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The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen Syrie James Books

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The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen Syrie James Books

*The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen* begins with a note from a supposed Austen scholar who has been tasked with editing and publishing a series of notebooks, discovered along with a ruby ring behind a wall in a house owned by one of Jane Austen’s brothers. The claim (which we are not really expected to believe) is that this manuscript is a memoir written by Jane Austen herself, detailing a story from her life that has never before been made public.

Once this frame has been established, we launch without further ado into the tale. We begin in 1801, with the Austen family’s removal from Steventon where her father served as rector. Upon his retirement the family relocates to Bath: Mr. and Mrs. Austen and their two spinster daughters, Cassandra and Jane. There follow many years in which the family is rootless, especially after Mr. Austen’s death in 1805. At one point Jane’s favorite brother, Henry, takes her for a brief holiday at Lyme; and there she meets a handsome and interesting man, Mr. Ashford. They feel an instant connection, but that connection is severed all too soon when he is mysteriously called away.

Back home with her family, Jane often thinks of Mr. Ashford, but there seems to be no way to renew the acquaintance. We hop back in time for a bit to an incident in which she received an offer from a longtime neighbor, Harris Bigg-Wither; she considered the offer seriously but in the end rejected it. Back in the present, the Austen family settles for a time in Southampton (by now the year is perhaps 1808), and there by chance Jane meets Mr. Ashford again.

This being an Austenesque novel, there must of course be a romance. I don’t want to give away any more of the plot, but the course of true love cannot be expected to run smooth. Those familiar with Jane Austen’s biography are not expecting a happy ending, but we wonder what path will take us to that forgone conclusion.

In keeping with the fiction that this is a scholarly edition, there are endnotes scattered throughout. I didn’t bother to click through to them, but some readers have complained that they give only rather obvious or well-known information. For myself, I would have dispensed with the scholarly-edition element altogether, and simply told the story, starting with the Harris Bigg-Wither incident. I would even have dispensed with framing the tale as a memoir—the author’s grasp of Austen’s writing style is limited (in fairness, I read a later book of hers and she had improved in this regard). It bothered me to be reading a supposedly first-person narrative by Jane Austen that used largely modern vocabulary and forms.

That said, the story itself is touching enough, full of twists and replete with situations that engage the reader emotionally. I enjoyed following the events and discovering how they came out. The Jane Austen who emerged from the book was probably more romantic and less caustic than my notion of the real one, but that suits contemporary tastes. I might have liked the story better had it been about a fictional authoress whose life and ideas echoed Jane Austen’s; then I would have enjoyed recognizing the parallels without holding the work to such an impossible standard.

For those interested in giving Syrie James a try, I would recommend starting with *Jane Austen’s First Love,* a more polished work.


Tags : Amazon.com: The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen (9780061341427): Syrie James: Books,Syrie James,The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen,William Morrow Paperbacks,0061341428,Austen, Jane,Diary fiction,Diary fiction.,Historical fiction,Historical fiction.,Women novelists,Women novelists;Fiction.,1775-1817,American Historical Fiction,Austen, Jane,,FICTION Historical General,FICTION Women,Fiction,Fiction - Historical,Fiction Historical,General & Literary Fiction,Historical - General,Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945)

The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen Syrie James Books Reviews

I didn't like the fact that the author put all her novels in Jane's story as if they came from her life. because I am sure they came from her imagination. But it was a charming piece of work and kept the facts known to us in place through out the book. She does write a lot like I would think Jane would write. It does make me wonder why Jane quit writing for 10 long years. What other wonderful books might she have written if she had not been too sorry to live in bath or be thrown into a brother's busy household. I am so glad she went back to her writing as none of her novels would have seen the light of day if she had not. Such a special voice, such humor and wonderful characters along with a very wonderful love story with out the kisses and the passion although you know it is there. I do think most every one will love this book and so I do hope you will give it a try.
An avid reader and obsesser of all things Jane Austen, I stumbled upon this book in my search for "more." I had friends who had also recommended it, but I thought that it might just be, at best, a sorry attempt to copy Jane Austen's style and, at worst, a terrible piece of fanfiction that would cause our dear Jane to roll over in her grave. However, as you can see by my rating, I was completely blown away. The author's excellent incorporation of historical facts and her own fiction make this book a MUST for any one who has wished there was more to know about Jane's personal life than her letters and biographers give us. James' style is fluid, descriptive, and incredibly captivating, echoing Austen's tone while still offering enough of herself to make the work new and fresh. Though other reviewers have criticized her for using some of Austen's own plot lines, I found it comforting and, in my opinion, it made the work that much more poignant. James skillfully wove parts of Austen's own life with bits of Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice to create a world that was all the more believable because of its familiarity to Austen fans. James' heartwrenching descriptions of love and loss left me speechless and at the end of the book I had the urge to cry and hug the author. This book has also now provided one of my new favorite closing lines....

