Q&A with Claudia Gray

 

 

 

Claudia Gray is the author of the new novel The Rushworth Family Plot, the latest in her Mr. Darcy & Miss Tilney Mystery series, which is based on Jane Austen's characters. Claudia Gray is the pseudonym of Amy Vincent. 

 

Q: Why did you decide to focus on the Bertram family from Jane Austen's Mansfield Park in your new Mr. Darcy and Miss Tilney mystery?

 

A: Mansfield Park is seen by lots of people, I think, as being more moralistic, maybe more stiff, than the rest of Jane Austen’s work. This might be true of the heroine—but the story itself is by far her most salacious. There’s real scandal here! That dichotomy is wonderful to explore.

 

Also, the Crawfords are some of Austen’s most interesting rogues, and also the most sympathetic; I very much wanted to catch up with them again.

 

Q: The novel is set in London--why did you choose this setting, and do you think it creates a different atmosphere than that of the previous books in the series?

 

A: As much as I love a good country-house mystery—which of course inspired the whole Austen-meets-Agatha-Christie spirit of this series!—it felt like time to mix up the tone a little, and going to London allowed for different settings, more of a mix of society.

 

Also, as Jonathan and Juliet are coming closer to avowed courtship, the London Season seemed like the ideal opportunity to bring them together again.

 

Q: What do you think the novel says about social scandals and the ruining of women’s reputations?

 

A: Well, there are two such scandals afoot: the first will be no surprise to anyone who’s read Mansfield Park, and the other unfolds as we go. In one case, the woman in question very deliberately flouted society’s rules; in the other, the woman is caught completely unawares.

 

Yet their fates are the same…as is the fact that the men involved remain in society, accepted and even honored. (We’ll get into this more in book five!) 

 

Q: How did you research the book, and what did you learn that especially surprised you?

 

A: I own a lot of reference books, and fortunately there’s tons of Regency research available online. That said, there’s ALWAYS something new to discover.

 

In this one, it was how murder scenes were treated in London at that time—usually, by public looting, either for souvenirs or just outright theft.

 

Q: What's next for Juliet and Jonathan?

 

A: Book five awaits! And it’s one I can’t wait to share. We’ll announce a title and brief synopsis in December—look for it next June.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: Yes—I’m finishing my completion of the Jane Austen novel fragment known as The Watsons. This has been such a challenge, adventure, privilege and delight!

 

This should be out for fall or winter 2026, and I really hope readers will enjoy exploring where this Austen tale might have led.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb. Here's a previous Q&A with Claudia Gray.