Dearest Cousin Jane: A Jane Austen Novel [Kindle Edition]

Jill Pitkeathley (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Jane Austen, along with her family, once again feature prominently in Pitkeathley's latest romantic, meticulously researched period melodrama. This time around, Austen's glamorous cousin Countess Eliza de Feuillide (once known as simply Betsy) takes center stage. Suggesting that Eliza made a significant impression on Jane's development as an author, Pitkeathley depicts a spirited woman who certainly made an impact on the entire Austen clan, as well as stole her share of hearts, including her first husband Jean Capot, the Comte de Feuillide, who was guillotined in 1794. Pitkeathley (Cassandra and Jane) explores several impressions of Eliza, who ultimately married Jane's brother Henry, through the various perspectives Austen family members; while Jane's is naturally appealing, Eliza's viewpoint is far more fascinating, especially as she worries about her impending death from breast cancer.
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Review

“This novel brings a new and enjoyable dimension to our knowledge of Jane Austen’s life and work, and the extended family that was so significant in her development as a author.”

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Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 420 KB
• Print Length: 290 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0061875988
• Publisher: HarperCollins e-books; Original edition (March 23, 2010)
• Sold by: HarperCollins Publishers
• Language: English
• ASIN: B003B02OM8
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #436,301 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars fine biographical fiction, March 26, 2010

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dearest Cousin Jane: A Jane Austen Novel (Paperback)

In 1787, Jane's mother expresses her concurs to her husband Mr. Austen about the behavior of his niece Countess Eliza de Feuillde whom she calls Betsy as she did before the aristocratic marriage. He insists she is just having fun with her flirting with their two sons James and Henry. However, Mrs. Austen complains that her seductive airs send the wrong behavioral message to fifteen years old Cassandra and especially twelve years old Jane who carefully watches her older cousin's antics.

Eliza Hancock came to Paris in 1780. There she met the Comte and married him. They had a child Hastings whose health is poor and soon after their stay in England with her paternal uncle's family, he dies. Not long after that Eliza's spouse is guillotined. Even in mourning, Eliza still teases the men especially Jane's brothers; playing them against each other while Jane watches in fascination and her mom disapproves.

By using a young Jane's real cousin who had an apparent scandalous reputation, Jill Pitkeathley provides a fresh look at the influences on the author before Miss Austen became the novelist. For fans of biographical fiction and of course anyone who wants more Austen in their diet, Dearest Cousin Jane is a super repast as this is an enjoyable invigorating look at the extended family through the impact of the notorious cousin.

Harriet Klausner

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fascinating and enlightening read, April 11, 2010

By 

Mary J. Gramlich "The Reading Reviewer" (St. Louis, MO) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dearest Cousin Jane: A Jane Austen Novel (Paperback)

There are so many stories written about the complexities of Jane Austen and her life but not as many about the people in her life. Specifically her family and the influence they held in all of her motivation to be a writer and how the stories were written.

This book is about one of the colorful and charismatic characters that filled Jane's thoughts and her life by leading the kind of life Jane would write about. Countess Eliza de Feuillide was Jane's cousin who later became her sister-in-law but the story that leads up to that event is filled with wild tales and wonderful adventures. Eliza traveled, married, became a widow and raised a child all the while flirting and seducing her way around the globe. Her involvement with Jane's beloved brother Henry while at some points a bit of an issue finds its resolution in love and romance.

This book takes an interesting turn on revealing details about a person who has been written about so frequently - Jane Austen. It is nice to have her relationship explored and delved into more deeply because what make us whole is the pieces that we bring with us from other people and how they touch our lives.

Mary Gramlich is The Reading Reviewer located at [...]

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars For Jane Austen aficionado only, April 30, 2010

By 

Charmaine Anderson (FRUIT HEIGHTS, UT, US) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dearest Cousin Jane: A Jane Austen Novel (Paperback)

I am a Jane Austen junkie and couldn't resist this book. I enjoyed it but it isn't for everyone. I think you need to be an Austen aficionado to have the patience for a book like this. Evidentally Jane Austen had a nortorious cousin, Eliza Hancock, believed to have influenced Jane's writing. Eliza married a French count and after his death Jane's brother, 10 years her junior. Eliza's social escapades and extravagances were often in question. Her life and colorful character was entwined with the Austen family for most of Jane's life. The book has no plot. Each chapter is a first person account of an Austen family member including Jane, her sister Cassandra, her mother, Eliza, Jane's brothers, some of Jane's cousins and a sister in law. Some of the story is told in letters from one of these family members to another. It is a choppy way to write a story but I did enjoy learning about the interactions and movings of her family. I feel like I have a good understanding of the family dynamics that surrounded Jane's life and writing. It is fiction based loosley on knowledge of the real family.