The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen

AADL has no copies of this item

COMMUNITY REVIEWS

Wanted to love this, but... submitted by deets on August 6, 2015, 1:22pm It took me a couple starts before I continued on to read the entire novel. The premise is not that new, an attempt at filling in the details of Jane Austen's life through non-existent letters, or in this case, a long lost memoir. As the writer of possibly the best romance novels ever written, Austen scholars, avid fans, and most anyone with a basic knowledge of the author's life often question how it is that despite having a brilliant, witty, and romantic imagination, she died a "spinster", and, excepting a one night engagement, never seems to have had a serious flirtation or proposal.
When I say I wanted to love this, it's because I have taken much guilty pleasure in Austen fan fiction, and conjectures about some secret life that more closely marries her own life to those of her characters. And yet, despite an obviously thorough knowledge of Austen and her works, Syrie James just can't seem to write in a style even close to convincing enough to believe that they are the words of Austen herself. Despite this, once I got into the novel by a few chapters, the novel was enjoyable. James works in enough factual details as to make the line between fact and fiction quite blurry. The characters of her novels oftentimes make an appearance as well, albeit through "real life" acquaintances and events, making it a fun game to spot the references and try to place them with characters and quotes from Austen's novels.
I find it hard to decide whether or not I would recommend this novel. I did still rather enjoy it, but if you are a stickler for those claiming Austen's voice to excel at it, or do not like others claiming her voice for themselves at all, this would not be the book for you.