Jane Austen is one of this country’s most famous authors, an one of my favourite authors so I couldn’t wait to read Gill Hornby’s Miss Austen. Set in 1840, twenty years after Jane’s death, her elder sister Cassandra goes to visit family in Kintbury in the aim of recovering letters both Jane and herself sent to their friend Eliza Fowle. Cassandra is worried about the content of these letters and doesn’t want them discovered when Eliza’s daughter, Isabella has to move out from the vicarage. Whilst there, old memories arise, and Cassandra reflects on her life with Jane. Part Epistolary novel, we learn of the young Jane and Cassandra and their lives.

Miss Austen is a fictional novel, the letters are imagined but the characters are all real as are their relationships; Cassandra was engaged to Eliza’s brother Tom and Eliza’s sister was married to one of Jane and Cassandra’s brothers. What I most enjoyed about Miss Austen was that it read like one of Jane Austen’s novels; full of wit, sarcasm, social commentary and wonderful characters. I found myself likening some of the characters to those in the books, Isabella looking for a second chance like Anne Elliot from my favourite novel Persuasion and Cassandra’s meddling reminded me of Emma Woodhouse.

Gill Hornby shows great understanding of the period and the Austen family and has created a wonderful and original read that took me back to the pleasure of reading Jane Austen’s novels. This book is full of emotion, the highs and lows of the sisters lives together, their loves and friendships and how they were held in esteem by those who knew them. The letters are very realistic, and are a brilliant device for showing the close relationship between Jane and Cassandra and the support and love between them. What we do know is that after Jane’s death Cassandra did burn a lot of letters to protect her sister and her memory. The majority of the characters are female, and show how women were viewed in society, as wives, mother’s, sisters and aunts, all at the mercy of the male members of their family; a theme that appears frequently in Jane Austen’s novels.

Miss Austen is simply a beautiful novel to read. Gill Hornby perfectly captures the nineteenth century and the bond between Cassandra and Jane. Her characterisation and writing style are reminiscent of some of Jane Austen’s novels for me this brought on a feeling of nostalgia. Captivating, charming and a celebration of the life of one of our most famous authors, Miss Austen is an extraordinary and heartwarming read.

I’ll admit when I first requested this book from NetGalley I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect. I only have a passing familiarity with the life and works of Jane Austen, but I was intrigued by the suggestion that this novel attempts to explain why, twenty-some years after the death of her slightly more famous sister, Cassandra Austen took it upon herself to burn a large chunk of the correspondence written by Jane.

Written in a facsimile of Austen’s own style, the novel mainly concerns Cassandra’s visit to the village of Kintbury, home to family friends, the Fowles. While Cassandra searches the dusty recesses of the old rectory for any stray Austen correspondence, she reminisces on the life she shared with Jane, and the encounters that shaped their respective lives and dreams.

Even though the thoughts and motivations ascribed to Cassandra are of the author’s own making, it’s easy to believe that there might be some veracity to the narrative, and it’s this that makes Miss Austen such an enjoyable and intriguing read. You feel like you’re getting a glimpse into the real lives of these two women, like your sharing some intimate connection with them.

I truly enjoyed this novel, even if it’s not the sort of thing I’d normally read. I’d certainly recommend it to fans of Jane Austen, as well as to fans of historical fiction in general. A well deserved four out of five stars.

3.5/4 Rounded up to 4.

This book was deeply moving, the look at sisterhood and family was perfection especially in regards to the family Hornby is writing of. The Austens. A family quite close to each other and within that closeness an even deeper bond between Cassandra and Jane. She takes a bit of a mystery angle in this, trying to give us answers in the gaps Cassandra has left by culling certain correspondences with/regarding Jane. She was the gatekeeper and that is the role she plays in this novel. This is all from Cassandra's perspective but fluctuates between the past with Jane and the present, as she struggles to find and get hold of letters that could be harmful to Jane's writing legacy and reputation.

There's also a very Jane Austen-esque story within that concerning some of the Fowle family and I enjoyed every minute of this book. I just felt at times it could drag which is why I did not give it a higher rating as it really put the story on pause almost by doing the pacing like that. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Miss Austen tells the story of the much less renowned Austen sister - Cassandra. It's 1840, and Cassandra has spent the last two decades living the life of a spinster. Determined to protect the memory of her sister, Cassandra descends on the Fowles as their daughter packs up the house she's lived in her whole life to find a trove of letters for Jane. This story line is based in fact - Cassandra did destroy some letters, a mystery that has confused Austen scholars for years.

Miss Austen follows a few stories - that of Cassandra's determination to protect Jane's legacy, flashbacks to her younger years with Jane, and her meddling in the Fowles' lives (with their best interests at heart!). It's not a complex story, but it is lovely. If you're looking for a gripping story and a riveting plot, you won't find that. Instead, you'll get a leisurely stroll through Cassandra's life, some gentle machinations and a good insight into the wider Austen story.

It's an easy read, one I would recommend to those who are interested in historical fiction, but I can see why some people may not enjoy it.

This was such a beautiful book which I read with both a smile on my face and tears in my eyes throughout. Miss Austen is a fictionalised account of what may have led to Cassandra Austen burning the many letters written by Jane Austen to their close fried Eliza Fowl with the story moving seamlessly between the past (1780’s) and the present (1840’s). In the present Cassandra is in her seventies, and is a lady on a mission to protect the reputation of her beloved sister who has been dead for 25 years.
In 1840 Farquhar Fowl – widower to Eliza and eldest brother of Cassandra’s long dead fiancée Tom – has died of old age and his home is to be sold and his possessions sold or moved out at the behest of his sons with little thought to the future of his spinster daughter Isabella who must sort through the families many belongings. Cassandra knows that many of her sister’s letters to Eliza are contained somewhere within the house and is determined to find and destroy them if necessary to save her sister’s reputation….
In the 1780’s Cassandra and Jane are young women with bright futures ahead of them and a close loving bond with each other as they enjoy what they think will be their last few months together before Cassandra leaves her home and family behind to marry her beloved Tom. Of course sadly as any Austenite knows this separation was never to occur and the sisters were to remain constant companions until Jane’s untimely death.
Beautifully written and impeccably researched – the two very different historical setting are brought wonderfully to life and you can see how much England and the world changed even in Cassandras life time with the creeping industrialisation of a once mostly rural country.
I have to admit that I never really considered Cassandra that much before – she was always just Jane Austen’s sister but in Miss Austen her character is brought to life wonderfully and I absolutely adored her. My favourite part though it made me cry was when Tom Fowl on their last walk together to the little local church - perhaps more aware than Cassandra of the dangers of his year long trip - pleads with her to promise to marry someone else if anything should happen to him abroad. Instead she promises at the altar in front of God to never ever marry another man as long as she lives : (

This was a very interesting take on Jane Austen, writing about her sister Cassandra. It was a very well written, well researched and entertaining read.
I love to discover different parts of history that's not researched or written for. So, this book was an excellent version of that.
I'd definitely recommend.
Thanks a lot to the publisher and NetGalley for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is a fascinating and thoroughly enjoyable book about the Austen family from the point of view of MISS austen, Jane's older sister, Cassandra.
Split between the past and the present, Cassandra, who is now an old lady and a spinster, reflects on her youth, her relationship with fiance Tom, her devotion to her family and sister Jane.
The book explores the limited opportunities for women like the Austens. While marriage is seen as essential for happiness and security neither of them marry. Cassandra refuses to consider marriage to anyone else after the death of her fiance and Jane feels that domestic life would hinder her writing which is essential for her mental health.
Cassandra's love for family and desire to protect Jane's reputation send her search of letters from the past that may portray the Austens in a less than flattering way.
This was a great read that Austen fans are going to love. Having said that, you do t need any prior knowledge of Austen's novel to enjoy this.
Thank you Netgalley for the advanced copy in return for an honest review

In 1840, twenty-three years after the death of her beloved sister Jane, Cassandra Austen visits Kintbury vicarage.  This is the family home of the Fowles, a family linked to the Austens by friendship and marriage, and the last Reverend Fowle has just died.  The remaining Fowle daughter has to quit the home and Cassandra is aware that there is a cache of family correspondence.  She wants to read it to make sure that if discovered her sister's precious memory is not spoiled.

This book is based a true mystery, why Cassandra burned a large amount of correspondence which would shed light on events such as why she changed her mind about marriage and why her family moved so much after the death of her father.  This is a fictionalised tale yet reads very well.  Hornby takes her ideas of females living in close proximity and the relationships in small social circles and applies them to known characters and a different age.  It still works brilliantly, partly because Hornby really understands the emotional mindset of her characters.

The idea of writing about Jane Austen's sister is a good one and the author had obviously done their research well, using actual factual events and evidence but then weaving a more invented story. Sadly though it just didn't grip me, it wasn't as well written as I was hoping.

I loved this book.It tells the story,based on true events,of Jane Austen's beloved sister Cassandra and her decision to destroy much of her sister's correspondence many years after Jane's death.The timescale moves back and forth from the time the book is set to the time when Jane was still alive,explaining the reason for some of the letters being written and also telling a lot about Cassandra herself.
The author uses a similar style of language to Jane Austen and there are lots of details about the Austen family which I really enjoyed reading.
Highly recommended for all Austen fans-it's a great read.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC in return for an honest review which reflects my own opinion.

I had never heard of Cassandra Austen. This book sheds a different light on jane Austen's life and that of her sister.

No, not the "Miss Austen" you're thinking of.

It is 1840, and Cassandra Austen, elderly spinster sister of the better-known Jane, calls on her recently-bereaved niece in Kintbury. Ostensibly to assist in packing up the family's belongings to move after the death of her brother in law, Cassandra is in reality there only to rummage through past correspondences in order to preserve Jane Austen's legacy and image.

