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A review by reading_historical_romance
Jane and the Final Mystery by Stephanie Barron
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
“What can I possibly know of schoolboys?” I scoffed, as I kissed her cheek. “They are all Latin and Greek, of which I remain ignorant.”
“Until they become men,” Elizabeth sighed, “and their vices both common and apparent. With these, Jane, I suspect you are well acquainted. You have brothers, have you not?”
While author Jane Austen may not have been learned in the Classics, she was an expert study of the human character. Her keen observational skills and razor-sharp wit lend themselves perfectly to her imagined role as unassuming amateur sleuth, and it is this Jane that headlines the fifteen novels in Stephanie Barron’s critically acclaimed and beloved Jane Austen Mystery series.
Jane and the Final Mystery follows Jane and her eldest nephew, seventeen-year-old James-Edward, to Winchester College, where Jane learns that fifteen-year-old William Heathcote, the only son of her girlhood friend, Elizabeth, has been framed for the murder of a school prefect. When William is found guilty at the inquest it is up to Jane to clear his name, a task which threatens to overwhelm her due to her rapidly failing health.
Jane and the Final Mystery begins on 27 January 1817, and concludes on 4 April 1817. As with each of the novels, the author’s impeccable research places Jane into a fictional story framed by actual events that occurred in the real Jane’s life, and in chronological order. These include circumstances that are known to have happened within her family and in the lives of her friends and societal circles, and Jane’s historically documented physical whereabouts on the actual dates that are depicted. Coupled with the author’s uncanny (I would even go so far as to say preternatural) talent to write in Jane Austen’s voice, it is often hard to believe that you’re not reading authentic diary entries and letters from Jane.
I have been a devoted fan of Jane the detective since the series debuted in 1996, and I was expecting to be quite emotional reading this one. However, the narrative does not lend itself to the minimum of three Kleenexes in hand that I was anticipating. While there are certainly notes of a deep-seated acceptance within Jane that her end is nearing, she remains an optimistic, resilient figure throughout the novel. Not for Jane a surrender of dignity, or the donning of a mantle of victimhood; but life and living, with grace and humility of spirit.
Thank you, Stephanie Barron, for your gift, and for using it to share your glimpses of Jane with us over the last thirty years.
I would also like to thank Laurel Ann Nattress, Austenprose PR, and Soho Crime, for the opportunity to read and review this novel. All opinions are my own.
“Until they become men,” Elizabeth sighed, “and their vices both common and apparent. With these, Jane, I suspect you are well acquainted. You have brothers, have you not?”
While author Jane Austen may not have been learned in the Classics, she was an expert study of the human character. Her keen observational skills and razor-sharp wit lend themselves perfectly to her imagined role as unassuming amateur sleuth, and it is this Jane that headlines the fifteen novels in Stephanie Barron’s critically acclaimed and beloved Jane Austen Mystery series.
Jane and the Final Mystery follows Jane and her eldest nephew, seventeen-year-old James-Edward, to Winchester College, where Jane learns that fifteen-year-old William Heathcote, the only son of her girlhood friend, Elizabeth, has been framed for the murder of a school prefect. When William is found guilty at the inquest it is up to Jane to clear his name, a task which threatens to overwhelm her due to her rapidly failing health.
Jane and the Final Mystery begins on 27 January 1817, and concludes on 4 April 1817. As with each of the novels, the author’s impeccable research places Jane into a fictional story framed by actual events that occurred in the real Jane’s life, and in chronological order. These include circumstances that are known to have happened within her family and in the lives of her friends and societal circles, and Jane’s historically documented physical whereabouts on the actual dates that are depicted. Coupled with the author’s uncanny (I would even go so far as to say preternatural) talent to write in Jane Austen’s voice, it is often hard to believe that you’re not reading authentic diary entries and letters from Jane.
I have been a devoted fan of Jane the detective since the series debuted in 1996, and I was expecting to be quite emotional reading this one. However, the narrative does not lend itself to the minimum of three Kleenexes in hand that I was anticipating. While there are certainly notes of a deep-seated acceptance within Jane that her end is nearing, she remains an optimistic, resilient figure throughout the novel. Not for Jane a surrender of dignity, or the donning of a mantle of victimhood; but life and living, with grace and humility of spirit.
Thank you, Stephanie Barron, for your gift, and for using it to share your glimpses of Jane with us over the last thirty years.
I would also like to thank Laurel Ann Nattress, Austenprose PR, and Soho Crime, for the opportunity to read and review this novel. All opinions are my own.