Gill Hornby

"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.

A Novel

Miss Austen

Godmersham Park

FROM THE #1 BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF MISS AUSTEN On 21 January 1804, Anne Sharpe arrives at Godmersham Park in Kent to take up the position of governess. At 31 years old, she has no previous experience of either teaching or fine country houses. Her mother has died, and she has nowhere else to go. Anne is left with no choice. For her new charge - twelve-year-old Fanny Austen - Anne's arrival is all novelty and excitement. The governess role is a uniquely awkward one. Anne is neither one of the servants, nor one of the family, and to balance a position between the 'upstairs' and 'downstairs' members of the household is a diplomatic chess game. One wrong move may result in instant dismissal. Anne knows that she must never let down her guard. When Mr Edward Austen's family comes to stay, Anne forms an immediate attachment to Jane. They write plays together, and enjoy long discussions. However, in the process, Anne reveals herself as not merely pretty, charming and competent; she is clever too. Even her sleepy, complacent mistress can hardly fail to notice. Meanwhile Jane's brother, Henry, begins to take an unusually strong interest in the lovely young governess . . . And from now on, Anne's days at Godmersham Park are numbered. __________________________ Praise for Miss Austen and Gill Hornby 'The perfect book to wrap yourself around on a dark night' STYLIST 'The great joy of Miss Austen is that the reader feels immersed in a world that is convincingly Jane's from the first page. Miss Austen is a novel of great kindness, often unexpectedly moving, with much to say about the status of "invisible" older women. Above all, it's concerned with the triumph of small acts of goodness; you can't help feeling that Jane would have approved.' OBSERVER 'Without romanticising its period setting or underplaying the precariousness of any woman's position in this society, it celebrates unexamined lives, sisterhood and virtues such as kindness and loyalty' SUNDAY TIMES '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 Bookclub 'Hornby is at her best describing the complex bonds between the "excellent women" of her story. She describes the horrors, but also the pleasures, of spinsterhood' THE TIMES 'It won't surprise me if this is one of the books of the year, it's a delight, one of those that you don't want to end.' RTE 'A charming novel... capturing the spirit of the brilliant sardonic Jane, and reminding the reader of how brutal life was for women in Austen's era, it's an ingenious and affecting embroidery on the fact of the author's life.' SUNDAY MIRROR 'Fans of Pride and Prejudice and Emma will enjoy this touching story[...] In her meticulously researched third novel, Gill Hornby skillfully imagines the correspondence between the sisters.' SUNDAY EXPRESS 'Miss Austen is an ingenious imaginary explanationof how so many of Jane's letters came to be destroyed... With flashbacks and wonderful domestic detail, Hornby brings to life the Austen family, using the known to speculate on what might have been.' THE TIMES Audio Book of the Week '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 ingeniously imagines what Cassandra Austen's own life might have been like, both before and after Jane's untimely death, casting a different light on the familiar biographical picture without in any way distorting it.' DEIRDRE LE FAYE, editor of Jane Austen's Letters 'Miss Austen is affecting, thought-provoking, and makes you think about both Jane and Cassandra Austen in a new light.' HELENA KELLY, author of Jane Austen, The Secret Radical 'A pitch perfect novel, fond and atmospheric. It reads as if Gill was born to write Cassandra's story, and she brings her whole witty and sympathetic self to the task.' KIRSTY WARK 'Tender and touching ... Hornby deftly describes the psychological toll that such uncertainly took on Jane, and movingly celebrates the fortitude of Cassandra whose greatest love was her sister' DAILY MAIL 'A moving, often funny novel. Richly imagined and spryly told, it reinstates overlooked Cassandra as the most important person in Jane's life' MAIL ON SUNDAY 'Utterly absorbing. The lives of the Austen sisters are recreated with a brilliant sureness of touch that can only be achieved by deep study of the period.' ARTEMIS COOPER 'A wonderfully original, emotionally complex novel that delves into why Cassandra burned a treasure trove of letters written by her sister, Jane Austen' IRISH EXAMINER 'In this subtle and delicate novel, Gill Hornby has created a clever, warm-hearted character in Cassandra, Jane Austen's sister' WOMAN & HOME 'People are going to love it, but I wonder if any screen adaptation will be able to convey the hidden treasure within this thoughtful story.' LITERARY REVIEW 'Engrossing ... the warm relationship between the sisters is particularly well written.' GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

There's only room for one Queen Bee: A hilarious and touching novel about the social world of school mothers. It's the start of another school year at St. Ambrose. While the children are busy in the classroom, their mothers are learning sharper lessons. Lessons in friendship. Lessons in betrayal. Lessons in the laws of community, the transience of power...and how to get invited to lunch. Beatrice -- undisputed queen bee. Ruler, by Divine Right, of all school fundraising, this year, last year, and, surely, for many to come. Heather -- desperate to volunteer, desperate to be noticed, desperate to belong. Georgie -- desperate for a cigarette. And Rachel -- watching them all, keeping her distance. But soon to discover taht the line between amused observer and miserable outcast is a thin one. THE HIVE is a wickedly funny and brilliantly observed story about female friendship, power plays, and the joys and perils (well, mainly perils) of trying to do one's part.

