Susan is a Jane Austen Prequel (or Pride and Prejudice Variation) brilliantly capturing Austen's own Lady Susan as a young girl.

A BookLife 2021 Quarterfinalist, Susan has won the Gold Medal/First Place in the PenCraft, Global, eLit and Historical Fiction Company Book Awards, along with numerous other awards.

Publishers Weekly starred review: "McVeigh's prose and plotting are pitch-perfect. Emma mingles with Pride and Prejudice in a delightful confrontation between the two books' worlds... This Austen-inspired novel echoes the master herself."

Familiar characters abound - Frank Churchill, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, Darcy himself - but Susan - mischievous and manipulative - is the star. This is Austen that even Austen might have loved, with a touch of Georgette Heyer in the romantic sections. Fans of Bridgerton will also relish this classic regency romance, the first in a six-book series.

Sixteen-year-old Susan Smithson - pretty but poor, clever but capricious - has just been expelled from a school for young ladies in London.

At the mansion of the formidable Lady Catherine de Bourgh, she attracts a raffish young nobleman. But, at the first hint of scandal, her guardian dispatches her to her uncle Collins' rectory in Kent, where her sensible cousin Alicia lives and "where nothing ever happens."

Here Susan mischievously inspires the local squire to put on a play, with consequences no one could possibly have foreseen. What with the unexpected arrival of Frank Churchill, Alicia's falling in love and a tumultuous elopement, rural Kent will surely never seem safe again...

“A young woman of no fortune and immense wit manoeuvres her way into the good graces of landed gentry in Alice McVeigh’s novel of manners. Characters from Pride and Prejudice appear…Their incorporation is clever: Mr. Collins is Susan’s uncle; Colonel Fitzwilliam had the misfortune of having killed Susan’s father in duel; Lady Catherine becomes her benefactress. Susan’s personality does break through the rigid strictures of Regency society, helping to make this an engaging historical novel with classic influences.” Clarion/Foreword Review

“Fans of Jane Austen are in for an indulgent treat with the brilliantly crafted novel. Alice McVeigh has mastered the period parlance, immersing readers fully in this charming historical romance. The polished story features a few familiar characters, such as the hard-to-please Lady Catherine de Bourgh, and the unending perorations of one Mr. Collins. But the impertinent Susan is the unmistakable star.”
Indies Today (editorial review)

“Fans of Jane Austen will be enraptured by Susan: A Jane Austen Prequel. Honoring the original voice of characters more than two centuries old and capturing the subtle tension and emotional complexity of youthful independence, this stylistic gem is an ambitious and memorable homage… McVeigh has set a strong foundation for a stunning six-book series”
SPR editorial review

"Think Emma or Pride and Prejudice, but with the added sense of humor, mischief, and determination that elevates the character of Susan.”
Midwest Books Review (MBR)

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