BOOK DESCRIPTION
May 1816: Jane Austen is feeling unwell, with an uneasy stomach, constant fatigue, rashes, fevers and aches. She attributes her poor condition to the stress of family burdens, which even the drafting of her latest manuscript—about a baronet's daughter nursing a broken heart for a daring naval captain—cannot alleviate. Her apothecary recommends a trial of the curative waters at Cheltenham Spa, in Gloucestershire. Jane decides to use some of the profits earned from her last novel, Emma, and treat herself to a period of rest and reflection at the spa, in the company of her sister, Cassandra. Cheltenham Spa hardly turns out to be the relaxing sojourn Jane and Cassandra envisaged, however. It is immediately obvious that other boarders at the guest house where the Misses Austen are staying have come to Cheltenham with stresses of their own—some of them deadly. But perhaps with Jane’s interference a terrible crime might be prevented. Set during the Year without a Summer, when the eruption of Mount Tambora in the South Pacific caused a volcanic winter that shrouded the entire planet for sixteen months, this fourteenth installment in Stephanie Barron’s critically acclaimed series brings a forgotten moment of Regency history to life.
REVIEW
What a fascinating look into Jane Austen's life. Set in 1816, Jane isn't feeling well and goes to a resort town to partake of the waters. Accompanied by her sister, they meet a wide array of characters and not all is what it seems. The weather is wet and cold due to an eruption in the Pacific the year before. It is fantastic the way the author has researched letters and accounts to piece together where Jane was and what she would be doing in this time period. It gives readers a glimpse at the Jane Austen that we know only through her books. I found myself indignant on her behalf a time or two when opinions were expressed about women that were less than complementary, showing the real truths of women at that time. The author has done an amazing job capturing Jane and her contemporaries, whether real or imagined. The characters were rich with background and nuance and the mystery weaved itself in slowly until it was no longer able to hide in the pages. This is a fantastic read for Jane Austen fans that want to get to know her a little better. I received an early copy through the publisher and through NetGalley and this is my honest review.
ABOUT STEPHANIE BARRON
Francine Mathews was born in Binghamton, New York, the last of six girls. She attended Princeton and Stanford Universities, where she studied history, before going on to work as an intelligence analyst at the CIA. She wrote her first book in 1992 and left the Agency a year later. Since then, she has written twenty-five books, including five novels in the Merry Folger series (Death in the Off-Season, Death in Rough Water, Death in a Mood Indigo, Death in a Cold Hard Light, and Death on Nantucket) as well as the nationally bestselling Being a Jane Austen mystery series, which she writes under the penname, Stephanie Barron. She lives and works in Denver, Colorado.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Emily. Barron is an amazing writer. She channels Austen who well I feel like it is her speaking to me! I am glad that you enjoyed the book too.