The Mysterious Death of Miss Austen - Lindsay Ashford

I don't write reviews as such, but when I was contacted about this book I was absolutely intrigued! Once I started the book I actually couldn't put it down - it's the kind of book I love to read, beautifully written and wholly believable - I wish I'd written it myself! Here's a little about the book below. Yes, you do have to suspend belief about everything we've ever been told about Jane Austen, but it's so well done and cleverly backed up by written evidence that I'm not sure I shall ever think about Jane's death in the same way ever again. Having just written a book myself with a new theory about Jane I found it particularly satisfying!


Here's a little about the book from the publisher:

No one has ever been able to provide a satisfactory explanation for the tragically early death of beloved author Jane Austen and recently, when some surviving strands of the author’s hair were tested, they were found to contain abnormally high amounts of arsenic...

Natural causes or murder? This intriguing new mystery novel by acclaimed crime novelist Lindsay Ashford delves into the private lives of the Austen family and comes up with a new and shocking possibility.

Miss Anne Sharp holds the position of governess at the Godmersham home of Edward Austen where she becomes friendly with his sister, Jane, when the latter arrives for an extended stay. Another frequent visitor to the house is younger Austen brother, the maverick, charming and seductive Henry. Anne, fascinated by the intertwining lives of the Austen family, gradually becomes convinced that Henry is having an illicit affair with her employer’s wife only to find that Jane too holds similar suspicions.

When Jane Austen dies at the age of just 41, Anne is devastated. As she grieves for the loss of her dear friend, she begins to suspect that something is afoot. Could it be true that someone wanted Jane out of the way because she knew too much? As Anne’s suspicions grow, her fears are heightened by the death of yet another Austen family member. Anne is determined to get to the bottom of the mysterious death of Miss Austen… no matter what the cost.

Lindsay Ashford

Lindsay Ashford divides her time between the West Wales coast and Chawton House in Hampshire. The home of Jane Austen’s brother, Chawton House is in the village where Jane Austen spent the most productive years of her literary life. The building now houses a unique library focusing on women's writing in English from 1600 to 1830.

Lindsay was the originator of the Jane Austen Short Story Award, the first anthology from which, Dancing with Mr. Darcy, edited by Sarah Waters, was published in 2009. Lindsay also has a degree in Criminology from Cambridge University and has published four critically acclaimed crime novels in The Megan Rhys Series, one of which was shortlisted for the Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year. The Mysterious Death of Miss Austen is Honno’s first ever ebook.