The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen
&#8220;This fascinating novel will make readers swear there was such a man as Mr. Ashford and that there is such a memoir... Tantalizing, tender, and true to the Austen mythos, James&#8217;s book is highly recommended.&#8221; (Best First Novel of 2008, Library Journal)&#8220;James creates a life story for Austen that illuminates how her themes and plots may have developed... the reader blindly pulls for the heroine&#8230; hoping against history that Austen might yet enjoy the satisfactions of romance... offers a deeper understanding of what Austen&#8217;s life might have been like.&#8221; (Los Angeles Times)&#8220;James&#8230;[has] a sensitive ear for the Austenian voice and a clear passion for research...a thoughtful, immensely touching romance that does justice to its subject and will delight anyone who feels...that Austen couldn&#8217;t have written with such insight without having had a great romance of her own.&#8221; (Jane Austen's Regency World Magazine)&#8220;Austen and Ashford seem a perfect match in matters of head and heart ... though she hews closely to the historic record, [James] creates...will-they-or-won&#8217;t-they suspense that culminates with a proposal and an &#8220;intensely&#8221; kissed Austen. A pleasant addition to the ever-expanding Austen-revisited genre.&#8221; (Publishers Weekly)&#8220;There are not enough accolades i could use to recommend this book ... I read it thinking all the while it was a newly discovered memoir of the famous writer. That is how good the writing is... It is a love affair equal to anything Jane Austen wrote.&#8221; (News Review)&#8220;Suspenseful... and filled with surprises... one of the best additions to the current spate of books featuring Jane Austen.&#8221; (Santa Barbara Independent)&#8220;James has taken on an enormous task-channel Austen and bring her back to life-and she has done just that ... Talk about a love story. Whether or not it happened, James has created the possibility in an intelligent, historical romance novel. I do believe that Jane would approve.&#8221; (Writer's Flow)&#8220;Readers may find themselves forgetting that the book is fiction&#8230; James bases her book on facts from Austen&#8217;s life and &#8230; clearly depicts Austen&#8217;s witty imagination and keen intelligence&#8230; Readers may want to pour themselves a cup of tea before settling in with this novel&#8230; It&#8217;s a delightful read.&#8221; (Montgomery Advertiser)&#8220;A delicious novel... comic scenes of hilarity together with love scenes of great emotion, witty dialogue, and well-drawn characters. Jane Austen comes alive from the first page to the last. You truly believe that you are reading her long-lost memoirs, not a historical fiction novel.&#8221; (diavasame.gr, Athens, Greece)&#8220;Rarely have I read a book that I enjoyed as much ... I honestly believe even Jane herself would have loved this book... It&#8217;s written so well, and stays so true to form for the historical period, that it feels uncannily like a real memoir ... utterly delightful!&#8221; (Romance Reader At Heart.Com)&#8220;Captures all that is best and true about Jane Austen &#8230; You will find yourself caught and enchanted ... For die-hard Austenites, this is the book you&#8217;ve been waiting for; for those of you wishing for knowledge of how to be a writer like Austen, you can find that, too.&#8221; (Romance Vagabonds.com)&#8220;A fantastic addition to all things Jane &#8230; one of those books that must go into the pile that I will read again and again &#8230; James does a beautiful job weaving together elements of fact, fiction, and imagination, which made this reader believe in the truth of her fiction.&#8221; (Savvy Verse & Wit.com)&#8220;James&#8217;s book imagines a Mr. Ashford for Jane, a man with whom she shares a good deal of passion in the two years preceding the publication of Sense and Sensibility ... And if she didn&#8217;t she should have, as it makes for a compelling read.&#8221; (News Observer)&#8220;The writing style was so effortlessly Austen that I almost felt as if I truly was reading a memoir penned by her own hand. And while these lost memoirs were just a fabrication, Ms. James did a terrific job of melding the historical details from Ms. Austen&#8217;s life. (The Writer's Road Less Traveled)&#8220;A story that not only leaves you believing &#8216;it could have happened,&#8217; but wishing &#8216;oh&#8230; I hope she had this&#8217; ... I was wholly engaged from beginning to end ... When I closed the cover (the very tactilely pleasing cover) &#8230; I felt as though I&#8217;d made a friend.&#8221; (Dear Author.Com)