{"title":"Books by Gill Hornby","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9781529158922","title":"Godmersham Park","description":"\u003cp\u003eFrom the number one bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eMiss Austen\u003c\/i\u003e, a powerful and moving novel featuring Jane Austen's closest friend and confidante . . .\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Displays a keen sense of wit and rich characterisation ... a thoroughly enjoyable book' \u003ci\u003eObserver\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'So envious of anyone yet to read this. A triumph!' Nigella Lawson\u003cbr\u003e'A masterly piece of storytelling.' Helena Kelly\u003cbr\u003e'The great writer is brought to life in this clever, well-researched piece of fiction' \u003ci\u003eThe Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Thoroughly entertaining, \u003ci\u003eGodmersham Park\u003c\/i\u003e has some of the same understated wit and sharp observation as Austen's novels' \u003ci\u003eSunday Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eJanuary 1804: Anne Sharpe arrives at Godmersham Park in Kent to take up the position of governess.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAt 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFor her new charge, twelve-year-old Fanny Austen, Anne's arrival is all novelty and excitement.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eShe has just begun to settle into her position when dashing Henry Austen and his younger sister Jane come to stay.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBoth take an immediate interest in the pretty, clever governess who quickly becomes drawn into the above stairs life of the Austen family.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDespite 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?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMore love for \u003ci\u003eGodmersham Park \u003c\/i\u003e. . .\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'If you love Jane Austen you're sure to enjoy Gill Hornby's stylish glimpse into the life of young governess Anne Sharp ... this elegantly written tale skilfully recreates a world where governesses are midway between the family upstairs and the servants downstairs.'\u003ci\u003e The Independent \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Utterly absorbing and illuminating ... Gill Hornby's best book yet.' Esther Freud\u003cbr\u003e'I read it straight through without looking up.' Karen Joy Fowler\u003cbr\u003e'Meticulously researched, Hornby's absorbing novel revels in the joys and tensions of life above and below stairs.' \u003ci\u003eMail on Sunday\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'An invigorating riff on an author whose life and works keep on giving, and an ideal companion for your beach towel this summer.'\u003ci\u003e Metro\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Gill Hornby has created another winning tribute to the genius of Jane.' \u003ci\u003eWoman\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eReaders can't get enough of \u003ci\u003eGodmersham Park . . .\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e***** 'An utter joy - powerful, moving, clever and entirely delightful.'\u003cbr\u003e***** 'I enjoyed the pace of the story as well as learning about the family.'\u003cbr\u003e***** 'I was quite transported by Godmersham Park, which often feels as if from Austen's own pen.'\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'I have never loved a book so much!'\u003cbr\u003e***** 'I thoroughly enjoyed the story.'\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43128655347890,"sku":"9781529158922","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781529158922_c918e259-cae3-4bb6-bdc5-3a596f2fc4fe.jpg?v=1786022230"},{"product_id":"9781787462830","title":"Miss Austen","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eNOW A MAJOR SERIES ON\u003ci\u003e BBC ONE\u003c\/i\u003e AND \u003ci\u003eBBC iPLAYER\u003c\/i\u003e STARRING KEELEY HAWES IN 2025\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'You can't help feeling that \u003cb\u003eJane would have approved' \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003eObserver\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'So good, \u003cb\u003eso intelligent, so clever, so entertaining \u003c\/b\u003e- I adored it' Claire Tomalin\u003cbr\u003e'Celebrates \u003cb\u003eunexamined lives\u003c\/b\u003e, \u003cb\u003esisterhood \u003c\/b\u003eand \u003cb\u003evirtues \u003c\/b\u003esuch as \u003cb\u003ekindness and loyalty\u003c\/b\u003e' \u003ci\u003eSunday Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'\u003cb\u003eSparkling\u003c\/b\u003e novel' \u003ci\u003eDaily Mail\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'I read the book and \u003cb\u003elaughed\u003c\/b\u003e and \u003cb\u003esobbed\u003c\/b\u003e' Keeley Hawes\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThroughout her lifetime, Jane Austen wrote countless letters to her sister. But why did Cassandra burn them all?\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e1840\u003c\/b\u003e: twenty three years after the death of her famous sister Jane, Cassandra Austen returns to the village of Kintbury, and the home of her family's friends, the Fowles.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eShe knows that, in some dusty corner of the sprawling vicarage, there is a cache of family letters which hold secrets she can never allow to be revealed.