In an English manor's attic, behind an old brick wall, an ancient sea-chest is found. Inside, carefully preserved, is a literary treasure - the memoirs of one of the most successful and enigmatic writers in English history, Jane Austen. Have you ever wondered how a woman who never married and by all accounts was never in love was able to create some of the most romantic relationships in literature? What if she did have a secret affair with a man of wealth and distinction, far above her own station? Author Syrie James takes much of what is really known about Jane Austen and weaves these facts into a "what might have been" life of Jane Austen, one where she meets Sir Walter Scott, visits the Derbyshire that became an important setting for Pride and Prejudice, and falls deeply in love with a man who may have been the inspiration for all her male heroes, one Frederick Ashford. James brings to life Austen's entire family - her hypochondriac mother, affectionate father, all her brothers and of course her sister Cassandra to whom she was devoted - as well as a host of other more-or-less imaginary characters that readers of Jane Austen will find vaguely familiar. She also includes a variety of things that make this fictionalized autobiography seem convincingly real - a map of Jane's England, a copy of the Austen family tree, and introduction by "Dr. Mary I. Jesse, president of the Jane Austen Literary Foundation", who is actually one of those imaginary characters. This edition comes complete with a reading guide for book clubs, an insightful author interview and a chronology of events in Jane Austen's real life, and is an excellent substitute for anyone who wishes Ms. Austen had given us more of her own life's story or written more novels before her untimely death. Reserve your copy here in our on-line catalogue.

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