A Less Agreeable Man: Deleted Scene#2 - Random Bits of Fascination
 
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A Less Agreeable Man: Deleted Scene#2 — 14 Comments

  1. How on earth can you bear to cut scenes? From reading this I would have thought it necessary but then I haven’t read the book yet.
    Poor Mary, obviously suffering from burns herself yet still in charge. Obviously the Colonel is injured as well so hopefully Mary will be his nurse.
    Thank you so much for sharing these scenes Maria.

    • I kind of hate cutting scenes, that’s why I post them here! It was tough to cut this one, but a writer friend pointed out how it really did slow down the pace in a way that interfered with the mood of the scene. Sigh. Thanks Glynis!

  2. Thanks, Maria.

    I can see why you deleted this – many readers would have not wanted so much detail on remedies. As someone who is always asking “how did they do that?”, I found it fascinating. After all, I spent an awfully long time trying to find out how to make white soup. (No, the recipe did not appeal to me.)

    As I was reading this, I got strong feelings of deja vu. Then it hit me that this reminded me of Anne McCaffrey’s novelette Nerilka’s Story. There was a flu epidemic and Nerilka, who was the Lord’s daughter, prepared remedies in the still room when others just panicked. Anne glossed over the details, as you ultimately did, but now it makes me wonder if she went through the same editing process.

    Thanks for the post!

    • I love Anne McCaffrey! Nerilka is one of my favorite of her heroines! I haven’t thought of that story in years! I guess I’m going to have to reread that one soon. It is funny, now that you mention it. This incarnation of Mary Bennet does share a lot of similarities with Nerilka!

  3. Practical, practical Mary!! What would they have done in this emergency without her??? She is completely indispensable!!

    I can see why this scene was cut, but I’m glad you posted it here, just to show us Mary’s thought processes under fire…no pun intended.

    Thank you!!

    Warmly,
    Susanne 🙂

  4. Oh, this was so informative. I understand the cutting of scenes. Not seeing this in the whole scope of the story, we do not see how it interacts to the scenes around it. Did it change the story, draw away our attention from something more important, was it redundant to another scene, did it drag the story…?? I know you had your reasons for cutting it and, as the author, I respect your decision.

    After I watch a new movie [DVD], I always watch the deleted scenes in the Special Features sections to see what went on the cutting room floor. Most of the time, I agree with the director’s decision. I’ll watch a scene and agree that it had to go or needed to go. It is not very often that I disagree with the cutting room editor. However, the time constraints on a movie is very different to that of a book. I can’t wait to read this so I can judge for myself. Blessings on the success of this launch. I loved the other two in the series.

  5. After reading the book, I think most of the important parts of the deleted scene (what makes an impact on the story) were transmitted into the final version – Mary’s knowledge of medicine, her taking charge, another aspect of the neglect in Lady Catherine’s household…But I still like the detailed info – it is one of the aspects in your stories that I really like, the detailed practicalities of life in Regency era. Like housekeeping details in ladiy’s book.
    By the way, why was the ointment named “yellow basilicum” if it had no basilicum(basil) in it?

    • That’s really the trick to cutting scenes, sorting out if there’s anything important there and making sure it makes it into a nearby scene.It It is hard to cut out highly researched details though. As to the basillicum, I had the same question about why it didn’t contain basil. I couldn’t find an answer to that.

  6. That was interesting – a new Mary – in charge and knowledgeable. But I am so glad I didn’t have to deal with making our ointments, teas, herbal concoctions, etc. Thanks for sharing.

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