"I have come to believe, in the end, that there is no shame in truth, only freedom; and that, in time, every tale has a right to be told."

.... as well as the best ending to a fictional editor's note, I have ever read

"But another theory, which cannot be ignored, can best be summed up in the words of her young nephew James-Edward, who so solemnly asked his aunt Jane, on that golden morning at Steventon, “Do you mean to say, that if I believe in your story as you have told it, then it is as good as if it were true?”

Bravo, James. Bravo.
Using the pleasant conceit of a newly "found memoir", this novel follows the factual outline of Austen's biographical life while adding t he delicious
Imaginary interior emotional tale of her thwarted love affair. It is written with a highly reflective style of Miss Austen herself which will make this book a delight for her countless fans -- it is as though we are gifted with an addition to the six books that those fans re-read over the years. One could snobbishly reject the thought of a "fake" Austen story. But why? Relax and enjoy a fictional stroll down Austen's love story. Let's let our Jane have her chance to experience the same heart and mind love that she wished for her heroines.
*The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen* begins with a note from a supposed Austen scholar who has been tasked with editing and publishing a series of notebooks, discovered along with a ruby ring behind a wall in a house owned by one of Jane Austen’s brothers. The claim (which we are not really expected to believe) is that this manuscript is a memoir written by Jane Austen herself, detailing a story from her life that has never before been made public.

Once this frame has been established, we launch without further ado into the tale. We begin in 1801, with the Austen family’s removal from Steventon where her father served as rector. Upon his retirement the family relocates to Bath Mr. and Mrs. Austen and their two spinster daughters, Cassandra and Jane. There follow many years in which the family is rootless, especially after Mr. Austen’s death in 1805. At one point Jane’s favorite brother, Henry, takes her for a brief holiday at Lyme; and there she meets a handsome and interesting man, Mr. Ashford. They feel an instant connection, but that connection is severed all too soon when he is mysteriously called away.

Back home with her family, Jane often thinks of Mr. Ashford, but there seems to be no way to renew the acquaintance. We hop back in time for a bit to an incident in which she received an offer from a longtime neighbor, Harris Bigg-Wither; she considered the offer seriously but in the end rejected it. Back in the present, the Austen family settles for a time in Southampton (by now the year is perhaps 1808), and there by chance Jane meets Mr. Ashford again.

This being an Austenesque novel, there must of course be a romance. I don’t want to give away any more of the plot, but the course of true love cannot be expected to run smooth. Those familiar with Jane Austen’s biography are not expecting a happy ending, but we wonder what path will take us to that forgone conclusion.

In keeping with the fiction that this is a scholarly edition, there are endnotes scattered throughout. I didn’t bother to click through to them, but some readers have complained that they give only rather obvious or well-known information. For myself, I would have dispensed with the scholarly-edition element altogether, and simply told the story, starting with the Harris Bigg-Wither incident. I would even have dispensed with framing the tale as a memoir—the author’s grasp of Austen’s writing style is limited (in fairness, I read a later book of hers and she had improved in this regard). It bothered me to be reading a supposedly first-person narrative by Jane Austen that used largely modern vocabulary and forms.

That said, the story itself is touching enough, full of twists and replete with situations that engage the reader emotionally. I enjoyed following the events and discovering how they came out. The Jane Austen who emerged from the book was probably more romantic and less caustic than my notion of the real one, but that suits contemporary tastes. I might have liked the story better had it been about a fictional authoress whose life and ideas echoed Jane Austen’s; then I would have enjoyed recognizing the parallels without holding the work to such an impossible standard.

For those interested in giving Syrie James a try, I would recommend starting with *Jane Austen’s First Love,* a more polished work.