I wanted to love this book but I didn't. I didn't dislike it either - hence the neutral three star rating.

Thank you to NetGalley for my copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I had a very hard time reading this book for a number of reasons. From the start it was hard to keep track of exactly what was going on in the story, who the characters were, and it felt like I missing something important right from the get go. I tried really hard to get through the first few chapters and I ended up abandoning the book entirely. I am a huge Austen fan and I was excited to read a story about her sister Cassandra. My excitement quickly became disappointment. I would not recommend this book to customers at my library.

Author #Gill Hornby’s #Miss Austen has captured the tone of the era.Its well researched,entertaining and the plot plays out well.This is a fictionalized account of Cassandra Austen’s life, both before and after her famous sisters death.
This story takes on a air of mystery with Cassandra racing to find Janes letters.She needs to save Jane’s
legacy.With a skill for suspense, Hornby also reveals the contents.
Thank you,
#Netgalley,#Gill Hornby and #Flatiron

The “Miss Austen” in this book is Cassandra Austen, Jane’s beloved sister. I think the author did a nice job of giving us a glimpse of Cassandra’s unselfish personality and her devotion to her sister. This book explores her almost excessive protection of Jane’s legacy. This book honors the love and support the Austen family had for each other. It’s one of the best novels I’ve read about Jane and Cassandra, and I think it’s even more moving since we view their story through flashbacks and letters. I think many Austen fans will enjoy this one.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to Gill Hornby and Flatiron Books for the presenting me with a true treasure! "Miss Austen" is the charming story of Miss Cassandra Austen, Jane Austen's elder sister. Written in true verbiage of the early 1800s, from page one "Miss Austen" immediately transports you to England of the day. We bare witness to the trials and tribulations of family life, specifically a woman's station and financial situation, especially when she is unmarried, as well as the true love shared in this sisterhood. There are the crazy relatives, loves lost and won, and the pleasures found by having a soulmate you can count on for a lifetime. And, sometimes people will surprise you. Read this wonderful book and enjoy the maybe not-so-expected.

I tried to like this book , as I'm a fan of Jane Austen Books and the many re-tellings in book and movie form.

But I'm sorry to say , I just couldn't get into this one. It began very slow and I kept getting distracted or/and falling sleep. It was difficult for me to really care for any characters, therefore making hard to connect with them.

Likely it's a -it's me not you - situation going on here , as many others enjoyed it. C'est la vie!

I just reviewed Miss Austen by Gill Hornby. #NetGalley

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single reader in possession of a good deal of unoccupied free time must be in want of a scintillating literary mystery. Luckily for this quarantined reader, Gill Hornby has provided just that with the release of MISS AUSTEN, a fictionalization of the final years of Jane Austen’s sister, Cassandra, and her devastating decision to burn and otherwise destroy Jane’s letters in an attempt to preserve Jane's legacy. Written with empathy, a keen love of Austen and her family, and a hearty dose of Austen-like wit, this is a captivating tale for lovers of both Jane Austen and historical fiction.

As the only girls in their large nuclear family, Cassandra and Jane were unusually close for the time, and their letters, which detailed their various interactions with friends and suitors, provided much of the groundwork for Austen’s beloved works. Unfortunately for Austen aficionados, Cassandra is reported to have destroyed two-thirds of Jane's letters in 1843, a couple of years before her own death. In MISS AUSTEN, Hornby alternates between an elderly Cassandra hunting down Jane’s most private correspondences and a young Cassandra as she loses her betrothed, then her home, and finally Jane.

When we meet Cassandra, the year is 1840, and she is in her 60s. She has just arrived in Kintbury, at the vicarage of her extended family, the Fowles, now housing only Isabella, the niece of her former fiancé, Tom. Isabella’s father, Fulwar Craven, has just died, which means that poor, spinsterly Isabella has only two weeks to vacate the vicarage, her beloved home of 45 years. Cassandra knows it is an unfortunate time for Isabella to host a visitor, but that is precisely the reason she has come: she and Jane were dear friends of Isabella’s mother, Eliza, and Cassandra knows that Eliza held on to their many correspondences. With the Austen legacy at risk, she has arrived at Kintbury under the guise of helping Isabella pack up, but with the real goal of searching the house for these letters, reviewing them for any unflattering sections, and ultimately destroying them.

