I’ve read Paula Byrne’s non-fiction books and I know she’s an authority on Jane Austen so I was delighted to read this novel ,based on the real life stay in Sidmouth by Jane,her sister Cassandra and their parents in 1801, when Jane is believed to have fallen in love with an unnamed man whose identity has never been known, but who died before their relationship developed further.
It’s written in the style of Jane Austen and uses some of her own sayings from her novels,and it really captures they style and mood of her work.It also acknowledges her support for the abolition of slavery ,among other things.
I enjoyed this book immensely and would recommend it to anyone who likes Jane Austen’s books or who is interested in her life. The author’s notes at the end are particularly interesting.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in return for an honest review which reflects my own opinion.

I wonder if the love for all thing Austen will ever fade. through this book is anything to go by i doubt it. we are still captivated and with good reason. imagine being someone in a future where the whole section of the world is still talking about you. right down to your love life, i dont think even the biggest A listers will get that. perhaps she and her sister were our original celebrities. we seem to just want to imagine or know all things Austen.
this nook brings us the telling of Jane's love. because we all assume someone who wrote what she did must know something about love, right?
i liked how i recognised some of her own characters throughout the book. it added a fun element to it, and gave a nod to the lady herself.
we get to know Jane over one summer and a supposed romance she had there. Paula manages to make us believe anything she writes and it also somehow brings it to us and meets us where we are at with her language and descriptions. its not modern but its somehow feels it.
this book is obviously well researched and that is something i get throughout my whole read. that and someone who knows or is a fan of the lady herself so there is a knowing and familiar kindness to her writing of Jane and her exploits that summer.
it does indeed feel like we are given a very possible window into what Jane actually went through.
i love seeing once again Jane and her stubborn strength. she was a woman we all want to see in a time that would never allow her to push too far, and yet still she did. still she tried her hardest in the era she lived in to be a woman we can all look up to. who fought against the machine. and yet she was still human, and still had thoughts on love, relationships, a future. and how her future might look especially being a woman who wanted to write. how dare she, lol!
i really enjoyed this book and it was a very different choice for me so im glad i took the chance.

This was a fair effort to offer the reader a novel that captured some of the style of Jane Austen, whilst treating the reader to opportunities to renew acquaintance with many characters familiar to all Jane Austen fans. As such, it is likely that this novel will appeal most to those familiar with Ms Austen’s work. So, don’t expect too much excitement or fast-paced action. Instead, treat yourself to a glimpse of life In the early 19th century as Britain prosecutes her war against France and holiday life continues for six weeks by the seaside in a genteel household.

I read this because it was about Jane Austen and because of who the author was.
It's an imagined telling of the romance Austen is supposed to have had at Sidmouth of which there is little to no information.
For a short read it has maybe too many elements going on without any of them making a full impact on the reader. There's a lot about slavery and characters we could have had less of.
The story is peopled with characters from Jane's novels, although in different guises. It was fun recognising them. It's also peppered with the dialogue of these characters.
There's a lot of descriptive writing, which I normally love but I felt in this instance it was at the expense of conversations between the actual people themselves.
Austen fans will want to read it though. For me I prefer this author's nonfiction, which is always brilliant.

Many thanks to 4th Estate and William Collins and NetGalley for an early copy to read.

Perfect for fans of Jane Austen and anyone who generally believes a short stay in a seaside location will fix anything. I thought this would be a delightful, whimsy book about frolicking in the waves but it was so much more than that. Jane….my heart is broken. I went through so many emotions even though I half knew how it would end, I wanted more for her. An insightful read.

I'm not at all surprised that I loved this book. I have loved Paula Byrne's nonfiction for years, so I knew that this novel would be meticulously researched. Also, I'm not sure if this is the first novel to have tackled the mysterious lover Jane Austen met by the sea, but it's the first that I've heard of, which is a brilliant move. Byrne fills in the gaps of this story believably, but she also adds elements that feel quite modern, but are also very possible within the Regency era. One element I particularly adored was the many quotations Byrne slipped into Jane's own dialogue. Avid Janeites will immediately recognize them as coming from Austen's six novels, letters, or sometimes the adaptations, lending credence to Jane's voice in this novel and signaling a kindred spirit in its author. I only wish we had spent a little more time with the characters to really draw out the pathos in its ending, but even so it was a delightful read.

Thank you to NetGalley and 4th Estate & William Collins for this ARC.

It's 1801 and Jane Austen's family with brother Frank relocate to Sidmouth, a seaside resort in Devon for six weeks to take the air. Jane acquires two suitors, Captain Peter Parker and lawyer Samuel Rose. The story develops against the backdrop of the war with France and the abolitionist movement, of which Samuel is a member. Leah, biracial granddaughter of Reverend Swete is a topic as well as some gentle match-making.

