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Later Days at Highbury
A return visit to the village of Highbury from Jane Austen's "Emma" follows the local schoolmistress, Mrs. Goddard, around as she negotiates a society where the manners of a young lady are truly important
206 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 1996
About the author
Joan Austen-Leigh
25 books5 followersJoan Austen-Leigh, born in Victoria, Canada, is a collateral descendant of Jane Austen. Under the name Joan Mason Hurley, she is the author of over twenty plays which have been produced all over North America.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
February 26, 2009
Mrs. Goddard Tells All (The Sequel)
TYPE OF AUSTENESQUE NOVEL: Epistolary Novel, Minor Character, Sequel
TIME FRAME: September 1816 (two years after the close of Emma) – December 1816 (with some epilogue content)
MAIN CHARACTERS: Mrs. Goddard, her sister Mrs. Pinkney, Mr. Pinkney, Elizabeth Martin, Louisa Ludgrove, Captain Gordon, and Sophie Adams
WHY I WANTED TO READ THIS NOVEL: After being utterly enchanted by A Visit to Highbury, I had to seek out more from Joan Austen-Leigh! I love epistolary novels and definitely wanted to spend more time with Mrs. Goddard and her outspoken sister, Mrs. Pinkney!
SYNOPSIS: Picking up two years after Jane Austen’s Emma, this sequel continues to illustrate the exchange of letters between these two dear sisters. In this epistolary novel we see a large number of letters exchanged between Mrs. Goddard and Mrs. Pinkney, but we also see letters from Mrs. Elton, Charlotte Marlowe (original character from previous book), and a few others!
WHAT I LOVED:
- Oh, To Be In Highbury Again: I find Highbury fascinating and idyllic! I love all of its inhabitants and eagerly look forward to hearing about each and every one of them. Highbury is full of news and interesting events in this sequel – The Knightleys are finally moving to Donwell (now that Mr. Woodhouse has passed away), Mr. John Knightley is letting Hartfield out to a young, wealthy man and his mother, and Miss Bates is moving to Enscombe to live with the Churchills (now that Mrs. Bates has passed away). A lot of change for this small village!
- New Original Characters: So many new faces and personalities to encounter in this tale! Mrs. Goddard has two new parlor-borders, Louisa and Lavinia Ludgrove, who are vivacious and flighty. The new vicar, Mr. Rutherford, who seems very “diffident and shy,” inspires interest with his single status and reserved nature. And then there is the new tenants of Hartfield, Mr. Pringle and his mother, who create a lot of excitement and commotion when they after not much more than a month in residence, decide to host a grand ball at Hartfield and invite everyone in Highbury! These new characters were especially engaging, and since nearly everyone was married off at the close of Emma, it was wonderful to meet a new group of young people!
- More Correspondents: Is it wrong to say that thoroughly enjoyed seeing the correspondence between Mrs. Elton and her sister Mrs. Suckling? LOL! I love how obnoxious and exasperating they were! I thought their inclusion and story-line was very cleverly done.
- Cunning Inclusions of Jane Austen Phrases: Once again it was a lot of fun to spot the Austenesque turns-of-phrase – they all were very subtle and smartly placed. I also thought it was no small coincidence that a character named Louisa experienced a horrible, near-fatal accident.
WHAT I WASN’T TOO FOND OF:
- Sometimes Stagnant: I’m afraid Mrs. Pinkney’s side of the correspondence sometimes fell flat. She was involved with assisting and hosting Charlotte’s naval father, who is trying to claim the right to his pension from the Navy, and fretting about Mr. Pinkney’s niece, Sophie, from Barbados, who is most unhappy to be attending an all girls seminary in London. With both these story-lines there was a lot of inaction, waiting, and maintaining the status quo.
- Too Many Story-lines: With so many story-lines, I sometimes felt it was challenging for the author to give proper attention to them all. I loved the new characters in Highbury and would have loved to seen more of them, (especially the parts where romances began to develop.) But with the culmination of events involving Sophie, Captain Gordon, and Miss Bates, they received little page time.
