Jane Austen's First Love

I loved this book! It's a MUST read for all the Austenites out there. Syrie James does an amazing job of capturing the language, tone, and feeling of Jane Austen, and writes an entertaining story to boot.

The story tells of the summer that 15-year-old Jane and her sister Cassandra attended a month-long celebration of her brother Edward's engagement, where she meets the charming and handsome Edward Taylor. It's a fun and entertaining romance, and James cleverly weaves in episodes from Austen's novels as being experienced by Jane - because, after all, we would assume Jane wrote from experience, right? So we've got a carriage accident (Sanditon), a play production (Mansfield Park), and of course a failed attempt at matchmaking (Emma). Additionally, the characters of Jane and Cassandra are very much like Elizabeth and Jane Bennet from Pride and Prejudice.

The author's note at the end of the novel says that most of the characters were actual people, and most of the settings were the actual places they lived, so the research is impressive. But more than that, this is just an enjoyable novel that Austenites will get a little something extra from, but which everyone can enjoy.

Jane Austen's First Love