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAs Cassandra recalls her youth and her relationship with her brilliant yet complex sister, she pieces together buried truths about Jane's history, and her own. And she faces a stark choice: should she act to protect Jane's reputation, or leave the contents of the letters to go unguarded into posterity?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBased on a literary mystery that has long puzzled biographers and academics, \u003ci\u003eMiss Austen\u003c\/i\u003e is a wonderfully original and emotionally complex novel about the loves and lives of Cassandra and Jane Austen.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'The perfect book to wrap yourself around on a dark night' \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSTYLIST\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'This is a deeply imagined and deeply moving novel' \u003cb\u003eKAREN JOY FOWLER, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Jane Austen Bookclub\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'It's a delight, one of those that you don't want to end.' \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eRTE\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'A charming novel' \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSUNDAY MIRROR\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e'\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003eHornby brings to life the Austen family, using the known to speculate on what might have been' \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eTHE TIMES\u003c\/i\u003e Audio Book of the Week\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Extraordinary and heart-wrenching' \u003cb\u003eLARA PRESCOTT, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Secrets We Kept\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Gill Hornby ingeniously imagines what Cassandra Austen's own life might have been like.' \u003cb\u003eDEIRDRE LE FAYE, editor of \u003ci\u003eJane Austen's Letters\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Tender and touching' \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eDAILY MAIL\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Utterly absorbing' \u003cb\u003eARTEMIS COOPER\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Delightful'\u003cb\u003e SUE RYAN, founder of Henley Lit Fest\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eLoved \u003ci\u003eMiss Austen\u003c\/i\u003e? Check out Gill Hornby's wonderful new novel, \u003ci\u003eThe Elopement\u003c\/i\u003e!\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43206242926770,"sku":"9781787462830","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781787462830_1d19cba4-a9f0-48be-99b8-c12d73d2a558.jpg?v=1786025927"},{"product_id":"9781787469778","title":"Miss Austen","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eNOW A MAJOR SERIES ON\u003ci\u003e BBC ONE\u003c\/i\u003e AND \u003ci\u003eBBC iPLAYER\u003c\/i\u003e STARRING KEELEY HAWES \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'You can't help feeling that \u003cb\u003eJane would have approved' \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003eObserver\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'So good, \u003cb\u003eso intelligent, so clever, so entertaining \u003c\/b\u003e- I adored it' Claire Tomalin\u003cbr\u003e'Celebrates \u003cb\u003eunexamined lives\u003c\/b\u003e, \u003cb\u003esisterhood \u003c\/b\u003eand \u003cb\u003evirtues \u003c\/b\u003esuch as \u003cb\u003ekindness and loyalty\u003c\/b\u003e' \u003ci\u003eSunday Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'\u003cb\u003eSparkling\u003c\/b\u003e novel' \u003ci\u003eDaily Mail\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'I read the book and \u003cb\u003elaughed\u003c\/b\u003e and \u003cb\u003esobbed\u003c\/b\u003e' Keeley Hawes\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThroughout her lifetime, Jane Austen wrote countless letters to her sister. But why did Cassandra burn them all?\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e1840\u003c\/b\u003e: twenty three years after the death of her famous sister Jane, Cassandra Austen returns to the village of Kintbury, and the home of her family's friends, the Fowles.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eShe knows that, in some dusty corner of the sprawling vicarage, there is a cache of family letters which hold secrets she can never allow to be revealed.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAs Cassandra recalls her youth and her relationship with her brilliant yet complex sister, she pieces together buried truths about Jane's history, and her own. And she faces a stark choice: should she act to protect Jane's reputation, or leave the contents of the letters to go unguarded into posterity?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBased on a literary mystery that has long puzzled biographers and academics, \u003ci\u003eMiss Austen\u003c\/i\u003e is a wonderfully original and emotionally complex novel about the loves and lives of Cassandra and Jane Austen.