Joss Stirling

When thirteen year-old Jane Austen accompanies her older sister to a dance at their old school, she anticipates having a very boring time. Things start looking up, however, when she makes some friends including Brandon, a young musician, once enslaved, now assistant to the school’s dance instructor. When an expensive diamond necklace is stolen during the dance and Brandon becomes the chief suspect, Jane is determined to prove him innocent.

I will admit right off the top, I am a sucker for show more anything Jane Austen so when I saw Jane Austen Investigates: The Burglar’s Ball, a middle grade historical fiction by Julia Golding on Netgalley, how could I resist? It is the second in the series but the first I have read and, despite being way way beyond the targeted audience, I enjoyed it quite a bit. The mystery is fairly interesting while managing to avoid anything that might be too upsetting for a young child and the language is modern while staying fairly true to the historical period making it an easy tale for a young reader.

But it is the character of Jane that makes this novel a whole lot of fun. She is smart, witty, independent, and refuses to accept the societal norms of the time for girls just like so many of her heroines in her books. Overall, I suspect that young readers will find it very entertaining.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the opportunit to read this book in exchange for an honest review show less

This is the kind of read to sink into and get lost in until the very last page. And that's exactly what I did.

Jane's entire family is known to be adventurous and a bit unconventional. Despite this, they are well respected, and her older sister is requested to serve as companionship for the Lady of a wealthy family until their son has his coming-of-age party. But when Jane's sister is injured, she has to jump in. Her older brother spruces things up even more, when he makes a bet with her show more about the existence of a ghost at the Abby. Excited to start that investigation and win the bet, Jane's stay at the home begins. It brings all sorts of unexpected twists, most of which have nothing to do with the ghost in the slightest. But each one leaves her in dangerous situations and discovering secrets she should know nothing about.

When I started reading this, I was a little unsure how it would proceed. It is set in the later 1700's and stays as solid in that time frame as possible. Which means the dialogue and such also slides into this category. The terminology and word choice made me wonder if this one might steer out of the intended middle grade direction. But this fear was completely unnecessary. This book is very well done, the characters are fun to accompany, and the plot made it impossible to set down. Still, I do see this one more geared to the tween audience.

Jane is portrayed as a curious, risk-happy, slightly spunky, and yet, very aware of her duties as a young lady, kind of girl. And she's clever. Add her love for her 'lap-dog', and it's very hard not to like her. She makes mistakes but is quick to admit it and jump right back in. Plus, her moral compass is very well set, where it counts...even if this isn't acceptable to society's rules. She's the kind of girl, one wishes they could run around with and join in on her adventures.

While the historic time frame is very well portrayed and slips in masterfully without boring descriptions, it's the well-woven mystery, which really draws in. There are more than a few characters, but each has a personality of their own. They have their own troubles, and even those which are 'honorable' might not be perfectly so. This makes for a wide selection of 'who-dun-its', and the true instigators are hard to find until the end. But there are also several sub-plots running along the side, which make it hard not to fever for some of the other characters and hope they work out their problems as well. Plus, there are a few life lessons tossed into the mix.

I can highly recommend this one to mystery lovers, who enjoy a well-done jaunt into the past. While Jane Austen fans will enjoy it, by no means is it only for them (I, personally, have never been a Jane Austen fan and enjoyed every page). I really hope this is the beginning to a series because it promises to be a good one. show less

Everything about this book was fantastic. I can imagine my middle school self, holing up in my bedroom for hours devouring its pages. It conjures up the best of books in similar genres, the museum is just as mysterious and vast as Hogwarts. The animal companions read like the daemons in The Golden Compass. However, this story lends a credible note as it doesn’t deal with magic, but is more of an alternate reality with a dystopian twist.

Each and every character, including the furry and show more feathered ones, are brought to life with vivid detail. Ree, spunky and independent female lead character in a male dominated world speaks to “girl power” without the disrespect that often accompanies that attitude. Henri, the perfect level-headed complement to Ree, is intelligent and thoughtful, a voice of reason in a world of pseudo-science. The menagerie of now extinct animals gives the entire tale a humorous element, Phil the Dodo my obvious favorite. I can just imagine his playful nips and smell the down as he ruffles his feathers.

The wide range of topics touched on by this story are made age appropriate and easy to understand, while remaining true to the message. Finding a harmonious balance between science and religion is something we’re made to face early on in life, and the author is successful in finding a middle ground that is neither blasphemous or offensive. Focusing on the respecting of other’s values, the equality of intellects and abilities between men and women, and the importance of every profession, whether menial or cerebral, artistic or everyday maintenance. All points are dealt with gracefully and playfully, without malice or contempt.

Kudos to this author for creating a masterpiece of humor and depth for the middle school set. It’s an intelligent addition to a market often saturated with twaddle. show less

Why do authors want to ruin a good plot with 'romance'? I could have warmed to Dora without the blockish, bloke-ish, predictable presence of Jacob, and the forced 'attraction' between the two (‘Perhaps tonight at the ball they might be able to snatch a few moments for romance and explore this attraction that lay between them.')

Both characters are riddled with the usual clichés to boot. He's a six foot, broad chested former army surgeon, from a noble family yet practical and independent, show more of course, preferring to move to 'the north country' to be an artist when his one failing - an opium addiction - means he must give up his medical career. She is the biracial by-blow turned actress, touring the country with a provincial troupe of actors, whose beloved half-brother is murdered by the notorious Hellfire Club. Did I mention that she also knows how to forge handwriting, ride bareback (horses, that is), shoot pistols and pick locks? She's also stunningly beautiful with a voluptuous figure, but likes to dress as a man. Women can't just be in these books, they have to earn a distinction in everything. If the author was playing Regency romance bingo, she could have called 'house!' by the end of the second chapter. Not that there is a true sense of the era, apart from Jacob whipping off his cravat every five seconds to use as a bandage (Sir Percy would never!)

The plot is also clunky and occasionally overset by exposition. I have no doubt that the author did her research, but as a reader, I could have done without the constant infodumps. I swear the descriptions of the Hellfire Caves are straight from the tourist website. This is Jacob detailing one of the pantomime villains encountered: ‘I keep away from the government men, though I understand enough to know that Vane must be handling the refugees from France and thus be involved in the domestic and foreign surveillance of people of interest.' Who talks like that, outside of Wikipedia? And there were also various continuity errors, like Jacob's self-healing black eye that nobody comments on while still fresh, and dialogue like 'You're a collector?' 'I do.' I honestly thought this was a debut novel but the author has something like 60 titles to her name!

Dora was stupidly spontaneous and spiky, which I like in a heroine, but then she was thrown away on a pairing with posh totty Jacob, and I felt like the author didn't trust her readers to think for themselves. The real life history of Sir Francis Dashwood and the Hellfire Caves was about the only aspect of the book that kept me reading, and even then, I kept expecting to find footnotes. Not my cup of tea, sorry. show less