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In this 3rd volume of The Marriage of Miss Jane Austen, Collins Hemingway has totally convinced me that he knew Jane Austen. As a wife, a mother, a woman who knew great happiness and even greater sadness. Through his words I felt her exhaustion as she cared for her infant son, her concern when he became ill, and her devastation when she thought he might now recover. I also witnessed her happiness and her struggles in her marriage to Ashton Dennis. Hemingway has crafted a story that tugged at my heartstrings and made me forget what was truth and what was fiction in this look at the 'lost years of Jane Austen.' Isn't this what all authors hope to achieve?

I received a copy ofThe Marriage of Miss Jane Austen Vol III through Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours for review purposes. These are my honest thoughts.
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fcplcataloger | Jan 1, 2020 |
Though I've read several works fit for the Austenite masses, each one has its own charms. In this particular undertaking, we have Jane receiving the attention of a familiar young man with his intentions as obvious as the day is long...at least to everyone BUT the intended. Ah yes, Ms. Austen seems to be oblivious to that which is on offer from one Mr. Dennis, and yet, I can't help but second her second guessing nature. Was it too much to ask that the question be asked plainly? Was it too much to have some courtship, however frivolous it may seem, if not out of courtesy, than out of love? Was it too hard to see that while not actively seeking another half, the appearance of what might be her perfect match would be as dis-settling as it was secretly welcomed? No matter how level headed or practical a girl, pardon me...a woman is, it doesn't mean that all the romance should be swept under the rug...even when it comes to someone as wily with words as our dear Jane.

In the end, I enjoyed the trip through the early 1800's for the story as well as the company we kept. It's not every day you meet a young man trying desperately to impress a woman of which he is sweet on, only to have his efforts thwarted time and again by both the woman herself and outside forces (think hot air balloon ride turned cross country expedition!). The scandal that follows was fitting for the times but enough to turn any modern woman red in the face in exasperation...as was the ensuing shunning of both parties, family, and friends. The broken paths of relationships that follows, however brief and caste they may be, paves the way for a potential "one day" that'll find them in the right place, at the right time, and in the right frame of mind AND heart...while delivering a story that readers can believe in, as much as any fictitious story can become a truth.


**copy received for review
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GRgenius | 2 other reviews | Sep 15, 2019 |
Acquired Book By: I received a complimentary copy of "The Marriage of Miss Jane Austen” direct from the author Collins Hemingway in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

You can understand Jane’s assessment of country vs city living - of how within the harriedness of a city, you cannot help but feel drowned out by the blare of it’s noise and bustle; yet in the country, there is a slower pace, where the gentleness of nature can still affect you. Thus, I felt grave for their circumstances now - having been placed in Bath, a city bursting out of its own route of perimeters and having relations like their Aunt, who felt it was their duty to re-insist the dependence they knew they were in debt to her without giving credit to their own independence. For the girls were not past marrying age but their Aunt seemed to take the family’s financial affairs as matters cast in stone; unchanging and thereby, she goaded the girls’ whenever she could with things they hoped to have but could not readily afford. Their Aunt was the kind of woman who would be considered a miser, for she did not easily depart with her coffers nor give thought to those of whom she became indebted.

IF it weren’t such a serious infraction in the eyes of her parents (although, admittedly, Mr Austen has a more forgiving conscious and heart than Mrs Austen) - you could almost presume the balloon adventure could have been seen differently; as a blissful jaunt in the skies, where everything heavenbound could be observed. If only it could have had this conclusion for dear Jane! I truly felt for her as her vexations were presented and known. It was through these sequences where I was at first fraught with anger at the story and the way in which it was being told whilst curiously trying to bade my anger a bit to see if it would become quelled by a change in mindset or circumstance; Hemingway did not disappoint on either score!