CONCLUSION:
Dreaming of Highbury? Appreciate the elegant art of letter-writing? Admire Jane Austen? Then this lovely duo of books by Joan Austen-Leigh is not to be missed! I’m greatly impressed how Ms. Austen-Leigh took an obscure and oft-forgotten character and made her the center of this splendid retelling and sequel. I’m definitely an ardent fan of these charming and delightful stories published so long ago. In closing, I shall bid you all happy reading!
Yours in friendship and books,
Meredith :)
TYPE OF AUSTENESQUE NOVEL: Epistolary Novel, Minor Character, Sequel
TIME FRAME: September 1816 (two years after the close of Emma) – December 1816 (with some epilogue content)
MAIN CHARACTERS: Mrs. Goddard, her sister Mrs. Pinkney, Mr. Pinkney, Elizabeth Martin, Louisa Ludgrove, Captain Gordon, and Sophie Adams
WHY I WANTED TO READ THIS NOVEL: After being utterly enchanted by A Visit to Highbury, I had to seek out more from Joan Austen-Leigh! I love epistolary novels and definitely wanted to spend more time with Mrs. Goddard and her outspoken sister, Mrs. Pinkney!
SYNOPSIS: Picking up two years after Jane Austen’s Emma, this sequel continues to illustrate the exchange of letters between these two dear sisters. In this epistolary novel we see a large number of letters exchanged between Mrs. Goddard and Mrs. Pinkney, but we also see letters from Mrs. Elton, Charlotte Marlowe (original character from previous book), and a few others!
WHAT I LOVED:
- Oh, To Be In Highbury Again: I find Highbury fascinating and idyllic! I love all of its inhabitants and eagerly look forward to hearing about each and every one of them. Highbury is full of news and interesting events in this sequel – The Knightleys are finally moving to Donwell (now that Mr. Woodhouse has passed away), Mr. John Knightley is letting Hartfield out to a young, wealthy man and his mother, and Miss Bates is moving to Enscombe to live with the Churchills (now that Mrs. Bates has passed away). A lot of change for this small village!
- New Original Characters: So many new faces and personalities to encounter in this tale! Mrs. Goddard has two new parlor-borders, Louisa and Lavinia Ludgrove, who are vivacious and flighty. The new vicar, Mr. Rutherford, who seems very “diffident and shy,” inspires interest with his single status and reserved nature. And then there is the new tenants of Hartfield, Mr. Pringle and his mother, who create a lot of excitement and commotion when they after not much more than a month in residence, decide to host a grand ball at Hartfield and invite everyone in Highbury! These new characters were especially engaging, and since nearly everyone was married off at the close of Emma, it was wonderful to meet a new group of young people!
- More Correspondents: Is it wrong to say that thoroughly enjoyed seeing the correspondence between Mrs. Elton and her sister Mrs. Suckling? LOL! I love how obnoxious and exasperating they were! I thought their inclusion and story-line was very cleverly done.
- Cunning Inclusions of Jane Austen Phrases: Once again it was a lot of fun to spot the Austenesque turns-of-phrase – they all were very subtle and smartly placed. I also thought it was no small coincidence that a character named Louisa experienced a horrible, near-fatal accident.
WHAT I WASN’T TOO FOND OF:
- Sometimes Stagnant: I’m afraid Mrs. Pinkney’s side of the correspondence sometimes fell flat. She was involved with assisting and hosting Charlotte’s naval father, who is trying to claim the right to his pension from the Navy, and fretting about Mr. Pinkney’s niece, Sophie, from Barbados, who is most unhappy to be attending an all girls seminary in London. With both these story-lines there was a lot of inaction, waiting, and maintaining the status quo.
- Too Many Story-lines: With so many story-lines, I sometimes felt it was challenging for the author to give proper attention to them all. I loved the new characters in Highbury and would have loved to seen more of them, (especially the parts where romances began to develop.) But with the culmination of events involving Sophie, Captain Gordon, and Miss Bates, they received little page time.
