I love, love, love period books and movies. I LOVE Jane Austen! I have seen Pride and Prejudice hundreds of times (and I’ve even seen lots of different cultural takes on it…I esp liked the Bollywood version, Bride & Prejudice).
But I have to admit that I never read (or listened to) Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. I know…I should have my chick card removed! A few years ago Nora and I went to see the movie when it came out in theaters and it was AWESOME!
So when I came across two books by Syrie James that are historical fiction about the lives of these two authors, I knew I had to share them with you.
Syrie James
The first book that I read (listened to) by Syrie James was The Missing Manuscript of Jane Austen. I LOVED this book! I don’t really know how else to describe it.
It follows a woman, Samantha, as she follows her heart to uncover some lost writings by Jane Austen. This book is set in the present, but goes back in time while Samantha reads the manuscripts and letters. I loved both story lines and it really feels like two stories in one. I don’t want to give away too much, but here’s the synopsis from SyrieJames.com.
Samantha McDonough cannot believe her eyes–or her luck. Tucked in an uncut page of a two-hundred-year-old poetry book is a letter that she believes was written by Jane Austen, mentioning with regret a manuscript that “went missing at Greenbriar in Devonshire.”
Could there really be an undiscovered Jane Austen novel waiting to be found? Could anyone resist the temptation to go looking for it?
Making her way to the beautiful, centuries-old Greenbriar estate, Samantha finds it no easy task to sell its owner, the handsome yet uncompromising Anthony Whitaker, on her wild idea of searching for a lost Austen work–until she mentions its possible multi-million dollar value.
After discovering the unattributed manuscript, Samantha and Anthony are immediately absorbed in the story of Rebecca Stanhope, daughter of a small-town rector, who is about to encounter some bittersweet truths about life and love. As they continue to read the newly discovered tale from the past, a new one unfolds in the present–a story that just might change both of their lives forever.
Syrie James also wrote a book called The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Bronte. This one is written more as if Charlotte Bronte is writing this herself so it all takes place in the past and is told in first person.
I’ll admit that this one took me a bit longer to “get in to” than the first. You do get a little hint at an event in the future, but then it starts back at the beginning of the story and moves on.
I remember the moment I became invested in the story…at the beginning of the book she tells you that a man offers a proposal of marriage, but then she goes back to when she first meets him and he calls her an “ugly, old maid”. I actually gasped out loud and then I HAD to know how it ends.
I hope that you enjoy these two novels (or any of the many by Syrie James)!
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