Twelve Pride-and-Prejudice-Inspired Short Stories - an Editorial Review of "Pride and Perjury"

Book Blurb:

Twelve deliciously witty short stories, the fourth in what Publishers Weekly itself described as “McVeigh's celebrated Austenesque series”.

* Shortlisted for the UK Selfies Book Award at the 2025 London Book Fair

* Currently finalist for Foreword Indies' "Book of the Year" 2025

* Currently finalist for the prestigious Hawthorne Prize

* Silver medal winner in the all-genre SPR Book Awards (only three medals awarded altogether)

* Gold medalist in Incipere and also Global Book Awards (historical)

* Selected by Shelf Magazine as one of top indies of 2024

"I have very little hope," said Mr Bennet, "of disposing of even one of my daughters much before luncheon."

(from McVeigh's Pride and Perjury)

What really happened when Wickham eloped with Lydia? What did the Longbourn servants secretly think of the Bennet sisters? Take a deep dive into Caroline Bingley's scheming, Lady Catherine's de Bourgh's diary - and Mr Knightley’s heart.

Download your copy today, and fall in love with your favourite Austen characters all over again!

Previous books in this series have also been shortlisted for the UK Selfies Book Awards 2024, runner-up for Foreword Indies’ “Book of the Year 2022” and quarterfinalists in Publishers Weekly’s 2021 BookLife Prize. In April 2024, McVeigh's Austenesque series won First Place in Chanticleer International's Book Awards (for book series, historical).

Book Buy Link: https://geni.us/y9azD

Author Bio:

Alice McVeigh has been published by Orion/Hachette in contemporary fiction, by UK's Unbound in speculative fiction (writing as Spaulding Taylor) and by Warleigh Hall Press in historical fiction. Her books have been in the last seven for the UK Selfies Book Award (2024), been a runner-up for Foreword Indies' "Book of the Year" and joint runner-up in Writers Digest International Book Awards. Three of her novels have been Publishers Weekly's starred "Editors Picks" - one was a BookLife quarterfinalist. McVeigh's multi-award-winning Austenesque series won First Place for Book Series (historical) in Chanticleer's International Book Awards 2023.

A long-term Londoner, McVeigh was born in Seoul, South Korea, and grew up in Thailand, Singapore, and Myanmar, where her father was a US diplomat. After spending her teenage years in McLean, Virginia, and achieving a degree with distinction in cello performance at the internationally renowned Jacobs School of Music, she came to London to study cello with William Pleeth. McVeigh spent over fifteen years performing worldwide with orchestras including the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic, and Sir John Eliot Gardiner’s Orchestre Revolutionaire et Romantique.

She was first published in the late1990s, when her two contemporary novels (WHILE THE MUSIC LASTS and GHOST MUSIC) were published by Orion Publishing to excellent reviews, including: “The orchestra becomes a universe in microcosm; all human life is here . . . McVeigh succeeds in harmonising a supremely comic tone with much darker notes”(The Sunday Times). And: “McVeigh is a professional cellist and is thus able to describe with wry authority the extraordinary life of a London orchestra. This is a very enjoyable novel, and not quite as light as it pretends to be” (The Sunday Telegraph). Inspired by her life as a touring cello professional, both novels have been recently released in completely new editions on Smashwords.

Alice has long been married to Simon McVeigh, Professor Emeritus at the University of London; their daughter Rachel has a Presidential Scholarship at Harvard in Chinese Lit. (Ph.D). When not playing cello or writing, Alice is generally smiting tennis balls at the Bromley Tennis Centre. (Often far too hard. As Rachel observed when aged four, “My mum hits the ball farther than anybody!”)

Editorial Review:

Title: Review of Pride and Perjury: Twelve Short Stories Inspired by Pride and Prejudice

Author: Alice McVeigh

Publisher: Warleigh Hall Press 

ISBN: 9781738546114  

Pages: 326

“The mistress would not recognize a tease were it to bite her in the leg.”

