Lindsay Jayne Ashford

The Mysterious Death of Miss Austen imagines the summer of 1805 and Jane's close friendship with Anne Sharp, governess to her brother Edward's children. As the bond between the two women deepens, Anne senses a dark undercurrent within the family, something that troubles Jane and threatens those she loves. Anne feels compelled to investigate - could her vivid imagination be leading her astray, or was someone out to silence Jane before her novels revealed a shocking family secret?

The Mysterious Death of Miss Austen

Melissa Palmer

Book #72 Read in 2013
The Mysterious Death of Miss Jane Austen by Lindsay Ashford

This book puts an interesting spin on Jane Austen's early death. In this book, Miss Sharp, governess to Austen family members who becomes a close friend of Jane's, feels that someone had a hand to Jane dying at the early age of 41. Miss Sharp believes that someone poisoned Jane and she wants to prove it. This book talks about the interactions among Austen's family members, the way of life during that time, and Jane's rise as an author. 

As a huge Jane Austen fan, I found this book's premise interesting. I enjoyed the writing style and the mystery aspect to it. The longing that Miss Sharp felt for Jane became a bit tiresome after a while but it served its purpose about her strong motivation to find out what truly happened to Jane Austen. Overall, I enjoyed the book.

I received a copy of this book from Sourcebooks in exchange for a review.

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Sarah Escorsa

I really wonder why I bought this book. I might have been secretly hoping that it would be an interesting read and not the umpteenth attempt to use Jane Austen's popularity to sell a book.

I know that this is a work of fiction but I just didn't like what Ashford did with the story and the way she developed the characters. From now on I think I will definitely stay away from all books inspired by Austen and her work, they are too much of a disappointment!

The Mysterious Death of Miss Austen

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