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A review by thenovelbook
Miss Austen by Gill Hornby
4.0
This book is in a class by itself when it comes to Jane Austen-related fiction. Far more than the ubiquitous Regency fan-fic full of meet-cutes and enjoyable enough fluff, this work sits neatly on the line between biography and fiction. It is a thoughtful, well-written reflection upon Jane Austen's closest friend, her sister Cassandra. Cassandra and Jane are both somewhat shrouded in mystery: there is just so much that we can't know. Which is the very point of this book. It deals with themes of privacy, family legacy, and the strange ways that narratives get shaped once other people or later generations take over.
There's not much plot here; the story alternates between elderly Cassandra (1840) and young Cassandra and Jane. In this setup, Cassandra in later life journeys to visit extended family with the goal of retrieving letters written by Jane. As she reads through the letters, she remembers in detail the events of her life with Jane. She also ponders on the way that life has turned out, the dreams vs. the realities, and what kind of legacy people might foist upon Jane compared to the way she and Jane really felt about their lives. Of course, the author introduces some speculative material, but none of it is wildly improbable, and it beautifully illustrates the themes. While Cassandra has sometimes been given short shrift as the destroyer of Jane's letters, this novel explores why she did it and reflects us readers back to ourselves as we ask, really, how much right do we have to intrude on all the details of a life, or make judgments in areas where there is bound to be complexity and context?
I initially passed by this book on NetGalley, but then I heard the author interviewed on the Bonnets at Dawn podcast and it convinced me that the book would have substance. I'm glad that I was convinced to go back and request it!
Thanks to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for this advance review copy.
There's not much plot here; the story alternates between elderly Cassandra (1840) and young Cassandra and Jane. In this setup, Cassandra in later life journeys to visit extended family with the goal of retrieving letters written by Jane. As she reads through the letters, she remembers in detail the events of her life with Jane. She also ponders on the way that life has turned out, the dreams vs. the realities, and what kind of legacy people might foist upon Jane compared to the way she and Jane really felt about their lives. Of course, the author introduces some speculative material, but none of it is wildly improbable, and it beautifully illustrates the themes. While Cassandra has sometimes been given short shrift as the destroyer of Jane's letters, this novel explores why she did it and reflects us readers back to ourselves as we ask, really, how much right do we have to intrude on all the details of a life, or make judgments in areas where there is bound to be complexity and context?
I initially passed by this book on NetGalley, but then I heard the author interviewed on the Bonnets at Dawn podcast and it convinced me that the book would have substance. I'm glad that I was convinced to go back and request it!
Thanks to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for this advance review copy.