If you love Pride & Prejudice and are in the mood for a fun historical rom-com, this is the book for you! It was a very welcome change for me, as I’ve read a lot of darker books lately and it was time for something lighter.
The story is narrated by Felicity Blackburn, whose friend Jane Austen is secretly writing a novel inspired by the romantic mishaps going on in Steventon. Felicity is not impressed by the grumpy Mr Fitzroy when they meet at a ball. Meanwhile, her sister Harriet is very taken with Mr Pringle but will he propose to her? Felicity’s awful cousin, Mr Humbleton, turns up with the intention of marrying one of the girls and it seems they will have to accept, to keep the house in the family.
I liked that there was enough of the original story to make this novel feel familiar, with some interesting modern twists. As the spicier and more shocking parts of the story did not get into Jane Austen’s novel, this reflects that we sometimes make the error of thinking that Austen’s books are a true reflection of how things were back then. I’m not saying that the cream sponge incident happened, for example (that was funny!) and some details were not historically accurate, but it did make me wonder what else Jane had to omit from her writing. Perhaps there were indeed some things she would’ve loved to include, but that could not be published.
In summary, this was an amusing read which I enjoyed very much. I look forward to the sequel.
Independently published in 2024.