This started a little slowly for me. It's a quiet book that tells the story of Cassandra Austen, sister of Jane, as she tries to preserve her sister's legacy. I really enjoyed the characters (and the voice, particularly of Jane's letters) but didn't feel particularly attached to the characters - it could have been any historical fiction novel.

As a Jane Austen fan, this was a must read for me. While it is a fictionalized account of Cassandra Austen’s life, it was one that I was eager to read and enjoy.

This book came in at just under 300 pages (about 290) and to be honest, I was worried that because of the length, it would only scratch the surface of Cassandra’s story.

But I have never been more pleased to be wrong in my assumption! This book packed an emotional punch that I wasn’t expecting but it worked so well and I happily passed a few quarantined days reading this book!

Summary
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 ’60s 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. (summary from Goodreads)

Review
I loved that this book explored the ‘what if’ aspect of the missing Jane Austen letters. I thought it made sense and felt true to the period and to Austen herself. Jane Austen is such a classic author with so many beloved books that it’s easy to romanticize not only herself but her life and books/characters. What I loved about this book was it made the reader look at Jane’s life from the perspective of her sister, who is often referred to as Jane’s censor.

From Cassandra’s perspective we get a look into the lives of unmarried women during this time and not just the idyllic views we traditionally see in many fictional novels of this time period. I thought it was a very interesting study and I loved that the author really brought this pierce of silent history to light. In this book, Cassandra is definitely portrayed as the thoughtful sister to Jane and while I have mostly studies Jane’s novels rather than her personal life, I found that their relationship portrayed in this book was genuine and believable.

One of my favorite parts of the book was getting to see the wold be villain Mary Austen. As I mentioned before, I haven’t gone down the worm hole of Austen history yet….I have only just stayed within the literary context. Debating about who inspired Jane’s characters or stories just never really appealed to me so I stayed away from it, but I do know that her sister in law Mary Austen was often thought to be the inspiration for Mary Bennett and I loved having a chance to explore Mary Austen’s character in this book that is independent from the traditional Austen cannon.

I think my only regret in this book was that it wasn’t a little longer. Don’t get me wrong, as I mentioned earlier the book is very satisfying on its own but I wanted to linger in the world that the author has created. In short I was not ready to say goodbye so soon, but ultimately all the loose ends and such were wrapped up nicely in the 280 ish pages and I felt that the story was indeed done but I loved the author’s prose and historical details, that I just wasn’t ready to be done.

Book Info and Rating
Kindle Edition, 288 pages
Expected publication: April 7th 2020 by Flatiron Books (first published January 23rd 2020)
ASIN B07PBPRJXX
Free review copy provided by publisher, Flatiron Books, in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and in no way influenced.
Rating: 5 stars
Genre: historical fiction

“Jane had been the sun of her life”. I love that quote as I believe it really must be how Cassandra Austen felt about her sister, Jane Austen. All I knew about Miss Cassandra Austen was that she and Jane were extremely close, and that she destroyed Jane’s letters after her death. This book is an interesting fictional take on the life of Cassandra, Jane, and their family. In the later years of her life, Cassandra goes to visit Isabelle Fowle with the secret intention to find the letters that she and Jane had sent over the years to Isabella’s mother so that she can destroy any that she thinks are too personal or reveal anything negative. The book is told through revealing some of these letters from the past and further flashbacks of Jane and Cassandra’s lives during those times. I thought it was a great way to tell the story. I think Jane Austen fans will enjoy this story, but that it can also be enjoyed by those that haven’t read Jane it know much about her life.

