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Pride and Prejudice - The Thug Notes Summary

Only A Heartbeat Away by P.O.Dixon

 

P.O.Dixon - Only A Heartbeat Away

So I was looking forward to reading this book and dived in eagerly.

Darcy goes to the Mereton Assembly but Elizabeth is not there, Elizabeth is at the Netherfield Ball, but Darcy is Absent.

I was beginning to think that they would never meet.

Elizabeth had already travelled to Pemberly and instead of meeting Darcy she has met up with Georgina and become friends through correspondence and she eventually meets up with Darcy through Georgina at a ball in London.

I loved the way P.O. Dixon changed the situations completely but still stayed true to the story. Making an interesting tale that you wanted to keep reading, just to see how she would get all the main characters to the places they needed to be.

Grab a copy and jump in!

Dreams and Expectations by Wendi Sotis

Wendi Sotis - Dreams and Expectations

Well this version of Pride and Prejudice has everything plus a whole lot more!

As Lady Ann lies dying she gets young Darcy to promise to marry well.

On his mothers death her sister, Lady Catherine De Bourgh makes sure Darcy understands that marrying well is marrying her own daughter, Anne.

So, when he meets and falls head over heels in love with Elizabeth he is unable to tell her how much he loves her as his mothers death wish has too strong a hold on him.

Once again Wendi Sotis relishes making Lady Catherine into the vilest of villans, she is so evil in this story and her evil  henchman is non other than Mr George Wickham.

There is treason and ruination, there are smugglers and Lady Catherine is the mastermind of them all.

There are so many interesting twists and sub plots in this story you are left grieving with Darcy and Lizzy as they both pine for each other.

You follow Jane as a really rotten Caroline Bingley makes sure she is also in the same boat.

Poor Charlotte is tied to an even more repulsive Mr Collins than Jane Austen dared write.

Don't let the simple covers of these books put you off, you don't need an expensive glitzy cover to make an interesting entertaining read.

This story goes right through to a modern day Lizzy and Darcy which I feel would have been better saved for another book.

Thank you Wendi for another entertaining read, I hope there is more on the way.

Janeites Taking Over The World

Janeites: The curious American cult 
of Jane Austen

By Jon Kelly BBC News Magazine, Washington DC

Two centuries after her most famous work, Jane Austen inspires huge devotion in the US. What makes this most English of writers so appealing to Americans?

She wrote it herself in 1813: "How much sooner one tires of any thing than of a book."

Jane Austen's own work is a case in point. It may be 200 years since her most celebrated novel, Pride and Prejudice, was published, but in the US she is the subject of more wildly devotional fan-worship than ever.

With their conventions, Regency costumes and self-written "sequels" to their heroine's novels, Austen's most dedicated adherents display a fervency easily rivalling that of the subcultures around Star Trek or Harry Potter.

Some Janeites, as they call themselves, write their own fiction imagining the marital exploits of Mr and Mrs Darcy. Others don elaborate period dress and throw Jane Austen-themed tea parties and balls.

Blogs and forums dedicated to Austen and Austen-style fan fiction abound across the internet. The Jane Austen Society of North America (Jasna) boasts 4,500 members and no fewer than 65 branches.

In October 2012, over 700 Janeites - many attired in bonnets and early 19th Century-style dresses - gathered in Brooklyn, New York for a Jasna event that incorporated three days of lectures, dance workshops, antique exhibitions, a banquet and a ball.

It's a curious phenomenon when one considers that Austen won little fame in her own lifetime, dying aged 41 in 1817 with only six novels to her name.

While she may be regarded as one of the greatest writers in English literature, it's difficult to imagine a similar level of fandom emerging around a novelist like, say, Charles Dickens.

For all that her stories can be by turns bleak and waspish, however, it's the romance of Austen's world that many Janeites say drew them in.

"There's a longing for the elegance of the time," says Myretta Robens, who manages one of the most popular US Austen fan sites, The Republic of Pemberley. "It's an escape."

