I did, in fact, finish reading The Lost Years of Jane Austen in Australia, and I must say that I found the book disappointing. There was no romance in Australia. Indeed, quite the opposite, in which the vestiges of Jane's romantic notions are entirely stripped away from her, and she is imbued with the urge to return to her writing in England as soon as may be. Problem dealt with, from the author's perspective. However, Jane was never really central to this story, nor was there any other compelling storyline in its place. The narrative rather meandered through some British and Australian history before petering out entirely at the end. It took me almost two weeks in Australia to finish reading The Lost Years of Jane Austen, when normally I would have gobbled up a book like this in a couple of days.
I guess in summary I would not recommend this book. Dyed-in-the-wool Jane Austen fans may want to add it to their collection, but my enthusiasm for it is tepid at the best. Glad it had interesting cover art. Am looking forward to reading P.D. James' Jane Austen effort due out soon - Death At Pemberly. I need something to restore my faith in the genre!
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