Godmersham Park: The Sunday Times top ten bestseller by the acclaimed author of Miss Austen

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Contending with crippling headaches, mistreatment by the cook and staff, constrained in a limited role, lonely and uncertain, Anne also has another problem. The handsome Henry Austen. He is a danger to her, his attention unwelcome, her attraction hopeless. When his sister Jane arrives, she is nearly his image, sharing his openness, wit, and high spirits. Jane treats Anne as an equal and their friendship slowly blooms for both are literary and secretly write. Inspired by diaries and excellent research, this is a lovely, flowing and insightful story of what might have happened in the Austen household - Godmersham Park. The house still exists but it's not a home anymore. What I loved was to be able to visit this place when the Austens were there. To have the chance to look through the windows and see historical and literary events take place.

An invigorating riff on an author whose life and works keep on giving, and an ideal companion for your beach towel this summer.' Metro At first, Anne is somewhat lost. She was reared to be a gentle woman right up until her mother’s recent passing. That life is gone. Her own circumstances are now reduced, and she is conscious of the social status difference and need to satisfy the Austens. Ultimately though, I felt that Godmersham Park did the real Anne Sharp few favours. It impugned her family honour, played down her clear teaching abilities and reduced her to a bedraggled scrap. We know almost nothing about Anne Sharp. It is true that Cassandra Austen wrote her a snippy letter indicating that Anne was showing excessive grief given that Cassandra was the one who experiencing a true bereavement. Perhaps Anne really was emotional. But surely she also had some wit if she was a worthy friend to Jane Austen? Anne Sharp survived as a lone woman - and not just survived, actually triumphed - against all possible odds. Gill Hornby's depiction never quite captures the steel which that must have required. Written with deft skill, ingenuity, and clever wit Gill Hornby once again delivers an illuminating and thoughtful tale that seamlessly blends fact and history with imagination and possibility. Any ardent admirers of Jane Austen will be enthralled by this peripheral look of Jane Austen, the unconventional friendship that bloomed between two independent yet dependent women, and the inner workings of the Austen family. I highly recommend.

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I had to let go of that expectation and recognize that Anne is a different sort of character – she doesn’t have to confront the men or anyone else who mistreat her – as cathartic as that would have been to read.

The more peripheral characters, namely the other Austen family members and servants, are also worthy of praise. They are fleshed-out the ideal amount for secondary characters and contribute to the story in meaningful ways, avoiding the pitfall of so many ancillary characters – superfluity. Elizabeth Austen is a particularly well-penned character, exemplifying the expected behavior of a lady of the house. She is courteous to her servants, Anne included, but ultimately, she is their superior in rank, a fact which underlies her every interaction with them. Robert Tritton died in 1957. [14] Following the death of Elsie Tritton in 1983, [8] Godmersham Park was sold to John Bernard Sunley. The estate management company Sunley Farms Limited, which is 100% owned by Sunciera Holdings Corporation in Panama, is the owner of Godmersham Park. [15] Ultimately, Godmersham Parkis a historical fiction book that takes historical facts seriously, albeit with a couple of surprising liberties. It’s witty and well-written, and I wholeheartedly recommend it.At half past six, in the bleak, icy evening of 21 January in the year 1804, Anne Sharp arrived on the threshold of Godmersham Park.” (3) When Mr. Edward Austen’s family comes to stay, Anne forms an immediate attachment to Jane. They write plays together and enjoy long discussions. However, in the process, Anne reveals herself as not merely pretty, charming, and competent; she is clever too. Even her sleepy, complacent, mistress can hardly fail to notice.

It focuses on her and Henry Austen, a kind of Henry Tilney who seems to be attracted to the young woman, although there cannot be any fairy tale here, since Henry is married. It also talks about the governess's friendship with Jane, who was like the other side of Henry's coin, both nice, interesting, good and seductive. And this is where fiction appears, because although we know the facts, and although the characters are respected, there is fiction in how these relationships are developed. Edward inherited Godmersham Park, and wealth and lands, married a fashionable woman, and had numerous children to provide for. After his father’s death, and his family’s loss of his pension, he did what he could–what he would–to help his mother and siblings. Part of that obligation was met by welcoming them into his home for extended visits. THE PREMISE: A fictional look at Anne Sharp’s relationship to the Austen family. She served as a governess for Fanny Austen Knight for only two years, and was befriended by our dear Jane Austen and bequeathed items upon her death. Why did Anne become a governess? How close was her relationship with Jane Austen? What was the Austen family really like? Anne Sharp, who had enjoyed a comfortable life before the death of her mother, suddenly finds herself in search of a job after her father shows her to the door. In one interview with a shady lawyer, she learns her father is cutting her allowance to the bone and evicting her from her home. A job interview is suggested, and she arrives at Godmersham Park as the governess of Fanny Austen, daughter of Edward and Elizabeth Austen. Anne's position is a tough one, as she is not considered part of the family or truly a servant, and has no real support group to call her own. When she meets Fanny's aunt, Jane Austen, a fast friendship is formed.

Godmersham Park

Already miffed at her drastic change of circumstances, Anne is desolate when she realises that being a governess is akin to being invisible, 'She was neither a guest deserving of especial courtesy, nor a servant to be treated as a friend'. Things begin to look up when she becomes with Henry and Jane Austen, 'within the walls of that splendid, unforgettable park - her heart had been captured by both.' The book starts with Anne's arrival at Godmersham Park; it's evident she's come down considerably in the world, and eventually we learn why. It's a good while before we meet Jane; much of the book is taken up with Anne's struggles to adapt to being a governess. The other servants are mean to her, which is probably historically accurate, and her boss, Mrs. Edward Austen, requires flattery and careful "managing up." Jane Austen was a regular visitor between 1798 and 1813. [7] Mansfield Park is said to be based on Godmersham Park. [8] In 1852, the property passed to Knight's son. He remodelled the south front to designs by William Burn, [9] which were swept away in the 1930s by Robert Tritton. Godmersham Park was later sold to John Cunliffe Lister Kay, who died in 1917. [10] [11] During the First World War, an airship was stationed at Godmersham Park, which served as a sub-station of RNAS Capel. [12] Godmersham Park by Gill Hornby is biographical fiction for the general market, which is a bit out of my normal reading genre. However, I thoroughly enjoyed the story and was not offended by anything in the novel. Henry’s actions are morally gray at times, but I liked him as a character. No cussing, violence, or sex scenes, but jealousy, unkindness, and petit theft do occur. Godmersham Park" takes as its main character a real person too, but one whom less is known about: Anne Sharp, the governess to the oldest daughter of Jane's wealthy brother, Edward. Anne appears to have become an important friend to Jane; a letter to her was one of the last that Jane wrote shortly before her death in 1817, and she also sent a copy of "Emma," the last book published in her lifetime, to Miss Sharp.

But the book is based on historical figures, after all. So, even if I wanted a slight rewriting of history, it’s hard not to appreciate and enjoy what is a splendid addition to the literary world of Jane Austen!

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I enjoyed Gill Hornby’s previous novel, Miss Austen, about the life of Jane Austen’s sister Cassandra. Her new one, Godmersham Park, is also inspired by the Austens, telling the story of Anne Sharp, who became one of Jane’s closest friends after taking up the position of governess to her niece, Fanny.