Using the pseudonym 'Alison Laydee' – a play on Austen's original
pen name "A Lady" – Lassman sent out the opening chapters of
Pride and Prejudice,
Northanger Abbey and
Persuasion to several major publishers and literary agents, with different titles but only minor changes to the text, such as character names and locations. The resultant article discussed how all but one of the publishers and agents failed to recognise her works, including
Penguin Books and
Bloomsbury, with the vast majority rejecting the attempt to gain a publishing deal. This was also despite
Pride and Prejudice opening line, "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife," being left intact. ==Reaction==