Review: Miss Austen by Gill Hornby

Miss Austen

by Gill Hornby

Publisher: Flatiron Books

Pages: 288

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Whoever looked at an elderly lady and saw the young heroine she once was?

England, 1840. For the two decades following the death of her beloved sister, Jane, Cassandra Austen has lived alone, spending her days visiting friends and relations and quietly, purposefully working to preserve her sister’s reputation. Now in her sixties and increasingly frail, Cassandra goes to stay with the Fowles of Kintbury, family of her long-dead fiancé, in search of a trove of Jane’s letters. 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?

Kritters Thoughts:  Cassandra Austen may be a little less known than her younger sister Jane Austen, but in this book told through her perspective she is in pursuit of letters that will conceal the truth about her and her sister's past.  

Told through basically two points of time, one is the years just before Jane dies and the other the years right before Cassandra dies, these sisters were the only two Austen girls in their generation and had a very untraditional life.  Both single for their entire lives and living with their mother for quite a few years, they relied on their brothers for everything.

I enjoyed the birds eye view on parts of Jane Austen's life, but because I haven't read her a ton, I felt a little clueless at times.  I wish I knew more about her life and her work before reading this one.  I think those who are Jane Austen fans would enjoy this book more than I did.  It could to your Jane Austen shelf now.


Rating: enjoyable, but didn't leave me wanting more

Ebook 2020 Challenge: 25 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Flatiron Books.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.