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The Austens: A Novel
With no money of her own and little hope of selling any of her unfinished manuscripts, Jane Austen accepts a marriage proposal from the heir to an estate in her beloved Hampshire, only to break her engagement the following day because she does not love him. She chooses to devote herself to writing fiction, even though she may always have to depend on her parents or brothers for money. When Fanny Palmer falls in love with Jane’s brother Charles Austen, a handsome captain in the Royal Navy, she sees herself as the heroine of a romantic story and chooses to accept his proposal of marriage even though he has very little money. She shares her husband’s desire for children and his confidence that he will soon increase his income by capturing naval prize ships, and she insists on travelling with him when the squadron sails to Nova Scotia, instead of staying at home in Bermuda.
Exchanging letters across the Atlantic during the tumultuous years of the Napoleonic Wars, Jane and Fanny become close friends. They share in each other’s sorrows as Jane struggles to publish her novels and Fanny confronts her fears about pregnancy, childbirth and the dangers Charles faces at sea. But the friendship begins to fracture after Charles brings his family to England, as Jane and Fanny discover disagreements over issues they haven’t talked about in their letters, including how best to care for children. When Jane starts to find success as a writer, Fanny admires her novels about romance and courtship, yet her anger at her sister-in-law’s refusal to write about the challenges of marriage and motherhood and the risks of childbirth threatens their friendship.
Like Maggie O’Farrell’s Hamnet and Colm Tóibín’s The Master, The Austens explores tensions and rivalries between a great writer and the people closest to them. From the lush gardens of Bermuda to the rocky shores of Nova Scotia, the peaceful Hampshire countryside, and the hellish conditions of a prison ship anchored off Sheerness, the novel follows Jane and Fanny through the twists and turns of the choices they make about writing and family in a world that is hostile to art and love, and even the idea of a woman making a choice.
Exchanging letters across the Atlantic during the tumultuous years of the Napoleonic Wars, Jane and Fanny become close friends. They share in each other’s sorrows as Jane struggles to publish her novels and Fanny confronts her fears about pregnancy, childbirth and the dangers Charles faces at sea. But the friendship begins to fracture after Charles brings his family to England, as Jane and Fanny discover disagreements over issues they haven’t talked about in their letters, including how best to care for children. When Jane starts to find success as a writer, Fanny admires her novels about romance and courtship, yet her anger at her sister-in-law’s refusal to write about the challenges of marriage and motherhood and the risks of childbirth threatens their friendship.
Like Maggie O’Farrell’s Hamnet and Colm Tóibín’s The Master, The Austens explores tensions and rivalries between a great writer and the people closest to them. From the lush gardens of Bermuda to the rocky shores of Nova Scotia, the peaceful Hampshire countryside, and the hellish conditions of a prison ship anchored off Sheerness, the novel follows Jane and Fanny through the twists and turns of the choices they make about writing and family in a world that is hostile to art and love, and even the idea of a woman making a choice.
275 pages, Paperback
Published August 13, 2025
11 people are currently reading
101 people want to read
About the author
Sarah Emsley
9 books41 followersSarah Emsley has published books and essays on Jane Austen and Edith Wharton, and she lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia with her family. Her debut novel, The Austens, was published by Pottersfield Press in Fall 2025.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
December 16, 2025
My rating’s actually edging up to 4.5 stars. This is by far the best Austenesque novel I’ve read in a long time.
The Austens takes on an extraordinarily complex task: it tracks the lives of Jane Austen and her Bermudan sister-in-law, Fanny Palmer Austen, from 1802 till shortly before Jane Austen’s death. Told in letters exchanged between them, alternating diary-style narratives, and bits of documentation, it dives deeply into the divergent and intersecting experiences of both women. It is impeccably researched and few historical facts (none important) are adjusted for the convenience of the storyline.
The author has a great gift for empathy. This is no bare account of events: both heroines get a deeply thoughtful treatment, and we are taken inside their minds and hearts to a degree many novelists can’t achieve, even those who have fully invented their characters. Fanny and Jane were very different people, and I was impressed by how evenhanded the author was in presenting their strengths and weaknesses, their rationales for their actions and their irrational moments. They like each other a lot when corresponding, though after they meet, neither much appreciates the other—but we as readers get to see both sides of the story and do each side justice.
I rarely offer this particular accolade, but when reading the correspondence, I could not tell whether I was reading actual Jane Austen letters or Sarah Emsley’s imaginings of what those letters might be. I haven’t read Jane Austen’s letters for many decades and couldn’t remember whether her letters to Fanny Austen had survived. (The Afterword informs me that they have not, so hats off to Sarah Emsley!) There were no glaring anachronisms in any of the prose. I felt Jane Austen’s personality was very well captured also—to the extent that we can extrapolate it.