Screen versions such as Andrew Davies's 1995 BBC adaptation Pride and Prejudice - famously featuring Colin Firth in wet breeches as Mr Darcy - and the 2005 film starring Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Bennet, contributed to an upswing of interest in all things Austen.

But this alone does not explain why so many Janeites want to inhabit their favourite writer's world, whether by dressing up in the fashions of the era or writing their own Regency fiction.

"I think it's to do with the fact that we only have six novels and she died fairly young," says Laurel Ann Nattress, who runs the Austenprose blog and edited Jane Austen Made Me Do It, a collection of short stories inspired by the author.

"People just love her characters and they don't want to give them up."

Robens, however, believes there is a more straightforward reason why readers feel compelled to compose their own versions.

"Quite frankly, I think a lot of people want more sex, particularly with Elizabeth and Darcy," she says.

A perusal of Austen fan sights reveals an abundance of stories with titles like Darcy Meets His Match and The Education of Miss Bennet.

It is not only online amateurs who have attempted to re-imagine these characters, however. Linda Berdoll's 2004 Pride and Prejudice "sequel", Mr Darcy Takes A Wife, was a bestseller.

Helen Fielding has stated her own Bridget Jones's Diary was loosely based on the original Austen plotline - hence the presence of a character named Darcy, played in the film version by Firth. The 1995 comedy Clueless was inspired by Austen's Emma.

Nor is all ersatz Austen concerned with affairs of the heart. PD James's Death Comes to Pemberley involves the married Darcys in a murder mystery. Seth Grahame-Smith's Pride and Prejudice and Zombies re-casts the original novel in an alternate version of Regency England populated by hordes of undead.

The Janeite subculture was itself the subject of a popular comic novel, Shannon Hale's Austenland, a movie version of which premiered at the 2013 Sundance film festival.

Nonetheless, it might be seen as incongruous that Austen's fandom is so extensive in the US, a nation founded on the rejection of aristocracy and old world manners and traditions.

Indeed, when Pride and Prejudice was first published, the UK and US were at war. Nattress, who lives in Snohomish, Washington state, believes US Janeism is an expression of a persistent Anglophile streak in American society.

"I think that we look back to the motherland in many respects," she says.

"Look at the incredible impact Downton Abbey has had over here. It's a perfect example of how America is fascinated by British culture."

But while Austen's sharp prose, ironic wit and vivid characterisation are all key to her appeal, Robens believes that it is the romantic entanglements of her strong-willed heroines that draw so many to the books.

"It's women, in general, who fall in love with them," says Robens. "It's a truth universally acknowledged that women want to read about relationships."

From The Janeites by Rudyard Kipling

It was not always the case that Austen's fanbase was seen in these terms, however.

Indeed, the term Janeite was initially coined by the male literary critic George Saintsbury. Rudyard Kipling's 1926 short story The Janeites describes a group of soldiers brought together by their passion for the works of Austen.

According to Claudia L Johnson, an Austen expert and professor of English literature at Princeton University, the author was widely regarded well into the 20th Century not as a romantic novelist but as a steely, tough-minded, sardonic social critic.

"Now, alas, Austen is typically seen (by my students and others) as chick lit and she is beloved for her love stories," laments Johnson, author of Jane Austen: Women, Politics, and the Novel. "I think this is a real loss."

Johnson draws a distinction between the extravagant, amateur Janeites and their more academic counterparts, whom she terms Austenites. They are not categorisations which meet with much approval among most fans.

Nonetheless, Johnson acknowledges that attempting to remake Austen in the reader's own image is a valid exercise.

"Janeites - at least in the US - regard their excesses with a curious mixture of irony and seriousness," she says.

"They know it's absurd to throw tea parties, but the fundamental drive here - to try to be somehow connected with the world and life of a beloved author - isn't absurd."

It's likely Austen would agree. In her early writing she pastiched the 18th Century's so-called novels of sensibility and parodied historical tomes.

