Jane and the Year Without a Summer by Stephanie Barron
 
In May 1816, Jane Austen suffers from unwellness due to family burdens. Her apothecary recommends a visit to Cheltenham Spa, Gloucestershire, where she and her sister Cassandra spend time.
 
However, the spa is not as relaxing as expected, as other travelers with similar stresses arrive. Jane's intervention may prevent a terrible crime during the Year without a Summer, a forgotten moment in Regency history.
 
To begin with, Jane was witty, delightful, and pretty good. This was slow, and the mystery aspect of the book took a long time to come into play, and Jane's involvement in this felt or started at the end. It took me time to get into this.
 
This being said, the research that went into this book of that particular time or year was well done. I liked how the author focused on the details of Jane's life and made it more realistic. This was my first book by the author, and I was surprised to know that this is the 14th book in the series. I can't wait to read the others.
 
If you are a Jane Austen fan, you need to read this different spin on her life with historical mystery.

I was a little nervous reading this one since it's the 14th book in the series and I'd never read a single one, but I will say it reads perfectly as a stand alone. In the beginning, I did get a little overwhelmed by the amount of characters but despite that I never felt confused or lost in the story. This was a fantastic mystery and I never felt bored from knowing what would happen.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC!
I am a huge fangirl of this series by Stephanie Barron, and this book did not disappoint. The mystery is good, and I think that the author's characterization of Jane is on point.
This series is very well written and meticulously researched, recommend it to true history buffs and fans of Jane Austen.
Spoiler alert: We know that Jane will not be with us for long, so this is very bittersweet; don't know if Ms. Barron plans another...

I really loves these Jane Austen mysteries because I love imagining my favorite author as a female sleuth! This new installment is everything I wanted in a Regency novel! I love the sisterhood between Jane and Cassandra! The story is very well-written and meticulously researched! I also find the mystery to be very compelling and well-done! This novel is a must read for Jane Austen fans! I also recommend this for fans of Death Comes to Pemberly!

I didn't realize when I started this book that it was part of a long ongoing series and I got a little nervous that I would feel like a lost puppy in the universe but it was the exact opposite of that. I was able to slide right in and enjoy the book, it's story and it's characters were incredibly inviting and now I know that I have plenty of others to read in the series! I very much enjoyed this book and look forward to more.

Being the 14th entry in the Jane Austen mysteries. I found the story delightful. Jane and Cassandra are in Cheltenham in 1816, the year without a summer (thanks to a volcanic eruption). They are there to take the waters for Jane’s health which is in a bit of a decline. There they meet a selection of people from the delightful (Captain Pellew, Mrs. Smith) and the exceedingly dour (Mr. and Miss. Garthwaite a brother and sister). The waters are, um, metallic and hard to swallow. But there are others in the house that cause a stir during their brief visit. Not the mention the unexpected appearance of Mr. Raphael West, someone whom Jane has strong feelings for. And the reason they weren’t going to Bath. Dead rats and a woman starving herself to get her way make for a far more interesting trip then the sisters were planning on having.

Jane and the Year Without a Summer is another great entry in Stephanie Barron's series of mysteries solved by the great Jane Austen.

Jane is near the end of her life, but she hasn't shared that information with anyone else. She and her sister Cassandra are enjoying a two-week vacation in Cheltenham Spa. The waters don't taste very good (at all) but the sisters hope that they will help Jane with her ailments. They are staying in a boardinghouse with some interesting characters - a beautiful young maiden in a basketchair and her nurse/companion, and a reverend and his wife, who are convinced the world is ending and share that "knowledge" with everyone they meet.

When it is discovered that not everyone at their boardinghouse is who they say they are, and some animals are found dead, Jane investigates. Her old friend, Mr. West, is also at Cheltenham and renews his friendship (and perhaps more?) with Jane. He aids in her investigation of her fellow boarders and some of the other visitors to the spa town.

This series of books is an old favorite, as the mysteries are always interesting and the descriptions of Jane and Regency England are fascinating. I really enjoyed renewing my acquaintance with Miss Austen and her family! Thanks to Netgalley for this advance copy of a lovely cozy mystery!