The Hive

Jane Austen was to become the greatest woman writer in the English language. But quiet, neat young Jane was so much less demanding than her more forceful brothers & sisters that she tended to be forgotten. Even when she showed clear signs of her genius, no one took any notice. As far as her parents were concerned, the only hope for their daughter was that she should marry, & as soon as possible.

Jane Austin

Recreando las cartas desaparecidas de Jane Austen, Cassandra Austen vuelve a la vida y lo hace para contar su historia, tan cautivadora como desconocida. Inglaterra, 1840. Cassandra Austen ha vivido más de dos décadas tras la muerte de su querida hermana Jane. Ha pasado el tiempo visitando a amigos y parientes y trabajando en silencio, determinada a mantener la reputación de su hermana. Con más de sesenta años y una salud frágil, decide irse a vivir con los Fowle de Kintbury, la familia del que fue su prometido, fallecido hace muchos años, cuando ambos eran jóvenes. Quiere encontrar las cartas que Jane Austen dejó, esquivando a su anfitriona y a una criada entrometida. Cuando finalmente las halla, se enfrenta a los secretos que guardan, no solo sobre su hermana Jane, sino sobre ella misma. ¿Las guardará y legará su historia a futuras generaciones o las entregará a las llamas?

A wonderfully original, emotionally complex ''reading-group'' novel, set in 1804 following Anne Sharp. A governess who became close to Jane Austen and her family, and the challenging "upstairs downstairs" dynamic she found herself enmeshed in. FROM THE #1 BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF MISS AUSTEN On the 21st January, 1804, Anne Sharpe arrives at Godmersham Park in Kent to take up the position of governess. At 31 years old, she has no previous experience of either teaching or fine country houses. Her mother has died, and she has nowhere else to go. Anne is left with no choice. For her new charge - twelve-year-old Fanny Austen - Anne''s arrival is all novelty and excitement. The governess role is a uniquely awkward one. Anne is neither one of the servants, nor one of the family, and to balance a position between the ''upstairs'' and ''downstairs'' members of the household is a diplomatic chess game. One wrong move may result in instant dismissal. Anne knows that she must never let down her guard. When Mr Edward Austen''s family comes to stay, Anne forms an immediate attachment to Jane. They write plays together, and enjoy long discussions. However, in the process, Anne reveals herself as not merely pretty, charming and competent; she is clever too. Even her sleepy, complacent mistress can hardly fail to notice. Meanwhile Jane''s brother, Henry, begins to take an unusually strong interest in the lovely young governess . . . And from now on, Anne''s days at Godmersham Park are numbered. __________________________ Praise for Miss Austen and Gill Hornby ''The perfect book to wrap yourself around on a dark night'' STYLIST ''The great joy of Miss Austen is that the reader feels immersed in a world that is convincingly Jane''s from the first page. Miss Austen is a novel of great kindness, often unexpectedly moving, with much to say about the status of "invisible" older women. Above all, it''s concerned with the triumph of small acts of goodness; you can''t help feeling that Jane would have approved.'' OBSERVER ''Without romanticising its period setting or underplaying the precariousness of any woman''s position in this society, it celebrates unexamined lives, sisterhood and virtues such as kindness and loyalty'' SUNDAY TIMES ''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 Bookclub ''Hornby is at her best describing the complex bonds between the "excellent women" of her story. She describes the horrors, but also the pleasures, of spinsterhood'' THE TIMES ''It won''t surprise me if this is one of the books of the year, it''s a delight, one of those that you don''t want to end.'' RTE ''A charming novel... capturing the spirit of the brilliant sardonic Jane, and reminding the reader of how brutal life was for women in Austen''s era, it''s an ingenious and affecting embroidery on the fact of the author''s life.'' SUNDAY MIRROR ''Fans of Pride and Prejudice and Emma will enjoy this touching story ... In her meticulously researched third novel, Gill Hornby skillfully imagines the correspondence between the sisters.'' SUNDAY EXPRESS ''Miss Austen is an ingenious imaginary explanationof how so many of Jane''s letters came to be destroyed... With flashbacks and wonderful domestic detail, Hornby brings to life the Austen family, using the known to speculate on what might have been.'' THE TIMES Audio Book of the Week ''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 ingeniously imagines what Cassandra Austen''s own life might have been like, both before and after Jane''s untimely death, casting a different light on the familiar biographical picture without in any way distorting it.'' DEIRDRE LE FAYE, editor of Jane Austen''s Letters ''Miss Austen is affecting, thought-provoking, and makes you think about both Jane and Cassandra Austen in a new light.'' HELENA KELLY, author of Jane Austen, The Secret Radical ''A pitch perfect novel, fond and atmospheric. It reads as if Gill was born to write Cassandra''s story, and she brings her whole witty and sympathetic self to the task.'' KIRSTY WARK ''Tender and touching ... Hornby deftly describes the psychological toll that such uncertainly took on Jane, and movingly celebrates the fortitude of Cassandra whose greatest love was her sister'' DAILY MAIL ''A moving, often funny novel. Richly imagined and spryly told, it reinstates overlooked Cassandra as the most important person in Jane''s life'' MAIL ON SUNDAY ''Utterly absorbing. The lives of the Austen sisters are recreated with a brilliant sureness of touch that can only be achieved by deep study of the period.'' ARTEMIS COOPER ''A wonderfully original, emotionally complex novel that delves into why Cassandra burned a treasure trove of letters written by her sister, Jane Austen'' IRISH EXAMINER ''In this subtle and delicate novel, Gill Hornby has created a clever, warm-hearted character in Cassandra, Jane Austen''s sister'' WOMAN & HOME ''People are going to love it, but I wonder if any screen adaptation will be able to convey the hidden treasure within this thoughtful story.'' LITERARY REVIEW ''Engrossing ... the warm relationship between the sisters is particularly well written.'' GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

