Miss Austen

Why was Jane Austen's sister so eager to burn the letters the author wrote to family and friends? Based on this literary mystery, Gill Hornby's Miss Austen recreates Cassandra Austen's saga to protect her sister's greatest secrets.

England, 1840. Twenty-three years after the death of her beloved sister Jane, Cassandra Austen receives news of the passing of Reverend Fulwar, patriarch of the Fowle family, with whom Jane had corresponded frequently, sharing all her secrets. Cassandra knows she must get to the rectory as quickly as possible if she wants to keep her sister's memory intact.

In the lady of the house's bedroom, Cassandra found what she desperately sought: bundles of letters tied with a light blue ribbon were separated into lifelong bundles. These were letters, notes, and accounts written by Jane throughout her years of friendship with the Fowles, records Cassandra feared would fall into the hands of potential biographers and curious onlookers.

Reading her sister's written words, Cassandra reconnects with the past—a past that is often painful. The letters reveal intimate details, not only about Jane, but also about Cassandra herself. Reliving fond memories of her youth in Steventon, where they lived for twenty years, Cassandra faces a difficult dilemma: keep the letters and risk them one day becoming public, potentially tarnishing her sister's memory, or burn a part of Jane's legacy and preserve their privacy?

Alternating between Cassandra's stay at the rectory and her vivid memories of her years with Jane—moments interwoven with Jane's lost letters, brilliantly recreated by Gill Hornby— Miss Austen is the untold story of the most important person in Jane's life. With extraordinary empathy, emotional complexity, and great wit, Gill Hornby finally does Cassandra justice, bringing to life a woman as captivating as any Jane Austen heroine.

“Jane Austen would have loved this story.” – The Guardian

“A beautifully crafted and deeply moving novel. A read that left me happy and tearful in equal measure.” – Karen Joy Fowler

“Without romanticizing the period setting or minimizing the precarious position of women in society at the time, the book celebrates lives that were not subject to scrutiny, the relationship between sisters, and virtues such as kindness and loyalty.” – Sunday Times