That sharp line, delivered by Mrs. Hill in "The Housekeeper’s Tale", sets the tone for Alice McVeigh’s brilliant collection "Pride and Perjury." What if "Pride and Prejudice" had been told not by Elizabeth Bennet—but by her housekeeper?

In "Pride and Perjury," the author, Alice McVeigh gives a fresh voice to the servants and background characters of Jane Austen’s world in a witty, heartfelt collection of twelve short stories. Drawing primarily from "Pride and Prejudice" (with clever nods to "Emma," "Mansfield Park," and "Northanger Abbey"), McVeigh pulls back the curtain on Regency households to reveal the untold lives happening just out of view, below stairs.

The standout story, "The Housekeeper’s Tale", centers on Mrs. Hill, the Bennets’ loyal and sharp-tongued housekeeper. Through her eyes, we witness the chaos, love, and gossip of "Pride and Prejudice" unfold from the servants’ perspective. Her commentary is often hilarious—like when she recounts Mr. Bennet’s reaction to the arrival of Mr. Bingley.

“So, I am to leave my books and ride to Netherfield to smirk and fawn upon some young fool in hopes that he might wed one or more of my daughters?… I think not! However, should Mr Bingley yearn for my acquaintance, he is most welcome to call – for, to be sure, we cannot be above a few miles from Netherfield.”

Mrs. Hill doesn’t just dust the furniture—she quietly holds the house together while delivering some of the book’s sharpest insights and most poignant moments. Consider this reflection, filled with both domestic detail and maternal pride.

“The mistress said, tapping her nose with great signification, ‘I would be glad, Hill, if you could mend Miss Jane’s lace collar.’ She was thinking that Miss Jane might be the next mistress of Netherfield, and – truly – why should she not?”

The collection doesn’t stop there. In "Captivating Mr Darcy", Caroline Bingley’s diary reveals her romantic delusions and secret insecurities, offering a surprisingly human side to a famously snobbish character. "One Good Sonnet" follows a hapless poet’s doomed infatuation with Jane Bennet, delivering both humor and heartbreak.

Each story feels like it belongs seamlessly in Austen’s world. Some are sweet, some are sad, and some will make you laugh out loud—but all are full of life. McVeigh’s prose is one of the book’s greatest pleasures: it strikes just the right balance between period authenticity and readability.

“I cannot help thinking that – in some ways – we servants are better-off than the young ladies, for we have something else to do and to think about, while the poor girls have only to hear about the ruination and to listen to Miss Mary on the pianoforte.”

This excerpt captures McVeigh’s comic tone and her talent for turning social commentary into servant-level gold. It adds a layer of Austenian irony filtered through Mrs. Hill’s common sense and bone-dry delivery. And at times, the writing becomes genuinely moving. In one of the book’s most tender moments, Mrs. Hill reflects on a late-in-life romance with quiet astonishment and emotion:

“Until recently,” said he. Then he turned his eyes towards me, and – and the look there was not far from the look in Mr Darcy himself, glancing down at Miss Elizabeth. I blushed all the way to my cap, wondering if I was dreaming it… I could say absolutely nothing. I could only just look. Then he embraced me.” 

Whether you're reading about Lydia’s flirtations, Charlotte Lucas’s strategic marriage, or a footman’s broken heart, McVeigh doesn’t just imagine what the servants were thinking—she gives them full, vibrant lives. The tone shifts gracefully from dryly comic to deeply heartfelt, always with respect for the source material and the world Austen built.

You can enjoy these stories one by one or read the collection straight through—it’s like stepping into a favorite novel from a completely new angle. If you love "Pride and Prejudice," "Downton Abbey," or character-driven stories with clever dialogue and cozy drama, "Pride and Perjury" is a perfect fit. With wit, warmth, and just enough scandal, Alice McVeigh has written a collection that’s both a tribute to and an expansion of Austen’s universe.

5 stars from The Historical Fiction Company and the “Highly Recommended” award of excellence

---

To have your historical novel editorially reviewed and/or enter the HFC Book of the Year contest, please visit www.thehistoricalfictioncompany.com/book-awards/award-submission