'Utterly absorbing and illuminating. Written with a sure and stylish hand. Gill Hornby's best book yet.' Esther Freud __________________________ FROM THE #1 BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF MISS AUSTEN On 21 January 1804, Anne Sharpe arrives at Godmersham Park in Kent to take up the position of governess. At 31 years old, she has no previous experience of either teaching or fine country houses. Her mother has died, and she has nowhere else to go. Anne is left with no choice. For her new charge - twelve-year-old Fanny Austen - Anne's arrival is all novelty and excitement. The governess role is a uniquely awkward one. Anne is neither one of the servants, nor one of the family, and to balance a position between the 'upstairs' and 'downstairs' members of the household is a diplomatic chess game. One wrong move may result in instant dismissal. Anne knows that she must never let down her guard. When Mr Edward Austen's family comes to stay, Anne forms an immediate attachment to Jane. They write plays together, and enjoy long discussions. However, in the process, Anne reveals herself as not merely pretty, charming and competent; she is clever too. Even her sleepy, complacent mistress can hardly fail to notice. Meanwhile Jane's brother, Henry, begins to take an unusually strong interest in the lovely young governess . . . And from now on, Anne's days at Godmersham Park are numbered. __________________________ Praise for Miss Austen and Gill Hornby 'The perfect book to wrap yourself around on a dark night' STYLIST 'The great joy of Miss Austen is that the reader feels immersed in a world that is convincingly Jane's from the first page. Miss Austen is a novel of great kindness, often unexpectedly moving, with much to say about the status of "invisible" older women. Above all, it's concerned with the triumph of small acts of goodness; you can't help feeling that Jane would have approved.' OBSERVER 'Without romanticising its period setting or underplaying the precariousness of any woman's position in this society, it celebrates unexamined lives, sisterhood and virtues such as kindness and loyalty' SUNDAY TIMES '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 Bookclub 'Hornby is at her best describing the complex bonds between the "excellent women" of her story. She describes the horrors, but also the pleasures, of spinsterhood' THE TIMES 'It won't surprise me if this is one of the books of the year, it's a delight, one of those that you don't want to end.' RTE 'A charming novel... capturing the spirit of the brilliant sardonic Jane, and reminding the reader of how brutal life was for women in Austen's era, it's an ingenious and affecting embroidery on the fact of the author's life.' SUNDAY MIRROR 'Fans of Pride and Prejudice and Emma will enjoy this touching story[...] In her meticulously researched third novel, Gill Hornby skillfully imagines the correspondence between the sisters.' SUNDAY EXPRESS 'Miss Austen is an ingenious imaginary explanationof how so many of Jane's letters came to be destroyed... With flashbacks and wonderful domestic detail, Hornby brings to life the Austen family, using the known to speculate on what might have been.' THE TIMES Audio Book of the Week '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 ingeniously imagines what Cassandra Austen's own life might have been like, both before and after Jane's untimely death, casting a different light on the familiar biographical picture without in any way distorting it.' DEIRDRE LE FAYE, editor of Jane Austen's Letters 'Miss Austen is affecting, thought-provoking, and makes you think about both Jane and Cassandra Austen in a new light.' HELENA KELLY, author of Jane Austen, The Secret Radical 'A pitch perfect novel, fond and atmospheric. It reads as if Gill was born to write Cassandra's story, and she brings her whole witty and sympathetic self to the task.' KIRSTY WARK 'Tender and touching ... Hornby deftly describes the psychological toll that such uncertainly took on Jane, and movingly celebrates the fortitude of Cassandra whose greatest love was her sister' DAILY MAIL 'A moving, often funny novel. Richly imagined and spryly told, it reinstates overlooked Cassandra as the most important person in Jane's life' MAIL ON SUNDAY 'Utterly absorbing. The lives of the Austen sisters are recreated with a brilliant sureness of touch that can only be achieved by deep study of the period.' ARTEMIS COOPER 'A wonderfully original, emotionally complex novel that delves into why Cassandra burned a treasure trove of letters written by her sister, Jane Austen' IRISH EXAMINER 'In this subtle and delicate novel, Gill Hornby has created a clever, warm-hearted character in Cassandra, Jane Austen's sister' WOMAN & HOME 'People are going to love it, but I wonder if any screen adaptation will be able to convey the hidden treasure within this thoughtful story.' LITERARY REVIEW 'Engrossing ... the warm relationship between the sisters is particularly well written.' GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

