Sparked by ‘Sanditon,’ author creates nuanced Black colonial characters

Jane Austen’s unfinished novel “Sanditon” recently gained a fan following after PBS broadcast a series based on it. (The second season premieres March 20, 2022.) But when author Vanessa Riley encountered the novel, she became more than a fan. One of its minor characters not only stood out to her, but changed the direction of her career. 

Austen’s Georgiana Lambe is an elegant, wealthy, biracial heiress who travels from the West Indies to the fictional seaside resort of Sanditon. Miss Lambe is enigmatic, and Austen’s narrator describes her as precious, “always of the first consequence,” and “chilly and tender.” 

Dr. Riley immediately took notice. Her own heritage is of the West Indies – Trinidad and Tobago – and South Carolina. And along with a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from

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