As the author herself put it in Pride and Prejudice: "A person who can write a long letter, with ease, cannot write ill."

an article on BBC.Co.Uk - Read the full article here

A Darcy Christmas ~ A Holiday Tribute To Jane Austen

A Darcy Christmas ~ A Holiday Tribute To Jane Austen

Amanda Grange, Sharon Lathan, Carolyn Eberhart

As the book blurb goes: "Share in the magic of the season in these three warm and wonderful holiday novellas from bestselling authors".

If you need a little nudge to get you in the christmas mood, here is a good push in that direction.

Three christmas themed stories in one book, starting with:

Mr Darcy's Christmas Carol by Carolyn Eberhart

Where a remake of Dickens Christmas Carol meets Pride and Prejudice in quite a clever blend.

Staying with Austen's characters Darcy is visited by Ghosts and Christmas Spirits in an effort to show him how badly his life will turn out if he does not get off of his high horse and go and propose to the woman he loves.

The spirit of Christmas past shows him he was not always such a prideful and judgemental man and the ghost of Christmas future shows him such a bleak future with no Elizabeth in it that he is galvanised into action. 

A fun mash up of two classics.

The second story is:

Christmas Present by Amanda Grange

Mr Darcy receives the most welcome christmas present of all, an heir for Pemberley.

In this heart warming story Jane has already pipped Lizzy to the post and given birth to a lovely baby boy and Charles is besotted.

Lizzy in the latter stages of her pregnancy persuades Darcy to let her go and see Jane and the baby and spend christmas with her family.

Caroline is ruling the roost while Jane is recovering and has organised a ball. Lizzy cant help but want to dance, resulting in labours onset.

This is a warm uplifting story with a full cast brought together over christmas.

and finally we have:

A Darcy Christmas by Sharon Lathan 

If you are a fan of Sharon Lathan's books you will love this collection of glimpses into the Christmas's through the years as the Darcy family increases and new arrivals join the loving family, some come  through marriage some through birth and of course some leave them through death.

The stories sweet or sad are all heart warming and full of love.

Romance is Sharon Lathan's forte and this collection of christmas stories delivers plenty. 

I always enjoy her character Dr Darcy, he is a real splash of colour on the page.

Rainy Days by Lory Lilian

Rainy Days by Lory Lilian

What a delightful re imagining of Pride and Prejudice this is.

Lory Lilian has written Elizabeth Bennet as if she knows what it is like to be in the mind of a coy 20 year old girl who has lead a very sheltered life in the time of Jane Austen.

Elizabeth is often portrayed as knowing and witty, but she looses a lot of the country girl growing up with very little experience of men.

This story brings that girl to life.

She and Darcy get caught in a rain storm a couple of days before the ball at Netherfield.

While sheltering with Lizzy, Darcy who has already fallen for her, realises that she has a very different impression of him and sets about changing her feelings towards him.

This sends the whole story off on a different track. Having made a much better impression on Lizzy and given her cause to re-evaluate Mr Wickham, the ball at Netherfield is a different experience for them both.

I shall not give anymore of this plot away. But, I do very highly recommend this re-telling it is lively and very charming with lots of tenderness as well as missunderstandings you would expect between Lizzy and Darcy.

Look out for the youngest of the Granger's children, she is a delightful character in this tale.  

Questions For Authors ~ P.O. Dixon Replies

Questions For Authors ~ P.O. Dixon Replies

Our Thanks To P.O Dixon for Answering our “Questions For Authors” Questions

1) Your own favorite Austen character and why?

My favorite character is Mr Darcy. As a man of his time, he is just what a wealthy gentleman of aristocratic bearing ought to be.

2) Your Favorite Austen book?

Pride and Prejudice is my favorite Jane Austen book. My second favorite is Lady Susan.

3) Which actor would you choose to be YOUR Mr Darcy and why?

