According to Newton’s Third Law of Fiction, for every protagonist there is an equal and opposite antagonist. The truth is immutable, but it’s the ‘equal and opposite’ part that gets a little tricky.Clever got me this farAnd tricky got me in
You see, though I dearly love to read action adventures, Stronger Even Than Prideis a character driven story—no one is abducted by pirates, contracts amnesia or time travels through a portal into another dimension in its universe. Instead, I wanted to explore how Jane Austen’s obstinate and headstrong Elizabeth and proud and aloof Darcy would fare if one small but significant detail in their journey to self-knowledge was changed: Elizabethdoes not read the letter Darcy presses upon her in the grove at Rosings Park. And with that one alteration, the entire progression of the story changes: Darcy’s Hunsford Awakening is interrupted and Elizabeth’s “till this moment I never knew myself” realization never takes place. Instead, each goes about his or her way, every bit as flawed and mistaken as ever. So I had to spend a lot of time thinking… trying to get into their heads to figure out how my un-Hunsfordised protagonists would behave and react to each other and their choices.
Eye on what I’m afterI don’t need another friend.
And then there’s George Wickham, our favorite antagonist. Usually bad guys are pretty one-dimensional and not much of a challenge to write, but since Darcy is not the perfect, flawless hero, Wickham cannot be the typical villain – it’s that equal and opposite law thing again. Smile and drop the clichéTill you think I’m listening.
So now I had to get into Wickham’s head. To understand why he behaved the way he did in Jane Austen’s world, and then figure out what he would do under these new circumstances.
I’ll take just what I came forThen I’m out the door again.
And at last I had it. Darcy was proud. Elizabeth was prejudiced. And Wickham was selfish. Not an evil mastermind, not a sociopath, predator or sexual deviant. Just profoundly self-centered. He wanted what he wanted, he felt he deserved more than he had, and he possessed the looks and charm to manipulate those around him to get it. And if he failed, whoever thwarted him must pay. Once I understood that, I knew exactly what he would do.
Lie to get what I came forLie to get what I need nowLie to get what I’m cravingLie and smile to get what’s mine.
The song lyrics are from The Package, by A Perfect Circle. It ran through my head every time Wickham came on the scene and helped me to remember exactly who he was.
That’s it. Not very sexy or dramatic on the surface, but selfishness in the hands of a handsome and charming man without ethics or scruple—one who was raised with certain expectations—can be devastating to those who cross his path. Or get in his way. Or hold him back. In Wickham’s eyes, Darcy got in his way, held him back, kept him from what he wanted and deserved, and he lied and smiled to get what he considered was his.
Take what’s mine,Mine, mine, mine…
The journey to knowledge and redemption in Stronger Even Than Pride is a difficult one for all its imperfect characters, but you may rest in the knowledge that everyone gets what is coming to them. And that should make Wickham very happy, don’t you think? Gail McEwen
About the book
“…in his behavior to me there were stronger influences even than pride.”When George Wickham speaks these words to an impressionable Elizabeth Bennet, she can have no idea how true they will turn out to be. Stronger Even Than Pride, Gail McEwen’s latest novel, explores whether love can survive the biggest obstacles fate—and a most ruinous stubbornness—can conjure up to separate two people destined to be together. After Miss Bennet refuses to read the faithful narrative of Darcy’s dealings with Mr Wickham, this Pride and Prejudice variation takes an unexpected turn when she chooses to exonerate the wrong man.
Events quickly spiral out of control and Fitzwilliam Darcy is forced to watch helplessly as the woman he loves slips further and further from reach. Can there be a happily ever after for them? Can a love, stronger than pride, redeem even the worst mistakes?
About the Author
It took a few decades, but Gail finally took her English teacher’s advice and “became a writer.” It’s not that she didn’t want to be a writer – she alwayswanted to be a writer – she just didn’t know how to go about it. Because, truthfully, if one is going to write, one must eventually allow others to read what has been scribbled in that notebook shoved in the back of the drawer.Gail eventually worked up enough nerve to share her efforts with the anonymous world of the internet, after that she ventured out to college classes, writing contests, and eventually found a publisher.
Gail’s newest book, Stronger Even Than Pride, is a wicked twist on Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.
Depending on your measure, her success is either modest or phenomenal – while she is in no danger of growing either rich or famous, she is a published, award-winning author! Gail chooses the latter yardstick.
So it just goes to show – you should always listen to your teachers.
