Author Henry Eliot seated in The Penguin Podcast Studio

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Interviews

The Penguin Podcast: episode 3 – the classics

Miss Austen

NOW A MAJOR SERIES ON BBC ONE AND BBC iPLAYER STARRING KEELEY HAWES 
 
'You can't help feeling that Jane would have approved' Observer 
'So good, so intelligent, so clever, so entertaining - I adored it' Claire Tomalin 
'Celebrates unexamined lives, sisterhood and virtues such as kindness and loyalty' Sunday Times 
'Sparkling novel' Daily Mail 
'I read the book and laughed and sobbed' Keeley Hawes 
___________ 
 
Throughout her lifetime, Jane Austen wrote countless letters to her sister. But why did Cassandra burn them all? 
 
1840: twenty three years after the death of her famous sister Jane, Cassandra Austen returns to the village of Kintbury, and the home of her family's friends, the Fowles. 
 
She knows that, in some dusty corner of the sprawling vicarage, there is a cache of family letters which hold secrets she can never allow to be revealed. 
 
As Cassandra recalls her youth and her relationship with her brilliant yet complex sister, she pieces together buried truths about Jane's history, and her own. And she faces a stark choice: should she act to protect Jane's reputation, or leave the contents of the letters to go unguarded into posterity? 
 
Based on a literary mystery that has long puzzled biographers and academics, Miss Austen is a wonderfully original and emotionally complex novel about the loves and lives of Cassandra and Jane Austen. 
___________ 
 
'The perfect book to wrap yourself around on a dark night' STYLIST 
 
'This is a deeply imagined and deeply moving novel' KAREN JOY FOWLER, author of The Jane Austen Bookclub 
 
'It's a delight, one of those that you don't want to end.' RTE 
 
'A charming novel' SUNDAY MIRROR 
 
'Hornby brings to life the Austen family, using the known to speculate on what might have been' THE TIMES Audio Book of the Week 
 
'Extraordinary and heart-wrenching' LARA PRESCOTT, author of The Secrets We Kept 
 
'Gill Hornby ingeniously imagines what Cassandra Austen's own life might have been like.' DEIRDRE LE FAYE, editor of Jane Austen's Letters 
 
'Tender and touching' DAILY MAIL 
 
'Utterly absorbing' ARTEMIS COOPER 
 
'Delightful' SUE RYAN, founder of Henley Lit Fest 
 
___________ 
 
Loved Miss Austen? Check out Gill Hornby's wonderful new novel, The Elopement!

Gill Hornby is the author of The Hive and All Together Now, as well as The Story of Jane Austen, a biography of Austen for younger readers. 
 
Her subsequent novels, Miss Austen and Godmersham Park were Sunday Times bestsellers, and Miss Austen is a four-part BBC adaptation starring Keely Hawes as Cassandra Austen. She is also the President of the Jane Austen Society. 
 
She lives in West Berkshire with her husband and four children.

Throughout her lifetime, Jane Austen wrote countless letters to her sister. But why did Cassandra burn them all? 
 
1840: twenty three years after the death of her famous sister Jane, Cassandra Austen returns to the village of Kintbury, and the home of her family's friends, the Fowles. 
 
She knows that, in some dusty corner of the sprawling vicarage, there is a cache of family letters which hold secrets she can never allow to be revealed. 
 
As Cassandra recalls her youth and her relationship with her brilliant yet complex sister, she pieces together buried truths about Jane's history, and her own. And she faces a stark choice: should she act to protect Jane's reputation, or leave the contents of the letters to go unguarded into posterity? 
 
Based on a literary mystery that has long puzzled biographers and academics, Miss Austen is a wonderfully original and emotionally complex novel about the loves and lives of Cassandra and Jane Austen.

Godmersham Park

From the number one bestselling author of Miss Austen, a powerful and moving novel featuring Jane Austen's closest friend and confidante . . . 
 
* Waterstones Fiction Book of the Month * 
 
'So envious of anyone yet to read this. A triumph!' Nigella Lawson 
'A masterly piece of storytelling.' Helena Kelly 
'The great writer is brought to life in this clever, well-researched piece of fiction' The Times 
'Thoroughly entertaining, Godmersham Park has some of the same understated wit and sharp observation as Austen's novels' Sunday Times 
'Displays a keen sense of wit and rich characterisation ... a thoroughly enjoyable book' Observer 
________________ 
 
January 1804: Anne Sharpe arrives at Godmersham Park in Kent to take up the position of governess. 
 
At thirty-one years old, she has no previous experience of either teaching or fine country houses. But her mother has died and she desperately needs an independent income if she is to survive. 
 
For her new charge, twelve-year-old Fanny Austen, Anne's arrival is all novelty and excitement. 
 
But Anne is keenly aware that her new role is an awkward one: she is neither one of the servants nor one of the family, and to balance a position between the 'upstairs' and 'downstairs' members of the household is a diplomatic chess game. One wrong move may result in her instant dismissal. 
 
She has just begun to settle into her position when dashing Henry Austen and his younger sister Jane come to stay. 
 
Both take an immediate interest in the pretty, clever governess who quickly becomes drawn into the above stairs life of the Austen family. 
 
Despite her best endeavours, Anne finds that she is beginning to fall in love. But has her survival at Godmersham Park just become a good deal more precarious? 
________________ 
 
More love for Godmersham Park . . . 
 
