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    The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen
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    The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen
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    The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen
    Ebook364 pages5 hours

    The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen

    By Syrie James

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    Many rumors abound about a mysterious gentleman said to be the love of Jane's life—finally, the truth may have been found. . . .

    What if, hidden in an old attic chest, Jane Austen's memoirs were discovered after hundreds of years? What if those pages revealed the untold story of a life-changing love affair? That's the premise behind this spellbinding novel, which delves into the secrets of Jane Austen's life, giving us untold insights into her mind and heart.

    Jane Austen has given up her writing when, on a fateful trip to Lyme, she meets the well-read and charming Mr. Ashford, a man who is her equal in intellect and temperament. Inspired by the people and places around her, and encouraged by his faith in her, Jane begins revising Sense and Sensibility, a book she began years earlier, hoping to be published at last.

    Deft and witty, written in a style that echoes Austen's own, this unforgettable novel offers a delightfully possible scenario for the inspiration behind this beloved author's romantic tales. It's a remarkable book, irresistible to anyone who loves Jane Austen—and to anyone who loves a great story.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateOct 13, 2009
    ISBN9780061857430
    Author

    Syrie James

    Syrie James is the USA Today and Amazon bestselling author of thirteen novels including the critically acclaimed The Missing Manuscript of Jane Austen; Jane Austen's First Love; Forbidden; Dracula, My Love; The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Brontë; Nocturne; Runaway Heiress; Summer of Scandal; Duke Darcy's Castle; Floating on Air; Two Week Deal; and the international bestseller The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen. An admitted Anglophile, Syrie loves all things British and 19th century. Her novels have hit many Best of the Year lists, won the Audie Romance Award, and been designated as Library Journal Editor’s Picks and the Women's National Book Association’s Great Group Read. Syrie lives in Los Angeles and is a member of JASNA, the Historical Novel Society, and the Writer's Guild of America.  Visit Syrie at www.syriejames.com.

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    Reviews for The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen

    4/5

    217 ratings27 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Historical fiction written by fictional researcher who was privy to the lost memoirs of Jane Austen recently discovered in the renovations of an Austen family home. It is hard not to buy into the whole story allegedly told by Jane of the years 1815-1817. Readers of Austen's work and Austen's biographies will recognize most as truth or truth as history surmises it. I loved the manner in which it was written and thought James' research excellent. For fans of Jane Austen and her works, it's a delightful read.
    • 4/5
      this book is sure to delight all the jane austen fans out there!
    • 5/5
      This was a great book that immerses you into possibilities for the inspiration of several of Jane Austen's Novels. Syrie James is a really good author that creates a vivid background that allows the reader to fully immerse themselves into the story. I plan to read more of her Austenesque novels.
    • 4/5
      A box is found in the walls of a building while being remodeled. The contents are claimed to belong to Jane Austen. The journals fit the times and places she was known to be and the names of people as well.
      There's only one family name that doesn't match up and the home of this gentleman.
      This story was very well done.
    • 3/5
      This was a very different read for me than I am used to. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The author did a great job of weaving together fact and fiction. I could easily see the story from that time period, and allow myself to imagine Jane Austen actually writing the story. Of course, I'm not a history expert, so there may have been inconsistencies which I didn't notice - I felt it was true to the time period.
    • 4/5
      As a huge Austen fan, I have to say I truly enjoyed this charming book. Indeed there is only one other Austen-inspired knockoff that I recommend -- Laurie Horowitz's "The Family Fortune". There is a rather obscure movie called "Lost In Austen" that is quite fun as well.
    • 5/5
      This work takes known facts from Jane Austen's life and combines them with a great imagination. It tells the story of how Jane Austen almost got married to the man of her dreams. The most fun and creative part of the book is how familiar situations and characters from Jane Austen's work (with different names of course) weave their way into the tale and become inspiration for characters, places and plot lines we know and love (or hate)like Mr. Collins, Pemberly and the oh so awkward scene in Pride and Prejuidice where Mr. Darcy finds Elizabeth Bennet touring his home. Fans of Jane Austen will love this work for making the much beloved author come alive.
    • 3/5
      After being hidden for hundreds of years in an old chest in an attic at historic Chawton Cottage, the memoirs of Jane Austen were discovered and printed, shedding light on a life-changing romance that Jane revealed to only her closest family members. Could this relationship have inspired scenes and characters for her beloved novels? Read Jane’s own thoughts on her experience and what ultimately lead to her revising and striving to publish her first novel, Sense and Sensibility.This is a fiction memoir, treated as a lost manuscript in the same vein as Pride and Promiscuity, though of course without the ridiculous sexy bits. I found it to be a quick, entertaining read, though I don’t think there’s anything particularly special about it. There’s nothing wrong with it either, but it didn’t grip me the way Jane's actual work does and James's writing was…well…fine.The plot is a blend of true events from Jane’s life, fictional happenings and little references to her novels, through characters or scenes. For instance, in this book Jane meets a parson whose behavior is so ridiculous that she decides to base a character off him (Mr. Collins from Pride and Prejudice). Her own relationship in this novel mirrors parts of that between Elizabeth and Darcy, as well as Elinor and Edward and Marianne and Willoughby.This book is a pleasant little nod to Jane’s life and her fiction. It has inspired me to read some more biographical pieces about her (perhaps for next year’s Austen Month!) and I think fans of her work will enjoy this book (perhaps especially the reference to her lack of kisses at the end of her novel and James’s answer to this).
    • 5/5
      I loved this book! I loved how Syrie James stayed true to Jane Austen's voice. It was fun seeing events from Jane's life that contributed to her writing. It was well written and I kept wishing that it were true. Great novel of what Jane's life might have been like!
    • 5/5
      This fictional account of Jane Austen's memoirs is true to the timeline of her life. Very well written. It seems like it is Jane Austen's memoirs.
    • 3/5
      To me, one of the most intriguing aspects of Jane Austen, the person, is that she never married. And yet, the main theme of all her novels was courting and relationships. This fascinating contradiction led me to read "The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen" by Syrie James. She imagines Jane Austen’s life with her own romantic interest and grounded the novel with extensive research to layer truth with fiction. I enjoyed the book. It was interesting to read a novel set in the same time period but from the perspective of the enigmatic Jane Austen. What was she like? Who were her family members? Did she develop any of her characters from the people around her? How was her heart broken? This novel allows fans to wade into Jane Austen’s life for the sole purpose of observing Jane in love.
    • 4/5
