Lady in Waiting- The Editors Cut

Hello ladies, gentlemen, and assorted wenches! Due to unforeseen circumstances, Lady In Waiting: Chapter 15 will not be published in this issue. Tragic, I know! I would hate to leave you with no content so, welcome to Lady In Waiting: The Editors Cut! This article has three separate parts: Insider Information, The Official Playlist and Chronicle Editor Weigh In. Each section will focus on parts of Lady in Waiting that aren’t publicly stated or noticed in the book.

Spoiler Warning: This article contains spoilers for chapters 1-14 of Lady In Waiting. Proceed at risk of literary disgrace

Insider Information:

Our first section is all about things that are canon in the Lady in Waiting universe but may not have been explicitly stated and the things that happened behind the scenes.

The original story for the Lady in Waiting started with Anne telling her son a bedtime story. I ended up hating that, so when I began rewriting the story, that was the first to go. You may also have noticed that the original first chapter had a huge change from the rewritten version: Anne’s last name changed! I had forgotten that I gave her a last name until Specials Editor El Dager pointed it out. Thanks, El, you saved my skin. Goodbye Anne Johnson, hello Anne Rolfe!

Fun fact: the love triangle between Anne, Katherine and Eliza was not originally planned! Long-standing fans of the Central Chronicle’s podcast, Analyzing the Arts, may remember that I was the guest speaker in their debut episode. A&E Editor Charlotte Heads and Editor-in-Chief Janani Pattabi placed the idea in my head, so you have them to thank for your favorite lesbians.

Janani has been more than a little helpful in the making of Lady In Waiting. Did you know that Eliza has brown skin? That was all Janani! I didn’t picture a skin color for most of my characters but during one of our power walks during PE, she suggested it. I don’t remember what we were talking about beforehand, but it ended with the decision that Bridsworth, Eliza’s hometown, would have large factors of its culture based on India. It made a lot of sense when you think about it. The island that Lady In Waiting takes place in has no name but took a lot of inspiration from Britain. Bridsworth is a town separated from the rest of the island and largely considered lesser than. It’s highly policed and its citizens were forced into poverty by the government. Its story is not entirely dissimilar from that of India during its imperialization by Britain.

Rapid fire facts time! Everything here has been hinted at somewhere in the book.

1. Jane Taylor and Jane Asper are not separated twins BUT they are half-sisters! Jane Asper’s father had an affair with Jane Taylor’s mother and the two kept it secret for years!
2. Princess Katherine’s husband is a knight and is having an affair with his male squire. Katherine swore to keep her husband’s secret.
3. Lady Anne Bennett has 6 younger brothers and is the only girl. She also is entirely unaware of her raging love for Princess Katherine, which makes her adoring dialogue so much more fun to read.
4. Claude was blinded by untreated glaucoma, which is why his eyes are white. Generally, blind people’s eyes aren’t white, but the glaucoma gave them a watered-down milk look.
5. Arien has gigantism and his love for cooking stems from his weakness as a child when he never had enough food to stay full and would spend his time in the kitchen with his mother.

The Official Playlist

The official Lady in Waiting playlist released the issue before the summer break of 2022. Since it was on our old site, it’s been pretty much inaccessible since the switch to SNO Sites. Consider this its return! You can access the playlist here.

I wanted to take the time to pull out some songs that I thought were particularly fitting for Lady in Waiting and its beloved characters.

Allies or Enemies by The Crane Wives

This song always reminded me of Anne and Eliza during the first few chapters. The song beautifully depicts the pull that Anne had to Eliza and the desire that drew the two together despite the circumstances. In particular, the lyrics “But I want to be let in, not out” struck a chord with me. The two want each other but don’t know how to communicate that without breaking the ties that bind them to their responsibilities as a lady in waiting and the leader of a revolution.

Soldier Poet King by The Oh Hellos

I am very proud to say I liked this song BEFORE it was popular /j. Okay, but this song was just so fitting for the love triangle. Eliza, the soldier who wants to be a king. Anne, the poet who wants to be a soldier. Katherine, the king who wants to be a poet. It’s a song about responsibility and the characters that want so desperately to be separated from their assigned roles.

Keep You Safe by The Crane Wives

A personal favorite song of mine, this song captures the fear that Anne had up until the end of chapter 14. Despite feeling ostracized by them, she didn’t want to leave the ladies. Her fears, which she felt kept her safe, held her back from her destiny. By claiming what she wanted, a privilege lost to her for years, Anne was able to push past her fears and set herself on a new path alongside Eliza.

Chronicle Editor Weigh In

PSA: I’d like to preface this section by assuring the readers that I insisted the editors be as critical as possible. I didn’t want endless praise to be all this is (half the editors act as my hype-people anyways), so I made sure to tell them I wouldn’t be angry at all. Onwards!

Janani returns (can you tell we see each other every day?) with her personal insight on Lady in waiting. She talked about how she liked that “[Anne] isn’t tough all the time…she’s also sweet and caring.” She also said that “It was hard to figure out who everyone was at first.” When asked what she wanted to see most, she immediately said “HENRY BEING BROWN.” Can’t wait to hear her reaction to finding out its canon now… 

Janani ended with saying that she’d like to see the relationship between Katherine, her husband, and father as well as Henry and his uncle elaborated on.