"Jane and the Year Without a Summer" is the 14th book in Stephanie Barron’s Jane Austen Mysteries series and the first one I have read! Saying that I can tell you that I found this to be an excellent stand-alone. So don’t worry, you can read them in any order!

I was very impressed with Barron’s research into Jane Austen’s life and how she combines real and fictional to write a remarkable story. The mystery was well done with some nice twists.

Jane and her sister Cassandra take a trip to Cheltenham Spa to drink the waters and consult a doctor concerning Jane’s ill health. While there, they meet some interesting people and find a mystery to unravel! I love how tenacious Jane is - she notices the small details that seem to go unnoticed by everyone else.

I did find the first half of the book slow, but I loved the second half! I’m also a fan of footnotes and was happy to see them sprinkled throughout the story!

Knowing what we know about Jane’s health and that Barron follows Jane’s life pretty accurately makes the ending bittersweet.

"Jane and the Year Without a Summer" is a delightful read! If you love Jane Austen mixed with a bit of murder, masquerade, and intrigue, this is the book for you (and probably the series as well)!

There are many books and movies about the life of Jane Austen. I fell in love with her stories while taking AP English in High School. She captures a time period and writes the most amazing banter. I felt intrigued when I read the synopsis for this novel. A novel was written about Jane Austen from her point of view. Yes, please!


When I started reading this book I went about it in the same way that I begin most books. I started reading. It didn't take me long to figure out that I couldn't go at the same pace as other books. I quickly realized that I needed to slow down and pay close attention to the words. Not only is it a book about Jane, but it is also written in Jane's style of writing.


A little further in and I noticed footnotes? Footnotes in a piece of fiction? Stephanie Barron has taken facts from the life of Jane and her family. She did research into Janes's life! Not only that, she listed her sources. This is definitely NOT your typical fiction book. The book is also written in the first person. It lends a feeling of anticipation, you know that something is coming.


This is a book that is to be savored. You don't start this book to read quickly and move on to the next book. You need to pay attention and enjoy. I noticed that it is the 14th book in the Jane Austen Mysteries series. This is my first book by this author, but it will not be my last.


I love mystery and I love Regency. This is a great blend and one to capture your imagination, interest, and pique your curiosity.

As a Jane Austen fan, I have always enjoyed this series. This particular book started slow- in the fact the actual murder doesn't happen until over half-way through the book! I kept going and I am glad I did.

Barron really captures Jane Austen's way of writing and attention to detail. I love that you get insight into Austen's life, while always reading a cozy mystery. It is not fast-paced, thrilling or sexy, and that is point. Sometimes you need a good who-dun-it, and some good tea. This book fits the bill. Lovely.

I haven't read any of the other books in this series nor read any Jane Austen books but still I loved loved loved this. It's such a shame it has to be limited by the life span of Jane Austen but I will be going back and reading all the others books in the series. The mystery itself is interesting but so is the interaction between the characters and the secondary character's are great as well.
Thanks to netgallery for put me on to this series my honest review is given above.

Although this is a series of fourteen books I’ve actually only read the last three, including this one. The ‘Being a Jane Austen Mystery’ series puts Jane Austen as a sleuth, intermingling fictional murder mysteries into her known real-life movements.

The first thing to know is that the year without a summer is not a bit of dramatic embellishment by the author but actually a real event; 1816 had a colder than usual summer globally, due to volcanic ash. There were crop failures due to the cold summer. Another thing to bear in mind with this novel is the timeline. Jane Austen died in July 1817, just over a year after this novel is set (May-June 1816, during a trip Austen took with her sister Cassandra, to Cheltenham Spa, as she had been feeling unwell with the disease that would eventually take her life). So in a way the incessant bad weather provides a sympathetic background as the reader knows that Austen is beginning to face her last days:

'I spoke with determined cheerfulness, for in all truth I have not been feeling very stout of late, and at my sister Cassandra’s urging had at last sought the advice of the Alton apothecary. Lassitude, a want of spirits, and a persistent pain in my back dogged me throughout the winter months.'