      Absolutely delightful tale that deftly weaves real moments of Jane Austen's life, along with moments of her novels, with a "what might have been" love story for the author herself. Syrie James' writing style captures the light, yet meaningful, tone of Austen, making it a joy for Jane Austen fans.
    • 4/5
      The fun of this novel is the speculation of what "might have been" in the life of the beloved Jane Austen. Ms. James makes a compelling story - using events of Ms. Austen's life and weaving them with a plausible romantic life. I also enjoyed the way she intertwined that story line with some of the plot points in Ms. Austen's novels - showing how real life events could have influenced writing story lines. The writing is good and this should please Jane Austen fans.
    • 4/5
      The Book Report: Every Austenian knows Jane went quiet for 10 years, then produced what is arguably the finest body of novelistic work to come out of nineteenth-century England, then died. Nobody knows poo-diddly about Miss Jane's romantic life, or even if there ever was one, in large part because Jane's sister Cassandra went wild with the scissors and made like a Nazi with a Torah (burn, baby, burn) to make sure none of Jane's letters or diaries (if any) survived unexpurgated. Cassandra doubtless felt she was doing the pathologically shy Jane a service by making sure The Ages never got hold of her innermost secrets. The Ages, however, feel most hard-done-by, and to redress the disgruntlement that our own nosy day and time feels, screenwriter and novelist Syrie James has stepped in to provide us with a startlingly plausible and well-executed "recovered memoir" plugging up the egregious gaps in our knowledge of Miss Austen's private life.My Reivew: Depending on what one is expecting when reading the book, it will either be a genuine pleasure to immerse one's self into, or an annoying pastiche of Austen's crystalline, ringing prose. I fall into Camp A.No one else is Jane Austen, so drop that ax at the door, no grinding allowed. Yes, the authoress has the *gall* to present her story as Austen's own voice telling her own tale; get over it. No one can remotely pretend to be deceived by the narrative frame, so no one can reasonably judge the book by the prose yardstick of Austen herself. Stop it! Quit bellyaching about the pretenders, the laborers in the pasticherie of Austenland. They exist because Austen is a nonpareil, a monadnock of literary talent. That they are not up to her standard of talent is simply *irrelevant* and those who snort derisively that only *true* Austen prose will satisfy them should carry this thought about with them: "So? Who asked you? Go point your nose into some *real* Austen, then."The rest of us can now get about enjoying Syrie James's full-bodied claret-jug of a book. The memoir tells the tale of Jane Austen's one great love, invented by James out of a one-line reference to some passion of Jane's by Cassandra, many years after the fact; and some clever literary sleuthing in Austen's work. Brava, Miss James! How nicely done!And also to be praised is James's fidelity to the known facts of Austen's life. At no point does Miss James deviate from the historical record *where one exists.* This by itself would win my praise for the effort. But combine that with a truly Austenian imagination, and a pleasant facility with the language, and one has a rare thing: A novel that *should* be true.Why not spend a leisurely spring-shading-into-summer afternoon with Jane, Cassandra, Mother, and the miscellany that make up Regency England's finest writer's world? This is, I declare, a most worthy enterprise in which to engage yourself.
    • 3/5
      Delightful read in the manner of Jane Austen. Bookclub members enjoyed threads of Austen's books woven into the story. A light read.
    • 4/5
      this book is sure to delight all the jane austen fans out there!
    • 5/5
      Written by a Jane Austen scholar, this fictional work begins with the premise that Austen's lost memoirs have been found. The book is written from Austen's point-of-view and covers her late 20s and early 30s. It feels more like a novel than a memoir, but in a good way. James did an excellent job researching this work and much of it is based in fact, merging real people, places and events of her life with a fictional love affair. She does an impressive job of capturing Austen's writing style and it truly feels like reading another novel from the author. I loved reading about everything she had to go through to publish her books. It's easy to forget that during her lifetime, turning down a marriage proposal was almost unheard of, especially if you had no money or other prospects. Her true life is more fascinating than any fictional love, but that aspect makes it a fun read. The plot pulls heavily from Sense & Sensibility and also from Pride & Prejudice, but not without reason. In James' book Austen is inspired to write those things because she experienced them. It was a delightful, quick read and I can't wait to get my hands on her book, The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Brontë. "I have found that there is never a perfect time or place for anything. We can always find a reason to put off that which we aspire to do, or fear to do, until tomorrow, next week, next month, next year – until, the end, we never accomplish anything at all."
    • 4/5
      The Lost Memoirs was a truly engrossing read and made me yearn to re-read Sense and Sensibility after reading about Jane's struggle to edit what would be her first published novel. I was eager to read this book after reading The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Brontë and I was just as pleased with James's treatment of Austen's memoirs as I was with Brontë's diaries. Overall, a great tribute to the life of Jane Austen and a worthy addition to any collection of Austenesque works.Gricel @ things-she-read.org