CONCLUSION:
Dreaming of Highbury? Appreciate the elegant art of letter-writing? Admire Jane Austen? Then this lovely duo of books by Joan Austen-Leigh is not to be missed! I’m greatly impressed how Ms. Austen-Leigh took an obscure and oft-forgotten character and made her the center of this splendid retelling and sequel. I’m definitely an ardent fan of these charming and delightful stories published so long ago. In closing, I shall bid you all happy reading!
Yours in friendship and books,
Meredith :)
June 16, 2010
This is in letter form. I really enjoyed it. Mrs. Goodard and her sister are really sweet, Mrs. Elton and her sister are really obnoxious as we'd imagine. I loved how some of the girls at mrs. Goddard's end up so attached to her and the school. There's even a little romance. A horrible tragedy with the fireplace. There are a few mentions of Emma and Isabella. There are new tenants since Mr. Woodhouse dies and the Knightleys finally end up at Donwell.
June 23, 2021
I thought this was just okay. I understand that the author didn't want to put too many words in the mouths of Jane Austen's characters, but in the first the plot was nicely balanced between Mrs. Goddard's entertaining observations on the events of "Emma", and original content. This was almost entirely about original characters. The most we got of characters from the book (besides Mrs. Goddard, obviously) was Isabella Knightley (who frankly I've never found very interesting) and Mrs. Elton (who is a terrible person, and I would have been glad to see none of).
There was also some editing issues that gave me the impression that this wasn't gone over as carefully as the first. There were a lot of run-on sentences and sentence fragments. I give some of that leeway when a book is in epistolary form, because people tend to be more informal, but Mrs. Goddard was a school mistress! Also, I found it strange that both she and Mrs. Pinkney referred to Emma by her first name rather than Mrs. Knightley. They weren't on close terms, and Mrs. Pinkney had never even met her. It was an odd decision.
Nevertheless, it was an amusing way to pass a slow day at work. I'd say if you enjoyed "A Visit to Highbury" to give this one a try.
There was also some editing issues that gave me the impression that this wasn't gone over as carefully as the first. There were a lot of run-on sentences and sentence fragments. I give some of that leeway when a book is in epistolary form, because people tend to be more informal, but Mrs. Goddard was a school mistress! Also, I found it strange that both she and Mrs. Pinkney referred to Emma by her first name rather than Mrs. Knightley. They weren't on close terms, and Mrs. Pinkney had never even met her. It was an odd decision.
Nevertheless, it was an amusing way to pass a slow day at work. I'd say if you enjoyed "A Visit to Highbury" to give this one a try.
October 16, 2018
I picked this up at a used book sale without knowing anything about it. I liked the story well enough though it wasn't so spell binding that I couldn't put it down. There are some high angst events in the book but since they are told in letter form after the fact I felt set apart from the action. It was interesting to get to know Mrs. Goddard better. I think we get a much different picture of Highbury from her POV than we did from Emma's. Some of the letters were a bit tedious since they were just telling of every day kinds of things and some were high drama. It was easy to predict what was going to happen particularly with Sophy but still interesting to read about it. If I had to describe the book in one word, the word that comes to mind is "tame". Even the high drama felt tame due to the story being told through letters. So if you want a pleasant, calm, nice, tame read than this will do.
No sex, violence or language
No sex, violence or language
February 7, 2020
Delightful! A very enjoyable read. Joan Austen-Leigh does a wonderful job at bringing the happenings at Highbury to life again. I think Jane Austen would be proud of how her own relative has continued the story with care and love.
November 10, 2017
I love these Austen-Leigh books. They're just so lovely and simple and gossipy. This was such a pleasure.
February 1, 2025
Insipid, boring, spiritless.
