Like so many of Jane Austen’s fans, Gisèle Vézelay wishes the author had written far more. That’s why her favorite pastime is imagining more scenes for Pride & Prejudice. She treasures the tart dialogue between Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy as well as the novel’s other colorful characters. Her second favorite Austen work is a tie between Persuasion and Sense & Sensibility, although Mansfield Park has recently moved up the list. Though her first literary loves are French (think Mérimée’s Carmen—flamenco, seduction, and ne’er-do-wells), she is a second-generation official Janeite. Her two young daughters are already well-versed in Austen characters and on their way to adoring period-piece films. Gisèle believes that Austen’s stories of love, morals, and class difference still offer valuable lessons about our lives and our perceptions of society today. She hopes you enjoy these stories!