from the #1 bestselling author of Miss Austen

A richly imagined novel inspired by the true story of Anne Sharp, a governess who became very close with Jane Austen and her family by the #1 International bestselling-author of Miss Austen. On January 21, 1804, Anne Sharpe arrives at Godmersham Park in Kent to take up the position of governess. At thirty-one years old, she has no previous experience of either teaching or fine country houses. Her mother has died, and she has nowhere else to go. Anne is left with no choice. For her new charge—twelve-year-old Fanny Austen—Anne's arrival is all novelty and excitement. The governess role is a uniquely awkward one. Anne is neither one of the servants, nor one of the family, and to balance a position between the "upstairs" and "downstairs" members of the household is a diplomatic chess game. One wrong move may result in instant dismissal. Anne knows that she must never let down her guard. When Mr. Edward Austen's family comes to stay, Anne forms an immediate attachment to Jane. They write plays together, and enjoy long discussions. However, in the process, Anne reveals herself as not merely pretty, charming, and competent; she is clever too. Even her sleepy, complacent mistress can hardly fail to notice. Meanwhile Jane's brother, Henry, begins to take an unusually strong interest in the lovely young governess. And from now on, Anne's days at Godmersham Park are numbered.

A Novel of the Austen Family

A richly imagined novel inspired by the true story of Anne Sharp, a governess who became very close with Jane Austen and her family by the #1 International bestselling-author of Miss Austen. On January 21, 1804, Anne Sharpe arrives at Godmersham Park in Kent to take up the position of governess. At thirty-one years old, she has no previous experience of either teaching or fine country houses. Her mother has died, and she has nowhere else to go. Anne is left with no choice. For her new charge—twelve-year-old Fanny Austen—Anne's arrival is all novelty and excitement. The governess role is a uniquely awkward one. Anne is neither one of the servants, nor one of the family, and to balance a position between the "upstairs" and "downstairs" members of the household is a diplomatic chess game. One wrong move may result in instant dismissal. Anne knows that she must never let down her guard. When Mr. Edward Austen's family comes to stay, Anne forms an immediate attachment to Jane. They write plays together, and enjoy long discussions. However, in the process, Anne reveals herself as not merely pretty, charming, and competent; she is clever too. Even her sleepy, complacent, mistress can hardly fail to notice. Meanwhile Jane's brother, Henry, begins to take an unusually strong interest in the lovely young governess. And from now on, Anne's days at Godmersham Park are numbered.