I think you need to be a proper Jane Austen fan to enjoy the nothing much happening storyline. The writing style wasn't for me and I skipped large chunks of dialogue because they were all just talking so much, and the topics weren't of interest to me. I did however like this observation:
"Were he an Adonis, my dear sister, he would not have made any impression on me instantly. We gradually acquire a knowledge of the good qualities of those who endeavour to please us, and if they are really amiable, their persons become agreeable to us by degrees."

A gentle novel that imagines a six week period by the coast where Jane's family are between houses. It charts the two men who take a romantic interest and the outcomes thereof. Woven through are interesting characters and subplots, which tell of contemporary events, namely the Battle of the Nile and the Abolitionist movement. G!obal happenings alter the course of events at a micro scale, and also sliding doors moments of what might have been...

This is a gentle, slow-paced story which imagines one of my favourite authors, Jane Austen’s six weeks at the seaside and suggests a romantic connection she may have formed there. I enjoyed learning facts about the enigmatic Jane, like her liberal views on homosexuality and slavery but wasn’t sure I really found Paula Byrne’s story telling compelling enough. Georgian poetry, fashion, design, politics and medicine showed the author enjoying her research into the era and she described the daily, narrow minutiae of weather, ambulation and visits, reflecting the narrow lives led by genteel women at the turn of the 19 century, with skill. I wanted to love this book instead I guessed the plot twists too soon and felt a bit uninvested in Jane and her family despite loving the wit and perspicacity of Austen’s own writing.

3.5 stars

This sounded delightful: historical, romance, and Jane Austen, what more do you need? I want to know when doctors stopped sending people to the seaside for their health. I'm sure six weeks by the sea would cure all my maladies.

I had some concerns with this book but there were good points.

It's almost written in Austen's style. It's not a copy, because I'm not sure anyone can truly do justice to her style but there are definitely influences which I liked. But on the flip side, I haven't read a classic in a while and so I was out of practice with that kind of writing, so I liked it, but it did take a little longer to get into.

I find writing weather and scene setting really quite difficult without it sounding like I'm just writing a list of adjectives. But Paula has managed it rather well. She's given it a proper sense of place.

I think it's a niche story for the average historical reader, but perfect for fans of Austen and fans of historical romance stories. Her books are so well known but she is such an enigma, and I think fans will really get pleasure out of it.

It's quite a short book, which I think is to its benefit, because it is quite heavy on description. I enjoyed it, but it didn't hold my attention for all of it. It was heavy on detail but like on....stuff, if that makes sense. I found myself liking it but wanting something a bit more to happen, as it felt quite safe.

You can tell Paula is passionate about history and Jane Austen and historical women in general, and I will definitely be keeping an eye out for her other work.

I will own up that I would not have read this except for the lure of Jane Austen being featured. It tells the story of a seaside holiday for the Austens and the possibility of love for Jane. Of course, if Jane had married it is likely that we would have fewer splendid books!
It is told in a sort of cod historical tone which I found annoying. The author writes easily but without an ounce of the wit and insight of Jane herself. I raced through and all was as expected since I already knew a lot about Jane’s life having read biographies.
Nevertheless I believe this book will be popular for Austen lovers, especially for general readership and romance lovers.
I read an ARC provided by NetGalley and the publishers.
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‘Six Weeks by the Sea’ by Paula Byrne focuses on the summer of 1801 when Jane Austen, her parents and sister take lodgings in Sidmouth before removing to Bath. This is a difficult time for Jane. However, whilst no longer enjoying the security of her beloved Steventon, as the weeks pass she rallies, in part through the companionship of her beloved brother, Frank, who is on leave from the Navy. And, gradually, she grows increasingly attached to another man.

As Paula Byrne writes in her Afterword, whilst the novel’s historical foundations are largely accurate, she has taken with some liberties with what is known about this period of Austen’s life in order to give the reader a credible version of the important romantic relationship Jane may have embarked on at Sidmouth.

Not only should this novel be of interest to all those drawn to Austen’s life and literary works. Paula Byrne also gives the reader a really clear understanding of colonial politics and the abolitionist movement, of central importance to the narrative. This is no surprise. Byrne is nothing if not a superb writer of literary biography and she uses her skills and knowledge to meld fact and fiction superbly. Jane and her family are portrayed with great authenticity as are the times in which they live. Highly recommended.

My thanks to NetGalley and 4th Estate and William Collins for a copy of this book in exchange for a fair review.