Cassandra's Sister

Bennett, Veronica. 2007. Cassandra's Sister.

Cassandra's Sister is a novel inspired by the life of Jane Austen--a fictional interpretation of her life--her teen years, her first supposed taste of love, the writing of three of her novels: Sense & Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, and Northanger Abbey. (They apparently weren't published in the order they were written.) The novel focuses on several things: her family life--her relationships with her sister, Cassandra, and her brothers and their wives, her writing life, and her 'love' life such as it was. It touches upon the limitations of the time--how women didn't have all that many options when it came to life--dependent upon their parents and/or other relatives OR dependent upon a husband. (In that way it reminded me of Katherine Sturtevant's delightful books At the Sign of the Star and A True and Faithful Narrative.) Should a woman marry for security? Should she marry a man because he can provide for her? Or should she remain single, remain an 'old maid' because the right one never came along? Is love a requirement for marriage? Is it wrong to want love? To expect love? To not marry for convenience or security or whatever? It's historical fiction with a tiny bit of romance thrown in--miniscule really--but it's richness in certain details might make it a good choice for young Austen fans.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews