MISS AUSTEN

In a cultured, melodious voice, narrator Juliet Stevenson becomes Miss Cassandra Austen, older sister to Jane and keeper of her memory. In the course of this fictional biography, Cassandra, at the end of her life, tells the story of her relationship with Jane through letters and reminiscences. The story shifts between the late 1790s and early 1800s and the present of 1840, when Cassandra arrives to help clean out the family parsonage and rescue Jane's letters for posterity. Stevenson portrays the Austen sisters, nieces, and sister-in-law with different tones ranging from soft to stiff, from cultured to bombastic. Fans of Austen will discover echoes of the plots of her famous books, including the heartrending lost chances for love suffered by both Jane and Cassandra. M.B.K. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine [Published: APRIL 2020]