Tuesday Tea and Tomes 'Miss Austen': We give it much approbation - but it's not about Jane!

Miss Austen is a fictionalized tale of  Jane Austen's sister, Cassandra, and her role in the author's life

 

That Jane Austen novels continue to entertain and enlighten for more than two centuries after they were written may have come as a great surprise to the author, but not her sister. Cassandra, Jane's greatest fan, supporter and protector of her legacy, was  her older - and only - sister among six brothers. In a time where a woman who remained single and sought pursuits outside of keeping up a home not only raised a gentrified eyebrow, but often ended with the uncertainty of relying too heavily on the kindness of others.  This ordinary, but extraordinary, life of the Austen sisters is brought to life by Gill Hornby in the tone of Jane: descriptive, snarky and, as often the theme of her stories, a few misguided actions based on "first impressions".

The Austen sister's Chawton abode, courtesy brother Edward

The book begins with Cassandra, now in her sixties and two decades since Jane's passing, visiting Kintbury, a village, that  in today's world, is a thirty mile drive north of Winchester. This village is rich with connections:  it was the home of Cassandra's fiancé, who tragically died of malaria while serving as a British army chaplain in the West Indies, and also, in the particularly good fortune of a Janeite-historical fiction author,  the home of Gill Hornby.

Cassandra's journey to Kintbury comes shortly after the death of her fiance's eldest brother, Fulwar Fowle. Like the Austen sister's father, Fulwar was a pastor, however, unlike the Austens, no Fowle son was interested in succeeding their father as a clergyman of the parish. That meant the three daughters of Fulwar -  two unmarried, one widowed -  were forced to quickly decide upon a permanent solution to impending displacement. . . or so some thought.

BTS in Bath, a place not well loved by the Austen sisters

Hornby deftly volleys readers back and forth from the Austen girls in "early bloom" to Cassandra's senior years, searching in the Kintbury rectory for any incriminating personal correspondences of her beloved sister. In this search, she assumes the role of uninvited puppet master of the Fowle sisters' destiny.

Last residence of Jane Austen in Winchester

Hornby not only has the Kintbury connection to Cassandra, but also understands the role of the invisible sibling of a well-known author.  Her brother is writer, Nick Hornby, whose novels include, "High Fidelity" and "About a Boy", both made into feature length movies.  In an interview with inews last year, Gill Hornby said, while laughing, that she was "absolutely used to being batted out of the way at cocktail parties as people try to get to the main event". 

Rachel plays the pianoforte in Chawton Cottage

In 'Miss Austen', Cassandra reminisces about happy times spent with Jane at Chawton (a cottage on the estate of their wealthy brother, Edward), the challenges of living in Bath with their parents and the very sad last days in Winchester.  (We visited all three sites, 2006 and 2011, and now have added Kintbury to our wish list of future trips.)

There's also a tie-in to 'Persuasion' and Anne Elliot's situation that sees Cassandra and her presumed charges changing courses faster than a phaeton being pulled by a team of horses.

We loved this book and all the stories within a story. A recent check on IMBD shows 'Miss Austen' is in development for an upcoming movie. Perhaps, Gill Hornsby, like Cassandra, will get her due and become the "main event".