The letters trigger memories of Cassandra's own epic story of love and loss, and the reader is transported back to the early 1800's to a story as charming as one of Jane's own works. Cassandra is betrothed, bereaved, beholden to the memory of her one great love and vows to remain single and devote herself instead to her family. Interwoven with Cassandra's history is the "present-day" (1840) story of her niece Isabella, and the grand question of "What is to be Done with a Single Woman (of a certain age)?"

While it started slowly, this was a delight to read. Exceptionally well-researched, it details the challenges faced by single women in the 19th century in various situations: familial comfort; surviving on their own; and their worth as determined by their usefulness to their families. It was a thought provoking read. Gently written in a style reminiscent of Jane Austen's own, this book will appeal to Austen fans.

**I received an advance copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**

In Gill Hornby’s Miss Austen, the famous novelist’s sister, Cassandra, sets out in 1840 to recover letters she and her sister, Jane, sent in their youth to a family friend. Her aim is to destroy anything that she feels might compromise Jane’s legacy – specifically, any hint that Jane’s life was anything but tranquil and sedate. While I love Jane Austen’s work, I did not know much about her life or family and I was drawn in by the way Hornby reimagines Cassandra’s life and her relationship with Jane. The novel alternates between 1840, as Cassandra is searching for the letters while dealing with unwanted meddling from other family members also seeking to tell the family’s story, and Cassandra’s past, starting in 1795 when Cassandra gets engaged and ending in 1817, when Jane dies. I thought that Hornby did an excellent job fleshing out Cassandra – she’s not always likeable, but she was complicated and interesting. Hornby uses this reimagined story of the Austens to explore many compelling issues, including family dynamics, especially the relationship between sisters, creative legacy and how it can be shaped, how we look back at the choices we’ve made, and the role of single women in that historical period. I would recommend this to fans of Jane Austen, of course, but also to readers who enjoy historical fiction that deals with any of these themes.

Although not directly historically accurate, this is an imagining of what could have promoted Cassandra Austen to set fire to the letters of her sister Jane in order that the world would not think badly of her. The letters did not contain any earth shattering gossip about the young novelist, but were part of Jane's past that her sister did not want recorded. In all other aspects Cassandra was probably Jane's greatest fan, hearing her stories first and recommending them whenever appropriate. Cassandra protected her sister throughout her life and her reputation beyond it.
This is a novel set in the times when women were very much dependent on men's goodwill. Sometimes that was forthcoming, sometimes it wasn't, and these men were totally oblivious that life was unfair for women and that men, in all cases got the better deal. Men could travel as they like and did not have to wait for a male escort. Men inherited not just money and land, but even the furniture of their parents, often leaving their sisters with nothing. Men could write and put their name to their work - even when it was far inferior to that of their sister. Both sisters were happy with their lot of spinsterhood in a world where marriage was considered the ultimate aim of all young women. This book, from Cassandra's viewpoint, shows that didn't have to be the case.
None of this blatant sexism is laboured, but is well written into the story in the context of its time. The character of Cassandra is fleshed out, and although the reader could lose patience with her when she rejects her second chance of happiness, her dedication to her whole family must be admired.

An absolutely amazing story
Cassandra Austen did what she thought was right when she disposed of Jane's letters.
This book left me feeling a plethora of emotions whilst reading it and afterwards.
I'm a massive Jane Austen fan and I thought Gill Hornby was born to write this story.
The way she tells it is pure emotion and absolutely pulls you in from the very beginning.
I loved reading this 4.5 star book and highly recommend you one click it asap.

This book will appeal to fans of Jane Austen's novels. Told from the viewpoint of her sister, Cassandra, after Jane Austen's death, but with flashbacks to earlier years, it details the background to Austen's work and family relationships. In 1840, Cassandra is trying to find letters written by Jane to other members of the family to clarify events during her life.
An interesting illustration of the background to Jane Austen's work

An interesting take on the mystery which has puzzled scholars and surrounded Jane Austen and her sister Cassandra- why did Cassandra burn the family letters?
The tale jumped around at times was not easy to follow. The characters and events were interesting, but I did find my attention wandering at times.
Maybe one for the Austen fans.

I received this novel for an honest review.
I enjoyed it and was interesting to find out more about Jane Austen's life. I did find it a little confusing at times with so many dates. I would recommend it to any Austen lovers.

I thought there was too much jumping around in dates. It was interesting to learn more about Jane Austen’s life and family but, unfortunately, it was such a large, extended family that I became confused,

A different aspect to the lives of the Austen sisters Jane and Cassandra. It is known that the two were close but this novel centres on the role is Cassandra who was Janes friend, sister and confidante. . They wrote copiously to one another and it is known that Cassandra set out to find and destroy their letters. Gill Hornby tries to put some meat on the bones and provide a possible scenario to support this .
A book of the time written to correspond to Janes style but not be a pastiche.