As Cassandra settles into Kintbury, she is plagued by grief-fueled memories of the past. After all, the vicarage was where she once spent happy evenings with Tom. As she recalls the past and her dealings with the Fowles (many of whom became her sisters-in-law), the narrative alternates between her memories and the present, with each chapter informing and fleshing out the next. With the focus finally on the other Austen sister, we are given a more thorough portrayal of life in the Austen family --- their joys, tragedies and tremendous love for one another, a unique trait at the time.

Unfortunately, Cassandra’s story is one of grief: she loses Tom to yellow fever when he is sailing the Caribbean as part of a military expedition as chaplain to his cousin. Though Tom made Cassandra promise to marry if he did not return, he also left his inheritance to her, providing her with the means to forego marriage, at least for a little while. Bound by grief, like her sister, Cassandra refuses to ever marry. She spends the rest of her days laughing with and encouraging Jane and watching the relationships of her brothers grow, stumble and fall apart.

Most interesting in Cassandra’s memories of the past is Mary, the disagreeable wife of her brother, James. Mary was the one to --- gleefully --- break the news of Tom’s death to the Austens and steal their home of Steventon from them by encouraging her husband to succeed his father far sooner than planned. And now, in 1840, it is Mary who Cassandra fears most, for she, too, is talking about compiling a family history. Cassandra knows that she will delight in airing the Austens’ --- and particularly Jane’s --- dirty laundry. With the pressure on, and further details of Mary’s wickedness revealed with nearly every memory, MISS AUSTEN takes on the suspenseful air of a mystery as Cassandra races to find every letter she needs to save Jane’s legacy. With skillful pacing and a flair for suspense, Hornby also reveals the contents of those letters and how they could damage the Austens’ reputation.

Through Cassandra’s grief and loyalty, Hornby paints the portrait of a steadfast, accommodating woman who, upon losing the future that was promised to her, devoted all of her life and energy to serving her family. This included acting as a buffer for Jane, the more feisty of the two, helping her sisters-in-law deliver and care for their children, and tend to the senior Austens as they grew old. But Cassandra also had her own private dreams and fears, and Hornby skillfully divulges them through snippets of Austen’s letters, Cassandra’s flashbacks, and tidbits revealed by other members of the family who show up at Kintbury to help pack.

Interwoven with historical research about the roles of women at the time (and the judgment of spinsters like the misses Austen), the story of Cassandra’s life draws a heartfelt and emotionally tense picture of a woman at odds with her time. As Hornby reminds us, females, especially single ones, were often dependent upon the mercy and generosity of others, a cause that stirs up great feelings in Cassandra, especially when she realizes the severity of Isabella’s situation.

Those who are not as invested in the life of Jane Austen will still find something to enjoy in MISS AUSTEN, as Cassandra’s story takes the forefront, and her narrative is fleshed out by strong, detail-filled historical fiction. But it is lovers of Austen’s work who will find themselves enthralled by Hornby’s masterful portrait of Cassandra and, through her loving eyes, of Jane herself. Even more impressive is the way that Hornby’s writing mirrors that of Jane’s; she manages to effect the same keen observations and wit, making the book a lovely homage to the writer. The Jane revealed through Hornby’s writing of Cassandra is beloved and treasured within the family, but still thorny, to say the least.

As the years pass, Jane’s crystalline wit morphs into cynicism, and she becomes, in Cassandra’s words, “an unhappy woman who refused to pretend to be anything but.” Pitched against her sister’s often unpleasant demeanor, Cassandra remains devoted to the notion that there is but one fact allowed to “walk with the novels into posterity”: that her sister had known no drama and no crises. At the same time, she learns that it is impossible to control the narrative of one family’s history (though, as we know now, she was pretty successful).

The loss of Jane Austen’s letters is one of the heartbreaks of the literary world, and though we can understand Cassandra’s desire to protect her sister, it is still crushing. But in MISS AUSTEN, this is outweighed by the intentions behind it, leaving us with an emotionally resonant, deeply complex imagining of the real contents of these letters --- and a humbling respect for their disappearance and the woman who orchestrated it.

Historical fiction about Jane Austen's sister

I received a copy of this book courtesy of the publicist.

"Miss Austen" by Gill Hornby is a historical fiction novel about Cassandra Austen, writer Jane Austen's older sister. In her 60s, Cassandra drops in all but unannounced to the vicarage in Kintbury to visit Miss Isabella, also a spinster, following the death of her father Reverend Fulwar Craven Fowle. Close family friends, Cassandra was once engaged to Fulwar's brother Tom and her sister Jane was a keen correspondent with Fulwar's wife Eliza. After Jane's death and continuing success as a novelist, Cassandra appoints herself the keeper of Jane's reputation and is determined to make sure that nothing compromising remains.

This is an interesting novel that tackles a great mystery in the history of Jane Austen: why did Cassandra burn so many of her letters after her death? Hornby has chosen a good subject for her novel, and has clearly spent a lot of time researching the Austen family and the places they visited and lived. I felt that Hornby captured the linguistic style of the time well, particularly in the letters, and the idyll of coastal towns and country villages. I actually visited Jane Austen's house in Chawton last year, and it was a lovely experience visiting some of the other haunts of the Austen family including the range of wealth among the siblings. I think Dinah the maid was one of my favourite characters and her sneakiness and loyalty to Miss Isabella were very enjoyable to read.

Jane Austen's writing desk at Chawton

I think there were two things that I wasn't fully on board with. One was the reason why Cassandra seeks out Jane's letters to scrub them from the official record. Hornby wrote the letters really beautifully, but I think I would have liked a little more artistic license. The contents of the letters is the one unknowable thing, and I felt Hornby could have added a bit more spice, intrigue and controversy and drawn some modern themes into a classic period. The other thing was the rationale behind Cassandra's spinsterhood, and I would have liked a bit more commitment either to her one true love or her chosen path as dutiful sister.

A relaxing and easy read that tells a little-known story, but that could have used a touch more drama.

I’m always a little wary when I pick up a book that is a retelling, continuation of, or somehow relates to Jane Austen or one of her books. I love Austen so much and have been sorely disappointed by most modern homages. But this book was wonderful. Just wonderful.

While Jane features in Miss Austen, it is really about her sister, Cassandra. On a larger scale, it is also about women and their value to society, family, and the bond between sisters. It takes you back to the mid-1800s and has split timelines between Cass as an old lady, and her younger years.

Just like an Austen novel, this book is full of heartbreak, lost love, gossip, uncertainty, and drama. But what really got me hooked was Cassandra’s hilariously sarcastic inner monologue, as well as the retelling of conversations had with (and reading of letters written by) her sister Jane. They’re just so funny and feel so modern despite being set in the 1800s.

I couldn’t love this book more, and I definitely recommend it if you’re an Austen fan, or just like a good period novel. The audiobook is also fantastic, being narrated by Juliet Stevenson.

This is a story of Cassandra Austen that is beautifully written by Gill Hornby. Through the letters we find the beautiful story of Cassandra's life - I thought that Hornby did this story of Cassandra justice. The writing and imaginative prose was brilliant and very well executed to the time period of mid 1800's decades after Jane's death. I felt that I really learned a lot about their life and their love for each other as siblings. Hornby's impeccable research on the minute details of their lives were evident in the pages and it was truly a delight to read. An homage and a gift to Austenites. I highly recommend this book that I loved and enjoyed thoroughly.

The Miss Austen of the title of this book is Cassandra Austen, Jane’s elder and only sister. What do we know about Cassandra? Well, we know that she and Jane were extremely close, sharing a bedroom when at home. They were best friends and confidants. When Jane Austen died, Cassandra wrote a letter to their niece, Fanny, which contains the following, which never fails to bring a tear to my eye:

'I have lost a treasure, such a sister, such a friend as never can have been surpassed. She was the sun of my life, the gilder of every pleasure, the soother of every sorrow; I had not a thought concealed from her, and it is as if I had lost a part of myself.'

