开云体育

I'm reading it and it's excellent. I also recommend as the best book on
Austen I've read in a long time, Janet Todd's Living with Jane Austen

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Thornfield Hall <comment-reply@...>
Date: Fri, Apr 11, 2025 at 1:02?AM
Subject: Excuse Me, Jane Austen, and Rediscovering “The Bertrams”
To: <ellen.moody@...>


“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a woman in possession of a
computer, needs to spend less screen time.” Excuse me, Jane Austen. I NEED
TO BREAK UP WITH THE INTERNET. And so I curled up in a cozy chair with a
neglected Trollope…

Read on blog
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or Reader
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[image: Site logo image] Thornfield Hall <> Read
on blog
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or Reader
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Excuse
Me, Jane Austen, and Rediscovering “The Bertrams”
<>

By *Kat* on April 11, 2025

*“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a woman in possession of a
computer, needs to spend less screen time.”*

Excuse me, Jane Austen. I NEED TO BREAK UP WITH THE INTERNET.

And so I curled up in a cozy chair with a neglected Trollope novel, *The
Bertrams.*

I’m not sure anyone reads *The Bertrams* anymore, but I can testify that
Trollope is very popular in the twenty-first century. I joined a Trollope
Yahoo group in the early 2000s, and there must have been a hundred fans.

Two of Trollope's series, *The Pallisers *and the *Barsetshire* books, are
considered his masterpieces . I prefer two stunning novels, *He Knew She
Was Right* and *The Way We Live Now*.

And *The Bertrams*, a splendid, often sad novel about love, rivalry, and
work, is one of his better books. Sadly, it is out of print. That is
inexplicable to me. It must have to do with Trollope’s reputation as a
middlebrow writer. And so readers assume that only the famous books are
worth reading, or that Trollope is a mere storyteller – and to an extent I
agree with that - but this smoothly-written minor classic explores
perennial human struggles: work undertaken out of need rather than liking,
lovers’ break-ups over quarrels rooted in finance, and incompatibility in
marriage.

An alternate title for the book could be *Friends and Rivals*.

In the beginning of *The Bertrams*, Trollope sketches the youthful
education of two friends and rivals, George Bertram, whose spendthrift
father dumped him in England while his rich grandfather pays his school
fees, and Arthur Wilkinson, a hard-working boy whose clergyman father
struggles to pay tuition.

Their educations are identical but the results divide them. At school
Arthur works persistently, but George wins the scholarship to Oxford. At
Oxford Arthur works hard for two years, while George appears to do nothing
for three. Trollope writes, “It had always been George’s delight to study
in such a manner that men should think he did not study.” And so George
gets a first in classics, while Arthur is crushed to get a second.

This rivalry, however, ends after graduation. George and Arthur have much
in common: both are scholars, and both are religious. Surprisingly, it is
brilliant George, not Arthur, who wants to be a clergyman. Arthur, a fellow
at Oxford, becomes a vicar only after his father dies, because he must
support his mother and sisters. And his life is miserable. His mother is
domineering: the church was given to Arthur on the condition that most of
the salary go to his mother.

But George *wants *to be a vicar. He would have loved Arthur’s job. He
travels to the Holy Land, and has many mystical experiences. But he also
meets a beautiful, cold young woman, Caroline, his grandfather’s ward. She
has a lot of money, and is extremely materialistic. They fall in love, but
she is callous: she selfishly admits she will *no*t marry him if he goes
into the church. And so he decides to study law, which bores him and whose
practice often seems unjust to him.

And this issue of having the wrong job rings very true. How many people end
up working in banks or insurance (T. S. Eliot and Wallace Stevens? It
didn't bother them), teaching (most high school teachers quit after five
years), or working in an office or a restaurant (everybody at some time or
another).

Trollope also describes the friendship of two women, which parallels that
of the two men. Caroline and Adela are close friends but opposites in every
respect: Caroline is obsessed with finance and insists on postponing her
marriage to George for three years so he can get established; the time
period is too long, and the two quarrel and break up. Adela is spiritual
rather than materialistic, and is scandalized by Caroline's treatment of
George. Adela is in love with Arthur, who cannot afford to marry and does
not seem keen on Adela anyway. (He is not a romantic figure.)

These are some gritty issue here. And of course the reader wonders if the
lovers will ever get together. Always we wonder this in Trollope's books.
But this is no *Can You Forgive Her?* or * The Way We Liv*e *Now*. Still,
it is long and beautifully-written, and if you want to get off the
internet, it will entertain you for hours.
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?
Dolly Alderton to Write Pride and Prejudice Starring Emma Corrin and Jack Lowden

The actors and Olivia Colman will star in the new six-part series adaptation.




--
Rory O'Farrell <ofarrwrk@...>

I have not liked last couple of faithful type aausten movies. I didn’t like their exaggerations nor shallow comic tone. Olivia Coleman must go along. The movie where she played Queen Anne was an obscene travesty, basically misogynistic. It won many awards I recall.

Ellen

Laura did understand from this hospital doctor, showed me the Mayo clinic site:



It's notan infrequent mechanism behind strokes & blood clots

Ellen

Long ago I read somewhere that cats became popular because
they wash themselves. After the discovery of germs, they were
seen as clean and therefore healthy animals.

I shall be following Nancy’s prescription because I must. My original impulse as a reading girl when I first began to read children’s novels at age 7/8 was escape, comfort, the past. I lived in southeast Bronx,my favorite books were Mary Poppins in the Park and Little Women, during the pandemic Susan Hill’s Howard’s End is on the Landing. Today I,m teaching Howard’s End. Watching Wolf Hall 2nd season, outside books ( of groups, teaching, classy all on line) mantel’s Mirror and Light, 3rd olume of Cromwell trilogy.

Ellen

Glad to know you survived the episode and that you have some interesting
books to read. Settle down with cats and books. Petting cats is said to be
therapeutic. Do not listen to the news or look at any news source.
Reading about injustices of 500 or so years ago is less stressful than
reading about today's.
Relax and get well.
Nancy



On Mon, Apr 7, 2025 at 9:22?PM Ellen Moody via groups.io <ellen.moody=
[email protected]> wrote:

Today I was in hospital for 8 hours again, for a third stroke event.
Last time they called it a mini-stroke, or a stroke that stopped
forming, this time it's a TIA and possible blood clot that dissolved.
The practical result is another set back for my left leg, ending worse
yet, and having to go slower. I've fallen behind on Mirror and Light
the book but hope to read and to post late tomorrow afternoon.

Life's pleasures not done. I came home to a new lovely copy of Janet
Todd's Living with Jane Austen on my stoop. This summer I look forward
to Hemingway Collins's book

I must try to live with these setbacks as best I can. Rest, mild
exercise, avoid stress for which Jane Austen is a perfect subject

Last night I did lose myself in Wolf Hall before the event hit. This
second season is quieter than the first, but actually better in some
ways. Mirror and Light wholly inward book. Most people also know far
less about Henry's 4th, 5th, and 6th wives (Ann of Cleves, Katherine
Howard, Katharine Parr) than the first 3. The books to read are the
superb Linda Porter (start with Parr, she's the most interesting),
then Caroline Norton (Ann was an interesting letter write) then the
best of the lot, Alison Weir on poor Katharine Howard.

Ellen

Today I was in hospital for 8 hours again, for a third stroke event.
Last time they called it a mini-stroke, or a stroke that stopped
forming, this time it's a TIA and possible blood clot that dissolved.
The practical result is another set back for my left leg, ending worse
yet, and having to go slower. I've fallen behind on Mirror and Light
the book but hope to read and to post late tomorrow afternoon.

Life's pleasures not done. I came home to a new lovely copy of Janet
Todd's Living with Jane Austen on my stoop. This summer I look forward
to Hemingway Collins's book

I must try to live with these setbacks as best I can. Rest, mild
exercise, avoid stress for which Jane Austen is a perfect subject

Last night I did lose myself in Wolf Hall before the event hit. This
second season is quieter than the first, but actually better in some
ways. Mirror and Light wholly inward book. Most people also know far
less about Henry's 4th, 5th, and 6th wives (Ann of Cleves, Katherine
Howard, Katharine Parr) than the first 3. The books to read are the
superb Linda Porter (start with Parr, she's the most interesting),
then Caroline Norton (Ann was an interesting letter write) then the
best of the lot, Alison Weir on poor Katharine Howard.

Ellen

The pictorial books I mentioned show affectionate relationships in

the early modern period. Maybe the information and feeling for cats
was not articulated (cats took on the misogynic response women did)
but these pictures capture it -- and some old poems. <<

I think you are probably right, Ellen. I’m reminded of John Keats’s poem, “To Mrs Reynolds’s Cat” – not at all sentimental, more a realistic, and dare I say affectionate, portrait of an aged cat.

Dorothy



To Mrs Reynolds's Cat

Cat! who hast passed thy grand climacteric,
How many mice and rats hast in thy days
Destroyed? How many tit-bits stolen? Gaze
With those bright languid segments green, and prick
Those velvet ears - but prithee do not stick
Thy latent talons in me, and up-raise
Thy gentle mew, and tell me all thy frays
Of fish and mice, and rats and tender chick.
Nay, look not down, nor lick thy dainty wrists -
For all thy wheezy asthma, and for all
Thy tail's tip is nicked off, and though the fists
Of many a maid have given thee many a maul,
Still is that fur as soft as when the lists
In youth thou enteredst on glass-bottled wall.

– John Keats (1795-1821)





From: Nancy Mayer <mailto:regencyresearcher@...?subject=Re:%20Kathryn%20Hughes%27s%20Catland>
Date: Sun, 06 Apr 2025 12:54:39 PDT
One day, a cat wandered into a house and ate some food. Someone rubbed
his head and gave him a warm lap to sit on. The cat, being a wise animal,
said this is good.
People can't figure out when and why cats became so popular that now it is
said the WWW was invented for cat videos. The reason is that the Cats
decided that it would be so.
There are several FB pages concerning cats. Despite the damage those
murder mittens can inflict on people and furniture, cats have so enslaved
us , many would rather give up a significant other rather than a cat.
I am sorry the various programs were disappointing. One would think that
if one were talking about cats one would openly admit liking them.
Nancy


On Sun, Apr 6, 2025 at 11:33?AM Ellen Moody via groups.io <> <ellen.moody=
[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:


This is better than I thought. She believes that the revolution from
despising, persecuting, or hiding your affection for cats to liking,
respecting, getting to know them, treating the infinitely better,
responsibly occurred over the 19th century and brought about by art
work in popular magazines which worked to make people see cats as
versions of themselves. I'm not so sure. Was it not bringing them
indoors because litter invented kept them at home.

Both together probably.

I'm a wee bit disappointed. I wanted a thorough convincing account of
this transformation and am not convinced

I actually prefer Caroline Bugler's and Desmond Morris's's pictorial
history and individual books like Roger Caras, A Cat is watching you.

Both sessions on cats at the virtual 18th century conference had paper
from dismaying to disappointing. It was af if they dreaded to be seen
as sentimental -- they were not interested in cats in the era at all
for real

Ellen

I was very surprised. I was not there to drool over cats, but the way
they talked was sometimes themselves semi-hostile. All of them in both
sessions (there were two panels) seemed more interested in the
abstract or general topic the cat was (so to speak) attached to as an
example.

Hughes thinks this transformation happened over the middle to later
19th century. She means the reader to attribute this to a change in
the way cats were depicted, where she implies that there were always
cat-favorers but now they could admit to it since the drawings were
all very comic. She also says contests for the most beautiful cat
sprang up as people began to breed them to look better. Dogs have been
selectively bred for hundreds of years. My guess there is it was found
that dogs not being a predator and more outwardly friendly (as pack
animals could be) seemed capable of being moore useful to people than
cats. Dogs cab be very large and strong. The large cat is a tiger or
lion:)

I just feel she is leaving out the hard to record deep affection old
lonely people (often women), children learned a cat is capable of. I
have to admit I had this stereotypical view of cats until I adopted
Ian and Clarycat. One problem their more varied nature is not known is
they are private animals. None of the four I've had so far show
affection to me like they do when it's just me and them. I knew
friends said I didn't begin to see their cats as the cat saw me as a
stranger and was wary. I also know it is considered by some beneath a
man's dignity to admit to loving a cat. There was a feel of scorn for
Bill Clinton when his and Hilary's pet turned out to be a cat, not a
dog.

The pictorial books I mentioned show affectionate relationships in
the early modern period. Maybe the information and feeling for cats
was not articulated (cats took on the misogynic response women did)
but these pictures capture it -- and some old poems.

Ellen

Ellen

On Sun, Apr 6, 2025 at 3:54?PM Nancy Mayer via groups.io
<regencyresearcher@...> wrote:

One day, a cat wandered into a house and ate some food. Someone rubbed
his head and gave him a warm lap to sit on. The cat, being a wise animal,
said this is good.
People can't figure out when and why cats became so popular that now it is
said the WWW was invented for cat videos. The reason is that the Cats
decided that it would be so.
There are several FB pages concerning cats. Despite the damage those
murder mittens can inflict on people and furniture, cats have so enslaved
us , many would rather give up a significant other rather than a cat.
I am sorry the various programs were disappointing. One would think that
if one were talking about cats one would openly admit liking them.
Nancy


On Sun, Apr 6, 2025 at 11:33?AM Ellen Moody via groups.io <ellen.moody=
[email protected]> wrote:

This is better than I thought. She believes that the revolution from
despising, persecuting, or hiding your affection for cats to liking,
respecting, getting to know them, treating the infinitely better,
responsibly occurred over the 19th century and brought about by art
work in popular magazines which worked to make people see cats as
versions of themselves. I'm not so sure. Was it not bringing them
indoors because litter invented kept them at home.

Both together probably.

I'm a wee bit disappointed. I wanted a thorough convincing account of
this transformation and am not convinced

I actually prefer Caroline Bugler's and Desmond Morris's's pictorial
history and individual books like Roger Caras, A Cat is watching you.

Both sessions on cats at the virtual 18th century conference had paper
from dismaying to disappointing. It was af if they dreaded to be seen
as sentimental -- they were not interested in cats in the era at all
for real

Ellen

One day, a cat wandered into a house and ate some food. Someone rubbed
his head and gave him a warm lap to sit on. The cat, being a wise animal,
said this is good.
People can't figure out when and why cats became so popular that now it is
said the WWW was invented for cat videos. The reason is that the Cats
decided that it would be so.
There are several FB pages concerning cats. Despite the damage those
murder mittens can inflict on people and furniture, cats have so enslaved
us , many would rather give up a significant other rather than a cat.
I am sorry the various programs were disappointing. One would think that
if one were talking about cats one would openly admit liking them.
Nancy


On Sun, Apr 6, 2025 at 11:33?AM Ellen Moody via groups.io <ellen.moody=
[email protected]> wrote:

This is better than I thought. She believes that the revolution from
despising, persecuting, or hiding your affection for cats to liking,
respecting, getting to know them, treating the infinitely better,
responsibly occurred over the 19th century and brought about by art
work in popular magazines which worked to make people see cats as
versions of themselves. I'm not so sure. Was it not bringing them
indoors because litter invented kept them at home.

Both together probably.

I'm a wee bit disappointed. I wanted a thorough convincing account of
this transformation and am not convinced

I actually prefer Caroline Bugler's and Desmond Morris's's pictorial
history and individual books like Roger Caras, A Cat is watching you.

Both sessions on cats at the virtual 18th century conference had paper
from dismaying to disappointing. It was af if they dreaded to be seen
as sentimental -- they were not interested in cats in the era at all
for real

Ellen

This is better than I thought. She believes that the revolution from
despising, persecuting, or hiding your affection for cats to liking,
respecting, getting to know them, treating the infinitely better,
responsibly occurred over the 19th century and brought about by art
work in popular magazines which worked to make people see cats as
versions of themselves. I'm not so sure. Was it not bringing them
indoors because litter invented kept them at home.

Both together probably.

I'm a wee bit disappointed. I wanted a thorough convincing account of
this transformation and am not convinced

I actually prefer Caroline Bugler's and Desmond Morris's's pictorial
history and individual books like Roger Caras, A Cat is watching you.

