By Elizabeth Jewell
The JASNA meeting of October 15, 2023, began with breakout rooms in which we discussed the questions “Did you figure out who the killer was before the end of the book?” and “Which was your favorite part of the book?” The group then came back together to discuss The Murder of Mr. Wickham, by Claudia Gray, in a discussion led by Nancy Martin-Young.
Nancy led with a list of the areas we’d discuss, which included Background, Plot, Couples, Secrets, Juliet and Jonathan, Criticism, and Austen Easter eggs.
We briefly discussed the background of the author, Claudia Gray, who is from New Orleans and who has worked as a lawyer, journalist, disc jockey, and, she says, a poor waitress. Much of her previous writing has been in young adult books, and it was later mentioned that this was evident in the strong depictions of the two young characters, Juliet Tilney and Jonathan Darcy.
The novel was set in an English country house, contained characters from all of Austen’s main six novels, was set in the Regency period, and, while murders don’t generally feature in Austen’s main novels, they do appear in her Juvenilia. As is common in Austen novels, much of the interaction between characters occurs at meals, balls, or walks (to town, in Austen’s works, although in this novel, characters are mostly restricted to Donwell Abbey, Emma and Mr. Knightley’s home).
We discussed the various issues facing each couple: for the Knightleys, each separately invited guests to their home, which has resulted in a large gathering for a month-long house party; Knightley also secured his brother’s loan without Emma’s knowledge. Elizabeth and Darcy are not communicating well; they lost their niece, Wickham’s daughter, and each is privately mourning. For the Bertrams, Fanny seems quite fragile and is not certain her husband loves her, while he’s somewhat obsessed with morality—which adds to Fanny’s worry over a letter from her brother, who confessed his love for another man (the letter was stolen by Wickham, who is blackmailing Fanny with it). It was noted that homosexuality was punishable by death at the time.
The Wentworths have lost money to Wickham; Wentworth feels both guilty and angry about this, while Anne has not made clear to her husband how little she cares about wealth and status. For the Brandons, neither is sure the other loves them; Marianne wants more openness from her husband, while he thinks she chose him for safety rather than love. Interestingly, the Tilneys, who by report seem to be quite happy, are not in this book except as the parents of their daughter Juliet, who has been invited to the party. It’s noted that Juliet is curious like her mother and that Jonathan is “more Darcy than Darcy” in his emotional rigidity—he seems neurodivergent, even autistic—the behavior was certainly known at the time, although the term was not used until the early twentieth century.
There are a few references to other characters from the Austen novels, including Lydia, who died of smallpox; Mary Bennett, who has married a dean and had six children; Georgiana Darcy, who married an earl who does not seem to be particularly nice; and Mrs. Smith, Anne Elliot Wentworth’s friend, who turns out to have more money than the impoverished Wentworths do now.
There are plenty of secrets held by the main characters: Fanny’s brother William’s love for a man, Knightley’s money secrets kept from Emma, Juliet’s and Jonathan’s investigation of the murder, and the fact that nearly everyone was abroad the night of the murder instead of sleeping in their rooms, as they claimed. Marianne keeps secret that Willoughby had written to her.
Criticisms of the book include that there are so many characters it’s hard to follow the narrative, although we noted that readers familiar with Austen’s works will not find it as difficult as those who approach this book without that background knowledge. The book moves slowly at first, and it takes longer to get to the murder than many conventional murder mysteries would. Some readers also mentioned various aspects of the book that they found hard to believe, whether it was Elizabeth Darcy’s lack of sparkle or the idea that Wickham managed to hold onto the money he had gained. Fanny Bertram seemed too judgmental to some, while Edmund Bertram deserved more criticism!
We discussed whether it succeeds as a mystery, as an Austen homage, or neither? Some readers mentioned that the Audible version was enjoyable, that the language felt right, but that, while Austen is usually funny, this book was not.
We also speculated on what made Wickham the way he was. Was it being raised next to Darcy’s wealth and privilege, or was he simply morally flawed despite his background? He was handsome and had a veneer of charm; much of his life, he escaped consequences for his behavior. It was also mentioned that, despite all the secrets he held, he was killed not for his attempts to blackmail the others, but for attempting to rape Marianne. Is self-defense an adequate defense for her? She did hide the evidence and attempt to implicate someone else.
The twenty-first century aspects of the book included a gay character, Jonathan’s neurodivergence, shorter sentences, and the death of a character on scene, as well as the book being told from the viewpoint of many different characters. Juliet also seems like quite a modern character. At least one reader recommended the next book in the series as well.
Up Next
Next month, we will meet on November 12 for the AGM debriefing. December’s meeting, on December 10, will be a hybrid in-person/Zoom meeting for Jane’s birthday; Sue Scott will be the speaker, and the in-person portion will be held at Gisele’s house. Bring nibbles to share! Directions will be provided after you reply to the coordinators that you plan to attend.