Britni here. I am delighted to welcome you aboard the Queen Elizabeth — if only in your imagination. Join me to share the journey that became Jane Austen Goes to Sea.
I wrote this book. I believe that inside every woman who has ever held a family together, there is a secret desire. This desire longs for a horizon that never ends. This desire exists in those who have nursed a loved one. It is also found in those who have put their own dreams on a high shelf to gather dust.
I was aboard the real Australian Literature Festival at Sea in 2024. We were sailing from Sydney to Hobart. The magic of that Art Deco-themed ship was simply too potent to ignore. I stood on those decks and watched the interplay of authors and readers. At that moment, I understood that a ship is a perfect pressure cooker for the human heart. It is a place where the normal rules of land do not apply. Here, we can briefly be whoever we wish we were.
The Call of Escape
For my protagonist, Carrie Watson, escape isn’t just a holiday; it is a survival mechanism. I wanted to write for the woman who knows the crushing weight of duty. Carrie is a talented photographer. However, her world has shrunk to the four walls of her home. She cares for her ailing mother there. She has only “five days to live.” Then she must return to the beep of medical reminders. The scent of antiseptic awaits her return.
I think many of us understand that specific kind of exhaustion. We love the people we care for, but we lose pieces of ourselves in the process. I wrote Carrie’s journey to explore what happens when you are suddenly given permission to be selfish. It allows you to sleep in fresh sheets you didn’t have to wash. You also get to look at a view that isn’t your own backyard.
The Queen Elizabeth offers her — and the reader — a floating sanctuary. I wanted to feel the grandeur of the Grand Lobby. The lobby has “gleaming chandeliers” and an “enormous peacock made of flowers”. I wanted to taste the champagne. I longed to feel the “deep, rhythmic swell of the open Pacific” as the land falls away. This book invites you to step out of your own life. Take just a few hundred pages to breathe the salt air of total freedom.
The Search for Truth and Emotion
But escape is only half the story. The other half is about what we find when we stop running.
I created Dr. Crispin Shrike as the perfect foil for Carrie. He is based more on the charmingly bumbling persona of Hugh Grant. However, this character is not modeled on any specific real-life historian. Despite this, he carries the weight of academic rigidity. Crispin believes that history is about “pedantic accuracy” and that imagination must be kept on a “short leash”. He has built a safe, predictable life, structured like an “annotated bibliography”.
The collision between Carrie and Crispin is a battle between facts and truth. I was inspired by the idea that we can know everything about a person. We might know the dates, the events, even the “buttons on the uniform”. Yet, we can still miss their soul completely. Carrie, with her photographer’s eye, looks for the “spaces between the facts”. She challenges Crispin — and the reader. She asks if we are living our lives with passion. Or are we merely recording them?
When Carrie asks him, “Do you ever feel that the ghosts of the people you write about are disappointed in you?” she is posing a question. This question haunts many of us in mid-life. Are we living the brave stories we dream of? Or are we playing it safe?
A Romance of “The Spaces Between”
I didn’t want to write a fairy tale. In that story, the prince rescues the damsel and they ride off into the sunset. We are older and wiser than that. We know that life is complicated. Carrie has her mother; Crispin has a wife and children in England.
I wanted to write a romance about two “good people, trapped by their own goodness”. Their connection is profound because it is finite. They meet in the “spaces between” their real lives. This includes the quiet intimacy of a library during a blackout. They also connect in the haunting darkness of a punishment cell at Port Arthur. Finally, they share moments in the moonlit privacy of a cabin balcony.
Contentment was the quiet satisfaction of a well-ordered library. Joy was this woman in his arms, setting the entire collection on fire.
These moments are “hothouse flowers,” beautiful and rare, blooming only in the specific climate of the cruise. I wrote their relationship to validate the idea that a connection doesn’t have to last a lifetime to be life-changing. As Carrie’s friend Thea says, “Don’t think of this as something you have lost. Think of it as a story you have earned”.
Other voices
I created a wealth of minor characters. Some, such as Alexander McCall Smith, are fictionalised appearances. Others, such as author Maeve Penhaligon, are flamboyant, inspirational, colourful personas who were a joy to invite onto the page.
Some are there to help Carrie along, give some flavour to the story.
Others, well, we may see more of them as time goes by and more books appear. This is just the beginning.
And, of course, that grand ship itself, she is a character and what a gracious, splendid one she is. I loved the Queen Elizabeth. The space, the grace, the no-fuss care and thoughtfulness made her a vessel for dreams and delight. I’ve tried to capture some of the feelings I felt aboard. I hope to board her again for some cruise of enchantment.
Why You Should Read This Book
I wrote Jane Austen Goes to Sea for the person who loves books. You will find cameos by the delightful Alexander McCall Smith. He believes that “decency ultimately prevails.” There are also discussions about why Jane Austen is the ultimate teacher of the human heart. You will attend writing workshops. Characters will discover their voices in these sessions. You will also explore the “leather-bound sanctuary” of the ship’s library.
Ultimately, this is a story about the power of art. Whether it is photography, writing, or history, art helps us see ourselves more clearly. By the end of the journey, Crispin learns that he cannot just be an observer. He must be “in the frame” of his own life. And Carrie realises that she isn’t just a carer; she is a storyteller.
I hope this book gives you a moment of solace. It might also offer you a laugh at the absurdity of seagulls stealing a romantic lunch. Additionally, I hope it brings a good cry at the beauty of a goodbye that is necessary but heartbreaking.
Come aboard. The gangway is open, the champagne is poured, and the sunset over Sydney Harbour is waiting to be captured. Let us navigate these uncharted waters together.
Yours in storytelling,
Britni
Links in italics are affiliates and I may earn a small amount if you follow the link and buy something. I try to recommend only products I think are great value and have enjoyed using. In this case, if I’m recommending my own book, I’m not going to pretend objectivity. I wrote it for me and I enjoyed the process!
This is actually the third novel I wrote this year. The first two were romances set in a small town. They just didn’t work out. If I didn’t like them, how could I ask others to read them?
This book is on the money. I’m getting good notes from my readers. I hope you will enjoy the read.
I call this book an “anti-romance”. A love story, for sure, but don’t expect the typical beats of romance. Instead, there is passion and new beginnings.
I certainly began a new career as a proper novelist in writing this. There are more books to come after this one!
B
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