    • 5/5
      I am loving this book so far! It is a fictional story of how Jane Austen came up with some of her ideas for her novels based upon some letters of hers that were discovered. I am enjoying it immensely so far! :)Just finished it..loved it! It does make you feel as if it is true, even though it is a work of fiction. The dates & places are accurate, though. Great read..if you love Jane Austen read this book!
    • 4/5
      A LOT of research went into this book - and it shows. Syrie James took real events and people and places from Jane Austen's life, as well as scenes from her novels to create a secret love affair that rings true and plausible.
      Anyone who loves Austen will love this book.
    • 4/5
      It’s tempting to create a story about Jane’s romantic life, considering that she was so private about her personal life, and in The Lost Memoirs…, Syrie James creates a lively, likeable, and realistic heroine.Set in the time period in which Jane Austen was revising Sense and Sensibility, Jane introduces us to Frederick Ashford, a charming gentleman she meets one day at Lyme. They instantly form an attachment, but nothing comes of it until one day two years later, when they encounter one another quite unexpectedly. Syrie James acquaints the reader with many real and imagined characters, who may or may not have served as inspiration for characters in her novels (particularly delightful in his foolishness is Mr. Morton, who “becomes” Mr. Collins in Pride and Prejudice).The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen is a cute, charming tale of “what if…” What was the source of Jane’s inspiration? What really happened that gave Jane cause to revise Sense and Sensibility and First Impressions (later re-named Pride and Prejudice)? What if Jane had actually married her mysterious gentleman? It’s a quick read, but if you have “Austen-mania” as I have, you’ll certainly enjoy this book. It's hard to believe that The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen isn't a real memoir!
    • 2/5
      I was very excited to read this book and I am sorry to say that I ended up terribly disappointed. One of my biggest complaints is that there was a focus on Sense and Sensibility, though I prefer Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion. It was a slow read in the beginning. I kept reading waiting for it to get better, but it never really did. People who really like historical fiction may enjoy this book.
    • 4/5
      I enjoyed this book as a bit of quick reading that I didn't have to think too hard about. I am a devotee of Jane Austen, and even the fictional things written about her usually grab my interest. I think that, on the whole, James' story is a good concept, and the fictional blends with the factual with seamless effort. However, I think the book is a bit on the predictable side, and therefore not something that I would find myself reading over and over again. I did pull a lot of quotes out of it while I was reading, and jot them down in my journal. It's great for one liners of inspiration, just as Austen's works were themselves. I enjoyed it as a quick, springtime, lazy read, but I wouldn't recommend it as anything more than that.
    • 4/5
      I thought this was a fun read, and it went by fast. The author seems to have put a lot of research into placing Jane at certain places in certain times. It seemed plausible enough to me. (I don't know about accuracy though - I haven't read any Austen biographies).
    • 4/5
      I picked this up on impulse at Target as I left town for a camping trip. Syrie James did a great job with recreating the world of Jane Austen in a way that feels real to the times but also to the Jane Austen whose words I've read. More personal than a novel but written in that style, this book is quick and easy to read. The biggest issue I have with it is that it felt so real and possible that I will have to keep reminding myself that it didn't really happen. I highly recommend it.
    • 4/5
      Some Austen devotees just can't stomach that Jane Austen might have had a whole life we modern readers don't know about; still others are certain that Jane simply must have personally experienced some of the emotions and situations that she writes so stunningly about. I'm in the latter camp, and admit to being a hopeless romantic in Austen's case.This light and fun book is a fun look into a love that Jane Austen may or may not have had, and is a pleasure to read. Folks who loved AS Byatt's "Possession" would likely enjoy James' novelized memoir as a nice beach read, or perfect for the bus. James did her research, and came out with something that echoes Austen in spirit.
    • 4/5
      This was a charming take on Jane Austen's love life. The author dreams up a handsome member of the landed gentry for our Jane; he also encourages her to pick up her pen. I thought the author did a remarkable job of mimicking Jane's voice. While not an exact imitation, it was close enough to be enjoyable, while also a little modernized.A screenwriter, Ms. James also kept the plot moving merrily along, with a few twists at the end. Austen fans will be delighted at the many references to her work, including a "real-life" Mr. Collins.I didn't feel that the Editor's Notes, which insisted this was a memoir, not a piece of fiction, really worked as a literary device. Also, some of the footnotes were clunky, and interfered with the flow of the story. Fortunately, they decreased in number after a few pages, and some of them were quite interesting.But these are minor flaws, and despite them I would recommend this book to any Austen fan.