#SaturdaysAreBookish Book Review | “The Marriage of Miss Jane Austen” (Vol.2) by Collins Hemingway

After launching this lovely new feature of mine during [Autumn, 2018] it is a pleasure of joy to continue to bring #SaturdaysAreBookish as a compliment focus of my Twitter chat @SatBookChat. If you see the chat icon at the top of my blog (header bar) you can click over to visit with us. The complimentary showcases on my blog will reflect the diversity of stories, authors and publishers I would be featuring on the chat itself. As at the root and heart of the chat are the stories I am reading which compliment the conversations.

#SaturdaysAreBookish throughout [2019] will be featuring the Romance & Women’s Fiction authors I am discovering to read across genre and point of interest. Every Saturday will feature a different author who writes either Romance or Women’s Fiction – the stories I am reading might simply inspire the topics in the forthcoming chats or they might be directly connected to the current guest author.

I am excited about where new guests and new stories will lay down the foundation of inspiring the topics, the conversations and the bookish recommendations towards promoting Romance & Women’s Fiction. Here’s a lovely New Year full of new authors and their stories to celebrate!

Acquired Book By: I am a regular tour hostess for blog tours via Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours whereupon I am thankful to have been able to host such a diverse breadth of stories, authors and wonderful guest features since I became a hostess!

I received a complimentary copy of “The Marriage of Miss Jane Austen Volume 2” direct from the author Collins Hemingway in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Why I was interested in the premise behind this novel:

I am not entirely sure if everyone who reads my blog is aware of my admiration for Jane Austen or the fact, I consider myself a #Janeite. I have loved the author’s style of narrative for many years, in fact, I wrote an Essay about it during 2017’s #AustenInAugust and couldn’t help but gush over the reading of the first novel in this trilogy as well.

What implored me truly to read this after canon selection on a theory of Jane Austen’s life is my affection for the author herself. I love reading after canon works based on her collective works but I also like to entertain readings of stories which relate directly to the writer, herself. Previously, I have explored this through the Jane Austen Mysteries a series I look forward to re-visiting this year, as I hadn’t had the time to re-read the first novel nor continue with the rest of the stories which followed suit. This was initially my goal whilst reading the first volume in this series – however, in the past few years, my readings of Austen Literature has taken a few interesting hiatuses.

Whilst noting this is a novel of an evolving theory based on what ‘could have been’ in accord to Ms Austen’s life, I felt it warranted exploring because after all, how much do any of us know about the Classical authors we love to read? In this, I had a curious thought – what if this novel had a foundation of grounding based on one of the author’s own works? This is something which came into better clarity as I read the novel directly and one in which, I had wondered if other readers on the blog tour had noted themselves.

Directly though – I was dearly curious to continue reading this series due to these
ruminative thoughts I had shared after finishing Volume One:

You can understand Jane’s assessment of country vs city living – of how within the harriedness of a city, you cannot help but feel drowned out by the blare of it’s noise and bustle; yet in the country, there is a slower pace, where the gentleness of nature can still affect you. Thus, I felt grave for their circumstances now – having been placed in Bath, a city bursting out of its own route of perimeters and having relations like their Aunt, who felt it was their duty to re-insist the dependence they knew they were in debt to her without giving credit to their own independence. For the girls were not past marrying age but their Aunt seemed to take the family’s financial affairs as matters cast in stone; unchanging and thereby, she goaded the girls’ whenever she could with things they hoped to have but could not readily afford. Their Aunt was the kind of woman who would be considered a miser, for she did not easily depart with her coffers nor give thought to those of whom she became indebted.

IF it weren’t such a serious infraction in the eyes of her parents (although, admittedly, Mr Austen has a more forgiving conscious and heart than Mrs Austen) – you could almost presume the balloon adventure could have been seen differently; as a blissful jaunt in the skies, where everything heavenbound could be observed. If only it could have had this conclusion for dear Jane! I truly felt for her as her vexations were presented and known. It was through these sequences where I was at first fraught with anger at the story and the way in which it was being told whilst curiously trying to bade my anger a bit to see if it would become quelled by a change in mindset or circumstance; Hemingway did not disappoint on either score!

Sometimes I think the best stories writ in the Classical style evoke stronger emotions – the words used, the phrases chosen, the absurdity of having societal opinions thrusted on young people and taken as truth; the idiocy of women not being aloud to have a strong voice and opinion of their own,… I digress. Still, what drew me further into the story was how much this still leaned into the narrative within Pride; to which I concluded, did Mr Hemingway himself draw a connecting line between Pride and how Miss Austen might have felt in real life in matters of her own life and heart? It is something I have oft considered myself – was it more of a portrait of her own life rather than a figment of imagination. She dipped into her own well of observational thought throughout her canon, but which of the stories struck a balance of being closer to Jane as she once lived herself; that is the curious question! Perhaps, in this entreaty of narrative, we have our response to an unspoken question? It was as I pondered these thoughts I wondered if my dear fellows of literary wanderers in #theclassicclub had come across this trilogy?

I must confess, throughout reading this novel I found my feelings on its behalf vacillated; I was either wholly engaged with its direction, utterly at a loss for words to describe my disappointment or so betwixt knowing how I felt, I nearly put it down completely! In essence, it was a story which gave me a pensive amount of contemplation – a near wrestling of feelings and on Jane’s behalf, I found her even more lovable than before! In fact, my favourite part of this novel is the enlightenment ringing true on behalf of Jane Austen – as I myself, have fashioned her to mind whilst reading of her, reading her canon or whilst engaged in after canon readings based on her collective works; there are many incantations of Jane which strike through everything interconnected to her person.

In the ending chapters, I smiled. I smiled because the theory I was ferreting through my own thoughts was threading into the author’s own theory of deduction! I might have missed a considerable amount of exchanges in the letters (see below) however, blessedly, Hemingway knitted together the missing bits by re-addressing what was previously disclosed throughout Part III. It was here, I continued to smile because despite everything, I truly felt he had substantiated his theory of why he told the story in the manner in which he had – part of me hoped other readers would see Darcy and Lizzie in this novel. Of recognising what Hemingway has done with this story and how it inter-relates back to Pride.

Now, dear hearts, I must sort out a way to get Volumes II and III,… for you see dear hearts, the gentleman who wrote this understands Miss Austen! Consider him the David E. Kelley for #Janeites!

Being that I spent the last #SatBookChat discussing a re-telling of Jane Eyre, it felt rather fitting to begin February discussing an after canon work of Jane Austen. I love discovering Historical Romances and finding an author who has charmed me by his dedication to bridging what we know of Austen with what we might never have suspected without his muse guiding us is something to celebrate.

February is also the month most known for Romances and I am dearly enthralled by the ones I’ll be highlighting on Saturdays, including my continuation of reading the Seven Sisters series which will alight on the 23rd. Ahead of that, I will be focusing on two more Historicals – one of Women’s Fiction and one of Romance which I think will lead to fascinating conversations. Here’s to keeping February wickedly Historical as I continue to champion the authors who are drawing my bookish eye onto their stories.

The Mariage of Miss Jane Austen : Volume Two
Subtitle: A novel by a gentleman, Volume Two
by Collins Hemingway
Source: Author via Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours

Jane Austen Lived a Quiet, Single Life-Or Did She?

Tradition holds that Jane Austen lived a proper, contemplative, unmarried life. But what if she wed a man as passionate and intelligent as she-and the marriage remained secret for 200 years?

The Marriage of Miss Jane Austen resolves the biggest mystery of Austen’s life-the “lost years” of her twenties-of which historians know virtually nothing.

• Why the enduring rumors of a lost love or tragic affair?

• Why, afterward, did the vivacious Austen prematurely put on “the cap of middle age” and close off any thoughts of finding love?

• Why, after her death, did her beloved sister destroy her letters and journals?

The Marriage of Miss Jane Austen trilogy answers these questions through a riveting love affair based on the history of the times and the details of Austen’s own life.

Places to find the book:

ISBN: 978-1535444958

Also by this author: The Mariage of Miss Jane Austen : Volume One, The Mariage of Miss Jane Austen, The Mariage of Miss Jane Austen

Also in this series: The Mariage of Miss Jane Austen : Volume One, The Mariage of Miss Jane Austen

Genres: After Canons, Historical Fiction, Historical Romance, Re-telling &/or Sequel

Published by Self Published

on 8th August, 2016

Format: Trade Paperback

Pages: 332

Self-Published Author

Converse via: #HistFic, #HistoricalFiction + #JaneAusten

my review of the marriage of miss jane austen (volume two):

As I re-entered Jane’s life as a married woman, I was happy to find Cassandra was beside her, news of the Napoleonic War held good news for her family (especially in regards to her brother) whilst her new life was still one she was settling into accepting. Ashton provided a step-up in social standing for Jane, including how they lived and what they had within their environs. You can see her a bit uncertain how to handle the luxuries of this life compared to what she was used to previously with the Austens, who lived a humbled existence.

Jane is the newly minted Mrs Dennis in the household – a duty and station which comes with a litany of obligation, responsibility and a foresight of understanding for social trademarks for a hostess. It is here where we first start to notice how Jane’s own upbringing fell short of what she would have to endure as a married woman. How her mother-in-law wouldn’t hesitate to point out her faults and where her sister Cassandra would provide a moral anchour to her nerves. It is here we find Jane attempting to do the biding of her husband but without the fuller knowledge of what a disaster it could become if she would blindly follow his advice without taking into consideration the suggestions of his mother, the other ‘Mrs Dennis’.

It is interesting to see how Jane would approach married life – how she is open to discussing things with Ashton or of finding ways to engage him in the romantic gestures she endeavours to instigate. Nothing is seen as this was inspired by Jane Austen and thus, Hemingway happily kept her style of narrative intact without deviating out of the tastefulness of a romance which made her infamous for the genre; yet what was interesting is how he gave a bit of freedom of expression to both Jane and Ashton. They were happily enjoying their married lives – all facets of it but most importantly the ways in which they were endearing each other in their more intimate moments.

There is a bit of cheeky humour threading into the backbone of this installment – how Jane is reflectively musing about how she’s surprised at how natural being a married woman has come to her and how she enjoys being with her husband. There are other sides to Jane as well, such as the woman who is not yet ready to lead a household but of whom, is attempting to remain outside her comfort zone if it means improving her connection to her husband, her staff and her mother-in-law. This is a story of growth – of seeing Jane move away from her years of youth and of embracing this new chapter where she is writing the hours as they arrive.

As Jane started to see how marriage loomed ahead of her, her one regret truly was the lack of hours in which to be creatively engaged with her pen. She spoke of this to Ashton, of whom did not see why she was upset (not really, though he attempted to try) as she had chosen to be with him, to be a wife and to have responsibilities that would naturally come out of the union. Quite a typical response, except that it fell short of realising from a husband’s perspective, how sometimes a woman in a marriage was not realising they were sacrificing a part of themselves for the sake of being with the man they loved. I think in this instance, Jane had become caught inside the romance and hadn’t fully thought about how her life might become altered if she followed course.

A lot of truth in those worries of Jane as I readily observe how not all husbands are supportive of their wives (especially if their writers) and how it would appear that women are still even now needing to defend why they write or why they want to be economically engaged outside of their marriage. This was a moment of reckoning for Jane, as it wasn’t just putting aside her desires to write which plagued her conscience but certain aspects of marriage itself; which also acted as a conflict with how she was raised and the more sheltering views of being a clergy’s daughter.

There is a heated argument about slavery and religious overtones which I felt was handled well – it showed the various opinions of the hour, whilst talking openly about the misunderstandings of why the practice was in use. Jane and Ashton were in the minority for speaking against it and soon found out where others stood on the issue; finding out more about their peers than perhaps they were inclined to realise, this particular section showed how Hemingway had mastered the art of fuelling his series with current events important to Jane whilst being bold enough to show the opposite way of thinking with equal dedication to the accuracy of those who had their minds locked in one mindset over another.

One of the aspects of the story I most enjoyed was seeing Jane evolve into her new ‘self’ and how this new experience within her lifetime was causing her to be meditatively reflective in a new vein of interest. You find Jane contemplating how she is changing – from the inside out, to how she is embracing being a passionately married woman and how through obligation of hosting her husband’s friends or business partners, she is finding that the world isn’t entirely holding step with her worldview(s). Through this installment, we start to tuck into Jane’s private thoughts – of seeing how she is evolving through marriage to better understand her own person but also, how a woman changes through marriage as it is the next step of personal growth she had not felt she’d be blessed to experience. Each time I see Jane speaking about these topics, it feels natural she would have these thoughts, feelings and disclosures; she is talking in a way that felt wholly insightful for Jane and in effect it grounded the story with a realism only Hemingway could produce for us to read.

Hemingway broached an intriguing conversation between Jane and Ashton – about where they each stood on moral and religious grounds – debating their views and their ardent beliefs, as Jane was on the brink of the next stage of womanhood. This was particular to note as Jane comes from a proud family of believers whereas one would have thought she would have married a man of equal spiritual grounding, she did not and opted instead for a man who places more weight in Science than in Religious Thought. It is realistically true due to the nature of scientists vs spiritualists but in those moments of their volleying for censure of their own thoughts about this topic, you see how vexed Jane was becoming with Ashton and how tiring Ashton felt to defend his stance to Jane. They were two opposites in many regards but there wasn’t a greater chasm of difference than this particular topic shined a light upon.