July 26, 2011
I am all astonishment. Again. I was astonished a few months ago when I discovered Joan Austen-Leigh's existence and that she inherited some of her dear aunt's writing talents as evidenced by her worthy sequel to Emma, A Visit to Highbury. It was such a pleasure to read. She nailed it. She kept all the grace and charm of 19th century manners and added no vulgar modern flavors to spoil her work.
Later I stumbled upon this title and thought it was a reprint of the first until I noticed one of the Goodreads reviewers referred to it as "a sequel to a sequel". Gasp! I realized it was indeed another installation! I gleefully ordered it in time for Christmas, yes, for myself, and when it arrived it was plunked into a gift bag and covered with pretty tissue paper till Christmas morning. Of course there were other gifts to self yesterday morning, but this was the first one cracked open. And, having a slight cold, I was allowed to wallow on the couch in peace to read the treasure in peace from cover to cover.
It was marvelous. This one take up where the first left off. We are introduced to some new villagers as well. The ending is as happy as anyone could wish for. It's such a pleasure to lose oneself in Highbury.
Later I stumbled upon this title and thought it was a reprint of the first until I noticed one of the Goodreads reviewers referred to it as "a sequel to a sequel". Gasp! I realized it was indeed another installation! I gleefully ordered it in time for Christmas, yes, for myself, and when it arrived it was plunked into a gift bag and covered with pretty tissue paper till Christmas morning. Of course there were other gifts to self yesterday morning, but this was the first one cracked open. And, having a slight cold, I was allowed to wallow on the couch in peace to read the treasure in peace from cover to cover.
It was marvelous. This one take up where the first left off. We are introduced to some new villagers as well. The ending is as happy as anyone could wish for. It's such a pleasure to lose oneself in Highbury.
January 13, 2013
Loved it! Just finished my reivew of the first book in this two book series. The first book is A Visit to Highbury. Both books consist of letters between Mrs. Goddard (a peripheral character in Jane Austen's Emma) and her sister Mrs. Pinkney, who is the author's creation.
This book adds letters between some other characters as well. The first book takes place during Emma and views the events from that book through the lens of Mrs. Goddard who runs the school in which Harriet is a parlour boarder in Emma. In addition, the first book has other characters and events not in Emma.
This book is a continuation of the first and takes place after the end of Emma. Both books have a very good Jane Austen "feel" to them and are a pleasure to read.
If you like this type of book they are a must!!!
This book adds letters between some other characters as well. The first book takes place during Emma and views the events from that book through the lens of Mrs. Goddard who runs the school in which Harriet is a parlour boarder in Emma. In addition, the first book has other characters and events not in Emma.
This book is a continuation of the first and takes place after the end of Emma. Both books have a very good Jane Austen "feel" to them and are a pleasure to read.
If you like this type of book they are a must!!!
September 9, 2010
This is a sequel to Jane Austen's Emma written by Austen's great-grand-niece or something similar. Actually, this is a sequel to a sequel (or whatever the word is for the same book through someone else's eyes - A Visit to Highbury) but this is the one that the library had. Austen-Leigh writes well. She focuses on minor characters and new characters. She manages to make the new characters interesting people that you care about. She doesn't do anything too awful to existing characters - they appear to be acting as they would if written by Austen. The opinions certain characters hold about certain other characters are not always ones I'd agree with and I do wonder which viewpoint is the author's own.
This is an Austen sequel that I would recommend.
This is an Austen sequel that I would recommend.
December 3, 2015
This is more of a companion book than a sequel to Jane Austen's Emma... it's told in epistolary style, and it follows the life events of many of the minor characters who inhabit the village of Highbury. Mrs. Goddard, the schoolmistress, corresponds with her sister in London; however, there are other exchanges by letter (notably, between Mrs. Elton and Mrs. Suckling) that enrich the plot. I really enjoyed this book. It takes us back to a place we know and love, while allowing Mr. and Mrs. Knightley their well-deserved privacy.
September 26, 2012
A pleasant read: never exciting but not boring either.
November 19, 2017
A charming epistolary coda to Austen's _Emma_.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews