Could the Regency be the golden age for ‘cosy’ crime? In writing my debut novel, Miss Austen Investigates, I found the Regency was the perfect period in which to set ‘cosy’ crime. For me, this sometimes-contentious label applies to mysteries featuring an amateur, rather than a professional, sleuth. The cosiness comes from the knowledge that, no matter how dark the story turns, the protagonist – in my case, the sharply observant and indefatigable young Jane Austen – will eventually swoop in and save the day. Reading a ‘cosy’ is a cathartic experience: you can have a good cry about the fate of the victim but, as so rarely happens in real life, trust that justice will ultimately be served.
During Austen’s lifetime, policing was at such an embryonic stage as to give any resourceful amateur a decent chance of outwitting the authorities. Unlike contemporary crime writers, I don’t have to invent ways to get the professionals out of the way because there simply weren’t any. When my Jane’s romantic liaison with a handsome young man, at a glittering ball on a Hampshire estate, is interrupted by the discovery of a murdered young woman, there is only the parish constable (a voluntary position) and the county magistrate (a local landowner, more used to chasing poachers) to turn to for help.
Inevitably, they bungle the case. The Georgians had no concept of forensic science and were much more spiritual than us. For them, it would have made perfect sense to contaminate the crime scene by moving the body and inviting everyone to view it in hopes of divining what had taken place (as in the case of the Ratcliff Highway murders). But Jane, with her innate understanding of human nature, irreverence for the establishment, and passion for justice, fast loses faith in the official investigation and kicks off one of her own.
After the magistrate alights on a piece of physical evidence, a necklace belonging to the deceased, he arrests the most vulnerable suspect – Jane’s gentle brother, Georgy. With her brother’s life at stake, Jane really must find the murderer. Desperate to save Georgy from the gallows, she enlists to help of her charismatic friends and family and sets out to interrogate polite society. In a world where her age, class, and sex all count against her, she must use all her wits and determination to get to the truth.
I’m not the first writer to explore crime through the tradition of Austen (P. D. James’ Death Comes to Pemberly is one of my all-time favourite reads). It is fitting as Austen’s novels are essentially mysteries where the heroine must discover the true characters of those around her (remember Catherine Morland, stalking around Northanger Abbey, looking for proof General Tilney murdered his wife?). And while I’d caution my readers to remember that Miss Austen Investigates is fiction, I’m confident that if the real Jane Austen had ever had cause to apply her skills in this way, she would have been a great proficient.
Miss Austen Investigates by Jessica Bull (Penguin Michael Joseph, £16.99) is out on 25th January 2024.
Biography:
JESSICA BULL lives in South East London with her husband and two daughters. A former librarian and communications consultant, she studied English literature at Bristol University and information science at City, University of London. Miss Austen Investigates is her debut novel.
Social media:
Twitter: @NovelistJessica (https://twitter.com/NovelistJessica)
Instagram: @jessicabullnovelist (https://www.instagram.com/jessicabullnovelist/)
