3.5★
Just to be clear – I’m only reading what The Divine Jane actually wrote. I have a horrible feeling that this incomplete work has been combined with editions of this work that have been finished by other authors. Sigh. A GR librarian’s work is never done – but it is going to be ignored for a few days!
So my incomplete work has 12 chapters. Others have mentioned reading copies with only initials – mine has the characters’ names.
I love the start – the idea of a Jane Austen character as a seaside resort developer had enormous appeal for me! But this is the last book JA worked on – and she was already unwell. Her character studies become nastier than I am used to from Jane. I’m sure JA would have revised and made the storyline sharper if she has lived and smoothed out the rough edges on some characters.
By the end – not enjoyable for me.
I will watch the TV adaptation when it hits my shores. Everyone just better be prepared for some vinaigrette sniffing and pearl clutching as I just don’t associate Jane Austen with sexy times.
Carol - She's So Novel! 