Sometimes I think the best stories writ in the Classical style evoke stronger emotions - the words used, the phrases chosen, the absurdity of having societal opinions thrusted on young people and taken as truth; the idiocy of women not being aloud to have a strong voice and opinion of their own,… I digress. Still, what drew me further into the story was how much this still leaned into the narrative within Pride; to which I concluded, did Mr Hemingway himself draw a connecting line between Pride and how Miss Austen might have felt in real life in matters of her own life and heart? It is something I have oft considered myself - was it more of a portrait of her own life rather than a figment of imagination. She dipped into her own well of observational thought throughout her canon, but which of the stories struck a balance of being closer to Jane as she once lived herself; that is the curious question! Perhaps, in this entreaty of narrative, we have our response to an unspoken question? It was as I pondered these thoughts I wondered if my dear fellows of literary wanderers in #theclassicclub had come across this trilogy?

I must confess, throughout reading this novel I found my feelings on its behalf vacillated; I was either wholly engaged with its direction, utterly at a loss for words to describe my disappointment or so betwixt knowing how I felt, I nearly put it down completely! In essence, it was a story which gave me a pensive amount of contemplation - a near wrestling of feelings and on Jane’s behalf, I found her even more lovable than before! In fact, my favourite part of this novel is the enlightenment ringing true on behalf of Jane Austen - as I myself, have fashioned her to mind whilst reading of her, reading her canon or whilst engaged in after canon readings based on her collective works; there are many incantations of Jane which strike through everything interconnected to her person.

In the ending chapters, I smiled. I smiled because the theory I was ferreting through my own thoughts was threading into the author’s own theory of deduction! I might have missed a considerable amount of exchanges in the letters (see below) however, blessedly, Hemingway knitted together the missing bits by re-addressing what was previously disclosed throughout Part III. It was here, I continued to smile because despite everything, I truly felt he had substantiated his theory of why he told the story in the manner in which he had - part of me hoped other readers would see Darcy and Lizzie in this novel. Of recognising what Hemingway has done with this story and how it inter-relates back to Pride.

Now, dear hearts, I must sort out a way to get Volumes II and III,… for you see dear hearts, the gentleman who wrote this understands Miss Austen! Consider him the David E. Kelley for #Janeites!

// This is a quotation of my full review originally shared via jorielovesastory.com
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joriestory | 2 other reviews | Feb 2, 2019 |
I read The Marriage of Miss Jane Austen: Volume I in December of 2018. I absolutely adored it. Hemingway could have stopped with just that one volume. Volume One ended well. It ended as Austen novels usually do, with a happily ever after sort of feeling. So why go further? I guess he knew that his readers would want more. Because there's always more to the story. Life doesn't stop after the wedding. That's where life becomes interesting and complicated. I'm so glad Hemingway decided to take his readers on this journey.

Volume Two picks up after Jane and Ashton's honeymoon. Jane is blissfully happy as the new Mrs. Dennis. However, she has a little trouble navigating the waters as the new mistress of the house. Her mother-in-law still isn't happy about being usurped in Ashton's life, and isn't very helpful to Jane. Jane will not be kept down and rises to every challenge. Jane and Ashton also face challenges dealing with many of the social issues of the day. And if all that is not enough, Jane is expecting a baby. I think the biggest conflict Jane faces is within her self. She struggles with wanting to write as well as wanting to be everything Ashton needs.

The Marriage of Miss Jane Austen: Volume Two is a wonderful sequel to the first novel. It goes beyond the happily ever after into the struggles of newlywed life. Jane is often faced with many advercities that many women face not only in Austen's time, but also today. I so want Jane to live happily ever after, but sadly I know how her story ends. Still, I highly anticipate as well as dread Volume Three. I feel Hemingway will break my heart. Nevertheless, I will read it.

This is a great series that Austen fans will love. Hemingway has written a compelling novel in three volumes that will suck the reader in from the first few pages. And, like me, you will have a hard time letting go until you've read the last page.

Read more at https://www.toreadornottoread.net/2019/01/the-marriage-of-miss-jane-austen-volum...
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mt256 | Jan 27, 2019 |

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