At the spa, Jane will come to meet a mix of characters and get involved in a mystery. The characters that she meets are actually quite an unlikeable bunch! She will also become reacquainted with Mr Raphael West, an artist who has featured in the last few ‘Being a Jane Austen Mystery’ books. Surprisingly he was a real person, although I am not aware of him having known Miss Austen, much less having a friendship with her.

As for the mystery, I really enjoyed it. The pace is relatively slow but even and in keeping with a realistic course of events. Although I was pretty certain what had happened before the reveal, that wasn’t really the point of the exercise, I felt like I was enjoying the mystery along the way with Jane.

The big bonus with these books is that they are told in Jane’s voice and I really enjoyed Ms Barron’s take on her character. She is humorous, self-deprecating and very sharp; I loved Jane’s ‘voice’.

There were nods in some of the text to Austen’s works. Some of these worked better than others for me. There is some wording used which came from Austen’s books which were published at this time and in some cases didn’t feel natural, but there were some resemblances to some of her characters which I enjoyed. In one of the previous books in the series I thought that Austen’s sister in law Mary bore a strong resemblance to Mary Musgrove from Persuasion. In this book Jane’s brother James could have been the model for Mr Collins from Pride & Prejudice:

“I blame my father—may he rest in peace, poor soul. He ought never to have encouraged your writing; the female mind is too weak to support the rigors of composition, and must necessarily fall into vice.”

“I apprehend you have been composing your sermon, James.” I beamed at him with unruffled serenity.


This episode of the series was a little bit melancholy, which was inevitable as the reader knows that Jane’s time is running out. On the flip side many of the characters were quite unlikeable, so I didn’t mind the bad things happening to them so much – if I’d have liked them more I might have struggled, so I thought the balance was good!

One thing I really appreciated were the notes added in by the author to highlight things which were facts. I love learning history through stories but sometimes you can’t tell what is fact and what is fiction, so having the facts highlighted for me saves me looking it up later!

There appears to be scope for at least one more book, which is another sad thought, because I like this series. I’d recommend reading Jane and the Year Without a Summer if you enjoy mysteries and Jane Austen as a character. Although it’s part of a series you could read it as stand alone with few difficulties. This is my favourite one I’ve read so far and I’ll rate it as a 5 star read.

As a self-professed Janeite, I unabashedly love the Jane Austen Mysteries series. The author always nails the tone and nuances of the Regency perfectly. In this latest installment, Jane and her sister Cassandra are taking the waters to help mitigate Jane's worsening health condition as she enters her mid 40s. I found this fascinating since I have not seen Jane's health concerns addressed in a work of historical fiction hitherto. The plot line is engaging and the characters well-developed. To sweeten the deal, the author provides historical footnotes that give context to the novel and were quite fascinating. I can't recommend this series enough either for those who love Jane Austen, are fans of the period, or simply enjoy a good cozy mystery.

After a six year hiatus, fans of Stephanie Barron’s Jane Austen mystery series have been given another volume in this delightful collection of fictional tales featuring the esteemed Regency author. The fourteenth title in the collection is Jane and the Year Without a Summer. As mentioned in the above description of the novel, the “year without a summer” includes 1816, which harbored dour weather conditions due to the eruption of Mount Tambora the year before. This is not an indication of a somber storyline in any way, although clear acknowledgements of Austen’s deteriorating physical condition are included, as history records that she died in 1817, about a year after the events of this particular fictional tale.

Jane and the Year Without a Summer is set between May 20th and June 10th of 1816 and based on the actual holiday that Jane took with her sister Cassandra to Cheltenham Spa. Fiction comes into play when a murder is committed, and the intrepid Jane is once again bent on solving the mystery of the identity of the killer. Author Stephanie Barron has chosen to front-load the novel with most of the content occurring before the crime is committed. Readers will encounter quite a few suspects, and many clues are planted well before any nefarious actions are taken. As such, the last fourth of the novel moves at quite a brisk pace, as pieces of the puzzle are put together by Miss Austen, and even further excitement ensues. There is also a nice touch of romance between two characters that carries the tension of unrequited love that Austen expressed so deftly in her novels as well.

My only difficulty with Jane and the Year Without a Summer came in the cast of characters. Several of them go by multiple names, such as their married/Christian names as well as their “titled” names, such as "Lord" or "Lady". As a result I sometimes had trouble remembering which person was which. This is a minor issue, as the most important individuals in the story were clear-cut in my mind and easy to recall.

From a content standpoint Barron keeps things very family-friendly, with little to no colorful language throughout and a scarce amount of material that would even venture towards being “adult”. Her research into the time period is impeccable, as she includes facts from Regency England that are enjoyable as well as educational. Occasionally footnotes are included to explain historical issues that some may not be familiar with. Vocabulary of the era is often utilized, and every now and again winks to actual Austen quotes pop up in the writing, such as, “The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a novel, must be intolerably stupid.”

Once again Stephanie Barron has brought to her readership a brisk, delightful murder mystery featuring a fictionalized version of the very real Jane Austen. As Jane and the Year Without a Summer concludes about a year before Jane’s actual death, I am holding out hope that Barron has a few more titles to add to the Being a Jane Austen Mystery series. Much can happen in a year of the life of our intrepid sleuth. Perhaps she still has an adventure or two remaining up her sleeve…

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I hadn’t read any of the other books in this series, but was grateful to discover I didn’t have to. The book was very slow for me and I found myself losing interest more than once. While I applaud the author for her meticulous research of Jane Austen and regency times, this book just wasn’t for me. The mystery didn’t grip me and the depictions of disabilities and mental illness were extremely stereotypical.

I know others will enjoy this, but unfortunately it was a miss for me.

It has been a while since I have read one of Stephanie Barron’s Regency mysteries featuring the intrepid Jane Austen as primary sleuth. What have I been waiting for? After reading Jane And The Year Without A Summer I have now successfully added many more books to my towering TBR pile. This mystery is excellent. The book finds Jane in her final years of life. Not a spoiler — anyone can read her biography. Feeling unwell, she and her sister Cassandra journey to the spa town of Cheltenham to take the waters. Upon taking rooms at a boarding house, Jane is privy to all kinds of inside knowledge about her fellow lodgers. With her keen observations, along with the help of a former acquaintance, Jane finds out whodunit. Barron really does capture Austen. The book is told in Jane’s first person voice and contains many of the phrases and references that Austen-philes will recognize. The culture of the watering hole of the day, with its visits to the theater, pump rooms, and assembly room is spot on. I felt like I was on the streets and in the sitting rooms of early 1880s England. The mystery kept me guessing until the end. It was a real treat to read a book that combines excellent storytelling with a credible portrayal of a beloved author. The book is a bit poignant for fans of Barron and Austen — it is evident that Jane’s adventures in crime-solving may soon come to an end. But with all the books I have yet to read, I know that I have many more pleasurable hours ahead of me.

Barron does Jane Austen justice — any one who loves Austen and the many variations of her works will enjoy Jane And The Year Without A Summer. I loved it and heartily recommend it!

Highly Recommended.

Audience: adults.

The review of Jane and the Year Without a Summer is in the March 2022 issue of Gumshoe Review and is exclusive to them until April 2022. To read the review use this link:
<http://www.gumshoereview.com/php/Review-id.php?id=6852>

Was happy to include this book in my latest “Thrills and Chills” round-up for Zoomer magazine, highlighting winter’s best suspense and mystery reads. (see mini-review at link)

Jane Austen in 1816 feels unwell and takes the waters for her health. Intrigues and murder intervene and Jane investigates whodunit. Good regency mystery.

I have only but two words for this book: utter perfection. This author brought up Austen to our days so we could rejoice in what was an absolute joy to read.
Regency era will always be my favorite, especially when with a hint for mystery! Definitely recommend!