Gill Hornby's Miss Austen is a work of historical fiction seeking to revise the usual negative interpretation of Jane Austen's sister Cassandra. The novel begins in 1840 when an aging Cassandra goes on a search to find a cache of intimate letters by Jane Austen. Cassandra is determined to protect her dead sister's literary image--and perhaps to protect her own image as well. She does indeed find the letters and has to make a choice about how to deal with them. Fans of Jane Austen's novel and biography will enjoy Hornby's fictional recreation of the letters. Perhaps more interesting in the author's efforts to show Cassandra as a woman grieving deeply and trying to take positive action. Finally, the novel offers readers a subtle portrait of the limitations women faced at the beginning of the nineteenth century in Britain. Smoothly written, thought provoking, and charming, Miss Austen is definitely a book to add to your Austen shelf.

I adore anything Jane Austen related and this new novel, a fictionalized account of Austen's family following her death, was no exception for me. Her sister Cassandra is reviewing a set of letters between Jane and her best friend Eliza. The letters reveal the ups and downs of their lives over the decades. The story has all the atmospheric charm of an Austen novel and the tittering drama of the ladies of the time.

The story weaves through love stories, shattering life tragedies and the mundane realities of life in the time. There are aching losses and beautiful moments of love all framed in the rigid social mores of the time. This is a worthwhile addition to any Austen-lover's library.

This is the poignant story of Cassandra Austen, the woman behind the woman. A strong, faithful and permanent figure in Jane Austen's life, professionally and personally as she was Jane's most beloved older sister and number fan.

It is 1840 and Cassy is on a mission; she appears unannounced at her niece Isabella's door in the hopes to find all of Jane's correspondence. This correspondence takes us on this dreamy journey of the Austen family history. A roller-coaster of feelings will you experience as the Austens have, just like any family, experienced their ups and downs. And, most importantly, we have the chance to get to know who Cassandra is and how perfect of a person she was. I completely fell in love with her; her life choices, her heart, her faithfulness, her unconditional love, her caring, all those things you can only wish for in a friend or family member. Jane and Cassandra were so lucky to have each other.

I appreciated the family description at the beginning of the novel. I used it as a reference on several occasions in order to figure out who was who throughout the book.

This book has turned me upside down. My cheeks are still moist from the emotions the book brought out of me. Gill Hornby's writing is smart, quaint, elegant, classical. She did a wonderful job at making me dive, head first, into the late 1700s and 1800. This book is a 6-star for me!

I highly recommend this book to:
1. Jane Austen fans
2. people like me who have never read an Austen novel but who want to discover her world before reading one of her masterpieces
2. historical fiction fans
3. fans of lazy weekend reads
4. readers like me who enjoy female-oriented books, particularly books featuring strong female protagonists.

Thank you so much Net Galley and Flatiron Books for this digital ARC in exchange of a honest review.

Title: Miss Austen
Author: Gill Hornby
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: 4 out of 5

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

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?

I love Jane Austen’s works, so this was a natural choice for me to read. It started off a bit slow—and, honestly, was never what I’d call fast-paced—but that’s fitting for this particular story. The reader is immersed in the lives of Cassandra and Jane as young ladies, but also experiences life with Jane via flashbacks and letters, and also Cassandra’s life as an older, single woman on her own.

This novel is rich in historical detail and will appeal to readers who are Austen fans and want to learn more about their literary heroine’s life. I found Cassandra’s life to be deeply sad—but she’s happy, and that’s what really matters.

Gill Hornby lives in England. Miss Austen is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Flatiron Books in exchange for an honest review.)

Bottom line: if you are familiar with Austen (and her novels), you will enjoy this. If you know nothing about Jane Austen, I wouldn't recommend picking this up just yet.

The beginning was a bit slow for me, and I confess that the only parts that caught my attention were the flashback's to young Cassandra's life. I almost wanted to skip the old-Cassandra parts all together.

While I loved the interesting angle that this novel presented (how many novels do you know that revolve around the great novelist's sister?) I almost wanted... more. Since Jane never married, Cassandra was arguably the most important person in her life. For this reason, I wanted to see more interaction between the two sisters. I understand that this is Cassandra's novel, but Jane was a central part of her life.

I will say, I think Miss Austen did a wonderful job of immersing the story in an accurate version of the time period. Most regency-era books fail epically at this, in my opinion. They completely disregard and misrepresent the social norms, gender roles, and dozens of other things that were present in the nineteenth century. Miss Austen, however, was consistent in its correct portrayal of all these things. For me, that made it all the more enjoyable.

Although this book suffers from a slow start, it certainly delight fans of Austen!

Thank you to Netgalley for providing an advance copy in exchange for an honest review!

Miss Austen written by Gill Hornby is one of those "quiet" books. One that tells of a life (0r lives) that is lived, perhaps, without fanfare. The main character may live on the periphery of greatness or not. It is not filled with car chases or, in this timeline, carriage chases. In these times especially, it was a comfort and a relief to slip inside the "quiet" of Miss Austen.

This is not say that Miss Austen is boring, quite the contrary, it has much of interest. It does not, however, beat the reader about the head with unnecessary and, frankly unbelievable, action. The reader will find that they seamlessly fall Into the world of the Austens. For the most part it is a pleasant world but beware, a single woman of a certain age is easily set aside. Just because she has siblings or other relations does not by any means guarantee that she will not starve or that she will have a roof over her head. It was a poignant reminder that we women have had at times lived lives of quiet desperation.

I, as a rule, enjoy historical fiction, this novel in particular suggested a very plausible reason why Cassandra destroyed so much of Jane's correspondence. That is an example of why I love historical fiction; it takes a real situation, brings it to life and posits why or how something came to be.

I believe that those of us who are fans of Jane Austen will enjoy this book. I also believe that even those of us who are not so familiar with her will still enjoy reading Miss Austen.

Coming into this book I felt like I knew a little bit about Jane Austen and the Austen family in general. But really the only thing I knew about Cassandra Austen is that she was the caretaker of Jane's legacy and her mission was to always show Jane in a positive light and hide some of her sharper snarkier observations.



I really enjoyed seeing more of her personality and her thinking behind her decisions to keep Jane's memory untarnished by unkind words though I think we would have loved Jane all the more if we could have known her a little better.



I enjoyed getting to know Cassie and some of the other Austen relations and family friends. While I didn't always agree with her decisions I did very much enjoy her sharp observations and family loyalty. I do want to read up a bit more to see if Mary Austen is as awful as she's portrayed - I suspect she was! This was a lovely read and a nice distraction with the added benefit of bringing a beloved literary figure to life.

This beautiful written novel is taken by the view of Cassandra, Jane Austen's favorite sister in real life. I enjoy how the style of the book is written as a recollection of the past as we know from the beginning that Cassandra is older in her life, hoping she is not to late.
I waited for the audio-book, narrated by Juliet Stevenson and she did such an amazing job. Her voice sent me back in Cassandra's time period. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to her story as I would be probably be doing some embroidery work by the fireplace if I was born during that time.
Gill Hornby set-up is a back and forth between the vicarage and Cassandra’s vibrant memories of her years with Jane. Gill has done a brilliant re-imagining of the "lost letters", that today we know where either burned up or thrown away. It was so nice to see the format change into the form of the letters, making the reader feel like they were the ones that found them.
The last bit of the synopsis sums up this novel beautiful. "Miss Austen" is the untold story of the most important person in Jane’s life. With extraordinary empathy, emotional complexity, and wit. The author presents Cassandra in such a great way, bringing her to life captivating her as any Austen heroine."

I loved this book, it was like steppino back in time and Boeing The re, with Cassandra and Jane, living with thee through the most difficult moments of Their lives. I cannot recommend it enough.