We know that Cassandra, too, never married. She was engaged in her youth to Tom Fowle, who was hoping to become a clergyman, but he died abroad before they could marry.

Another well-known fact is that Cassandra Austen destroyed and redacted a lot of Jane’s history. She cut bits out of some letters and burned many others.

Miss Austen picks up with Cassandra in her late 60s. In this book she not only intends to destroy the letters that Jane wrote to her, but also those that she wrote to other people, if she is able to get her hands on them. She has travelled to the home of Tom Fowle’s brother. He has recently died and Cassandra, ostensibly there to help his daughter prepare to vacate the house, instead is hoping to track down the letters that Jane would have written to her friend, Mrs Eliza Fowle. Cassy is successful in locating the letters, and as she reads them, we are taken back in Cassy’s mind to her younger days, the times that Jane is writing about.

Gill Hornby puts forward two main motivations for Cassandra’s actions. Firstly, she is trying to preserve her sister in as positive a light as possible, believing that Jane’s work will continue to excite interest in the future:

'Cassandra was the executor of her sister’s estate: the keeper of her flame; the protector of her legacy. In the time that was left to her, she was determined to find and destroy any evidence that might compromise Jane’s reputation.'

The fact that she needed a bonfire to destroy the amount she censored makes you wonder how much of Jane’s correspondence and manuscripts contained evidence of her wicked wit!

The second reason is down to privacy, both Jane's and her own. Letter writing was a big part of the lives of Georgian/Regency ladies. When families and friends were apart so much of their interaction must have been written. That so much was destroyed leads one to suppose that there were confidences and innermost feelings that Cassandra didn’t want other people to see.

She pictured her sister-in-law Mary reading them, spreading the contents, passing them on. She imagined the next generation examining her own traces as if she were a South Dorset fossil.

I thought this story was beautifully done. I loved the intermingling of the facts that we know with an imagining of the lengths Cassandra might have gone to in order to edit the evidence of Jane’s personality and past. I loved the flashbacks to years gone by when Cassandra remembered the events from Jane’s life and her own that she was trying to suppress. The flashbacks range from Cassandra’s engagement in 1794 to Jane’s death in 1817.

I particularly enjoyed the excerpts from Jane’s letters (the ones that Cassandra planned to burn). Enough of Jane Austen’s letters exist for us to have a flavour of her style. She wrote very amusing letters, and I felt that the author did a great job of making the letter seem like something Jane might have written, such as this one, on her first impressions of Bath:

'In the meantime, we have been here three days and I have yet to meet a gentleman below the age of one hundred.'

I found the story really touching, seeing Cassandra’s devotion to her sister, and preserving her privacy and her legacy. I feel that this part at least probably reflects reality, as it’s an agreed fact that Cassandra actively destroyed a lot of documents. I also found the story a little sad, as in this rendition at least, Cassandra lets chances of personal happiness pass her by partly in order to prioritise her sister’s happiness. Whether or not that was the case, I don’t know, but it made me sad to think of it, particularly as the two things needn’t have been mutually exclusive.

Like many people, previously I felt it was a shame that Cassandra had purged so much of the documentation that would have made it possible for us to learn more about Jane Austen. This story gives a personal touch, portraying how that idea might have felt to somebody who didn’t see Austen as the commodity of a great author, but wanted to protect her as a person and ensure that her private life didn’t become public record.

'These are the things by which most of us are remembered, these small acts of love, the only evidence that we, too, once lived on this earth. The preserves in the larder, the stitch on the kneeler. The mark of the pen on the page.'

I thought this story was wonderful, and I would heartily recommend reading it. Big fat 5 stars from me.

* I received a copy of this book in return for my honest review.

I understand that this book has been optioned for a movie, which is very exciting. Let’s hope it comes to fruition!

