Publisher Description:
“Whoever looked at an elderly lady and saw the young heroine she once was?”
“England, 1840. Two decades after the death of her beloved sister, Jane, Cassandra Austen returns to the village of Kintbury and the home of her family friends, the Fowles. In a dusty corner of the vicarage, there is a cache of Jane’s letters that Cassandra is desperate to find. Dodging her hostess and a meddlesome housemaid, Cassandra eventually hunts down the letters and confronts the secrets they hold, secrets not only about Jane but about Cassandra herself. Will Cassandra bare the most private details of her life to the world, or commit her sister’s legacy to the flames?
Moving back and forth between the vicarage and Cassandra’s vibrant memories of her years with Jane, interwoven with Jane’s brilliantly reimagined lost letters, Miss Austen is the untold story of the most important person in Jane’s life. With extraordinary empathy, emotional complexity, and wit, Gill Hornby finally gives Cassandra her due, bringing to life a woman as captivating as any Austen heroine.”
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My Review:
If you are a Jane Austen fan, you’ll want to read this book.
The “Miss Austen” in this book is Cassandra Austen, Jane’s beloved sister. We meet Cassandra in her later years, and through a series of flashbacks, we learn much of the life of the Austen sisters. I came away thinking that I would have loved to be friends with Jane and Cassandra. Cassandra’s own life was as interesting as Jane’s, and I learned some things that I didn’t know about her.
I think the author did a nice job of giving us a glimpse of Cassandra’s unselfish personality and her devotion to her sister. As Cassandra conducts an extensive search for the letters Jane had written to others, it explains her almost excessive protection of Jane’s legacy. This book honors the love and support the Austen family had for each other. It’s one of the best novels I’ve read about Jane and Cassandra. I think it’s even more moving since we view their story through the flashbacks and letters; and see the sacrifices they made for the sake of their family. I think many Austen fans will enjoy this one.
I normally review Christian fiction, and thought I’d mention that this general fiction book is clean; has no foul language; and no inappropriate scenes.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.