In this intriguing biographical novel, Gill Hornby takes up the story of Cassandra Austen, Jane Austen’s older sister. It is 1840, over twenty years after Jane’s death, and Cassandra, an aging spinster, is still working hard to preserve her sister’s legacy and reputation. She arrives unannounced at the family of the Fowles, the home of her former fiancé and close friends of the Austen’s. Cassandra is sure that some of her sister’s letters are still at the Fowle residence and she plans to retrieve and then destroy them before they are lost to the Fowle family’s possessions. She finds the letters easily, but in reading them, Jane and Cassandra’s pasts are revealed in interspersed flashbacks throughout the story.
It is well known that after Jane’s death, Cassandra did destroy much of her sister’s correspondence, leaving scholars and fans to piece together the life and feelings of both Jane and Cassandra. The fictional letters here reveal the often-fraught lives the two lead. Cassandra loosing her finance in an untimely death; the retirement of their father, which sent them on a disjointed journey from town to town per the whims of their parents; and after the death of the father, a search for a more permanent home where Jane could write and Cassandra could tend to the needs of her sister and other family members. Following the death of Jane, Cassandra was able to create a satisfying life of friendships, family and duty.
This is a leisurely paced novel, with glimpses into the difficult life of a spinster in a world that valued well-struck marriages and the needs of men over women. The character of Cassandra is well drawn, creating sympathy and admiration for a woman who overcame her lot in life to make a happy existence for herself. The portrayal of Jane as often difficult and sometimes selfish, was an interesting one. Miss Austen is an interesting and original look it the world of the Austen’s and a good addition to world of Austen fan fiction.

Please see the link for the full video review: https://youtu.be/-8v2zVODChU


In Miss Austen Gill Hornby respectfully fills the spaces of these facts with carefully constructed subtle story that explores themes of privacy, family, spinsterhood, legacy, and above all grief.
We move back and forth between Cassandra as an elderly spinster in the 1840s and her vibrant memories of her youth with Jane. Over twenty years after Jane's death Cassandra pays a visit to her friend Isabella Fowle. Isabella, a fellow spinster is forced to pack up her ancestral home of Kintbury Vicarage after her father passes away. Here Cassandra frantically searches for Jane's letters in the hopes to safeguard Jane's legacy and is reminded of her rich past with Jane.

This book is perfect for Jane Austen fans and reminds me why I love historical fiction so very much. Gill Hornby brings the Austen sisters to life by imagining a story in the gaps of their history. How did Cassandra feel about the prospect of marrying Tom Fowle? Why did Jane Austen's engagement with Mr. Bigg-weather only last one night? What were Cassandra's motivations for destroying Jane's letters? What were the Austen sisters' thoughts on spinsterhood? We know the general facts of the Austen Sisters' lives, but their innermost thoughts, desires, and motivations are things that we can only speculate on and Gill Hornby does so beautifully. Nothing in here is particularly farfetched. It's all plausible and yet so much of it may or may not have happened the way Hornby posits it did. And that is part of the beauty of this book and really good historical fiction in general: how it makes you wonder endlessly about the characters of history. What were Jane and Cassandra really like? The focus of this book is clearly on Cassandra and her interactions with the extraordinary women in her life, but through this lens of those closest to Jane we are better able to understand her legacy.

I absolutely loved this book and thought it a respectable homage to Austen's life and works.

"For fans of Jo Baker’s Longbourn, a witty, wonderfully original novel about Cassandra Austen and her famous sister, Jane.

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

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."

I know, like me, you're here for the lost letters!

Miss Austen is a fictionalized story about Jane Austen's elder sister Cassandra. The narrative alternates between two timelines. The first one is in the spring of 1840 when a 67-year old Cassandra visits the home of her relatives in Kintbury in the hopes of recovering the correspondence that both she and Jane had sent to their sister-in-law. The second timeline includes some of the old letters Cassandra reads and her reminiscences about her youth.

It is a well-known fact that Jane and Cassandra Austen never married and lived together until Jane's untimely death in 1817. Cassandra was devoted to her sister and to her memory. So profound was her desire to preserve Jane's legacy, that she meticulously purged Jane's private correspondence and destroyed the majority of letters authored by her. The novel allows us a glimpse into Cassandra's thoughts, and lets us see her reasoning for trying to keep Jane's private letters and feelings hidden from the prying eyes of posterity.

