Charles C. Lovett

When two customers come in requesting an obscure book by Jane Austen's friend Richard Mansfield, book lover and Austen enthusiast, Sophie Collingwood is drawn into the mystery of the true author of "Pride and Prejudice."

A Novel of Old Books, Unexpected Love, and Jane Austen

First Impressions

Sahi K

I had to read this book because it involves a mystery regarding the original authorship of Pride and Prejudice and also a fictional story of Jane Austen's life. The book turned out to be quite impressive and fascinating, especially the tale of a young Jane Austen finding companionship and inspiration for her writing from an eighty year old friend.

The book alternates between two time periods. The first one follows the life of a young Jane who has just started her first novel and meets Richard Mansfield. They strike up a friendship and he becomes a sort of mentor to her who helps her gain confidence in her writing and also advises on her manuscripts. The other timeline deals with the life of Sophie Collingwood, a bibliophile and Jane Austen fan, struggling with the death of her beloved bibliophile uncle. She is also conflicted between two guys - one a publisher with a love for eighteenth century printed texts and the other a fellow Austen book lover. In the midst of all this, she gets involved in a mystery surrounding "First Impressions" - the original version of Pride and Prejudice which seems to have not been written by Jane at all. Sophie goes on a quest trying to prove that Jane didn't plagiarize, find more about the relationship between Jane and Mansfield while also not getting killed.

For every book lover and especially Austen fans, this book is amazing in invoking wonderful images of old musty books, shelves full of old books from floor to ceiling, the pain of living in a house with a locked library and the terrifying thought that your favorite author might have plagiarized one of the best classics ever written. The fictional journey of Jane and her relationship with Mansfield is quite endearing and leaves us more in love with her and her works. On the whole, this book is less of a mystery and more of an ode to books and authors and book lovers which I thoroughly enjoyed and made me want to read P&P again.

Vilandra

Charlie Lovett

Book lover and Jane Austen enthusiast Sophie Collingwood has recently taken a job at an antiquarian bookshop in London when two different customers request a copy of the same obscure book: the second edition of A Little Book of Allegories, written in the late eighteenth century by an aging cleric named Richard Mansfield. Their queries draw Sophie into a mystery that will cast doubt on the true authorship of Pride and Prejudice-- and ultimately threaten Sophie's life. In a dual narrative that alternatives between Sophie's quest to uncover the truth -- while choosing two suitors -- and a young Jane Austen's touching friendship with the very same Richard Mansfield, Lovett weaves a romantic, suspenseful, and utterly compelling novel about love in all its forms and the joys of a life lived in books.

Liz Carpenter

Jennifer A.

Sophie Villeneuve

Kelly Gorman

Angi Cox

Charlie Lovett first delighted readers with his New York Times bestselling debut, The Bookman’s Tale. Now, Lovett weaves another brilliantly imagined mystery, this time featuring one of English literature’s most popular and beloved authors, Jane Austen. Book lover and Austen enthusiast Sophie Collingwood has recently taken a job at an antiquarian bookshop in London when two different customers request a copy of the same obscure book: the second edition of Little Book of Allegories by Richard Mansfield. Their queries draw Sophie into a mystery that will cast doubt on the true authorship of Pride and Prejudice—and ultimately threaten Sophie’s life. In a dual narrative that alternates between Sophie’s quest to uncover the truth—while choosing between two suitors—and a young Jane Austen’s touching friendship with the ageing cleric Richard Mansfield, Lovett weaves a romantic, suspenseful and utterly compelling novel about love in all its forms and the joys of a life lived in books.

First Impressions A Novel of Old Books, Unexpected Love, and Jane Austen

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