#BookReview: Miss Austen by Gill Hornby @GillHornby @arrowpublishing #MissAusten #GillHornby #5Stars

Book Synopsis:

A wonderfully original, emotionally complex novel that delves into why Cassandra burned a treasure trove of letters written by her sister, Jane Austen – an act of destruction that has troubled academics for centuries.

1840: twenty three years after the death of her famous sister Jane, Cassandra Austen returns to the village of Kintbury, and the home of her family’s friends, the Fowles.

She knows that, in some dusty corner of the sprawling vicarage, there is a cache of family letters which hold secrets she is desperate should not be revealed.

As Cassandra recalls her youth and her relationship with her brilliant yet complex sister, she pieces together buried truths about Jane’s history, and her own. And she faces a stark choice: should she act to protect Jane’s reputation? Or leave the contents of the letters to go unguarded into posterity …

Based on a literary mystery that has long puzzled biographers and academics, Miss Austen is a wonderfully original and emotionally complex novel about the loves and lives of Cassandra and Jane Austen.

Miss Austen is available in ebook and hardback now. You can purchase your copy using the link below.

My Review:

I’m a huge fan of Jane Austen’s books but didn’t know much about her life so I found it utterly fascinating to discover more about her. This book is actually based on a real life mystery which I found very interesting especially as the author suggests a possible solution in this book.

Firstly I absolutely adored Cassandra who was such a character and often made me laugh with her antics. I loved the way she played on being old when it suited her but was actually very switched on which was a huge advantage when it comes to her investigations. It was so lovely to read about her obvious love for her sister, Jane and to read about some of their memories together.

The author brilliantly brings the 19th century to life with the author cleverly including some of the attitudes towards woman and older people into the story. I was quite shocked to read about how they were treated and found myself very glad that things were different now. The letters that we get to read alongside Cassandra further brought Jane Austen’s world to life and I so enjoyed reading about what daily life was like for these woman.

Overall I thought this was a very absorbing, fascinating book which I flew through in a couple of days as I was so enjoying it. If you are a fan of Jane Austen’s then you’ll love this book.

Huge thanks to Random House, Century for my copy of this book via Netgalley.

About The Author:

Gill Hornby is the author of the novels The Hive and All Together Now, as well as The Story of Jane Austen, a biography of Austen for young readers. She lives in Kintbury, Berkshire, with her husband and their four children.