Hi, everyone!
My name is Miguel Ángel Jordán. I live in Valencia (Spain) and I have been reading and enjoying Jane Austen’s novels for almost 20 years. And if you continue reading, I’ll tell you how Jane Austen changed my life.
When I was 18, I began my Degree in English Philology (Language, Literature, Culture and History) in order to be an English teacher. After 5 years I finished my studies and started working in a high school. Some years later, I decided that, although I loved teaching, I also wanted to become a writer, so I began writing and, after 9 months, my first book was finished. It’s the first volume of an adventures trilogy titled “Erik, Son of Árkhelan”, which, at the moment, is only in Spanish. During the following years I continued teaching and writing, and publishing books for young-adults.
To be honest, I must admit that I have not always been a good reader. When I was a kid, I loved playing football (soccer), which is what most Spanish kids, boys, young-adults, and some daring adults usually do during their free time. I also loved other out-door activities and, when I had to stay home and read, I would read comic strips. Novels were too long and boring for me 😦 . However, when I was 14, someone lent me the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” and I found it fascinating. After reading it, I read another one, and then another, and so on ando so forth… And I ended being a writer. So, if your kids don’t like reading, don’t worry 😉
As you can see, Jane Austen still had to appear in my life, and she did.
After Gwyneth Paltrow’s Emma was released, a friend of mine who had seen it told me about it. A few days later, looking for a book in a public library I found Austen’s Emma by chance and I decided to read it… And she captivated me! Later I read Sense and Sensibility, followed by Pride and Prejudice and… Yes, all of them. There was something in Austen’s novels which I found surprising, refreshing, funny, beautiful… I fell in love with Austen, in a literary way ;).
Time went by, I continued teaching, writing and rereading Austen. When I finished writing my eighth novel for young adults, I decided I wanted to do something different. A thrilling idea came to mind: what about writing a novel about Jane Austen? Not a novel like Austen’s, but one in which she would be the protagonist. I wanted to tell her story, her real and authentic story, without fantasizing or making up romances or conspiracies.
Yes, it was a thrilling idea but there was one “what if”. What would happen if after researching on Austen for months I came to realize that there was no story to tell, or that I felt unable to do it? It would have been a waste of time, ritht? So.. I decided to do a Ph. D. on Austen; this way, at least I would be a doctor 🙂 . And so I did.
After reading, analyzing, writing, rereading, reanalyzing and rewriting, I finished my thesis entitled The literary style of Jane Austen. I enjoyed the process immensely and learned a lot. Believe it or not, after reading Austen’s novels six or seven times I’m not fed up with them. On the contrary, I appreciate them all the more.
After finishing my Ph. D. there was a vacancy in the faculty where I had studied. I applied and succeeded. Now I’m a professor at the University of Valencia, thanks to Jane Austen 🙂 . During this time, I connected with other Austen’s readers, I attended conferences, and I met a smart student who was finishing her Degree in English Studies. She wanted to create the Jane Austen Society of Spain. I offered my help, she accepted, and here we are http://www.janeaustensociety.es. There are thousands of Austen’s readers in Spain and in the Spanish-speaking world.
Finally, I was ready to write Jane Austen’s biography by means of a novel. For months, my desk was covered with family trees, timelines, notes, Austen’s letters, and a laptop where I typed frenetically. I have to admit that, now, I miss those days. It was like living with Jane Austen and her family. I lived in Steventon, Bath, Chawton. I saw her smiling, crying, dancing and playing the piano. I was in her head while she wrote her stories, I felt her emotion when she received her first copy of S&S. I prayed for her dead relatives with her, and I accompanied her during her last days. I saw it, and I wrote it in a novel titled Jane.
JANE 