"A deeply imagined and deeply moving novel. Reading it made me happy and weepy in equally copious amounts.” ―Karen Joy Fowler
For fans of Jo Baker’s Longbourn, a witty, poignant novel about Cassandra Austen and her famous sister, Jane.
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.
Praise for Miss Austen
“For readers who enjoy Austen’s novels and wish to know more about her life and for those seeking excellent English historical fiction.”
―Library Journal (starred review)
“Hornby strikes gold in the much-mined terrain of Jane Austen–inspired fiction…Cassy is convincingly sympathetic in her effort to preserve her sister’s reputation, and a focus on female relationships and mutual support adds unexpected tenderness. Echoing Austen’s sardonic wit and crisp prose without falling into pastiche, Hornby succeeds with a vivid homage to the Austens and their world.”
―Publishers Weekly
“Austen fans will enjoy Hornby’s nuanced, fresh portrayal of Jane…Cassandra herself is similarly fascinating, a woman who never ceases her efforts to carve out a life of her own in a world that is not kind to unmarried women…A worthy addition to most collections.”
―Booklist
“Hornby’s gift to the world of Austen lovers is to return to Cassandra her rightful recognition as Jane’s most intimate and sustaining relationship, her greatest love. This is a deeply imagined and deeply moving novel. Reading it made me happy and weepy in equally copious amounts.”
―Karen Joy Fowler, author of The Jane Austen Book Club and We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves
“Unputdownable. So good, so intelligent, so clever, so entertaining―I adored it.”
―Claire Tomalin, author of Jane Austen: A Life
“Extraordinary and heart-wrenching, Miss Austen transported me from page one. A remarkable novel that is wholly original, deeply moving, and emotionally complex. A gift to all Austen lovers.”
―Lara Prescott, author of The Secrets We Kept
“Gill Hornby places Cassandra center stage and ingeniously imagines what her own life might have been like―an approach which casts a different light on the familiar biographical picture without in any way distorting it.”
―Deirdre Le Faye, editor of Jane Austen’s Letters
“I’ve seldom enjoyed any Austen-centered book so much as this. Affecting and thought-provoking, it makes you think about both the Miss Austens in a new light.”
―Helena Kelly, author of Jane Austen, the Secret Radical
“A joy from the prologue to the author’s note. Rich in historical detail, family lore, and heart, Miss Austen will wow Janeites and enchant the uninitiated. Upon her sister’s death, Cassandra claimed that she was ‘the sun of my life.’ Now we know why.”
―Laurel Ann Nattress, editor of Jane Austen Made Me Do It
“Fans of Austen will rejoice in the chance to enter this fictional world and spend time with the extended Austen family as Cassandra and Jane navigate the demands of her genius and temperament in the face of the many pressures single women have endured throughout history.”
―Natalie Jenner, author of The Jane Austen Society
“Hornby’s writing style closely resembles that of its famous subject, with charm radiating off the pages. Miss Austen is a heartfelt, humorous, insightful peek into an intimate relationship that is worthy of attention…It tackles the subjects of class, gender, and duty, and offers a modern outlook on the feminist idea of women charting their own courses.”
―Woodbury Magazine
