Submitted by Gertie
The beginning of this novel is confusing--is it really the lost manuscript of Jane Austen or is it entirely a work of fiction? But the end is even more confusing, as by the time I have read all of Syrie James brilliant account of Jane Austen's life and lost romance, I want it all to be real. James has done such a good job weaving Austen's fiction into this fictional account of her life, that the book explains, how Austen got some of her most famous plot elements, and in the process, brings the Janeite reader delightful vignettes of Austen's own books!
For example, James has her fictional Austen visit the ruins of an Abbey with a group of friends, referencing "Northanger Abbey". She visits Lyme and almost falls off the stone pier, referencing the novel "Persuasion." And most devastatingly, Austen has a confusing secret engagement to a fellow, and the plot of the event plays out very like the secret engagement in "Sense and Sensibility". In short, this book is a treat for Austen fans to read, even though it is fiction, because James includes so many references to the plots and scenes from Austen's own six novels.
Unlike some of the novels which have been written about Austen's characters which take little from the original books, this work carefully meshes the original with very inventive fiction, and sends James to the top of my list of authors to keep reading. I can't wait to see what she does with the life of Charlotte Bronte, whose "secret" memoirs she has also discovered.
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