Jane Austens Best Friend

Secrets, intrigue, and meddling in love – I Was Jane Austen's Best Friend by Cora Harrison is a historical romantic comedy, perfect for fans of Bridgerton. Jane says that if I am to be the heroine of this story, something will throw a hero in my way . . . I Was Jane Austen's Best Friend is the secret diary of Jenny Cooper, Jane Austen’s teenage friend and confidante. Their evenings are a blur of beautiful dresses, balls, gossip and romance; their days are spent writing about them – Jenny in her diary, Jane in her first attempts at fiction. When Jenny falls utterly in love with a handsome naval officer, obstacles stand in their way. Who better to help her than Jane herself, who already considers herself an expert in love and relationships?

The story of Martha Lloyd—recipe collector, housekeeping expert, and Jane Austen’s dearest friend. Fans of Jane Austen often feel that the beloved author is like a best friend—and this book shines a light on what it meant to be exactly that. Jane Austen’s Best Friend: The Life and Influence of Martha Lloyd offers a unique insight into Jane’s private inner circle. Through this heartwarming examination of an important and often overlooked person in Jane’s world, we uncover the life-changing force of their friendship. Each chapter details the fascinating facts and friendship-forming qualities that tied Jane and Martha together. Within these pages we relive their shared interests, the hits and misses of their romantic lives, their passion for shopping and fashion, their family histories, their lucky breaks, and their girly chats. This book offers a behind-the-scenes tour of the shared lives of a fascinating pair and the chance to deepen our own bonds in “love and friendship” with them both.

This is the first facsimile publication of 'Martha Lloyd's Household Book', the manuscript cookbook of Jane Austen's closest friend. Martha's notebook is reproduced to scale in a colour facsimile section with complete transcription and detailed annotation. Introductory chapters discuss its place among other household books of the long eighteenth century. Martha Lloyd befriended a young Jane Austen and later lived with Jane, her sister Cassandra and their mother at the cottage in Chawton, Hampshire, where Jane wrote or revised her novels. Martha later married into the Austen family. Her collection features recipes and remedies handwritten during a period of over thirty years and includes the only surviving recipes from Mrs Austen and Captain Francis Austen, Jane's mother and brother. There are many connections between Martha's book and Jane Austen's writing, including white soup from 'Pride and Prejudice' and the author's favourites - toasted cheese and mead. The family, culinary and literary connections detailed in the introductory chapters of this work give a fascinating perspective on the time and manner in which both women lived, thanks to this extraordinary artefact passed down through the Austen family.

“When one has read the six great Austen novels…and then reread and then reread the six again, one’s only recourse is the company of others equally bereft. Cindy Jones’s My Jane Austen Summer fills the gap with a nourishing Austen-soaked setting, a wonderfully surprising plot, and Lily, a delightfully peculiar heroine.” —Karen Joy Fowler, author of The Jane Austen Book Club Author Cindy Jones has a gift for the millions of readers everywhere who have been enchanted by Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, and the other wondrous works of the inimitable Austen—not to mention fans of more contemporary delights such as The Jane Austen Book Club. Jones’s My Jane Austen Summer is a delightful, funny, poignant novel in which a contemporary woman—an obsessed Austenphile—learns much about life, love, and herself during one magical summer in England spent re-enacting Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park.

Jane is a young New York woman who can never seem to find the right man-perhaps because of her secret obsession with Mr. Darcy, as played by Colin Firth in the BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. When a wealthy relative bequeaths her a trip to an English resort catering to Austen-obsessed women, however, Jane's fantasies of meeting the perfect Regency-era gentleman suddenly become more real than she ever could have imagined. Is this total immersion in a fake Austenland enough to make Jane kick the Austen obsession for good, or could all her dreams actually culminate in a Mr. Darcy of her own?In this addictive, charming and compassionate story, Shannon Hale brings out the Jane Austen obsessive in all of us.

An insightful portrait of Austen’s friend and fellow writer Anne Lefroy and the society that surrounded these two literary women. In this insightful new biography of Anne Lefroy, Judy Stove investigates the life of a writer who had a direct and undeniable influence on the life and works of Jane Austen. Jane shared some of her earliest writings with Anne, who became a devoted confidant; it is believed that their friendship was an essential component in their creativity. As a published female writer, Anne was an immense source of inspiration to Jane as she developed her own talents. Judy Stove, a member of the Jane Austen Society of Australia, brings a wealth of insight to this illuminating history of a literary friendship. She has uncovered fascinating snippets of information relating to Anne Lefroy’s circle, and her book addresses developments across a period of great social and political change. Setting Lefroy’s life in context, she looks at the war against Napoleon and illustrates evolutions in healthcare as well as changes in religious beliefs and practices that shaped the world of these remarkable women.

When a time-traveling Jane Austen gets stuck in modern-day Bath, only Rose Wallace can save her. Rose Wallace of Bath loves all things Austen. So when her new neighbor turns out to actually be Jane Austen—whose time-travel adventure has left her trapped in the 21st century—she is both thrilled and horrified. Jane's time travel means she never published her works! Rose must help Jane get back home to write her renowned novels because a world without Mr. Darcy? It's not worth living in. The fun and light-hearted novel is perfect for fans of The Jane Austen Book Club and Austenland. See what readers have to say about The Particular Charm of Miss Jane Austen: "This book was just so much fun to read." "A fabulous book, beautifully written. I shall be buying more from these authors." "This story has adventure, charming characters and a unique premise. It's a great romcom historical fiction read." "The story was different from anything I've read recently and really captured my attention. It was so well written and the characters were fantastic." "I absolutely loved this novel. I started reading it assuming it was a straightforward romance so was really pleasantly surprised with the unpredictable twists that this book contained."

Written in a series of letters to the daughter of a friend, Love and Friendship tells of a young girl's path to betrayal, by way of a seemingly ecstatic marriage. It is accompanied by The Three Sisters, another expertly crafted epistolary novel. When a noble youth arrives unannounced to request the hand of the matchless Laura, it seems their future is one of contentment and bliss—that is until his family learn of the marriage and, one by one, reject the new bride. Such begins the series of unspeakable events that make up Laura's lot in life. But tragedy and comedy here go hand in hand as Austen delivers a stringent satire on drawing-room society, brilliantly heralding her later masterpieces.