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Choc Lit
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Why did you decide to bring Jane Austen into the 21st century?
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Juliet Archer
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Her stories and characters are timeless and I thought it would be great fun to put them into a modern setting. Emma is the one about old friends falling in love. I hope to appeal to readers who don’t know the original story, as well as to those who know it inside out.
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Choc Lit
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What was particularly challenging about updating this story?
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Juliet Archer
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Creating reasons why the hero and heroine misunderstand each other for so long – perfectly natural in Jane Austen’s time, with all the social etiquette, but less convincing today. So I created an embarrassing moment in the past when Mark discovers Emma’s teenage crush on him, then packed him off to India for a few years. By the time he meets Emma again, he’s in a long-term relationship and she’s still nursing her resentment at being told she’s like a little sister to him. She’s also grown up into a beautiful woman with stunning legs – so all of a sudden he’s seeing her in a completely different light.
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Choc Lit
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What about the character of Emma?
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Juliet Archer
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Jane Austen described Emma as a heroine no one except herself would much like. She’s different from the other Austen heroines because she isn’t a social underdog. She’s ‘handsome, clever, rich’ and has no need to find a husband – which translates very well into the 21st century, doesn’t it? But I think she’s also Austen’s most flawed heroine – full of her own importance, a hopeless judge of character and always making nasty little digs about Jane Fairfax and Mary Bates.
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Choc Lit
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How have you updated Knightley?
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Juliet Archer
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Well, for me he’s never been one of Austen’s more appealing heroes. As a 37-year-old farmer courting a nubile 21-year-old with the line ‘God knows, I have been a very indifferent lover’, he’s not exactly promising Choc Lit material. So he gets a makeover. I’ve cut the age difference, to make sure he’s not old enough (technically) to be Emma’s father. Changed his first name from George to Mark (‘George’ just didn’t feel right, in spite of my weakness for George Clooney). And given him more obvious sex appeal – I hope.
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Choc Lit
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How would you describe him in terms of chocolate?
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Juliet Archer
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A truffle. You know, rich, smooth and seductive. Got any handy?
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