Hi everyone, and thanks to Amanda for asking me to stop by today and talk a little about sisters and sisterhood. As avid readers and lovers of the Regency, we are part of a close-knit sorority—with Lizzie and Jane Bennet as our patron saints! It’s a special bond, for as the great English Romantic poet Christina Rossetti wrote: “For there is no friend like a sister, in calm or stormy weather, to cheer one on the tedious way, to fetch one if one goes astray, to lift one if one totters down, to strengthen whilst one stands.”
I have two brothers and no sisters, so when I first read Pride and Prejudice, one of the things I loved about it was the wonderful closeness and camaraderie between Lizzie and Jane. (Yes, my brothers were great about teaching me lots of important lessons in life, like how to hit a curveball and how to fall out of a tree without bursting into girly tears. But they weren’t exactly interested in sharing tears over first crushes or shopping for pretty party dresses.) The two eldest Bennets have such a strong and special bond despite—or maybe because of—their very different personalities. With her inimical skill at depicting nuances of character, Austen captured to perfection a portrait of two sister-in-spirit as well as in blood. To this day, whenever I reread it, I feel a pang of longing for having missed having a sister with whom to share my secrets. (Though I do temper that wistfulness by reminding myself that I might have gotten Lydia instead of Jane!)
As I read Austen’s other books, I found it fascinating to see how she developed a full range of “paired” sisterly relationships. In Sense and Sensibility, Elinor and Marianne are close, but while Elinor, like Jane is sensible and very reserved, she also is much more of the “big” sister, feeling she has to hide her own most intimate feelings because she must be a model of wisdom and guidance to her more impetuous younger sibling. It’s a very different dynamic. And then, in Persuasion, Austen creates a pair of sisters who couldn’t be more ill-matched—Anne and her older sister Elizabeth have nothing in common emotionally, intellectually or morally.
All those nuances of sisters and sisterhood obviously stuck with me because when I sat down to and started working on a new series idea, I found myself drawn to the challenge of creating a trilogy around three closeknit sisters. (Hey, since I didn’t have those perfect confidantes in real life, I realized I could create them myself!) The “Hellions of High Street” is all about the three Sloane sisters who share a number of things, including a closeknit friendship, an unconventional sense of humor—and a secret passion for writing. Olivia, the eldest, pens fiery political essays, Anna, the middle sister, writes racy romance novels, and Caro, the youngest is an aspiring poet. As you can imagine, the conversations between them can get rather . . . interesting.
Especially when the talk turn to men.
In Scandalously Yours, the first book in the series, which debuts today (you can read an excerpt here) Olivia has several “men” problems. Which all involve the oh-so proper Earl of Wrexham, a former war hero known in Society as the Perfect Hero. Her fiery political essays, written under a pen name, have attracted his attention, but the problem is, he mustn’t learn that a lady has written them. And then there’s the tongue-in-cheek reply to a newspaper that has been inadvertently sent to the earl’s young son . . .
Her sisters have some clever suggestions on what she should do to put out the flames. But all of a sudden, the sparks seem to be flying out of control! Because as we all know, secret passions can lead a lady into trouble . . .
So, do you have sisters? If so, are you like Jane-Lizzie, Elinor-Marianne or Anne-Elizabeth . . .or something in between? Do you have any other favorite pair of sisters in literature? One commentator will be chosen at random to win a copy of Scandalously Yours (w either e-book now or print in several month—your choice!)Cara here,Hi everyone, and thanks to Amanda for asking me to stop by today and talk a little about sisters and sisterhood. As avid readers and lovers of the Regency, we are part of a close-knit sorority—with Lizzie and Jane Bennet as our patron saints! It’s a special bond, for as the great English Romantic poet Christina Rossetti wrote: “For there is no friend like a sister, in calm or stormy weather, to cheer one on the tedious way, to fetch one if one goes astray, to lift one if one totters down, to strengthen whilst one stands.”
I have 2 older sisters whom I love dearly. I have wonderful memories of playing together as kids. & it’s oh so true – there’s nothing like the bond between sisters.
I love Beth & Jo from Little Women.
Lucky you, Linda! I really feel I missed out!
Since my sister and I have never been close I love reading stories about those that are close
I do have 2 sisters. Although we are family, we are also best friends. Thru the years, we have all been in different states and still kept in touch. For the past 10 years we have lived within 15 mile from each other and it has been great. We get along good and love to do things together. That’s what sisters are to be, is best friends!
