Many rumors abound about a mysterious gentleman said to be the love of Jane's life—finally, the truth may have been found. . . .
What if, hidden in an old attic chest, Jane Austen's memoirs were discovered after hundreds of years? What if those pages revealed the untold story of a life-changing love affair? That's the premise behind this spellbinding novel, which delves into the secrets of Jane Austen's life, giving us untold insights into her mind and heart.
Jane Austen has given up her writing when, on a fateful trip to Lyme, she meets the well-read and charming Mr. Ashford, a man who is her equal in intellect and temperament. Inspired by the people and places around her, and encouraged by his faith in her, Jane begins revising Sense and Sensibility, a book she began years earlier, hoping to be published at last.
Deft and witty, written in a style that echoes Austen's own, this unforgettable novel offers a delightfully possible scenario for the inspiration behind this beloved author's romantic tales. It's a remarkable book, irresistible to anyone who loves Jane Austen—and to anyone who loves a great story.
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You don't have to be a Jane Austen expert to enjoy this book. You just need to be in the mood for a page-turning, romantic story filled with warm characters, great passions, enjoyable language, and a terrific plot. And it's to James's credit that her novel reads a lot like -- what else? -- a classic Austen novel.
In the novel's foreword, a fictitious editor discloses that Austen's memoirs have recently been discovered. Jane's memoirs, she says, prove that Austen had a secret romance of her own in her 30s. In the following pages, readers are treated to an imaginative rendition of an initial encounter and subsequent romance between Jane, who longs to be a published writer but doubts her own abilities, and Mr. Ashford, a man who both loves and believes in her. Along the way, our fictitious editor offers suggestions -- in the form of footnotes -- that this love affair inspired many of Austen's characters and plotlines. And readers can't help but wonder, Wouldn't it be great to know Jane had such a person in her life? No, you don't have to be a Jane Austen fan to enjoy The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen. But be prepared -- you'll want to read (or reread) all of her novels once you finish this ingenious and delightful book. (Spring 2008 Selection)
Los Angeles Times
"James creates a life story for Austen that illuminates how her themes and plots may have developed... the reader blindly pulls for the heroine… hoping against history that Austen might yet enjoy the satisfactions of romance... offers a deeper understanding of what Austen’s life might have been like."
Santa Barbara Independent
"Suspenseful... and filled with surprises... one of the best additions to the current spate of books featuring Jane Austen."
Writer's Flow
"James has taken on an enormous task-channel Austen and bring her back to life-and she has done just that ... Talk about a love story. Whether or not it happened, James has created the possibility in an intelligent, historical romance novel. I do believe that Jane would approve."
Romance Reader At Heart.Com
"Rarely have I read a book that I enjoyed as much ... I honestly believe even Jane herself would have loved this book... It’s written so well, and stays so true to form for the historical period, that it feels uncannily like a real memoir ... utterly delightful!"
News Review
"There are not enough accolades i could use to recommend this book ... I read it thinking all the while it was a newly discovered memoir of the famous writer. That is how good the writing is... It is a love affair equal to anything Jane Austen wrote."
Romance Vagabonds.com
"Captures all that is best and true about Jane Austen … You will find yourself caught and enchanted ... For die-hard Austenites, this is the book you’ve been waiting for; for those of you wishing for knowledge of how to be a writer like Austen, you can find that, too."
Montgomery Advertiser
"Readers may find themselves forgetting that the book is fiction… James bases her book on facts from Austen’s life and … clearly depicts Austen’s witty imagination and keen intelligence… Readers may want to pour themselves a cup of tea before settling in with this novel… It’s a delightful read."
Savvy Verse & Wit.com
"A fantastic addition to all things Jane … one of those books that must go into the pile that I will read again and again … James does a beautiful job weaving together elements of fact, fiction, and imagination, which made this reader believe in the truth of her fiction."
Jane Austen's Regency World Magazine
"James…[has] a sensitive ear for the Austenian voice and a clear passion for research...a thoughtful, immensely touching romance that does justice to its subject and will delight anyone who feels...that Austen couldn’t have written with such insight without having had a great romance of her own."
News Observer
"James’s book imagines a Mr. Ashford for Jane, a man with whom she shares a good deal of passion in the two years preceding the publication of Sense and Sensibility ... And if she didn’t she should have, as it makes for a compelling read."
The Writer's Road Less Traveled
"The writing style was so effortlessly Austen that I almost felt as if I truly was reading a memoir penned by her own hand. And while these lost memoirs were just a fabrication, Ms. James did a terrific job of melding the historical details from Ms. Austen’s life.
Dear Author.Com
"A story that not only leaves you believing ‘it could have happened,’ but wishing ‘oh… I hope she had this’ ... I was wholly engaged from beginning to end ... When I closed the cover (the very tactilely pleasing cover) … I felt as though I’d made a friend."
diavasame.gr (Athens)
"A delicious novel... comic scenes of hilarity together with love scenes of great emotion, witty dialogue, and well-drawn characters. Jane Austen comes alive from the first page to the last. You truly believe that you are reading her long-lost memoirs, not a historical fiction novel."
Publishers Weekly
James speculates in her easy-reading debut on a romance between Austen and a landed British gentleman. The prologue presents the narrative as a long-lost journal Austen kept between 1815 and 1817, recently discovered during a renovation at Chawton Manor House and annotated by Oxford University Austen scholar Mary I. Jesse, whose footnotes appear throughout. The first-person account describes how Mr. Ashford, the son of a baronet, saves the spinster writer from a climbing accident after her father's death. The two meet again in Southampton, and Mr. Ashford encourages Austen to fulfill her dream of becoming a "renowned novelist" and even supplies the name of "Dashwood" when she is working on Sense and Sensibility. Austen and Mr. Ashford seem a perfect match in matters of head and heart (both have read Wordsworth, Walter Scott and Dr. Samuel Johnson), but James portrays them as doomed lovers, and though she hews closely to the historic record, she creates a modicum of will-they-or-won't-they suspense that culminates with a proposal and an "intensely" kissed Austen. It's a pleasant addition to the ever-expanding Austen-revisited genre. (Dec.)
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Library Journal
After nearly two centuries of speculation, a hidden memoir by the adored Austen reveals the existence of a romance that was most likely fodder for her novels and the basis for her romantic heroes. Or so novelist James, also a screenwriter, would have us believe. Following the death of her father, Jane and her mother and her sister are relegated to the position of "poor relations," staying intermittently with her brothers and theirfamilies. On a trip to Lyme with her brother Henry, Jane meets Mr. Frederick Ashford, heir to Pembroke Hall in Derby. There is an instant connection, but their acquaintance is cut short when he is suddenly called home. It is quite some time before they meet again, in Southampton, where Jane is now living. And for three weeks, the pair are inseparable, leaving the spinsterish Jane with hopes of marriage to someone who appreciates and encourages her writing. Things don't go as expected, and once again Jane is left hurt and disillusioned. But her feelings roil within her and feed into her characters. This fascinating novel will make readers swear there was such a man as Mr. Ashford and that there is such a memoir. The text includes footnotes and even an editor's foreword and afterword, though, in truth, there is no editor. Tantalizing, tender, and true to the Austen mythos, James's book is highly recommended.
—Bette-Lee Fox
