Eliza's Daughter

Eliza's Daughter

Summary

Seduced and abandoned by the faithless Willoughby, Colonel Brandon’s much-loved ward Eliza is sent to give birth in the countryside. But what becomes of her, and her daughter, the young Eliza?

Joan Aiken's sequel to Sense and Sensibility takes up the stories of Elinor and Marianne, but introduces a dashing new heroine who despite being a 'by-blow' and outcast, uses her wits and talents to find her own way in the world. This is a darker side of Regency society where a young girl who cannot marry for money must find a career, and brave the realities of the Napoleonic wars in Portugal.

Reviews

  • An engaging, calamity-filled romance rich with Aiken's shrewd reading of Austen's people and an appreciative sense of fun.
    Kirkus Reviews

About the author

Joan Aiken

Joan Delano Aiken (1924-2004) was the daughter of the American poet, Conrad Aiken. Joan had a variety of jobs, including working for the BBC, the United Nations Information Centre and then as features editor for a short story magazine. Her first children's novel, The Kingdom and the Cave, was published in 1960. Joan Aiken wrote over a hundred books for young readers and adults and is recognized as one of the classic authors of the twentieth century. Her best-known books are those in the James III saga, of which The Wolves of Willoughby Chase was the first title, published in l962 and awarded the Lewis Carroll prize. Both that and Black Hearts in Battersea have been filmed. Her books are internationally acclaimed and she received the Edgar Allan Poe Award in the United States as well as the Guardian Award for Fiction in this country for The Whispering Mountain. In 1999 Joan Aiken was awarded an MBE for her services to children's books.
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