Michaelmas, or the Feast of Michael and All Angels, falls upon the 29th of September each year. Standing so near the equinox, the day is bound up with the beginning of autumn, the shortening of daylight, and the ushering in of colder nights. In England it is reckoned one of the “quarter days”, those old and weighty markers of the year. It was commonly said that harvest must be completed by Michaelmas, for the day marked the close of the productive season and the beginning of a new cycle of farming. Magistrates were elected, debts paid, and the university and legal terms began. Perhaps for this very reason, at this very season, Netherfield Park was let at last, and Mr. Bingley took possession of his new country home. With that moment, the train of events most beloved across the world was set in motion, and a story that has never ceased to delight readers everywhere unfolded.
It is only fitting that Becoming Mrs. Darcy, 1813: Volume One is released on this very day.
Happy Michaelmas!
Julia B. Grantham, Author 