Writing Jane Austen: A Novel

Written by Elizabeth Aston

Narrated by Julia Whelan

Critically acclaimed and award-winning—but hardly bestselling—author Georgina Jackson can’t get past the first chapter of her second book. When she receives an urgent email from her agent, Georgina is certain it’s bad news. Shockingly, she’s offered a commission to complete a newly discovered unfinished manuscript by a major nineteenth-century author. Skeptical at first about her ability to complete the manuscript, Georgina is horrified to learn that the author in question is Jane Austen.

Torn between pushing through or fleeing home to America, Georgina relies on the support of her banker-turned-science-student roommate, Henry, and his quirky teenage sister, Maud—a serious Janeite. With a sudden financial crisis looming, the only way Georgina can get by is to sign the hugely lucrative contract and finish the book.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio
• Release date: Apr 13, 2010
• ISBN: 9781441859952

Elizabeth Aston

Elizabeth Aston is a passionate Jane Austen fan who studied with Austen biographer Lord David Cecil at Oxford. The author of several novels, including Mr. Darcy’s Daughters and Mr. Darcy’s Dream, she lives in England and Italy.

Reviews for Writing Jane Austen

[Vladislava · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

boring. the idea is good, but the main character is so annoying, running around saying she doesn't want to write the book or she can't do it or from her publisher that it's getting on your nerves

[ms_rowse · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Perhaps the protagonist's extended case of writer's block/constant self-doubt hit a bit too close to home for me to truly enjoy the story. I did like it...wanted to slap her several times, which does not bode well for how I currently see myself

[lisarector · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Solid three. The beginning was a bore. Cut the first half of the book in half and it would have been great. Some of the stuff in the beginning was just drawn out or not relevant. It was all about Gina deciding whether she wanted to write the book or not. Of course we knew that she would, so get on with it. But I am glad to say the latter half of the book pick up. And it took on Austenesque qualities. Complete with the love interest not being picked up til the end, which the reader knew that it would. Watching the writers process unfold, I think that this is only a book that Austen writers would enjoy.

[nickelini · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Georgina Jackson is a historian living in London who recently wrote a novel that was highly acclaimed, but didn't sell. She's desperate to stay in England, but is in debt and unless the situation changes, she won't be allowed to stay in the country and will have to return to the States and become a waitress. Even though her area of expertise is late-Victorian workhouses, her aggressive agent assigns her to write a novel based on a fragment recently discovered that was written by Jane Austen. Never mind that England abounds in Austen scholars, and people who, unlike our protagonist, have actually read Jane Austen, somehow Georgina gets picked to continue Austen's work, and lo and behold, it pays a hefty advance too!Georgina, despite her PhD, is a ninny. She spends the first 140 pages of the book running around with her hands in the air saying "I don't respect Jane Austen!" "Jane Austen fans R dum," and the like. While doing this, just about everyone she meets is a Jane Austen fan (as are 99% of the people who pick up this book). For sometimes odd reasons, she ends up at Jane Austen sites in England. Even her dear old friend from back home is now running a Jane Austen shop in Bath. She goes around for several weeks bumping into Jane Austen things in the name of research, but not learning anything.Finally, she accidentally starts reading Pride and Prejudice, and then goes on to read all six of Austen's novels in two days without sleeping or eating. Suddenly, Austen is brilliant! But then the next 80 pages or so are of her having writer's block and whining, "I'm not worthy." We are all aware of that.Out of the blue, she starts writing, but then develops a repetitive strain injury because all she does is type, and now she can't go on. Still can't figure out what that was about. Gets voice recognition software and finishes the novel. There's a little twist, but no conflict. And then she marries the cute nice guy out of the blue, which I guessed on page one so not a spoiler.The worst thing about this: There are lots of characters in Writing Jane Austen, and not one of them acts like a real person acts. And not one of them speaks like a real person speaks.That said, even though it's horribly written in terms of action, pacing, motivation, I could go on . . . on the sentence-by-sentence level, I sometimes enjoyed it. There were many characters that even though they weren't real, I did enjoy. She threw in scads of little Jane Austen references that made me roll my eyes, but some of them were cute or clever. For example, the love interest is named Henry Lefroy, and Jane Austen had a possible crush or relationship with Tom Lefroy. And even though the ending was predictable from the start, I was interested in how she would get there. So not the absolutely worst book ever.But the main character was just so stupid and annoying. At one point, completely out of nowhere, she asks another character "Do you know what a ha-ha is?" No reason given for why she wanted to know this, and no ha-has later in the book. Also, I think someone with a PhD in the late Victorian period would have run across this somewhere in her studies. I know I only have a BA, but when getting an education you do learn stuff outside of the immediate scope of your area of expertise. I've personally met some pretty dumb PhD's, but Georgina Jackson takes the cake.Recommended for: not recommended unless you're in a perverse mood.

[alyson_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Dragged for a bit but once Georgina got into the Austen books it got better. Great characters except Georgina who I just didn't like much.

[oliviainnj · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Sigh. This should have been good, or at least not bad, as Elizabeth Aston already has a slew of Jane Austen sequels under her belt. Unfortunately it lacked not only a plot (heroine spends first third of book dashing here and there trying to hide from her publisher and avoid all things Austen, the second third downing all novels in one sitting and then sinking into a morass of self-doubt that she could ever hope to sharpen the great author's quill, and the last third, in true Austen heroine style, finally able to come to terms with her task when spurred on by a declaration of love by the handsome hero), but any kind of wit at all, and was filled instead with Austen fan in-jokes (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies comes clearly to mind) and self referential comments. The saddest of the latter was when a supporting character tells our heroine that the first draft of the heroine's Austen sequel was so lifeless she couldn't get past the first chapter. Too bad someone didn't tell Aston the same thing.

[shuffy2_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Have writers block? Why not get over it by being asked to complete a newly discovered- and unfinished- manuscript by Jane Austen? No pressure!Georgina's first book was 'critically acclaimed' even though no one seems to have heard of it. Now stuck on the first chapter of her new book (which she has written and rewritten dozens of times), her editor urges, or should we say forces her to take on a new assignment- complete Austen's unfinished novel 'Love and Friendship'. A daunting task for any Austen fan let alone for someone who- dare we say it- has never read an Austen novel in her life. In need of the book advance money, Georgina takes on the challenge but doesn't know where to start. She eventually gets the help, support, and advice she needs from her roomates Anna and Henry as well as Henry's 13 year old sister Maud.An interesting spin-off for JA fans...an enjoyable quick read! As a 'history' person who loves JA, I could completely identify with the main characters struggles!!! A fun read that could even be read by people who- dare we say it- have never read an Austen novel. ;)