That’s wonderful. I’m close with my older brother and my SIL has become a really good friend too, so nowadays I do have a “sister!” It’s definitely special.
I do not have a sister, so I do enjoy reading about them. Love the covers of both Scandalously Yours and Sinfully Yours.
Thanks, Gayle! I think the GCP art department did a fabulous job!
Alas, I don’t have any sisters either. Growing up, this never bothered me as I was a tomboy to the nth degree and I was perfectly happy to follow my older brothers around. Then I had two daughters (after a son). It’s been fascinating to watch the sister relationship develop. They are only 12 and 8 at present, but I hope they can have the kind of relationship Lizzie and Jane did, even if there are a few bumps in the road along the way.
Congrats on your release, Cara!
Thank you, karen!
I was a real tomboy too, so loved being with my brothers. Still, I can’t help feeling I missed having a “Jane” in my life. (Because I would have been the headstrong hellion Lizzie for sure!”)
I didn’t have sisters, only a little brother. I also didn’t have any daughters. I do have a great son though.
I can’t wait to read your book, Cara!! Tweeted and shared on FB.
Thanks SO much, Ella. I really appreciate that.
I don’t have any sisters and always wondered what it would have been like if I did. I like the March sisters from Alcott’s “Little Women.”
Yes, I always wonder whether it would have been as perfect as I imagine. I do keep reminding my I could have gotten Lydia. Then I become very grateful for my brothers, who are both wonderful.
I have 3 older sisters and we are like Anne and Elizabeth . I’m the youngest and I have no real attachment to them they are all older .
No, don’t have any favs
I have 2 older sisters, no brothers. My sisters are very important to me. We live within 5 miles of each other and make sure we see each other once a month. Though our lives are busy, just let one of us need something and the other two are right there to help.
That’s wonderful, Diane. Lucky you!
I have a twin sister with whom I’m blessed to have a very close relationship. I used to think that we were like Elinor and Marianne, she was Marianne, given to fun and flights of fancy and I was Elinor, the grounded sensible one. Now that we are older, it seems we’ve switched! Now she’s the practical one and I’m the one walking in the clouds! She’s always telling me what I should be doing and come on, I’m a whole minute older!!
Congrats on your series, Cara, best of luck! I look forward to reading it!
Oh, that’s so nice, Lesley. Being twins must be an extra-special bond.
And thanks so much—hope you enjoy Olivia and John’s story!
Hi everyone, so sorry to be chiming in late here. I had awful computer problems yesterday with my laptop and couldn’t connect to the internet when I was away from home. Makes you really realize how tethered to technology we are.
Thank you all for your comments!
I have two sisters, one older and one younger, so it seems that I’m not only the middle girl, but I’m always in the middle – smoothing out tension and hurt feelings between them. I think Scandalously Yours sounds like a wonderful story and I’m looking forward to reading it.
I wasn’t blessed with sisters, but I do have a 7 year younger brother who was a royal pain growing up. Everything Sissy did, he wanted to do as well, so he tagged along with me and my friends a lot. Now we are very close although he lives in another state.
I do have 2 very, very long time friends who are like sisters to me though. One of them has been my best friend since 7th grade and the other one has been a very good friend since my college days.
I am looking forward to reading Scandalously Yours and your other books.
I have one sister & she’s wonderful. We live far apart but phone each other every week. Also send emails & visit as much as posible. Yesterday she came to see me & we had lunch together. I made a carrot/beetroot salad with raisins & cranberries 🙂 We chatted a lot & went shopping, didn’t find the clothes I needed but it was fun! Am not sure what sisters we would be like…
Perhaps I’m Jane Bennet and my sister Lizzie Bennet. My sister is less shy and tells people how it is/she feels with ease.
I like Josephine March and all her sisters too. I don’t recognise myself in wild Jo, but I find her really charming!!
Congratulations on the new book. I have a sister close to my age and we’re very close. As far as fictional sisters, Lisa Kleypas’ Hathaway family has several sisters and they’re all close.
Ah, do I have sisters! As I tend to start to tell people about my family….”I have five sisters…I have a brother, too.” We were always fighting, teasing, scheming…but if an outsider uttered the same insult, it was suddenly all for one and one for all. We are all grown now, but still there for each other. And my brother got married, so we adopted another. I think it is fair to say that we each found additional sisters as we grew through life. There is, indeed nothing like a sister.
I don’t have any sisters, tho I have always wanted one……..
I hope that I’m not too late to be entered for the giveaway!!!