A review by hayleyg84
Miss Austen by Gill Hornby

4.0

I have read several biographies, including an amazing one by Claire Tomalin, and one thing I find so frustrating is how few letters there are written by Jane as they were destroyed by her sister. I loved how this historical fiction attempted to explain why Cassandra did it as well as including fictional versions of those letters. I really enjoyed the relationship between the two sisters but at times found the character of Jane a bit ‘flat’. I wanted her to be more sparky and to fit with someone who I feel could have written her novels although I do feel that this could be partly explained by the period and the precarious existence of single women. The book does a really good job of portraying this. It has just made me want to re-read a full biography though.