In many ways, Cassandra's actions were prophetic. Jane died in relative obscurity. Even though her novels were moderately popular when first published, they did not gain in popularity until well into the 19th century. Cassandra never stopped believing that Jane's works would live on and did everything in her power to preserve a lady-like image of her sister.

The book presents a very believable account of events and characters. Reading this novel, I was struck anew with how difficult and unfair life was for women at the time. As single unmarried women, Jane and Cassandra struggled with poverty and were forced to move from place to place until their brother Edward allowed them to stay in one of the cottages that he owned. There were very few options for women: marry or live out your years as a spinster, shut up in a back bedroom of a relatives' house. Cassandra believes that hers was a happy life. She spent her best years in the company of her intelligent literary sister. She could not think of a better companion, or a closer friend to spend her life with.

The only plot line in the book that I thought was weak is Cassandra's relationship with Mr. Hobsday. She met him in her late 20s, and at least in the novel, both he and Cassandra feel instant attraction towards each other. Yet, Cassandra stubbornly refuses to marry him. Her reasons were not convincing, and I was particularly surprised that Cassandra did not even have a trace of regret about turning him down.

Overall, 4 out 5 stars. I think this book would appeal to all readers interested in Jane Austen and her books.

An e-ARC was provided by NetGalley.com.

If asked for their favourite classic, a lot of people will name an Austen book. I’ve never been such a person, but that did not stop me from being interested in Miss Austen. I’m always happy to find out more about the past, especially when it’s done through mixing fact and fiction, but I think this is one of those books best read if you’re an Austen fan.

Rather than focusing on the best-known Austen, Miss Austen focuses on Cassandra. We get some information from early in life, but most focuses on her later years. There were many things that had me wanting to read on, but I was never sucked complete in.

I believe this was due to the fact I wasn’t quite the right audience. However, I’m sure fans of Austen will find this homage to the sisters enjoyable.

I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have to give this three stars because I enjoyed it but I didn't love it. It was well written and a good read but something was missing for me. I love historical fiction, so I did enjoy this book.

Thank you kindly to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for this review copy.

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<p>Plot (2 Stars): I wanted to like this soooo much! I love Jane Austen books, but this plot didn't grab me. When I reached the end of the book, I was still waiting for the story to start. I was bored through most of it. It was a great way to look at what life was like in the 19th century for women. </p>
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<p>Characters (3 stars): They had their interesting moments, but I wasn't in love with any of them. </p>
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<p>Writing (5 stars): This was an ARC so I was asked not to say much about the writing, however, I loved the writing! The author did an excellent job of tapping into her inner Austen. It was more than I could have done. I may be able to write a line or two that's "Austen-ish", but never an entire book. Hornby did an amazing job. </p>
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<p>Overall: I didn't love this book, but I know a lot of people did. It just wasn't my cup of tea. I give it 3 stars. </p>
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I have loved Jane Austen's novels since I was a young girl so to step back into that period of time and read about the Austen sisters themselves was a true joy.

Over twenty years since her sister Jane has passed and Cassandra finds herself uprooting her life to return to the Fowles house which stirs up many memories. The current occupants are preparing to leave so Cassandra is there on a single mission - to find the family letters that are hidden there. Family letters that could change so much if they were to become public knowledge. And as Cassandra settles down to her task, an entire vibrant past is brought to light as we experience what life living as an Austen was truly like.

The setting, the prose, everything felt like an Austen novel which made this story all the more special. Cassandra is a wonderful character and learning more about her and the Austen family was fascinating. There are plenty of interesting characters along the way - some comedic, some sorrowful, and some simply vindictive - and I fell back in time effortlessly as I turned each page.

MISS AUSTEN by Gill Hornby is a must for all Austen fans but also for historical fiction fans in general, as it is superb from beginning to end. I look forward to reading more from Gill Hornby.