Fresh Pick | I WAS JANE AUSTEN’S BEST FRIEND by Cora Harrison

October 2010
On Sale: September 28, 2010
Featuring: Jenny Cooper; Jane Austen; Thomas Williams
352 pages
ISBN: 0385739400
EAN: 9780385739405
Trade Size
$17.99 

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Jane Austen, Young Adult
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All dressed up for the ball

I Was Jane Austen’s Best Friend
by Cora Harrison

A Secret Diary

When shy Jenny Cooper goes to stay with her cousin Jane Austen, she knows nothing of the world of beautiful dresses, dances, secrets, gossip, and romance that Jane inhabits. At fifteen, Jane is already a sharp observer of the customs of courtship. So when Jenny falls utterly in love with Captain Thomas Williams, who better than Jane to help her win the heart of this dashing man?

But is that even possible? After all, Jenny’s been harboring a most desperate secret. Should it become known, it would bring scandal not only to her, but also to the wonderful Austen family. What’s a poor orphan girl to do?

In this delicious dance between truth and fiction, Cora Harrison has crafted Jenny’s secret diary by reading everything Jane Austen wrote as a child and an adult, and by researching biographies, critical studies, and family letters. Jenny’s diary makes the past spring vividly to life and provides insight into the entire Austen family—especially the beloved Jane.

Jane Austen’s best friend spills the beans on the famous author in this sweet novel!

Excerpt

Down the stairs . . .

Every stair creaks . . .

Every minute I think that I hear my name screamed by Mrs Cawley.

‘Miss Cooper!’ she will shriek at me. I stop and listen, but there is nothing to hear. My hands are damp and I am shaking. My bonnet strings come undone and the bonnet falls off my head and rolls down to the bottom of the stairs, only stopping when it reaches the front door. And it makes a sound that I feel could wake the house. I leave it on the floor as I struggle with the bolt. Eventually it slides back with a rusty screech.

The cold damp air of the street rushes in. I pick up my bonnet by its blue ribbon, but I dare not stop to put it on.

I close the door as carefully as I Read More…

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