“Miss Austen” presents readers with a new look at what the relationship between Jane Austen and her sister Cassandra might have been like, using an Austen-like writing style. Cassandra’s future looks rosy, but unexpected tragedy reduces her life to one of devotion to her family, particularly her sister Jane. The plotline switches between Cassandra’s present life in old age and her past life. Correspondence between family members serves as the device tying the two time periods together, while revealing unknown depths and secrets of family relationships, viewpoints, and loyalties.

Fans of Jane Austen will enjoy this fictional take on Jane and Cassandra. While melancholy in tone, the book provides an intriguing entry into the lives of single ladies in England in the 1800’s.
I received this novel from the publisher and from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

On Monday I reviewed what was a stunning, but intense book, so it’s with a bit of relief that I’m back with a book I’ll call recovery reading. Cassandra Austen is the older sister of author, Jane Austen. Jane has been dead for many years and Cassandra has felt it was her duty to be the arbiter and controller of her beloved sister’s legacy. To this end, she has been gathering her sister’s letters and writings. While Jane was the famous sister, in Gill Hornby’s Miss Austen it is Cassandra’s life that unfolds on the page.

Now, in her 80s, Cassandra makes a final visit to the home of their sister-in-law, Eliza, who passed away years ago. She was a dear friend to both women and both had corresponded with her regularly. Correspondence at a time in their lives that was fraught with circumstances Cassandra does not want exposed for public consumption. The problem is she doesn’t know where the letters are and she has no right to them. The current resident of the house is Isabella, Eliza’s daughter. Isabella’s mother, Mary, who is married to Cassandra’s brother and was Eliza’s sister, has already staked a claim to any written material found in the house. It’s a twisted tale.

There are several reasons Miss Austen is such delightful reading. The most straightforward is the times themselves are a refreshing change from the vulgarity and too-much-information that permeates much of today’s society. England in the 1800s had a lot of problems, but manners and etiquette were not one of them. Then there is the story itself. It may be fictional, but Hornby gives a clear sense of the abiding love between all the members of the Austen family. They were unusual in their openness, humor and intellectual pursuits—as evidenced by the acceptance of Jane’s writing. As written it’s a simpler life, with its own challenges, but one with a slower pace that allows room to breathe.

At the same time, Hornby presses the very theme Jane Austen herself returned to time and again: a woman’s need for a good marriage. NOT in the sense of psychological satisfactions, but simply for survival. In Miss Austen Cassandra and Jane are proof of this. After their father’s death, they are without a home and dependent on whatever financial contribution their brothers want to make to help their sisters and mother. Without marriage they have no stability or even a set place to live. But even in the face of this precariousness neither woman feels compelled to marry, driving home what may be the largest theme in the novel—the profound comfort and joy to be found in the presence of other women.

All of this comes together with a lively plot that wraps itself up as neatly as any of the real Miss Austen’s novels. There may not be an abundance of depth or nuance, but if you’re ready for an escape and reading that entertains as it soothes, than Miss Austen is a welcome respite.

Hornby paints such a lovely picture of Cassandra Austen. I had the pleasure of reading this book while taking a course on Jane Austen, but one of the things that I love is that you don't need this context in order to appreciate the book. I definitely recommend cuddling under a nice, warm blanket with a warm cup of cocoa or tea and savoring this one: this isn't a book to be missed!

Sorry, I'm a fan of Longbourn, and so many other Austen retellings, so I was excited to read this, but I just couldn't get into this one. I couldn't really connect with any characters, so it was heard to get through. Thanks anyway.

Thank you to Netgalley and Gill Hornby for my advanced copy of Miss Austen. This was a delightful story involving the love of sisters, growing up in a man’s world; protecting each other and watching out for each other’s well being. During these times the male heirs received the money and the land. If you didn’t marry you were subject to a life of circumstances. The Austen sisters and their mother were a tight knit group who handled the situation better than most. In Miss Austen we meet Cassandra who consistently takes care of the ladies, their moods, their spells and their secrets. Such a great take on such a well known subject as Jane Austin. This was a four star read for me. Gill Hornsby told a wonderful story, with vivid imagery of time and place. I enjoyed this book, very much..

