"He closed the garden door behind her and gestured toward the Elm Walk. She pulled her shawl close and drank a deep draft of the new, green air. The year was 1795, and the day seemed to assume itself to be the first of that spring." ~ "Miss Austen"



Finally a novel about Cassandra Austen! While I love Jane, I've always wanted to know more about Cassandra's life. Jane overshadows her sister in history, even though ironically it was Cassandra who took great pains to preserve her sister's memory. This delightful little books pays tribute to that friendship, that sisterhood. I love how the author makes it clear that if Cassandra hadn't worked so diligently to preserve her sister's work, we as readers wouldn't know as much detail about Jane Austen today.



The premise is lovely. Cassandra reconnects with distant relatives in order to find more letters and writings belonging to her sister. Cassandra works to protect her sister's writing no matter what. Cassandra is a noble, though distant heroine in this book. I applaud her efforts, but Cassandra is a stagnant and emotionless narrator. She's so honorable that she seems to have no flaws. This made it difficult for me to connect with her at all. Cassandra's love for her sister borders on adoration in this depiction. It is a one-sided relationship, since Jane is dead during the current events of the story, so it's difficult to get a sense of their relationship especially if this is the first time a reader has learned about the Austens.



The idea behind this book is stellar. It's a new twist on the typical Jane Austen retelling, but I wanted Cassandra to have agency outside of her relationship with her sister. She's so focused on Jane's legacy that she disregards her own. I know the point of Cassandra's character is that she's meant to take care of others, but that's a lonely heroine to read about. I was looking forward to Cassandra taking charge of her story! I had hoped for a less stale ending. Specifically, since this was a historical fiction novel, the story had room to be spontaneous and fun. It didn't have to stick to the real facts of Cassandra's life. Ultimately this was a historical fiction novel that could've taken advantage of its genre, but it didn't.