. It seemed ageless: unlined and yet old, sympathetic and yet devilish. It floated before her in silent mockery, completely at odds with his words and behaviour, and she felt very strange.

‘Here,’ he said, offering her his arm.

She did not respond, only looking at him, and he pulled her hand through his arm himself, saying, ‘Let me escort you to a seat.’

As he touched her, she felt her will altering, flowing and merging with his. She moved with him to one of the window seats. She was enraptured by him. Her body was light and ethereal and her thoughts were unclear, as though her mind was filled with mist.

She was aware of a peculiar sensation as the room around her began to alter, distorting and changing like a wet portrait in the rain. The green wallpaper began to melt and run down the walls and a deep ochre ran down in great rivulets behind it and took its place. The curtains, too, began to change, their dark green velvet dropping away to be washed over with rivers of gold silk. Pictures were appearing and mirrors disappearing; beneath them the console tables were altering, their legs narrowing and their tops flowing with marble; the vases of flowers were being replaced with porcelain and ormolu clocks. The carpet was giving way to polished floorboards and the sound of unearthly laughter filled the air. He seized her in his arms and waltzed with her around the room, whispering to her in some unintelligible language.

‘I am not well,’ said Elizabeth, her heart beating strangely and her mind trying to hold on to reality.

‘No?’ he asked. ‘I think you are very well.’

Strange faces peered at her as the room was suddenly full of people, laughing and chattering and looking at her through their masks.

She put her hand to her head, feeling it throb, and then, through the mist, she heard something familiar. It was Darcy’s voice.

The gentleman was saying to him, ‘It is nothing, never fear, the lady is feeling unwell that is all, but I am caring for her. Please do not let us detain you.’

‘No,’ she wanted to say. ‘I don’t want you to care for me, I want to be with my husband.’

But nothing came out.

She turned beseeching eyes to Darcy and she saw him as if from a great distance, through a distorting glass, but his words were firm and clear.

‘She has no taste for your company,’ he said.

‘No?’ said the gentleman. ‘But I have a taste for her.’

Hers, thought Elizabeth. He should have said hers.

© Amanda Grange, Sourcebooks Landmark, 2009

I’m sure Elizabeth and Darcy would still have ended up together, though, even if the truth had been revealed, because something about them as a couple is so right.

Thanks again for having me here. I hope you like Mr. Darcy, Vampyre and I hope you all have a great Halloween!

Mr. Darcy, Vampyre—In stores NOW!


About the Author

Amanda Grange is a bestselling author specializing in creative interpretations of classic novels and historic events, including Jane Austen's novels and the Titanic shipwreck. Her Jane Austen sequel Mr. Darcy’s Diary is a bestseller in the US and the UK. She lives in England. For more information on Amanda and her books, please visit http://amandagrange.com/. For more information on Mr. Darcy, Vampyre, please visit Amanda’s blog and the Sourcebooks Spotlight Page.

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