IN THE year marking the 250th birthday of novelist Jane Austen, a Cornwall author has delved deeper into the back story of one of her minor characters.

Described as “an irresistible mix of laugh-aloud humour, gripping mystery and endearing love story”, A Crime Through Time by Newquay writer Amelia Blackwell reimagines Georgiana Darcy – sister of the romantic hero of Pride and Prejudice - as an amateur sleuth solving mysteries across time periods.

At Pemberley in 1799, Georgiana encounters a mysterious object in the woods and finds herself transported almost 200 years into the future where a film crew is shooting Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility at the country house of Saltram, near Plymouth.

A terrible crime has been committed, and Miss Darcy - newly arrived, impeccably dressed and thoroughly confused - is the only witness. With the help of handsome Irishman Quinn and a border collie named Watson, she sets out to stop the killer before they can strike again.

Not only does Amelia have a deep love of the Austen canon, but Georgiana’s most persistent suitor, Baron John de Halighwell, takes his name from one of Amelia’s distant great-grandfathers, who lived in a mansion even Lady Catherine de Bourgh would admire.

Small wonder she was keen to promote Georgiana from plot device to heroine. “Georgiana doesn’t have a single line of dialogue in Pride and Prejudice, which seems a great shame,” said Amelia.

“Georgiana is useful to the narrative as she gives Mr Darcy a reason to hate Wickham, who tried to seduce Georgiana and elope with her; and she also enables the reader and Elizabeth Bennet to see Mr Darcy as a caring big brother.

“But I wanted to dig further into Georgiana’s psyche, and this timeslip cosy crime adventure was an extremely fun vehicle for that.”

Pick up a signed copy in Waterstones Truro, or follow Amelia on Instagram @ameliablackwellauthor.