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'The perfect book to wrap yourself around on a dark night' \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSTYLIST\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'This is a deeply imagined and deeply moving novel' \u003cb\u003eKAREN JOY FOWLER, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Jane Austen Bookclub\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'It's a delight, one of those that you don't want to end.' \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eRTE\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'A charming novel' \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSUNDAY MIRROR\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e'\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003eHornby brings to life the Austen family, using the known to speculate on what might have been' \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eTHE TIMES\u003c\/i\u003e Audio Book of the Week\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Extraordinary and heart-wrenching' \u003cb\u003eLARA PRESCOTT, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Secrets We Kept\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Gill Hornby ingeniously imagines what Cassandra Austen's own life might have been like.' \u003cb\u003eDEIRDRE LE FAYE, editor of \u003ci\u003eJane Austen's Letters\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Tender and touching' \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eDAILY MAIL\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Utterly absorbing' \u003cb\u003eARTEMIS COOPER\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Delightful'\u003cb\u003e SUE RYAN, founder of Henley Lit Fest\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eLoved \u003ci\u003eMiss Austen\u003c\/i\u003e? Check out Gill Hornby's wonderful new novel, \u003ci\u003eThe Elopement\u003c\/i\u003e!\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54911751946613,"sku":"9781787469778","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781787469778_6a4bdc88-cec5-4857-8c14-a078a5bcdff5.jpg?v=1786025999"},{"product_id":"9781529903331","title":"The Elopement","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThree women, two families, one forbidden marriage. Get ready to fall in love with the brand-new regency romance from the \u003ci\u003eSunday Times \u003c\/i\u003ebestselling author of \u003ci\u003eGodmersham Park \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eMiss Austen\u003c\/i\u003e, now a major BBC TV series\u003ci\u003e.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e‘A\u003cb\u003e richly imagined family saga, love story and social comedy\u003c\/b\u003e’\u003ci\u003e Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'\u003cb\u003eGripping \u003c\/b\u003eand \u003cb\u003emoving\u003c\/b\u003e and also so \u003cb\u003esharp\u003c\/b\u003e and \u003cb\u003efunny\u003c\/b\u003e. I loved it!’ Sabine Durrant, bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eLie with Me\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e‘Has \u003cb\u003eall the wit and wisdom of a Jane Austen novel\u003c\/b\u003e’ \u003ci\u003eRed \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e1820. Mary Dorothea is living under the sole charge of her widowed father, Sir Edward, a man of strict principles and high moral values.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut when Sir Edward marries Miss Fanny Knight of Godmersham Park, Mary’s life is suddenly changed.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMary’s new stepmother, Fanny, comes from a large, happy and sociable family, and Fanny’s brothers are amusing, handsome and completely charming.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOne brother is particularly attentive and, as Mary approaches her seventeenth birthday, a bond forms between them that leads, on the last day of the year 1825, to a proposal of marriage.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSir Edward’s outrage is immediate, his refusal absolute. The union will never take place.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThere appears to be only one solution . . .\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePraise for \u003ci\u003eThe Elopement\u003c\/i\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e‘Hornby’s Austen books are\u003cb\u003e funny, bittersweet family sagas,\u003c\/b\u003e impeccably researched and \u003cb\u003elavishly imagined\u003c\/b\u003e’ \u003ci\u003eThe Times \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'\u003cb\u003eTremendous\u003c\/b\u003e' Nigella Lawson\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Has \u003cb\u003eall Austen’s wit\u003c\/b\u003e and unnerving powers of observation with an \u003cb\u003eextra twenty-first century zap\u003c\/b\u003e' Ferdinand Mount, prize-winning author of \u003ci\u003eBig Ceasars and Little Caesars\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e‘\u003cb\u003eFew writers are as perspicacious or half as delightful as Hornby\u003c\/b\u003e’ Karen Joy Fowler, international bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eThe Jane Austen Book Club\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e‘A \u003cb\u003ecaptivating \u003c\/b\u003ereturn to the world of the Austens’ \u003ci\u003eWoman \u0026amp; Home\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e‘Combines \u003cb\u003emeticulous period research\u003c\/b\u003e with a fine feeling for the characters' inner lives, hopes and fears’ \u003ci\u003eDaily Mail\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eReaders are loving\u003ci\u003e The Elopement:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'I was \u003cb\u003ehooked \u003c\/b\u003efrom the first page' 5-star reader review\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'I \u003cb\u003eloved every minute\u003c\/b\u003e of this novel' 5-star reader review\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e‘One of the \u003cb\u003ebest books I’ve read this year\u003c\/b\u003e. 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