Jane Austen loves to write. Her simple life as the daughter of a clergyman gives her great fodder for her books.  Jane spends hours and hours pouring over the hand written pages of the stories she has created, and spends her evenings reading her work to her family. But will anyone other than her family ever read her novels?  

JUST JANE is the fictionalised story of famed author Jane Austen’s life. Not from birth, but begins in her early twenties. JUST JANE examines her family, her parents and siblings, including her beloved sister Cassandra, as well as some distant relation. This reader did not know much about the life of Jane Austen prior to reading Nancy Moser’s offer. If details in JUST JANE are accurate, Ms Moser has done an amazing job of research as many of Jane’s letters to family members were destroyed after her death and Jane’s nephew’s book’s accuracy has been discredited. Jane Austen is still a beloved author; many of her books are still read today. Many movies have been made based on her books. And JUST JANE gives Jane Austen fans a look into the life she led over 200 years ago.                               

While this reader found the foundation of JUST JANE fascinating, this book didn’t keep this reviewer’s attention throughout. The characters are colourful and full of life, but there are dull moments that had this reader putting the book aside for a few days. However, this book is very touching in many aspects. Here is a young woman who never married and lived to write her books. She did have love in her life, Tom LeFroy was Jane’s first love at a tender age. This reader felt Jane’s sadness upon learning of his engagement to another.  

Jane truly lived before her time. Women were not seen as authors or hardly capable of contriving a single thought of their own in the late 1700’s and early 1800’s. She was always very modest about the wonderful talent she possessed. This reader is very happy that she did receive many positive accolades for her work prior to her death. However, she didn’t become a literary icon until many years after her death.  

Ms Moser is an author of bio-novels of historical female characters. This reader can only wonder whose story Ms Moser shall tackle next.

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