Review - The Austen Girls by Lucy Worsley

 

 

Title: The Austen Girls

Author: Lucy Worsley

Pages: 320

Publisher: Bloomsbury Children's Books

Release Date: 2nd April 2020

 

Blurb from Goodreads:

Would she ever find a real-life husband? Would she even find a partner to dance with at tonight's ball? She just didn't know.

Anna Austen has always been told she must marry rich. Her future depends upon it. While her dear cousin Fanny has a little more choice, she too is under pressure to find a suitor.

But how can either girl know what she wants? Is finding love even an option? The only person who seems to have answers is their Aunt Jane. She has never married. In fact, she's perfectly happy, so surely being single can't be such a bad thing?

The time will come for each of the Austen girls to become the heroines of their own stories. Will they follow in Jane's footsteps?

In this witty, sparkling novel of choices, popular historian LUCY WORSLEY brings alive the delightful life of Jane Austen as you've never seen it before.

Goodreads | Amazon UK | Amazon US

 

 

My Review:

*I received an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to Bloomsbury Publishing Plc (UK & ANZ) and NetGalley*

Anna and Fanny Austen are cousins whose lives are very different - Fanny doesn't have to worry about money as her parents live a comfortable life, but Anna's parents don't have much money.

Both Anna and Fanny are determined to marry soon, but will they be able to marry for love? Or will they have to marry for duty?

Luckily, their Aunt Jane is on hand to help.

As a fan of both Jane Austen and Lucy Worsley, I was intrigued to see what this novel would be like.

Anna and Fanny were both relatable characters and, while I did find Fanny a little bit more likeable, I did like Anna too most of the time. I felt for both of them - Anna because she was unhappy at home and wanted to marry to escape, and Fanny because she was under pressure to marry before the rest of her sisters.

Aunt Jane was probably my favourite character. I liked her relationship with her nieces and that they went to her to talk/for advice.

The plot was good overall, but I wasn't gripped or overly invested in what happened.

The writing style was easy to follow and I read the novel very quickly.

This was an easy, mostly light-hearted read.

Overall, this was an enjoyable read.