Monday, January 11, 2021

Austen, Texas, and the Timelessness of Literature By A.K. Pittman


Guest Allison Pittman


Picture it: Anytown Shopping Mall, 1983. Droves of teenagers roam, in one store and out another, buying mostly nothing, because nobody is really there to shop. No, when a group of girls take a slow, strolling turn past the Foot Locker, the objective is to be seen. Hair teased, jeans pegged and belted, lips glossy, Reeboks clean. Meanwhile, in the food court, boys gather with slices of pizza, sodas, and fries. Watching.

Now, enter a scene from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Six people in a room. Firelight, candlelight, crackling conversation. Elizabeth Bennet and Caroline Bingley, arm in arm, take a slow walk around the room. Mr. Darcy watches, knowing exactly what the girls are doing: “. . . you are conscious that your figures appear to the greatest advantage in walking . . . I can admire you much better as I sit by the fire.”

And—just like that—worlds of flirtation, of courtship, of wiles and winks collide.

Full disclosure: I am not an Austen fanatic. Fan, yes, but I’ve never been particularly fixated on her works. What consumes me? The 80’s. When I knew I wanted to write a novel for the YA market, I knew I had to set it in the 80’s. The character Pudge arrived fully formed—a girl who somehow successfully hides her confidence. Then, one day, the title: Pudge and Prejudice, and nothing has ever seemed more perfectly paired.

The beauty of Austen’s work (here, as in others) is the sheer number of storylines to follow. Once could say P&P is a novel of romance, of family, of sisterhood, of friendship, of class war, of womanhood, of second chances—and each statement would be correct. It’s just so malleable. Traces of it live in any novel written since.

But I didn’t want just traces. I wanted to pick it up whole cloth and bring it into my world—at least the world of my obsession: 1980’s, high school, Texas.

Why high school? The stakes for the Bennet sisters in the novel are so high. Marriage. Social standing. Reputation. So, substitute marriage for boyfriend, and you’ve basically got high school. Moving the story to a high school setting allows for a certain playfulness. Gives some breathing space. Nobody’s future is really at stake here. But try telling that to the fifteen-year-old girl pining for a certain boy. There’s an unparalleled passion to first love—requited or not. And don’t get me started on the pain of that first broken heart. Because the cast of Pudge—Elyse and Jayne, Billy and Charlie—see their world’s end at the edges of the school campus and the football field, the reader can feel that with them. Teenagers are, for the most part, blissfully unaware of life beyond high school. So, for my readers who live in that world, it’s a safe, familiar place. And for their parents (who I really hope will read the book, too), it’s a glimpse back into a simpler time, no matter what their graduation year.



So, why the 80’s? I dunno, maybe it’s because I graduated in 1984, but I feel like the 80’s were the last vestige of innocence. There were still limits, everywhere. We had cable television, but if you wanted to watch a show that aired at 9:00 p.m. on a Thursday, you pretty much had to be sitting in front of your television on Thursday night. And prepare to watch the commercials. If you wanted to see a movie, you had to go to a theater, unless you were lucky enough to own a VCR (or BETA). If you wanted to talk to a friend, you had to talk to them. On the phone, with your parents yelling at you to not tie up the line. Or at the mall. Or walking to and fro. There was no hiding behind tiny words on a screen. To me, this is the biggest tie to Austen’s world. Conversations, letters. Heart-in-the-throat alone in a corner of a room. Finding one another in a crowd. Sneaking away. The Bennet sisters gathered in the front room looking out the window, waiting to hear from Charles Bingley, are no different from any girl—ever—sitting and waiting for the phone to ring. I wanted to bring to story the world of ringing phones and long drives—any excuse to snatch a moment alone. Also, I wanted that last bit of innocence. In Austen’s day, even a whisper of a loss of virtue could ruin a girl’s life. I didn’t want any of my girls to fear ruin, but I did want them to have a bit of worry. We’ve lost the value of virtue. Charlie and Jayne are fully in love, but spare and guarded and shy in their physical expression. I wanted to give young readers a respite from the constant barrage of the hypersexuality so rampant in teen-focused entertainment.

Finally, why Texas? Well, if you’ve ever been in the bleachers on a Friday night with a purple, star-sprinkled sky stretched above you and a thousand people praying for a seventeen-year-old boy to somehow get a leather ball across 23 yards of short-clipped grass . . . what a silly question.

 

 

Pudge and Prejudice

Pudge and Prejudice is an homage to Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, transported to the fictitious Northfield Texas High School in the year 1984. After moving to Northfield with her family, Elyse Nebbit faces the challenge of finding her place in a new school, one dominated by social status and Friday night football. When Elyse’s effortlessly beautiful older sister Jayne starts dating Charlie Bingley, the captain of the school football team, Elyse finds herself curious about Charlie’s popular and brooding best friend, Billy Fitz. Elyse’s body insecurities eventually complicate her relationship with Billy, leaving Jayne and Elyse’s exceedingly blunt friend, Lottie, to step in and help Elyse accept herself for who she is, pant size and all.



A.K. Pittman is an award-winning author of thirteen novels, including the Christy-nominated Sister Wife series and the critically acclaimed The Seamstress. An enthusiast for all things writing, she leads two different writers’ groups, helping to bring new voices to the world of books. When not writing, Allison teaches middle school English, working as a conduit to introduce her students to new, fresh literature. You can follow her around on Instagram (@allisonkpittman) or Twitter (@allisonkpittman) and keep up with her writing news on her Allison Pittman Author Facebook page. Here you’ll learn what’s going on with new books, next books, and day-to-day life with Allison and her husband, Mikey. You’ll also get a peek at Snax, the world’s worst dog.




Links:

Pudge and Prejudice Buy Link


Allison’s Website
















24 comments:

  1. Very intriguing concept, Allison! I love Pride & Prejudice, and part of my heart still lives in the eighties, too. :-)

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  2. I love everything about this! I agree that teen entertainment (along with ever other kind) has become so sexualized that it's unbelievable in some ways what we tolerate. Don't get me started LOL. Setting the story in the 80s is brilliant and so much fun for those of us who spent our high school years during that time. I'll have to put this one on my TBR list. Thanks for joining us today!

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    1. Glynis, I'm a little older--was in college in the 80's. But it sounds like a great setting. I love that cute cover!

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  3. Welcome, Allison. I love Jane Austen, so this book looks very interesting. Will you be writing any other books based off other Jane Austen novels?

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    1. Good question, Sandy. I was curious if she's going to stay in this setting.

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  4. Allison, we're so glad to have you with us today! I'm really looking forward to reading this book. We're about the same age, so I can really appreciate the 80's setting! :)

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    1. Also mean to say that we were just talking recently about how we had to get up to go change the channel before the time of remote controls. LOL

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    2. If we had 80s technology combined with today's programming, I would be getting up to change the channel so often I might as well not bother to sit down.

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  5. Hi Allison!

    I agree with Glynis, setting your story in the 80's was brilliant! I'm (ahem) a little older, so my memories of the 80's resonate a little differently (diapers and legos rather than high school and malls!) but I can feel that unique 80's culture in your post.

    I'm looking forward to reading Pudge and Prejudice (great title!)

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    1. Jan, I had diapers and Legos too. And I missed most of the bling and excess of the 80s, but I've read about it. Seems like there were two 80s, the public one and the one for normal people. I did, however, have bad hair.

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    2. LOL! Didn't we all have big hair?

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    3. Yes! I have fine, thin hair, so I was really out of style. So I got perms for years, trying to get the big hair look! Unfortunately, they were usually done at home to save money. LOL

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  6. This sounds like a great combination. And thank you for keeping some innocence in teen relationships! I miss that. :-) I'm about 16 years behind you, but I can remember the 80s. And I lived in Texas long enough to love everything about it. In fact, when I first read the title of your post, I read Austin, Texas instead of Austen, Texas. ;-) Maybe a fun play on words? Or a happy accident. Either way, I love it.

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    1. Yeah, Amy, I thought the title of her post was a cute twist. :)

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  7. I love this! I'm currently writing a book set in the early 90s and a lot of the technology is similar. We had to actually make a plan with our friends and then go there and then wait for them. Times were rough!

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  8. Allison, Pudge and Prejudice sounds like a delightful read. And having graduated around that same time myself, yes to all the elements that helped the 80's to still be an age of innocence in spite of what was beginning to brew in media and tech.

    I'm so glad you've written a story with the mindset of keeping innocence in tact.

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  9. Well, just reading this post took me back to my teenage years. Sigh. Oh, to be that innocent once again.

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  10. This sounds like a fun read! I was an 80s child - don't forget Atari! :) I love Jane Austen's works too so I'm eager to pick up a copy to eventually give to my girls.

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