Similarly, Hemingway was not shy to highlight the other tensions in their marriage – such as the blunderment Ashton made in deference to Jane in private conversation. It shows how he was effectively examining their marriage from an outside vantage point which had the pleasure of seeing the more intimate moments of their private hours. In thus, he pulled back the layers of what was shielding them from the outside world – drawing them out, letting them reveal their raw emotional thoughts and to speak plainly how they felt about not just one another but the topical issues of their era. They were together for most things but they struck a chord apart on deeper issues I think bemused both of them to notice they truly were two passionate souls who each had their own individual mind. To which end, there were some aspects of their disagreements which were worth owning and there were others worth realising they would never agree on the finer points which separated them.

They do remain united in their ability to draw back together after their differences are shed – for they have a strong marriage built out of trust and truthfulness. It is through their discussions they realise certain aspects of their business and their personal lives are coming to a head of discourse. They cannot continue to engage in partnerships which go against their own minds and hearts which reflect the current events – from slavery to the promise of war, they are keeping on the fringes of what is reflective in the papers. This causes disruptions for them naturally but at the heart of their marriage is a union sparked out of love and united in a fond respect for each other, the world at large and the auspicious emblems of living a life with ethical morals.

As we peer more into Jane and Ashton’s world as a married couple, we start to see how difficult it is for both of them – how they must learn to yield to one another and draw a closer circle of strength to tackle what is awaiting them. There is a joyful revelation in this installment – one that further enlarges our scope of understanding for how Jane is fully lit alive by her experiences as a wife and how by embracing these subtle changes she is finding herself radically new and altered. Jane is happily introspective throughout the story – owning to her pursuit to understand herself and her environment but also, to acknowledge how each new year of a life lived is a chance to see the milestones of the experiences you’ve gained.

This particular installment ends on a happy note but one which is guarded for the future – for not everything is certain and there are a few key reasons for Ashton and Jane to feel as if the future yet to come might prove to be far more taxing than the hours that they have just passed through. It is a keenly intriguing series and one I hope more Janeites discover as it truly is a unique testimony about how a modern writer can re-tap into the life of Jane and bring her out so wholly original and true of her person to give us a near-living testimony of how she would have lived had she taken the paths and passageways he’s explored in this trilogy.

Note of Improvement:

Previously, whilst reading The Marriage of Miss Jane Austen (Volume One) I was unable to read the letters inclusive to the text due to a difficulty of being able to read them as they were printed. I am happy to report, the letters within this volume were easier to read – the font was of a larger size and the joy for me was being able to read everything in-line as it was revealled rather than awaiting to deduce what was said in latter passages.

on the writing styling of mr. hemingway:

Hemingway has an innate talent for channelling not only this particular era of British History but for etching out a relatable method of entrance into the life of Jane Austen. He has a beautiful command of the language used during her lifetime whilst he inserts us into the background of what was happening during the period of time his story is set giving a relevancy of awareness which was appreciated.

The fact he kept letters and correspondences inclusive of the time-line and the key heart of the story as letters were very important to Jane was a note of joy. What is interesting though is how he continues to seek out the truth from the past, of how Jane might have spoken, reacted and otherwise, occupied her hours if we were privy to her private thoughts and her actions not readily as well known as those moments which are already recorded on her behalf. I was impressed about this the first time I read this series, as truly, I am most impressed when writers can so thoroughly capture their muse. Previously, I found this true of the Fitzgerald’s by Therese Anne Fowler and similarly what made Fowler’s novel work for me is what is ringing true of Austen in Hemnigway’s trilogy. They each found an entrance into a famous person’s life to be readily rooted in their everyday lives to where you felt the connection was made not just between the writer and the person but between the writer, person and the reader.

This blog tour is courtesy of: Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours

Reading this lovely second volume of the series happily concurs with some of my reading challenges for 2019:

Join us for #SatBookChat next weekend wherein our featured guest will be @AnneMitchell0! Follow @SatBookChat for updates and our chat feeds via #SatBookChat. More guests will be announced as I’ve been seeking out at least two to three guest authors per month for 2019. We meet-up on Saturdays @ 11a NYC | 4p UK. Readers, writers & book bloggers are welcome to join us as we discuss books, topics inclusive to their stories & the writing process of their authors.

{SOURCES: Cover art of “The Marriage of Miss Jane Austen Vol. 2”, book synopsis, author photo & biography of Collins Hemingway and the tour badge were all provided by HFVBTs (Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours) and used with permission. Post dividers by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Tweets embedded by codes provided by Twitter. Beat the Backlist banner provided by A Novel Knight and is used with permission. Blog graphics created by Jorie via Canva: Saturdays Are Bookish banner, 2019 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge banner and the Comment Box Banner.}

Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2019.

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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

• #BeatTheBacklist 2019
• 2019 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge