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

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The governess role is a uniquely awkward one. Anne is neither one of the servants, nor one of the family, and to balance a position between the "upstairs" and "downstairs" members of the household is a diplomatic chess game. One wrong move may result in instant dismissal. Anne knows that she must never let down her guard. Vic (7 October 2009). "Edward Austen Knight: A tightwad or a man with heavy responsibilities?". Jane Austen's World . Retrieved 13 August 2017. 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. But Anne is keenly aware that her new role is an awkward one: she is neither one of the servants nor one of the family, and to balance a position between the 'upstairs' and 'downstairs' members of the household is a diplomatic chess game. One wrong move may result in her instant dismissal.

The premise of Godmersham Park by Gill Hornby appealed to me in part because of the main character’s connection with Jane Austen. Though little detail is known about their relationship, Anne Sharp and Jane first met during the period that Anne was engaged as a governess at Godmersham Park for Fanny Austen Knight, Jane's niece, and remained close friends until Jane’s death. that started with Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor. My friend Laurel Ann Nattress of Austenprose.com writes that… 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.'

Godmersham Park

She has just begun to settle into her position when dashing Henry Austen and his younger sister Jane come to stay. a b Hasted, Edward (1798). The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent. Vol.7. Canterbury: W Bristow. pp.319–32. Gill Hornbyis the author of the novels Miss Austen,The Hive,and All Together Now, as well as The Story of Jane Austen, a biography of Austen for young readers. She lives in Kintbury, England, with her husband and their four children. I think the author was constrained by the fact it was based on a true story and that contributed to its dullness as she couldn’t make up dramatic events that had no truth to them. That meant there were several storylines that looked like they were going to go somewhere but were never mentioned again. Godmersham Park offers a compelling glimpse into the life of a 19th-century English governess. As shown through Anne, the governess’ position was a difficult and often lonely one – distrusted by fellow servants due to her perceived closeness to the family and kept at arm’s length by the family due to her status as a servant. She was accepted by neither upstairs nor downstairs, and Hornby masterfully conveys this isolated, precarious existence.

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.” Her old life– those days once so large, rich and colourful– was behind her, for now. A small corner would be all she required, into which she could shrink and think and reflect. Where her intellect might hope to flourish, though her body and her time must henceforth Anne Sharp arrives in Kent as an unknown thirty-one year old woman whom the Edward Austen’s have hired sight unseen through the influence of a family acquaintance to fill the role of governess to their oldest daughter, Fanny. This is their first experience with a governess and her own first time as a governess.Edward (Austen) Knight outlived his sister Jane (who died 18 July 1817) and his son duly succeeded him in 1852. Edward the younger had established his home at Chawton House and had no wish to move his family to Kent. He made considerable additions to Godmersham, before putting the whole estate up for sale in 1874. I enjoyed Hornby’s previous novel Miss Austen, which imagines Cassandra Austen’s life after Jane’s passing. I was quite transported by Godmersham Park, which often feels as if from Austen’s own pen, perhaps melded with a less Gothic version of Charlotte Brontes’ Jane Eyre. Gill Hornby culls from Fanny Austen’s diaries, Austen family letters, and other breadcrumbs left behind to piece together a story of Anne’s life and her relationship with Jane Austen. A Secret Sisterhood by Emily Midorikawa and Emma Claire Sweeney first introduced me to Anne Sharp. Hornby brings to life the story they tell. 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." Anne is neither servant nor master so the loneliness of being between is felt so that she is ripe for what is to come when the household is enlivened by family guests.

In this case we are talking about Anne Sharp, governess in the house of Edward and Elizabeth Austen, who gives her name to the title of the book, and is based on a fictionalization of the events described in the diary of Fanny Austen, niece of the well-known author, as well as in the real facts that are known about this woman. Se concentra en ella y en Henry Austen, una especie de Henry Tilney que parece que se sintió atraído por la joven, aunque aquí no podía haber cuento de hadas, pues Henry estaba casado. También habla de la amistad de la institutriz con Jane, que era como la otra cara de la moneda de Henry, ambos agradables, interesantes, buenos y seductores. Y aquí es donde la ficción aparece, pues aunque sabemos los hechos, y aunque se respeta a los personajes, hay ficción en como se expresan estas relaciones. But, the deepest longing she feels comes from exposure to Fanny’s letters from Aunt Jane and then the arrival of the wry, witty woman herself shows Anne the true friendship and companion of the heart she has been missing all her life. I enjoyed Shakespeare when I was in school; I am not a fan of prequels. The wording 'fair Rosaline' implies…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] Because she had gathered so much research I wonder if the author would have been better writing a piece of non-fiction. 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.