Gill Hornby

I initially had trouble with the introduction of several characters very quickly (this is often an issue for me with audiobooks), but once they were all straight in my head, I enjoyed this feel-good story of a community choir in turmoil. Their long-time leader has been in an accident, their numbers are dwindling, and the county championships are on the horizon... We follow a few primary characters as they work to form a disparate group of people into a cohesive group, despite their many show more differences. There were some funny moments and some touching ones, and overall, this was a cosy, satisfying read. show less

Anne Sharp was a real person. She was young Fanny Austen's governess. And she did develop a lifetime friendship with Fanny's aunt, Jane Austen. Those are the facts we know. We do not know what brought her to working as a governess and what her early life was like but luckily we have Gill Hornby, who has imagined a rich and interesting backstory for Anne and fleshed out her life at Godmersham Park, the inherited home of Edward Austen (eventually known as Edward Austen Knight). Godmersham Park show more is not a story of Jane Austen. It is a story of Anne Sharp, who became her friend but who lived the kind of life that so many women without male protectors or kind relatives might face in that time.

Anne Sharp is 31 years old. Her mother has died and her adoring father has inexplicably abandoned her. Gently raised and alone in the world save her old nurse, she has few options for her future life. She can accept the marriage proposal from the leering and odious lawyer who tells her of her straightened circumstances or she can take one of the only other avenues available to an educated woman in the early 1800s in England: she can become a governess. Although being a governess is a rather tenuous position, neither upstairs nor downstairs and employed completely at the discretion of the master or mistress of the house, it is still a respectable position. Anne takes up her first post at Godmersham Park, the Kent estate of Edward Austen, as the governess to 12 year old Fanny Austen, the oldest child and daughter of the house.

As Anne settles into her role as governess she must learn her place adjacent to the family. She suffers the animus of many of the other servants but she genuinely likes her charge and finds life at Godmersham Park mostly comfortable and untaxing. She is lonely though. She doesn't entirely approve of Henry Austen, Mr. Edward's good humored and playful brother who visits often. He is much beloved by the family and while Anne sometimes enjoys sparring with him, she is also always cognizant of her place and incredibly frustrated when he teasingly crosses lines that could cost her. When the newly widowed Mrs. Austen, Cassandra Austen, and Jane Austen come to Kent, Anne's intellect can shine and she revels in their comfortable and welcoming company. But that shining may be one more piece in her eventual downfall.

Hornby has created an intriguing and certainly possible backstory for Anne Sharp. The narrative goes back and forth between the present of Anne's life in the Austen household and her past as she tries to understand why she has been forsaken by her father. The reason is quite obvious to the reader though, even if not to Anne. There are glimpses of Anne's skill as a teacher and her great understanding of the pitfalls of being a woman in her time, especially one who has no wish to marry. She is both an advocate for women's right to self-determination and freedom and very cognizant of reality. The book is historically accurate and Hornby has woven fact and fiction together seamlessly, using Fanny's childhood diaries as a major source for her characterizations. This is not a Jane story but it is smart and compelling (and sometimes horrific) and gives an intriguing glimpse into the well to do life of Edward Austen, his family, and into the life of an intelligent and perceptive governess during her two years with such a family. show less

Call it lucky, or call it cruel, but when the Knight family offered to take Edward Austen as their son and heir to their fortunes and lands, his parents knew it would benefit their son and their entire family. A wealthy son could be a lifeline.

Edward inherited Godmersham Park, and wealth and lands, married a fashionable woman, and had numerous children to provide for. After his father’s death, and his family’s loss of his pension, he did what he could–what he would–to help his mother show more and siblings. Part of that obligation was met by welcoming them into his home for extended visits.

Brother Henry was always welcome. He was charming and lively. Sister Cassandra was quiet and helpful, good with the younger children. His mother and sister Jane were problematic, too witty and opinionated, too willing to talk about books and other unwomanly subjects.

In 1804 the Knights hired a governess for their eldest daughter, Fanny, who was eleven. Henry’s friend recommended Anne Sharp. Raised in luxury, well educated, and pretty, with the death of Ann’s mother came poverty. Her father had disappeared from their lives and left her a mere 35 pounds per annum to live on. Anne donned plain garb, adjusted her attitude to fit into the role of lowly governess, and with dread reported to Godmersham Hall.

Contending with crippling headaches, mistreatment by the cook and staff, constrained in a limited role, lonely and uncertain, Anne also has another problem. The handsome Henry Austen. He is a danger to her, his attention unwelcome, her attraction hopeless. When his sister Jane arrives, she is nearly his image, sharing his openness, wit, and high spirits. Jane treats Anne as an equal and their friendship slowly blooms for both are literary and secretly write.

Gill Hornby culls from Fanny Austen’s diaries, Austen family letters, and other breadcrumbs left behind to piece together a story of Anne’s life and her relationship with Jane Austen. A Secret Sisterhood by Emily Midorikawa and Emma Claire Sweeney first introduced me to Anne Sharp. Hornby brings to life the story they tell.

I enjoyed how the novel channeled Jane Austen and her family, just as I had imagined them. Hornby vividly portrays the limited and proscribed roles available to women, who were forced to marry men they did not love, or to live precariously or in poverty. “This was the fundamental flaw in the institution of marriage,” Anne considers, “She who endures a union of chilly dislike…could reasonable expect to live on into a cheerless old age. Meanwhile, the likes of Elizabeth Austen, blessed with true love and a real, mutual attraction, might well not survive to her fortieth year.”

Once married, a woman had child after child, often until it killed her. As it did Elizabeth Austen after her eleventh baby. “We can generally expect one every eighteen months or so,” Fanny explained to Anne when she arrived. And a woman had little recourse, although one servant explained that after nine children, her mother “sleeps with a rolling pin.” Such was birth control in the 1800s.

I enjoyed Hornby’s previous novel Miss Austen, which imagines Cassandra Austen’s life after Jane’s passing. I was quite transported by Godmersham Park, which often feels as if from Austen’s own pen, perhaps melded with a less Gothic version of Charlotte Brontes’ Jane Eyre.

I received a free egalley from the publisher through NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased. show less

When she finds herself penniless after her mother's death, Anne Sharp takes a position as governess to Fanny Austen. While in the Austen family's employ, she befriends Fanny's beloved Aunt Jane, a friendship which will last for the rest of their lives.

This fictionalized account of the life of an historical figure hit all of the right notes for me. Jane Austen does appear as a secondary character, and I thought she was well-written without taking over the story, which centers entirely on show more Anne. I'd recommend this to Austen fans, especially those with an interest in Jane's biographical details. show less