All Together Now

"A lively and hilarious tale that's pure fun. If you loved Bridget Jones's Diary and you have a child in school, THE HIVE is the book for you." --Maria Semple, author of Where'd You Go, Bernadette It's the start of another school year at St. Ambrose. While the children are busy in the classroom, their mothers are learning sharper lessons. Lessons in friendship. Lessons in betrayal. Lessons in the laws of community, the transience of power...and how to get invited to lunch. Beatrice -- undisputed queen bee. Ruler, by Divine Right, of all school fundraising, this year, last year, and, surely, for many to come. Heather -- desperate to volunteer, desperate to be noticed, desperate to belong. Georgie -- desperate for a cigarette. And Rachel -- watching them all, keeping her distance. But soon to discover taht the line between amused observer and miserable outcast is a thin one. THE HIVE is a wickedly funny and brilliantly observed story about female friendship, power plays, and the joys and perils (well, mainly perils) of trying to do one's part.

Hornby schetst een prachtig portret van de familie Austen in Godmersham Park en de liefdes en problemen van een jonge vrouw in de 19de eeuw. Op 21 januari 1804, een ijskoude avond, arriveert Anne Sharp om halfzeven op de trappen van het landhuis Godmersham Park. Hoewel ze een verwende en stadse opvoeding heeft genoten, heeft ze geen andere keuze dan haar diensten aan te bieden als gouvernante van de jonge Fanny Austen. Ze maakt daarna deel uit van de familie boven, maar ook van de vele bedienden beneden in het huis, terwijl ze steeds weer moet bewijzen dat ze de ideale docent is voor het meisje. Ze geniet van de uitjes en de feesten, valt voor de charmes van oom Henry, en bouwt een langdurige en warme vriendschap op met tante Jane. Maar hoelang houdt Anne Sharp haar façade vol: wanneer zal ze moeten laten zien wie ze echt is?

The small town of Bridgeford is in crisis. Downtown is deserted, businesses are closing, and the idea of civic pride seems old-fashioned to residents rushing through the streets to get somewhere else. Bridgeford seems to have lost its heart. But there is one thing that just might unite the community--music. The local choir, a group generally either ignored or mocked by most of Bridgeford's inhabitants, is preparing for an important contest, and to win it they need new members, and a whole new sound. Enlisting (some may say drafting) singers, who include a mother suffering from empty-nest syndrome, a middle-aged man who has just lost his job and his family, and a nineteen-year-old waitress who dreams of reality-TV stardom, the choir regulars must find--and make--harmony with neighbors they've been happy not to know for years. Can they all learn to work together, save the choir, and maybe even save their town in the process? All Together Now is a poignant and charming novel about community, family, falling in love--and the big rewards of making a small change.

It's the start of another school year at St Ambrose. But while the children are in the classroom colouring in, their mothers are learning sharper lessons on the other side of the school gates. Lessons in friendship. Lessons in betrayal. Lessons in the laws of community, the transience of power... and how to get invited to lunch. Beatrice - undisputed queen bee. Ruler, by Divine Right, of all school fund-raising, this year, last year and, surely, for many years to come. Heather - desperate to volunteer, desperate to be noticed, desperate just to belong. Georgie - desperate for a fag. And Rachel - watching them all, keeping her distance. But soon to discover that the line between amused observer and miserable outcast is a thin one. Wickedly funny and brilliantly observed, The Hive is a fascinating and subtle story about group politics and female friendship. From the joys and perils (well, mainly perils) of the Lunch Ladder, to the military operation that is the Car Boot Sale, via the dos and don'ts of dressing your child as a Dalek, all human life is here.

Panna Austen

The Bridgeford Community Choir is in crisis. Numbers are down. The choir leader is in hospital. The tea urn is behaving in an ominous fashion. Something must be done. New joiners Tracey Leckford and Bennett Parker might just be able to save the day. But Tracey is hiding a huge secret about her past. And Bennett - while equipped with a beautiful singing voice - is entirely baffled by the world and everything in it. Can they really fit in with dependable old regulars like Annie? As the choir suffers through fights, feuds and the perils of the school fair, it becomes clear that their struggles are not just about music, but the future of their community. In order to save their singing group and their town, the Bridgeford Singers will have to find a way to work together - in harmony.

[b]Bicentenary Edition" Celebrating 200 years of Jane Austen[/b]In a country parsonage in the late 18th century, there lived a large family of seven children. They were all bright and clever and noisy, so nobody really noticed when little Jane turned quietly into a genius...The modest, obedient youngest daughter of the Reverend Austen was to grow up to be one of the greatest writers in the English language. And the story of how she succeeded is every bit as romantic as one of her novels...

The girl with the golden pen

Jane Austen

A beautiful Bicentenary Edition Celebrating 200 years of Jane Austen.

Gill Hornby

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