When I close my eyes and envision Mr Darcy, it is always Matthew Macfadyen that I see. I have tried to picture other actors but with little success. I owe my discovery of Pride and Prejudice to Matthew’s portrayal of Darcy. I suppose it is fitting that no one can take his place in my mind.

4) Who would be your perfect Elizabeth?

Likewise, Keira Knightly is my choice as the perfect Elizabeth. I can see why she was nominated for an award for her portrayal of the literary heroine. I loved her performance.

5) Your favorite book of all time by any author?

After giving this some thought, and with so many literary greats from which to choose, I must leave this question unanswered.

6) Your favorite Austen film or TV adaption?

My favorite is the 2005 Pride and Prejudice film.

7) You are having a dinner party and can invite four Austen characters which would they be?

The invitees would be Lady Catherine de Bourgh, Emma Woodhouse, Elizabeth Bennet, and Caroline Bingley.

8) Why have you chosen them?

Lady Catherine is set in her ways. She is awfully proud of her own opinions and with good reason. Who else is as proficient as she is in arranging the lives of others? She would be astounded by the clueless wit of Miss Emma Woodhouse, astonished by the audacity of Miss Elizabeth Bennet, and appalled by the pretentiousness of Miss Caroline Bingley.

The evening would be quite diverting. I believe Emma and Elizabeth would emerge from the dinner party unscathed but alas, I pity poor Caroline.

9) Which character would you like to play in a Pride and Prejudice film?

I have no acting ambition but if forced to make a decision it would be Elizabeth. No one else enjoys the enviable position of winning Mr Darcy’s hand.

10) Tell us about your next planned book (whether Austen related or not)?

My current work-in-progress is titled Matter of Trust. Darcy and Elizabeth, our beloved couple, endure a forced marriage scenario of sorts. In a rare departure for me, George Wickham enjoys a particularly prominent role. An intriguing new character is introduced, as well. Readers are welcome to follow my Pinterest board or my blog spot for progress updates. 

I am truly excited about Matter of Trust. Its release date is late Autumn 2012.

The Ballard of Gregoire Darcy by Marsha Altman

The Ballard of Gregoire Darcy by Marsha Altman

Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice continues

Once again Marsha Altman takes us on a wonderful journey into her imagination. If you have read her previous books: The Darcys and the Bingleys, The Plight of the Darcy Brothers and The Darcy’s Great Escape, you will know that Marsha packs her stories full of adventure and there is never a dull moment.

So even following an ex-monk on a pilgrimage through deepest darkest Ireland becomes an exciting action packed tale. It’s full of surprises and danger.

Follow Darcy’s half brother as he is thrown into the world.

If you haven’t read her previous books why not? Get on with it you won’t be sorry.

I have become very fond of Marsha Altmans characters and although I don’t think Jane Austen could have come up with plots like this from her quiet  life at the parsonage, I feel sure she would have a good giggle if she could read these tales inspired by Pride and Prejudice.

This story as well as entertaining also touches again on the subject of mental health in a time when there was no help for people with mental illness and the King himself was afflicted.

This deeper and darker layer adds to the depth and intensity of Marsha Altmans writing.

She has just brought out the next story in her series The Knights of Derbyshire and I am already well and truly stuck into it and enjoying it.

( I apologize for the delay in getting this book reviewed, technical problems involving Jorgey (Blue Persian cat) a hot cup of tea (Lady Grey) and my Acer laptop, these three things don’t really mix it seems!)

Marsha Altman’s Blog

My Jane Austen Summer: A Season At Mansfield Park by Cindy Jones

My Jane Austen Summer by Cindy Jones

A Season At Mansfield Park

A contemporary tale set in Texas and Rural England.

Our heroine Lily escapes her life in Texas which is definitely not going to plan. She needs to stop stalking her Ex and his new Girlfriend. Now, after blurting out to them that she is going to England, She, has to follow through.

Her book shop owning fried a kindred spirit had shown her the re-enactment Jane Austen Mansfield Park Summer Literary Event and now she had to go.

So, after selling all her worldly goods to get her air fare she is on her way.

In England she meets a whole host of colorful and intriguing characters all stuffed into a crumbling ancient manor house. A house with virtually no plumbing and very little electricity.

Her roommate is a gothic rock chic who keeps running away. In the attic room is a beautiful man, her soul mate but with  a secret.

Lily is determined to rise to every challenge put before her, however impossible that may be. But for all her determination she can not stop the inevitable.

Journey through Lily’s Mansfield Park with her it’s a lot of fun and pretty entertaining, funny but with a darker under layer, as she come to terms with grief and disappointment.

Northanger Abbey and Angels and Dragons by Vera Nazarian

Northanger Abbey and Angels and Dragons by Vera Nazarian

Firstly I have to admit that Northanger Abbey is not a favorite for me, that’s a start!

This story was just not my cup of Earl Gray. I love a bit of Dragon and was looking forward to reading this but I actually found it hard work to finish.

I am not going to get into all the reasons why, I just didn’t get into it at all. End of story!

So make up your own mind about it, I shall still be on the lookout for Mansfield Park and Mummies  by the same author.

Dreaming of Mr Darcy by Victoria Connelly

Dreaming of Mr Darcy by Victoria Connelly

Heroes aren't always what they seem...

A charming romantic modern day tale of a young women who loves the writings of Jane Austen and when she gets a very lucky break she follows her favorite book ‘Persuasion’  to Lyme Regis and sinks everything she has into her dreams.

Buying a bed and breakfast hotel over looking the famous Lyme Regis Cobb.

She has barely finished  the first stage of her restoration and decorating, when a chance disaster at a local hotel lands the entire cast of the latest film adaption of Persuasion in her rooms.

Can she resist the stunning Oli who plays her hero Captain Wentworth or will she follow all the other ladies who have fallen for his charms.

A comedy of errors ensues with match making going array and flirtations left, right and centre.

I was rooting for the heroine to choose the right guy as I am sure you will be to.

There are some nice colorful characters that it is so easy to love a real feel good book.

Jane Austen: Blood Persuasion: A Novel by Janet Mullany

Jane Austen: Blood Persuasion: A Novel by Janet Mullany

She sips tea in the afternoon,  drinks blood at night

This is the sequel to Jane and the Damned which I reviewed HERE

At the end of the first book Jane Austen leaves the damned and takes the cure of the poisonous bath waters and far removed from the woman dressed in men’s clothing and  fighting side by side with the damned against the invading French. She, is now the spinster aunt in her neat and unbecoming cap.

The heart break of leaving her vampire consort is still there but she has her beloved writing.

Then new tenants move into her brothers house and William her maker want’s her back in his fold.

As the damned move in other threats arise and the villagers are no longer safe.

Danger comes to Janes own family, as does temptation.

This book has plenty of action, some great twists and some steam! Jane may be the spinster aunt but under it all her heart is still very much red blooded.

Janet Mullany even manages to make the mildest middle-aged Ladies capable of outrageous longings and self indulgent lusts.

For that I have to say, thanks, you rock Janet!

The Dashwood Sisters Tell All by Beth Pattillo

The Dashwood Sisters Tell All by Beth Pattillo

A Modern Day Novel of Jane Austen

By the Author of Jane Austen Ruined My Life

Ellen and Mimi named by their mother after Elinor and Marianne Dashwood of Sense and Sensibility, unfortunately these sisters don’t get along that well.

But on the death of their Mother, they find she had plans in place to send them both off on a quest together.

She had been a devoted Jane Austen fan and sent the sisters off on a Jane Austen pilgrimage to decide where to leave her ashes.

They have a few surprises on their arrival in Hampshire.

Not least of all the long lost love of Ellen’s life turning up on the same walking tour.

There is drama and comedy as they make their way through the lanes and hedgerows of Hampshire, visiting Chawton and ending their tour in Winchester.

