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

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In Hornby’s imagined tale, Sharp is abandoned by her father for mysterious reasons after the loss of her mother. Single and without much income, she’s forced to marry without affection or become a governess. In 1804 the Knights hired a governess for their eldest daughter, Fanny, who was eleven. Henry’s friend recommended Anne Sharp. Raised in luxury, well educated, and pretty, with the death of Ann’s mother came poverty. Her father had disappeared from their lives and left her a mere 35 pounds per annum to live on. Anne donned plain garb, adjusted her attitude to fit into the role of lowly governess, and with dread reported to Godmersham Hall.

Knight, Edward Austen". Adoption.com. Archived from the original on 11 September 2017 . Retrieved 13 August 2017. Godmersham Parkwould make an excellent film or limited series. And since Miss Austenis already being adapted as a four-part miniseries, it’s certainly possible this film could receive similar treatment if Miss Austendoes well.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? Godmersham Park reminds us of the plight of women two hundred years ago. If they did not marry, they were at the mercy of their fathers or brothers, and had no real rights of their own. If they did marry, they basically belonged to their husbands. This is beautifully written, true to the period, historical fiction. And because it is true to the period, it is definitely not all sweetness and light. At the same time, it provides a window into Anne's friendshp with Jane Austen, and shows how kindred spirits can recognize each other instantly. Meanwhile Jane’s brother, Henry, begins to take an unusually strong interest in the lovely young governess. And from now on, Anne’s days at Godmersham Park are numbered. GODMERSHAM PARK BOOK REVIEW Disclosure: I was given an advanced reader’s copy from Gill Hornby, Pegasus Books, and Austenprose PR. This review is my honest opinion. She’s torn between her dislike of him and her attraction to him. But she chooses to keep her distance because he’s married and because she’s below his station. Not to mention, she could be fired.

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! 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. a b Hasted, Edward (1798). The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent. Vol.7. Canterbury: W Bristow. pp.319–32. The book is described as “a novel of the Austen family” and the first half of the book focuses primarily on Fanny and her parents, and Anne Sharp (with lots of Henry Austen, too). Jane herself is talked of and corresponded with in the first half of the book but does not make an appearance until Act 3, chapter 27. She remains a central figure in the story from that point. I really enjoyed reading this and definitely recommend it to Austen fans and those who appreciate well written historical fiction.There’s something about the lives of real historical figures being imagined and put into a story which is just delectable to me. Hornby has taken correspondence written by the family at the time, and used it to create this account of Anne’s time as governess. It’s almost voyeuristic, but deliciously so. Hornby’s protagonist is Anne Sharpe, a once well-to-do woman who has been forced into straitened circumstances after her mother’s death. She is compelled to take the only “respectable” work available to women of her standing: becoming a governess at Godmersham Park, home of Jane Austen’s elder brother, Edward, and his wife, Elizabeth. Thankfully, their daughter, her charge, Fanny, is an unusually charming and bright girl . As for Anne, we are reminded early, “behind every well-bred governess there was an absence of man”. By the time she encounters the dashing Henry Austen – Jane’s real-life brother, readers will find the saga as entrancing as any of Austen’s own novels. Anne’s story is fraught with loneliness and angst as she’s suddenly thrust into the role of governess with her mother’s death and father’s abandonment. Used to living a comfortable life, Anne finds it difficult to navigate her new role. While she finds twelve year old Fanny engaging and enjoyable, she figuratively walks a tightrope, not quite fitting in with the servants, but not equal to the family. She’s constantly on guard, measuring her words and actions to protect her position. This becomes even more precarious when Henry Austen takes a marked interest in her. Gill Hornby proves herself adept in Austen's world through immense research and imagining, creating a phenomenal story that is about a woman who is clever enough to play the game of survival that is required of women in the Regency period. I enjoyed the pace of the story as well as learning about the family. Muy confusa con el triángulo entre Henry, Anne y Jane (a su pesar, pues Jane no ve a Anne más que como una buena amiga todo el rato, como otra hermana). Queda claro que Henry y Anne sienten algo entre ellos, pero a la vez, Anne no lo quiere admitir por cómo se ha criado y las figuras masculinas que la han rodeado, ¿o quizá porque es lesbiana? ¿o porque no quiere caer como su madre cayó siendo la amante de alguien? Con respecto a la posible atracción homosexual o bisexual, esta parte es algo problemática para mí, porque Anne admite querer a los dos, pero en esa época, ni siquiera reflexiona si sus sentimientos por Jane son "naturales" o no, algo que debería haberse desarrollado, pero todo es muy rápido y acaba pronto, con una Jane que ni siquiera percibe esto en su amiga, y que sólo la puede corresponder con amistad, y para mí queda algo confuso. Tampoco se entiende, aparte de los celos fraternales, que Cassandra tuviera problemas con Anne, porque no se ficcionaliza ningún conflicto, supongo que porque la autora no tiene datos suficientes. Henry por otro lado, se mueve entre un héroe austeniano con la desgracia de tener esposa, y no prometida, y por otro, por alguien que es un seductor, una especie de Willoughby, y todo me resultaba muy extraño.

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. The book has slowly and gently build to two crisis points: Anne’s discovery of the truth about her father and her past as well as Anne facing facts about her feelings for charming Henry and Jane Austen. At thirty-one years old, she has no previous experience of either teaching or fine country houses. But her mother has died and she desperately needs an independent income if she is to survive. This is a difficult review to write, for when it comes to Godmersham Park, I am of two minds. One the one hand, it is irrefutably a well-written book in terms of prose, character development, and historical detail. On the other hand, it is not what I would call a stimulating read. Reading it was not particularly enjoyable, nor was it altogether unpleasant. And therein lies the conflict: I neither like nor dislike this book. Despite her best endeavours, Anne finds that she is beginning to fall in love. But has her survival at Godmersham Park just become a good deal more precarious?Anne Sharp is not a conventional woman, and she has decided to earn her bread, after the death of her mother, and the supposed abandonment, even economic, of her father. Through it, we will see the real conditions in which a woman with a profession moved in a time when a lady, if she worked, became a kind of mythological animal, since she was not part of the servants or the lords . It is a curious, realistic and linear description compared to the author's previous austenite novel, which has an intelligent, calm and detailed pen with the character. I enjoyed how the novel channeled Jane Austen and her family, just as I had imagined them. Hornby vividly portrays the limited and proscribed roles available to women, who were forced to marry men they did not love, or to live precariously or in poverty. “This was the fundamental flaw in the institution of marriage,” Anne considers, “She who endures a union of chilly dislike…could reasonable expect to live on into a cheerless old age. Meanwhile, the likes of Elizabeth Austen, blessed with true love and a real, mutual attraction, might well not survive to her fortieth year.” Meanwhile, Anne crosses paths with Henry Austen, the handsome and charming brother of Edward, her employer – who often comes to visit. But could her connection to them, a triangle of sorts, ruin her chances to support herself as a governess? ANNE SHARP

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.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.