.

It’s been far too long since I was active on social media. My health has deteriorated quite sharply over the last two years—angina and pulmonary fibrosis are not a great deal of fun, I can tell you. I am very lucky in that both are mild. I mean, they’ll certainly feature on my death certificate (!), but there’s no reason to assume I’m going to turn up my toes anytime soon. I can live a generally normal life, other than exertion knocks me out. It has slowed me down a bit, though, and writing Fine Place took me much longer than I hoped.

However, it’s finally gone off to my editor, Megan Reddaway, to be pummelled into a shape decent enough for publication. I’m looking at mid-October, I think, to allow me to get all my Austenesque ducks in a row regarding a bit of PR for the book. The one thing I have finalised is the cover:

This is a detail from Thomas Lawrence’s portrait of Mrs Charles Fraser of Castle Fraser (one of the grandest ‘Castles of Mar’) near Kemnay, Aberdeenshire. Oil on canvas, circa 1817, currently in the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The image is in the public domain.

About the book

“Once may be chance. Twice may be ill luck. But thrice? Thrice, lad, is malice.”

1811. Calcutta. Fitzwilliam Darcy of His Majesty’s War and Colonial Office is stewing in the humid heat, when word comes that his father is dead. He must return to England immediately to take up his inheritance.

Pemberley.

The great house in Derbyshire that has never been his home. Instead, it’s home to the stepmother and half-siblings, Hugh and Georgiana, whom he barely knows.

Pemberley is his now, but an atmosphere of resentment and anger threads through every room. He isn’t welcome. His stepmother is cool towards him, Hugh hates ‘the usurper’… and when a series of incidents threaten Darcy’s life, the only people he can trust are John Reid, his right-hand man throughout his career; Charles Bingley, his aide in India; George Wickham, his cousin and Pemberley’s steward; and Elizabeth Bennet, his stepmother’s penniless niece.

Who is trying to kill him? Will the visit of the Bingley family frighten off the enemy, or just provide more opportunities to get rid of the new master of Pemberley? Most of all, can Darcy and Elizabeth come to an understanding that will, finally, make Pemberley feel like home?

So, fingers crossed, publication date :

17 October 2025