I enjoyed this book. I have to admit, but that I am not one for flashbacks, but I empathized entirely with Cassandra. I have always wondered what Jane Austen's family thought about her, spoke about her, etc., after she was gone. It is one thing to raise an author on a pedestal by readers who are strangers to the author but quite another when that author is a family member. I found the writing to be excellent, and the story was incredibly moving. I felt connected to the characters and time in every way, and the device through letters worked well. And particularly apt since the writing and exchange of letters were keys to understanding not only Jane Austen but also of the wider world she inhabited. I definitely recommend this book! Thank you!

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 and unwed, 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?

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.
When one sister dazzles with wit, vivacity, and pen, the other shines in her own way. Who was Cassandra Austen really? More than a sister with an intriguing heart-felt story of her own which Gill Hornby captures so ably in Miss Austen.



Miss Austen opens in 1840 on an old woman's quest that takes her into Berkshire to the grieving household of the Fowle Vicarage where she hopes to retrieve any correspondence that alters the story of her sister that she hopes will be preserved in posterity. Cassandra Austen is nearing the end of her own life, and it is time to gather up any stray notes and letters that old friends might have kept that might paint her novelist sister in a poor light. It is Cassandra's last chance to check the house before it passes out of the family's hands. In the process, she finds Fulwar and Elizabeth's youngest daughter at sixes and sevens trying to sort items for the family, pack it up, and not fret about her own future. Perhaps she now has a second mission. Meanwhile, sorting through the letters she and Jane sent to Elizabeth bring the past painfully alive.



Miss Austen is a tale told along two time lines and combines regular prose with epistolary-style. It is Cassandra's present and history, but is also the greater story of the Austens, the Lloyds, the Fowles, and their circle of acquaintance. I loved how the author spotlighted all these connections while still writing a gently emotional and engaging story.



It jumped on a few of the rumored family controversies like Edward Austen's wife's dislike of Jane and her interference in Edward supporting his widowed mother and spinster sisters and James Austen's wife, Mary, being a petulant thorn to the family. And, also the later smirking attitude of the younger generation toward their spinster aunts. It sure ramped up the conflict so the Austens seen more like a typical extended family having flaws and shining moments in their turn.



There is a bittersweet quality to this story, and it progresses with great introspection suited to a person at the end of their life reflecting back. This makes it slow at times and easy to put down, but I never lost interest and was vested in Cassandra achieving her personal goal.



Miss Austen was set in the history of the period and the true life family lore so organically that the fiction and the non-fiction blended seamlessly. It was also written in a style that favored the letters and novels of Jane Austen. The letters were brilliant and my favorite part of this book. I've always wondered what was in the letters of Jane Austen that Cassandra Austen burned. It could have been true was the feel and spirit I got from these.



In summary, this is a gentle, emotional story that spotlights a woman who had inner strength and a big heart that did her duty selflessly while considering her life quite fulfilled. I whole-heartedly recommend this for historical fiction, fictional biography, and Austen fans.

I was drawn in to the world of the Austens with this new release title. The story is told through the eyes of Jane’s sister Cassandra, between the years 1795 - 1840. It was interesting to see some of the history and family dynamics of the Austens. The author beautifully captures the Austen-esque prose. However, it was a bit short on plot for my taste. With charming dialog, this will be a go-to read for Austen fans! Thank you Flatiron books for the free review copy.

'Miss Austen' will send you running to reread your collection! Jane Austen is classic. Her works are enduring and beautiful. However, they have transcended beyond just prose into a full mystique of the author whose pen inked out the magic.

Gill Hornby has captured the tone of the era, the cadence of an Austenesque tome, and introduced a new generation to the other Austen sister. This novel is about Jane's sister, Cassandra. She was Jane's greatest confidant and supporter. The story follows an elder Cassy trying to find some letters that Jane wrote to a friend of theirs that had recently past. She is fiercely protective of the narrative of 'Jane Austen' and quite aware of how perception and gossip could taint her sister's name. We see Jane frequently as Cassy reads letters and relives the memories.

It is a beautiful book. Now, all I want to do is a deep dive in to all things Austen!