Miss Austen by Gill Hornby

 

I find this sort of book, dramatisation of real life events, very distracting. I can't help but wondering the whole way through what is true and what isn't. In this case..... well.. very little is true.

To be honest, I found this book a bit disappointing. I don't really see the point of it. Its only selling point is that it's about Jane Austen and keeping her legacy untarnished. But seriously, there's literally nothing in there that would have tarnished her even in those days! And it's all made up anyway!

So... the Austen's were very close friends with the Fowles. Cassandra, the protaganist of the book, was due to marry one of the sons and one of the Austen brothers married one of the Fowle daughters. Cassandra's fiance died before they could marry but Jane and Cassie remain very close with Eliza, the wife of the oldest Fowle brother and stay in regular correspondence with her. When the oldest Fowle brother, who is the local vicar and head of the house dies, the family is going to have to leave the house because it belongs to the church. Cassandra rushes to the house, ostensibly to help with the clear out but really to seek out the letters before any scandal about Jane can get out.

The thing is, there is no blimin scandal! None at all! There's some trussed up nonsense about Cassie meeting a man who she falls in love with but turns down on the basis that she promised her fiance, before he died, that she would never marry anyone else. There's nothing improper in anyone's behaviour. Cassandra is, quite frankly, a ridiculous drama queen! 

And, what's really irritating is, it's all flippin made up anyway! I mean, if you're going to completely make up a scandalous premise for a book, make it a proper scandal! 

Anyway, there's actually a nice sub story about the remaining Fowle daughter, Isabella, who is in love with the local doctor. They've been in love forever but her father (the eldest Fowle brother) was against the marriage so nothing could ever come of it. What she (the author) should have done, I think, was focus more on this story and tell the Austen's story just in general reminiscent flashbacks.

On the plus side, a lot of it is set in Kintbury, which is fun. On the minus sideof this, the author is also from Kintbury and I'm slightly scared of her ever getting wind of my opinion!

There's a quote on the front which says "Jane would have approved". I personally think she'd just be going, "what the actual fuck?!"