It is a truth universally acknowledged that I get ridiculously excited when I have the opportunity to read a book connected to Jane Austen. I think I’ve made that clear on this blog (perhaps a little too clear?!), and today is no exception. I’m really pleased to be able to host the blog tour of Gill Hornby’s new novel, Godmersham Park, today, and share with you my review!

I am especially grateful to Pegasus Books and Austenprose for sending me a copy of the novel in exchange for review.

Godmersham Park, subtitled A Novel of the Austen Family, follows someone who, over the course of the novel (and, in real life), would become a great friend to Jane Austen and other members of Jane’s family.

Anne Sharp is our heroine: she arrives at Godmersham in Kent on January 21st 1804 in order to become a governess to twelve-year-old Fanny Austen. Anne is thirty-one years old, has recently lost her mother, and has been forced into straitened circumstances due to the mysterious absence of her father.

Anne quickly settles in with Fanny, but Hornby does a fantastic job of showing the complexities of the role of the governess: they would occupy a completely different space to the servants, but were not on the level of the family they were working for. Occasionally they would join them at the table, and would spend extended time with them, but they were still, ultimately, in their employ. It was a tricky situation to navigate that could cause bad blood with other servants, and a feeling of displacement: especially when Anne has left behind everything she once knew to work for a living.

Godmersham Park was inherited by Jane Austen’s brother Edward from the wealthy Knight family, whom he had been informally adopted by – they also left him the estate at Chawton (read more about that here) and property at Steventon, where the Austens grew up. You might recognise it if you’ve ever seen an English £10 note – it is the country house in the background!

Fanny Austen, his daughter and Anne’s charge, was one of Jane’s favourite nieces. Jane’s (supposed) favourite brother Henry frequently visited there too, and he takes a shine to Anne, even helping her to try and work out what is happening with her disappeared father and supporting her to get medical help for her poor health.

Anne encourages Fanny to write to her Aunt Jane, and soon, the beloved aunt comes to visit, and Anne is as enamoured with procuring her friendship as Jane is of her: what ensues is a story about female friendship and the struggle for autonomy in early nineteenth century society for women, especially those whose circumstances do not offer an easy independence.

I really liked Hornby’s presentation of Jane Austen, but I think what I really liked – and I can’t believe I’m saying this! – is that although Jane and Anne’s friendship is quite central to the novel’s plot, there is a lot more making up Anne’s character, so she is not overshadowed by the entrance of the famous and beloved author. I didn’t find myself reading quickly to try and get to Jane’s entrance, if that makes sense: it was just a great part of a wider enjoyable story, in which Anne’s character shone in its own right.

Fanny was incredibly endearing, and Edward’s wife Elizabeth Austen, Anne’s mistress, was very interesting too. Not only do we get a sense of the complex relationship between a governess and the family from Anne’s side, but also glimpses from Elizabeth’s too, showing it to be one of reasonable uncertainty for both parties. Henry was light, bright and sparkling (to borrow a phrase from Jane Austen herself), and was a really fun character as part of the ensemble.

Godmersham Park by Gill Hornby is beautifully evocative of this period and wonderful for fans of Austen and historical fiction set in the early nineteenth century. It is a brilliant, well-researched insight into life in the country house from below stairs: or, perhaps, from the attic, where the school room is.

I really recommend the novel, which was published just three days ago – you can find it in the US here! I hugely enjoyed the way Hornby weaved together information from Jane’s letters, Fanny’s writings and other pieces, and filled in the gaps with fictional aspects too. It is a lovely imagining of what may have passed between Jane and Anne.

Thank you to Pegasus Books and Austenprose for gifting me a copy of the novel.