Are there secret Austen artifacts? Do the girls get their men? Are the formidables on the case?

Grab a copy and if you enjoyed Jane Austen Ruined My Life and Mr Darcy Broke My Heart, you are going to love this.

You can find out more about Beth Pattillo Here.

Lady Vernon and Her Daughter by Jane Rubino and Caitlen Rubino-Broadway

Lady Vernon and Her Daughter by Jane Rubino and Caitlen Rubino-Broadway

A Novel of Jane Austen’s Lady Susan

This takes the novella Lady Susan by Jane Austen and stand’s it on it’s head.

In the original novella, Lady Susan is a self centered woman who has no time or affection for her Daughter.

In this version she is the opposite but the gossip still draws her as the same character that Jane Austen wrote which I thought was rather clever.

It fills out all Jane Austen’s cast of characters and gives them a deeper story line, drawing you into a very good tale of the very beautiful widow who finds herself cheated of her husbands wealth on his death by her brother in law.

The Brother in Law is a really  nasty piece of work and you are left to guess just what his involvement with his Brothers fatal accident was.

Most of the peripheral female characters in this story are malicious gossips and very shallow unlikeable people, but the story is fun, well paced and I enjoyed it more than the original story. (Yes, I know that’s sacrilegious but never mind).

Thumbs up for this, the authors managed to make Lady Susan a likable sympathetic character and keep the story pretty much the same.

Murder at Mansfield Park by Lynn Shepherd

Murder at Mansfield Park by Lynn Shepherd

A Novel

The style is in keeping but Lynn Shepherd has dramatically changed the lead characters of Mansfield Park. Fanny Price is not the down trodden poor relation so viciously put upon by Mrs Norris. 

In this story she is completely the opposite to the original, she is an orphaned heiress with property and a large fortune and Mrs Norris cannot do enough for her.

She is mean and haughty and treats her cousins with distain, while acting as if butter would not melt in her mouth. And, if that is not different enough, Mary Crawford in this alternate Mansfield Park is intelligent, thoughtful kind and caring just knowing that should make you want to find out more.

But, add murder of a most brutal kind and a thief catcher brought in to solve the terrible crime. A man who will use any means to catch his villain including physical violence and spying.

Everyone in the household starts to look guilty and one disaster is soon followed in quick succession by more.

This is a good who dunnit in it’s own right, I am usually too quick to work out who the killer is, but, this one was a pretty good mystery through to the climax. Mixing Austen and murder rather well.

I certainly found it hard to put it down once I had got into the story.

I do hope Lynn Shepherd keeps up the good work and writes us some more Austen murder mysteries.

Lynn Shepherd's Website HERE

Emma and the Vampires by Jane Austen and Wayne Josephson

Emma and the Vampires by Jane Austen and Wayne Josephson

A Jane Austen Undead Novel

Although this story follows the original with a flavor of Jane Austen throughout, I did have a few problems.

One quite small thing, but for me a real irritation is that Wayne Joesphson sent his vegetarian vampires, they don’t drink human blood and they have blue eyes and go into the woods to hunt for rabbits and raccoons. Raccoons are not and have never been native to Britain, we have badgers, weasels, stoats and foxes but NO raccoons.

Now, another problem I had and it could just be me, but, I found it odd that the gentlemen vampires both the vegetarian non human blood drinkers ones and the black eyed one’s whose eyes turn red after feeding on human blood were almost a completely different breed compared to the wild vampires. 

The wild vampires continuously attack Highbury preying on any one they could sink their fangs into. 

These wild vampires behave more like zombies and there is no back story of explanation to how or why they are so different.

I wasn’t even sure how aware the inhabitants of  Highbury were as to who was and who wasn’t a vampire, it was quite difficult from the characters reactions to tell.

All in all this was quite a frustrating read for me but I am sure there are plenty of vampire loving friends out there who will love this book and it certainly has some memorable moments including Emma going into battle with wild vampire hoards with a stake tied to her thigh with silk ribbon, and then agreeing to marry one.