Both sessions on cats at the virtual 18th century conference had paper
from dismaying to disappointing. It was af if they dreaded to be seen
as sentimental -- they were not interested in cats in the era at all
for real

Ellen

I couldn't go yesterday (cannot walk well enough unless someone who
cares about me helps me) so I wrote a blog about E.M. Forster's famous
popular talks to the BBC 1930s-40s, and essays, including "What I
Believe," "3 Anti-Nazi Broadcasts"



Ellen

Interesting. However, I have never believed that Cassandra burned Jane's
letters. Jane knew that few letters were really private. Most were shared
with the family. For one thing, this cut down the postage recipients had
to pay as a writer need not write several letters to the same address to
discuss the same items.



On Mon, Mar 24, 2025 at 8:02?AM Ellen Moody via groups.io <ellen.moody=
[email protected]> wrote:

This is an accurate description of the book. Rachel Dodge does it justice.
Ellen

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Jane Austen's World <comment-reply@...>
Date: Mon, Mar 24, 2025 at 6:26?AM
Subject: Reading Miss Austen by Jill Hornby
To: <ellen.moody@...>


The new BBC miniseries "Miss Austen", based on Jill Hornby's novel of the
same name, is currently the focus of much attention worldwide. The series
aired in the UK in February and comes to PBS this May. Some of you have
maybe already seen the show, depe…

Read on blog
<

or Reader
<

[image: Site logo image] Jane Austen's World <>
Read
on blog
<

or Reader
<

Reading
Miss Austen by Jill Hornby
<

By *Rachel Dodge* on March 24, 2025

The new BBC miniseries "Miss Austen"
<

,

based on Jill Hornby's novel
<

of the same name, is currently the focus of much attention worldwide. The
series aired in the UK in February and comes to PBS this May. Some of you
have maybe already seen the show, depending on where you live, but for
those who are waiting for it to air, I am here to say this:

*Read the book while you wait!*

You won't regret it. In anticipation of the show, I decided to read *Miss
Austen
<

*

by Jill Hornby, fully expecting to dislike it (I'm very picky). But I'm
here to report that I loved it! I actually finished it in two days because
I could not put it down (which is not easy as a writer with a busy
household of teens). The story flows at a slower pace, but Hornby's
style--and the whole world she created--pulled me in and kept me engaged
from start to finish.

In the book, an older Cassandra searches for a packet of Jane's letters
that she does not want anyone to ever see or read. As she finds and reads
the various letters, we travel back through her memories to visit her
younger self. I found myself completely immersed in the real (and imagined)
details about Cassandra's relationship with Tom Fowle (a former pupil of
Reverend Austen), the Fowle family, and the Lloyd family because it all
felt incredibly real.
<

Overall, the book does tell a sad story because it deals with a fictional
retelling of Cassandra's real-life story, her heartbreaks, her deep
affection for her beloved family (many of whom she outlived), the Austens'
move to Bath, Reverend Austen's death, the Austen women and their continual
search for housing after his death, and Cassandra's devotion and loyalty to
Jane. However, there are many endearing and uplifting themes as well. The
writing itself is exquisite.

While Hornby of course employs creative license as a novelist, I was also
impressed by the copious amounts of research she must have done to write
this book. Though fictional, it acts as a poignant biography of Jane's
sister and best friend. I felt as though I understood Cassandra, and had a
deeper understanding of her protectiveness over Jane, by the end of the
book. Hornby's perspective on Jane is intriguing, and her (entirely
fictional) character Henry Hobday adds depth to Cassandra's story.

For those of you that read *Miss Austen* when it released in 2020, you
might enjoy a reread. For those who have never read it, it's a wonderful
way to prepare yourself for the show. And even if you've already watched
the show, you might like to read it and compare the two.
<

*Book Description*

England, 1840. Two decades after the death of her beloved sister, Jane,
Cassandra Austen returns to the village of Kintbury and the home of her
family friends, the Fowles. In a dusty corner of the vicarage, there is a
cache of Jane’s letters that Cassandra is desperate to find. 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?

Moving back and forth between the vicarage and Cassandra’s vibrant memories
of her years with Jane, interwoven with Jane’s brilliantly reimagined lost
letters, *Miss Austen* is the untold story of the most important person in
Jane’s life. With extraordinary empathy, emotional complexity, and wit,
Gill Hornby finally gives Cassandra her due, bringing to life a woman as
captivating as any Austen heroine.

(The collection of cover art included in this article is from various
editions sold worldwide.)
<

*About the Author*

Gill Hornby is the author of *Miss Austen, The Hive*, and *All Together
Now*,
as well as *The Story of Jane Austen*, a biography of Austen for young
readers. Her most recent novel is *Godermsham Park*, also available from
Pegasus Books. She lives in Kintbury, England, with her husband and their
four children.
<

*About the Show*

Miss Austen takes an historic literary mystery – the notorious burning of
Jane Austen’s letters by her sister Cassandra – and reimagines it as a
fascinating, witty, and heart-breaking story of sisterly love, while
creating in Cassandra a character as captivating as any Austen heroine.

Based on Gill Hornby’s best-selling novel, this period drama brings a fresh
and intimate perspective to the Austen sisters’ lives — their joys,
heartaches, and the passions that shaped Jane’s iconic novels.

Keeley Hawes (T*he Durrells in Corfu, Bodyguard, Line of Duty*) as the
loyal and loving Cassandra leads an ensemble cast that includes Rose Leslie
(*Game of Thrones, Downton Abbey*) as family friend Isabella Fowle, Patsy
Ferran (*Living*) as young Jane Austen, and Synn?ve Karlsen (*Bodies*) as
young Cassy.
<

<

*PBS Episode Schedule*

Premieres: Sunday, May 4, 2025, at 9/8c
Episode 2: Sunday, May 11, 9/8c
Episode 3: Sunday, May 18, 9/8c
Episode 4: Sunday, May 18, 10/9c
*Miss Austen, Dutiful Daughter and Sister*

I cannot wait to watch the show soon, and I hope to come back to discuss it
later this year, but in the meantime, I enjoyed the book immensely. I
usually only review nonfiction books here, but I felt that a novel of such
high caliber warranted a thorough review, especially in light of the
upcoming show. Here's to celebrating Jane Austen's 250th year and to
enjoying her world more fully!
------------------------------

*RACHEL DODGE* teaches college English classes, speaks at libraries, teas,
and conferences, and writes for *Jane Austen’s World
<

*

blog.
She is the bestselling, award-winning author of *The Anne of Green Gables
Devotional
<

*

, *The Little Women Devotional
<

*

, *The Secret Garden Devotional
<

*,

and *Praying with Jane: 31 Days Through the Prayers of Jane Austen
<

*.

A true kindred spirit at heart, Rachel loves books, bonnets, and ballgowns.
Visit her online at www.
<

RachelDodge.com
<

.
Comment
<

Like
<

You can also reply to this email to leave a comment.

Jane Austen's World ? 2025.
Manage
<

your email settings or unsubscribe.
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This is an accurate description of the book. Rachel Dodge does it justice.
Ellen

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Jane Austen's World <comment-reply@...>
Date: Mon, Mar 24, 2025 at 6:26?AM
Subject: Reading Miss Austen by Jill Hornby
To: <ellen.moody@...>


The new BBC miniseries "Miss Austen", based on Jill Hornby's novel of the
same name, is currently the focus of much attention worldwide. The series
aired in the UK in February and comes to PBS this May. Some of you have
maybe already seen the show, depe…

Read on blog
<>
or Reader
<>
[image: Site logo image] Jane Austen's World <> Read
on blog
<>
or Reader
<>
Reading
Miss Austen by Jill Hornby
<>

By *Rachel Dodge* on March 24, 2025

The new BBC miniseries "Miss Austen"
<>,
based on Jill Hornby's novel
<>
of the same name, is currently the focus of much attention worldwide. The
series aired in the UK in February and comes to PBS this May. Some of you
have maybe already seen the show, depending on where you live, but for
those who are waiting for it to air, I am here to say this:

*Read the book while you wait!*

You won't regret it. In anticipation of the show, I decided to read *Miss
Austen
<>*
by Jill Hornby, fully expecting to dislike it (I'm very picky). But I'm
here to report that I loved it! I actually finished it in two days because
I could not put it down (which is not easy as a writer with a busy
household of teens). The story flows at a slower pace, but Hornby's
style--and the whole world she created--pulled me in and kept me engaged
from start to finish.

In the book, an older Cassandra searches for a packet of Jane's letters
that she does not want anyone to ever see or read. As she finds and reads
the various letters, we travel back through her memories to visit her
younger self. I found myself completely immersed in the real (and imagined)
details about Cassandra's relationship with Tom Fowle (a former pupil of
Reverend Austen), the Fowle family, and the Lloyd family because it all
felt incredibly real.
<>

Overall, the book does tell a sad story because it deals with a fictional
retelling of Cassandra's real-life story, her heartbreaks, her deep
affection for her beloved family (many of whom she outlived), the Austens'
move to Bath, Reverend Austen's death, the Austen women and their continual
search for housing after his death, and Cassandra's devotion and loyalty to
Jane. However, there are many endearing and uplifting themes as well. The
writing itself is exquisite.

While Hornby of course employs creative license as a novelist, I was also
impressed by the copious amounts of research she must have done to write
this book. Though fictional, it acts as a poignant biography of Jane's
sister and best friend. I felt as though I understood Cassandra, and had a
deeper understanding of her protectiveness over Jane, by the end of the
book. Hornby's perspective on Jane is intriguing, and her (entirely
fictional) character Henry Hobday adds depth to Cassandra's story.

For those of you that read *Miss Austen* when it released in 2020, you
might enjoy a reread. For those who have never read it, it's a wonderful
way to prepare yourself for the show. And even if you've already watched
the show, you might like to read it and compare the two.
<>
*Book Description*

England, 1840. Two decades after the death of her beloved sister, Jane,
Cassandra Austen returns to the village of Kintbury and the home of her
family friends, the Fowles. In a dusty corner of the vicarage, there is a
cache of Jane’s letters that Cassandra is desperate to find. 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?

Moving back and forth between the vicarage and Cassandra’s vibrant memories
of her years with Jane, interwoven with Jane’s brilliantly reimagined lost
letters, *Miss Austen* is the untold story of the most important person in
Jane’s life. With extraordinary empathy, emotional complexity, and wit,
Gill Hornby finally gives Cassandra her due, bringing to life a woman as
captivating as any Austen heroine.

(The collection of cover art included in this article is from various
editions sold worldwide.)
<>
*About the Author*

Gill Hornby is the author of *Miss Austen, The Hive*, and *All Together Now*,
as well as *The Story of Jane Austen*, a biography of Austen for young
readers. Her most recent novel is *Godermsham Park*, also available from
Pegasus Books. She lives in Kintbury, England, with her husband and their
four children.
<>
*About the Show*

Miss Austen takes an historic literary mystery – the notorious burning of
Jane Austen’s letters by her sister Cassandra – and reimagines it as a
fascinating, witty, and heart-breaking story of sisterly love, while
creating in Cassandra a character as captivating as any Austen heroine.

Based on Gill Hornby’s best-selling novel, this period drama brings a fresh
and intimate perspective to the Austen sisters’ lives — their joys,
heartaches, and the passions that shaped Jane’s iconic novels.

Keeley Hawes (T*he Durrells in Corfu, Bodyguard, Line of Duty*) as the
loyal and loving Cassandra leads an ensemble cast that includes Rose Leslie
(*Game of Thrones, Downton Abbey*) as family friend Isabella Fowle, Patsy
Ferran (*Living*) as young Jane Austen, and Synn?ve Karlsen (*Bodies*) as
young Cassy.
<>
<>
*PBS Episode Schedule*

Premieres: Sunday, May 4, 2025, at 9/8c
Episode 2: Sunday, May 11, 9/8c
Episode 3: Sunday, May 18, 9/8c
Episode 4: Sunday, May 18, 10/9c
*Miss Austen, Dutiful Daughter and Sister*

I cannot wait to watch the show soon, and I hope to come back to discuss it
later this year, but in the meantime, I enjoyed the book immensely. I
usually only review nonfiction books here, but I felt that a novel of such
high caliber warranted a thorough review, especially in light of the
upcoming show. Here's to celebrating Jane Austen's 250th year and to
enjoying her world more fully!
------------------------------

*RACHEL DODGE* teaches college English classes, speaks at libraries, teas,
and conferences, and writes for *Jane Austen’s World
<>*
blog.
She is the bestselling, award-winning author of *The Anne of Green Gables
Devotional
<>*
, *The Little Women Devotional
<>*
, *The Secret Garden Devotional
<>*,
and *Praying with Jane: 31 Days Through the Prayers of Jane Austen
<>*.
A true kindred spirit at heart, Rachel loves books, bonnets, and ballgowns.
Visit her online at www.
<>
RachelDodge.com
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I've written my first blog of several on women writers relevant to
this dire historical moment, and serious readings of Jane Austen's
life experiences as seen in her books and competent post-texts
reframing that experience. First up Hannah Arendt & Origins of
Totalitarianism & The Human Condition



Ellen

and took out a copy of The Romance of The Forest. I loved it.

What did you like about _The Romance of the Forest_? I enjoyed _The Mysteries of Udolpho_ but I am finding _The Romance of the Forest_ heavy going.

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Ellen Moody via groups.io" <ellen.moody@...>
Subject: [Janeites] I'm building up a set of Austen post-texts I like or can read
Date: 11 March 2025 at 15:38:15 GMT
To: [email protected]
Reply-To: [email protected]

I wonder if it's a rhetorical pretense, Nancy, yes. We didn't study Jane Austen in school either. The first Fanny Burney book I read was an old 3 volume edition of her diaries and letters, which I found in a used bookshop on 59th Street, Manhattan. Much shrunk in size, it's still there. . She was called Madame d'Arblay on the cover. Then the introduction gave her her other name, Fanny Burney. Burney's Evelina was an old Everyman on my father's bookshelves. I had heard of Radcliffe fro Northnger Abbey. I was teaching at Brooklyn College at the time (1974?) , and went to the bookshelves and took out a copy of The Romance of The Forest. I loved it. To me Austen's major contemporary was Scott. Ellen

I wonder if it's a rhetorical pretense, Nancy, yes. We didn't study Jane Austen in school either. The first Fanny Burney book I read was an old 3 volume edition of her diaries and letters, which I found in a used bookshop on 59th Street, Manhattan. Much shrunk in size, it's still there. . She was called Madame d'Arblay on the cover. Then the introduction gave her her other name, Fanny Burney. Burney's Evelina was an old Everyman on my father's bookshelves. I had heard of Radcliffe fro Northnger Abbey. I was teaching at Brooklyn College at the time (1974?) , and went to the bookshelves and took out a copy of The Romance of The Forest. I loved it. To me Austen's major contemporary was Scott. Ellen

So, here's the final version of 8 weeks into 10: we are reading
Forster as an antidote to this bad time we are in for -- and to stir
up good heart to fight back

If anyone on any of these 3 listservs wants to read along, let me know.



Ellen

My education was so long ago, that we didn't study Jane Austen. However,
even I heard of Fanny Burney's Evelina, if nothing else. We also looked at
Maria Edgeworth and Charlotte Smith. I did learn more about them and
Radcliffe when studying Northanger Abby. Such ignorance would make me
distrust the author.
Nancy


O

Just remembering that years - many years - ago, when I first encountered the name of Fanny Burney, though I don’t remember when or where, I do remember that somehow, the name Madame D’Arblay was familiar to me.

Dorothy

(p.s. - my spell checker is mystified by both names …)


Ellen wrote:

Thank you, Susan. What troubles me about all the reviews of this book
is they all begin with how the author had never heard of Burney.
Really? Radcliffe is treated as if she wrote very obscure stuff in
remote storage in research libraries.. How could Romney think so of
Radcliffe if she'd read up to p 3 of Northanger Abbey . You don't have
to be an erudite 18th century scholar to have read these these authors
(there's a Burney society) or Edgeworth or even Charlotte Smith. It's
praised in terms of how much I'll learn about these books. But I've
read many of them and about many of them and don't need beginners'
descriptions.

Ellen