'If you love Jane Austen you're sure to enjoy Gill Hornby's stylish glimpse into the life of young governess Anne Sharp.' The Independent 
 
'Utterly absorbing and illuminating ... Gill Hornby's best book yet.' Esther Freud 
 
'I read it straight through without looking up.' Karen Joy Fowler 
 
'Meticulously researched, Hornby's absorbing novel revels in the joys and tensions of life above and below stairs.' Mail on Sunday 
 
'An invigorating riff on an author whose life and works keep on giving, and an ideal companion for your beach towel this summer.' Metro 
 
'Gill Hornby has created another winning tribute to the genius of Jane.' Woman 
________________ 
 
Loved Godmersham Park? Check out Gill Hornby's wonderful new novel, The Elopement! 
 
 
Sunday Times bestseller, January 2023

So envious of anyone yet to read this. A triumph!

Utterly absorbing and illuminating. Written with a sure and stylish hand. Gill Hornby's best book yet.

I read it straight through without looking up ... Godmersham Park provided me with a perfectly contented day.

The great writer is brought to life in this clever, well-researched piece of fiction.

Thoroughly entertaining, Godmersham Park has some of the same understated wit and sharp observation as Austen's novels.

Meticulously researched, Hornby's absorbing novel revels in the joys and tensions of life above and below stairs.

Early evening, 1804: Anne Sharpe arrives at Godmersham Park in Kent. 
 
Alone and desperately in need of an independent income, she is to become a governess to twelve-year-old Fanny Austen. 
 
But her new role in this large household where she is neither a servant nor a member of the family is an awkward one, and Anne is keenly aware that one wrong move may result in her instant dismissal. 
 
Then dashing Henry Austen and his younger sister Jane come to stay. 
 
Both take an immediate interest in the pretty, clever governess, and Anne quickly becomes drawn into the above-stairs life of the Austen family. 
 
Soon, and despite her best efforts, she finds she is falling in love. 
 
But has her survival at Godmersham Park just become a good deal more precarious?

Gill Hornby

Hornby’s Austen books are funny, bittersweet family sagas, impeccably researched and lavishly imagined

Has all the wit and wisdom of a Jane Austen novel

Combines meticulous period research with a fine feeling for the characters' inner lives, hopes and fears

Joyous  . . . captured with apt perspicacity and keen wit

Combines meticulous research with a fabulously heartfelt feeling for her characters . . . Filled with Austen-esque ironies and humour.

I’m so fond of Gill’s books for their vividness at explaining the historical period. She also truly cares about her characters and their welfare

Has all Austen’s wit and unnerving powers of observation with an extra twenty-first century zap

Few writers are as perspicacious or half as delightful as Hornby

Gripping and moving and also so sharp and funny. I loved it!

Tremendous . . . Darker than Miss Austen but rendered with her characteristic lightness of touch and neat wit

A captivating return to the world of the Austens

Turmoil ensues in this novel laced with scandal, elopement, gossip and family intrigue.

A magical and terrifically interesting read

The brand new novel from the bestselling author of Miss Austen and Godmersham Park plunges us into the lives of the Austen family during the early 19th Century, where an unconventional marriage divides a family and turmoil ensues. 
 
 
'Gill Hornby’s trilogy about Jane’s family has all Austen’s wit and unnerving powers of observation with an extra twenty-first century zap, and The Elopement is the best yet' FERDINAND MOUNT 
 
____________ 
 
‘It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.’ 
 
1820. Mary Dorothea Knatchbull is living under the sole charge of her widowed father, Sir Edward – a man of strict principles and high Christian values. 
 
But when her father marries Miss Fanny Knight of Godmersham Park, Mary’s life is suddenly changed. 
Her new stepmother comes from a large, happy and sociable family and Fanny’s sisters become Mary’s first friends. Her aunt, Miss Cassandra Austen of Chawton, is especially kind. Her brothers are not only amusing, but handsome and charming. 
 
And as Mary Dorothea starts to bloom into a beautiful young woman, she forms an especial bond with one Mr Knight in particular. 
 
Soon, they are deeply in love and determined to marry. They expect no opposition. After all, each is from a good family and has known the other for some years. 
 
It promises to be the most perfect match. Who would want to stand in their way?____________ 
 
Readers are loving The Elopement! 
 
'It is so well-written with vivid period detail that I felt immersed in the Austen world and did not want it to end.' 
 
'I was hooked from the first page.' 
 
'Sharply observed, well researched and wonderfully told' 
 
'I loved every minute of this novel' 
 
'A gem'

Gill Hornby

Praise for The Elopement

Hornby’s Austen books are funny, bittersweet family sagas, impeccably researched and lavishly imagined

Has all the wit and wisdom of a Jane Austen novel

Combines meticulous period research with a fine feeling for the characters' inner lives, hopes and fears

Hornby’s Austen books are funny, bittersweet family sagas, impeccably researched and lavishly imagined

Has all the wit and wisdom of a Jane Austen novel

Combines meticulous period research with a fine feeling for the characters' inner lives, hopes and fears

Hornby’s Austen books are funny, bittersweet family sagas, impeccably researched and lavishly imagined

Has all the wit and wisdom of a Jane Austen novel

Combines meticulous period research with a fine feeling for the characters' inner lives, hopes and fears

Books by Gill Hornby

Articles featuring Gill Hornby

The Penguin Podcast: episode 3 – the classics

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