You might think he would find marrying a young woman who habitually wears a steak under her petty coat somewhat alarming.

However, if this book brings more youthful readers to Jane Austen’s original works then I am all for it.

Jane Austen Made Me Do It, Edited by Laurel Ann Nattress

Jane Austen Made Me Do It, Edited by Laurel Ann Nattress

Jane Austen Made Me Do It is a collection of short stories edited by Laurel Ann Nattress.

In fact it’s a collection of twenty two, yes really, twenty two excellent Jane Austen inspired tales by some of the best loved Austenesque writers and it is released this week! So this is a super fresh review.

This collection in my opinion is a very worthy addition to your book shelf especially if you are an Austen fan.

Some of the stories would comfortably fit on our list of super natural halloween reading (Nightmare by Syrie James, A Night at Northanger by Lauren Willig, The Ghost Writer by Elizabeth Aston, and The Mysterious Closet, A Tale by Myretta Robens).

There are also some very nice continuances from their previous Austenesque books (Me and Mr Darcy Again by Alexandra Potter and also The Riding Habit by Pamela Aidan.)

However there are many other stories in this collection and I would be hard pressed to pick just one favorite, so, I won’t. I pick them ALL.

This was so enjoyable, thank you to all the authors and special thanks to Laurel Ann Nattress for putting this great collection together, each and everyone is a great tale.

In fact this collection was so good I might just have to sit down and read the whole lot again!

A Recommended BUY!

The Twelfth Enchantment by David Liss

The Twelfth Enchantment by David Liss

Davids Website

A dark gothic tale full of demons and black shadows that come to life only when glimpsed from the corner of your eye.

The heroine Lucy Derricks life is blighted as she and her sister Martha are orphaned.

Mr Buckles (A far nastier and cruel version of Mr Collins) who inherits their estate is a clergyman with Patroness Lady Harriet (who makes Lady Catherine de Bourgh seem like a pussy cat, a sweet cuddly one).

They will stop at nothing to make her life difficult. Martha has Married Mr Buckles in the hope of helping Lucy to no avail, she is sent to live with her mean old uncle.

She is to be married off  to a horrible mill owner, but fate steps in,  in the form of a cursed Lord Byron.

Lucy is also befriended by Mary Crawford and the young man who nearly ruined her reputation as a sixteen year old who had romantic ideas of an elopement, also returns to haunt her.

She has a terrible task to help save Britain from following France into a blood soaked revolution but she does not know who to trust.

Nothing is as it seems for poor Lucy, the decisions are not easy ones. Will she prevail in this action packed gothic thriller.

I shall be looking out for David Liss on my next trip to the book shop !!!!

Jane Goes Batty by Michael Thomas Ford

Jane Goes Batty by Michael Thomas Ford

A  Novel

Unlike the unpleasant character Beverley Shrop in Mr Fords book, I DO read all the books I review  and I certainly don’t make any money from doing so. His romantic novel reviewer is a double dealing vampire who sells Jane and all the other vampires out to a mean jewish vampire hunter.

The fact that she is Jane’s boyfriends Mum, makes matters worse than they might have been. In fact poor Jane’s life is rather a mess, so many problems and so little time.

She has writers block and people around her are getting killed and if that’s not enough she has to babysit a pop star turned actress who she had to turn into a vampire to stop her from dying in the middle of filming her novel, Constance which has now been set in the 1950′s.

All of this is enough to drive a vampire batty but Michael Thomas Ford has piled one disaster on top of another for our poor heroine. It really would be more than enough to send anyone over the edge. Will she even survive to the end of book? Will the three legged Chihuahua save her?

Why don’t you buy a copy and see for yourself, it is totally  barmy and perfect for a frosty evening in front of the open fire as Halloween approaches.

The good news is   Micheal Thomas Ford has book number three on the way, I will be waiting in anticipation for Jane Vows Vengeance.

janebitesback.com/