Stevie‘s review of Miss Austen by Gill Hornby
Historical Biographical Fiction published by Flatiron Books 07 Apr 20
We don’t know a lot about Jane Austen’s life, or even about her thoughts and opinions outside of those she portrays in the narrative of her novels. A big part of that lack of knowledge comes down to the fact that Jane’s sister Cassandra burned a large volume of Jane’s correspondence following the author’s death. While some have speculated that this was to create a disconnect between Jane’s romantic life and that portrayed in her published writings, Gill Hornby gives us a more nuanced view of Cassandra’s motivations. Cassandra is portrayed in this novel while she approaches the end of her life and reviews past events as she continues her mission to preserve the public view of Jane Austen in the most appealing way possible, by hunting down a trove of letters in order to destroy them.
Cassandra is in the village of Kintbury visiting the Fowle family, long-time friends and relatives by marriage (at one remove) to the Austens and their friends, the Lloyds. Both the Austens and the Fowles are ecclesiastical families, with sons succeeding their fathers as rectors of their respective parishes. Now, however, the last Reverend Fowle has died, and the official purpose of Cassandra’s visit is to help the unmarried daughter who nursed him through his last illness to pack up her belongings and move out of the rectory to make way for the new incumbent. Unofficially, Cassandra has set herself two other tasks: to find the letters written by Jane to their friend, the late rector’s wife who predeceased him, and to ensure that his daughter is reconciled with one or other of her two sisters – both of whom live locally – in order that they can set up house together.
Cassandra knows what it is to be a single woman in the times she lives in, with no fixed home and always reliant on the mercy of friends and relatives for a place to stay. Her hostess, however, seems most unwilling to bow to Cassandra’s age and wisdom, and Cassandra’s efforts are further hampered by an unruly servant, who seems determined to deny Cassandra access to both the letters she is seeking to destroy and to any information relating to where her employer is planning to live once the rectory is no longer an option.
There was a lot to like about this book. I loved the author’s theories that Jane was not the demure and hard-working writer that Cassandra’s efforts have helped to establishe in the years since their respective deaths. I also enjoyed seeing Cassandra’s theories about those around her, and her memories of past events being upended by both the goings-on around her and by her reading of the letters she has managed to reclaim. There were moments when the sheer size of the cast of characters was a little overwhelming, and I think I would have preferred to have read a print version of the book in order to more quickly flick between the main story and the explanatory notes at the beginning. On final reflection, I think I need to reread this one on my next visit to Chawton, in order to gain a better understanding of the individuals involved, and their surroundings.
Grade: B
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, 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.
Read an excerpt.