I had a few quibbles. The book could have been trimmed of a few scenes, such as the episode about Cassandra drawing Jane’s portrait and Anna Austen’s reaction to it. At those moments I felt that the author was succumbing to the vice of so many researchers-turned-novelists, sticking in a scene for the sake of including some fascinating tidbit of knowledge. I’ve committed that sin myself and mention it with sympathy, but moments like that did not further the plot or our understanding of the characters. And there were a few details that didn’t need to be repeated, such as the subjects of Cassandra’s drawings pinned to the bedroom wall. Mentions of Jane Austen pressing her cheeks as she started to feel ill late in life were too frequent.
But those are minor points when set against this remarkably insightful, moving, and well executed novel. I had to buy it on Kindle because I couldn’t locate a hard copy at first, but halfway through I tracked down a store that stocked it and paid a ruinous price to add it to my permanent collection. Brava to the author!
The Austens takes on an extraordinarily complex task: it tracks the lives of Jane Austen and her Bermudan sister-in-law, Fanny Palmer Austen, from 1802 till shortly before Jane Austen’s death. Told in letters exchanged between them, alternating diary-style narratives, and bits of documentation, it dives deeply into the divergent and intersecting experiences of both women. It is impeccably researched and few historical facts (none important) are adjusted for the convenience of the storyline.
The author has a great gift for empathy. This is no bare account of events: both heroines get a deeply thoughtful treatment, and we are taken inside their minds and hearts to a degree many novelists can’t achieve, even those who have fully invented their characters. Fanny and Jane were very different people, and I was impressed by how evenhanded the author was in presenting their strengths and weaknesses, their rationales for their actions and their irrational moments. They like each other a lot when corresponding, though after they meet, neither much appreciates the other—but we as readers get to see both sides of the story and do each side justice.
I rarely offer this particular accolade, but when reading the correspondence, I could not tell whether I was reading actual Jane Austen letters or Sarah Emsley’s imaginings of what those letters might be. I haven’t read Jane Austen’s letters for many decades and couldn’t remember whether her letters to Fanny Austen had survived. (The Afterword informs me that they have not, so hats off to Sarah Emsley!) There were no glaring anachronisms in any of the prose. I felt Jane Austen’s personality was very well captured also—to the extent that we can extrapolate it.
I had a few quibbles. The book could have been trimmed of a few scenes, such as the episode about Cassandra drawing Jane’s portrait and Anna Austen’s reaction to it. At those moments I felt that the author was succumbing to the vice of so many researchers-turned-novelists, sticking in a scene for the sake of including some fascinating tidbit of knowledge. I’ve committed that sin myself and mention it with sympathy, but moments like that did not further the plot or our understanding of the characters. And there were a few details that didn’t need to be repeated, such as the subjects of Cassandra’s drawings pinned to the bedroom wall. Mentions of Jane Austen pressing her cheeks as she started to feel ill late in life were too frequent.
But those are minor points when set against this remarkably insightful, moving, and well executed novel. I had to buy it on Kindle because I couldn’t locate a hard copy at first, but halfway through I tracked down a store that stocked it and paid a ruinous price to add it to my permanent collection. Brava to the author!
October 6, 2025
I'm a fan of Jane Austen's work, particularly Sense and Sensibility and Persuasion, and a lot of fan fiction (particularly by Syrie James, Claudia Gray and Pamela Aidan). I frequently re-read these volumes, especially at stressful times, and Sarah Emsley's book The Austens is a wonderful character-driven addition to that section of my bookshelves.
Emsley explores and imagines the relationship between, and the hopes, fears, and lives of Jane Austen and her young sister-in-law Fanny, who at the outset of the story is wooed by and marries Charles, Jane's younger sea-faring brother.
The interior voices, letters, and dialogue that Emsley has crafted for Jane and Fanny are vivid and distinct. Jane's opposition to marriage without love, her yearning to be a published novelist, her concern over money, and her often too-sharp wit shine through. Fanny's focus on and love for her ambitious husband and growing family, and her sometimes uncharitable thoughts about their various naval postings and even Jane herself are equally clear. One wonders if Fanny and Jane's relationship, which begins through letter-writing, will actually survive in person.
The story is set in Bermuda (Fanny's home), Halifax, Nova Scotia (one of Charles's postings) and England, on land, at anchor and at sea. Emsley brings the Regency period to life, for example: the limited options for women, and the precarious dependence of those without funds on their male relatives; the goings-on at Government House in Halifax; the naked ambition of naval officers and their constant wrangling for better vessels, more action, and the opportunity for more lucrative prizes; the savage punishments routinely meted out by the navy; the devastating impact of the slave trade; and the ever-present dangers of childbirth.
If I have a quibble with anything, it's with Jane's complicated family tree (way too many Fannys!). Luckily Emsley has included a helpful version at the front of the book, which I referred to continually.
In short, I believe Jane Austen would be both proud and delighted with The Austens.
Emsley explores and imagines the relationship between, and the hopes, fears, and lives of Jane Austen and her young sister-in-law Fanny, who at the outset of the story is wooed by and marries Charles, Jane's younger sea-faring brother.
The interior voices, letters, and dialogue that Emsley has crafted for Jane and Fanny are vivid and distinct. Jane's opposition to marriage without love, her yearning to be a published novelist, her concern over money, and her often too-sharp wit shine through. Fanny's focus on and love for her ambitious husband and growing family, and her sometimes uncharitable thoughts about their various naval postings and even Jane herself are equally clear. One wonders if Fanny and Jane's relationship, which begins through letter-writing, will actually survive in person.
The story is set in Bermuda (Fanny's home), Halifax, Nova Scotia (one of Charles's postings) and England, on land, at anchor and at sea. Emsley brings the Regency period to life, for example: the limited options for women, and the precarious dependence of those without funds on their male relatives; the goings-on at Government House in Halifax; the naked ambition of naval officers and their constant wrangling for better vessels, more action, and the opportunity for more lucrative prizes; the savage punishments routinely meted out by the navy; the devastating impact of the slave trade; and the ever-present dangers of childbirth.
If I have a quibble with anything, it's with Jane's complicated family tree (way too many Fannys!). Luckily Emsley has included a helpful version at the front of the book, which I referred to continually.
In short, I believe Jane Austen would be both proud and delighted with The Austens.
Read
January 19, 2026The story started as captivating and delightful, drawing me into the nostalgic world of Jane Austen and tantalizing my imagination with what may have been, and wondering (knowing the author did extensive research) what really was! As I passed around the 60% mark and Emsley delved into her two main characters meeting and deeply misunderstanding each other, I began to feel deeply uncomfortable - thinking, this is not what I signed up for. More than once, the phrase about "never meeting your heroes" came to mind.
But I also deeply appreciated what Emsley was doing, pulling back the curtain of the happy endings of Austen's books, revealing what life was really like for women behind the escapism of fiction, while also playing upon the premise and misunderstandings of Pride and Prejudice, relating to how first impressions can sway opinons and lead to misinterpretations of people's behaviour for a long time to come.
A wonderful book, that certainly made me believe I was being invited into the intimate workings of Jane Austen's mind and that of her sister-in-law, Fanny.
But I also deeply appreciated what Emsley was doing, pulling back the curtain of the happy endings of Austen's books, revealing what life was really like for women behind the escapism of fiction, while also playing upon the premise and misunderstandings of Pride and Prejudice, relating to how first impressions can sway opinons and lead to misinterpretations of people's behaviour for a long time to come.
A wonderful book, that certainly made me believe I was being invited into the intimate workings of Jane Austen's mind and that of her sister-in-law, Fanny.
September 5, 2025
If you're a fan of historical fiction and fascinated by the inner worlds of writers, The Austens by Sarah Emsley is a novel you won't want to miss.
This richly imagined work takes readers on an intimate journey through the challenges Jane Austen faced while crafting the novels that would, one day, define her legacy. In a time when women were expected to marry and raise families—not pursue literary ambition—Austen’s determination to forge her own path is incredibly inspiring.
Emsley brings not only Jane’s inner world to life, but also that of her sister-in-law, Fanny, who chose the more traditional route of marriage and motherhood. Their evolving relationship, told through a thoughtful exchange of letters, adds emotional depth and complexity to the narrative, offering a dual portrait of two very different women navigating societal expectations.
The Austens is beautifully researched and elegantly written—an engrossing, poignant read that’s difficult to put down. It’s a must-read for lovers of historical fiction, admirers of Austen, and anyone drawn to stories of women who, despite the limitations of their time, persevere and prevail.
And for writers—especially women—who have ever felt disheartened by rejection, lack of recognition, or the slow pace of success, The Austens serves as a quiet but powerful reminder that even the most celebrated literary voices once struggled in obscurity. Jane Austen’s perseverance in the face of financial insecurity and social pressure speaks to the quiet discipline and resolve it takes to keep writing. Readers are reminded that creative fulfillment often demands patience, resilience, and faith in one's own voice, even when the world isn’t listening—yet.
This richly imagined work takes readers on an intimate journey through the challenges Jane Austen faced while crafting the novels that would, one day, define her legacy. In a time when women were expected to marry and raise families—not pursue literary ambition—Austen’s determination to forge her own path is incredibly inspiring.
Emsley brings not only Jane’s inner world to life, but also that of her sister-in-law, Fanny, who chose the more traditional route of marriage and motherhood. Their evolving relationship, told through a thoughtful exchange of letters, adds emotional depth and complexity to the narrative, offering a dual portrait of two very different women navigating societal expectations.
The Austens is beautifully researched and elegantly written—an engrossing, poignant read that’s difficult to put down. It’s a must-read for lovers of historical fiction, admirers of Austen, and anyone drawn to stories of women who, despite the limitations of their time, persevere and prevail.
And for writers—especially women—who have ever felt disheartened by rejection, lack of recognition, or the slow pace of success, The Austens serves as a quiet but powerful reminder that even the most celebrated literary voices once struggled in obscurity. Jane Austen’s perseverance in the face of financial insecurity and social pressure speaks to the quiet discipline and resolve it takes to keep writing. Readers are reminded that creative fulfillment often demands patience, resilience, and faith in one's own voice, even when the world isn’t listening—yet.
September 28, 2025
My review of this book will appear in the fall issue of "Atlantic Books Today." I say nothing here except that Sarah Emsley has opened up a new line of enquiry for Austen scholars.
December 24, 2025
My favourite book of 2025! An excellent, very well written story published just in time for Jane Austens 250th birthday. Reading it was a pleasure I’ll return to again.
October 6, 2025
In The Austens, her debut novel, Sarah Emsley imagines Jane Austen’s life and times during a period (1802-1814) of great personal upheaval, but also one of significant creative accomplishment. Though The Austens delves deeply into many of Jane’s literary, social and domestic activities from this period, much of Emsley’s engrossing narrative is concerned with the relationship of Jane with sister-in-law Frances Palmer (Fanny), who in 1807 married Jane’s brother Charles. Jane (1775-1817) was born second to last of eight siblings, Charles being the youngest. Charles, an officer in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars, followed a rising career path to postings around the world (including Halifax, Nova Scotia), taking his growing family with him, and thus Jane and Fanny’s relationship is chronicled largely through their correspondence, though they did meet on several occasions. Since she had no money of her own, the circumstances of Jane’s life placed her in a precarious position—one she shared with many single women of the time, including her sister Cassandra—of being almost complete dependent on the generosity of her family. It was a situation she was painfully aware of through years of frustration as she struggled to get her novels published and prove her worth. Jane also encountered the same conundrum many of her heroines faced: whether to marry a man she did not love in order to relieve her family of this burden. As the story opens, Jane, at age 27, having years earlier completed a novel manuscript publishers had rejected (an early version of Pride & Prejudice), is considering the merits of working as a governess to make money, and being dissuaded from this notion by her sister. Soon afterward she is approached by a man of some means whom she does not find attractive (she bluntly describes him as “dull”) who asks for her hand in marriage, ultimately turning him down, and with this decision committing herself fully to her writing. By contrast, Fanny marries George, committing herself fully to her husband and motherhood. When they begin exchanging letters, Fanny shows keen interest in and appreciation for Jane’s literary efforts, and as time passes, even though they do not always see eye to eye, the two become close. The story of Jane and Fanny’s friendship, their fears and joys, triumphs and tribulations, is based on a spotty historical record that Emsley leavens with appropriate creative touches to fill in the blanks and add dramatic urgency. Crucial to the novel’s success is the character of Jane, who speaks in a voice of her time, and who combines empathy, emotional warmth, sparkling wit, and uncompromising intelligence into a captivating mix that only the most curmudgeonly reader would not find compelling. Sarah Emsley’s The Austens is a remarkable work of historical reconstruction as well as a suspenseful, informative and often very moving entertainment, one that you don’t have to be a Jane Austen enthusiast to enjoy.
September 21, 2025
The Austens is a little bit like the new CBC Anne with an E - it fills in the realistic, sometimes grim, picture of the real life and events that lie behind the light, happy-ending novels. Following Jane Austen and her sister-in-law, Fanny, The Austens covers the years Jane was writing her two first published novels while Fanny was marrying, giving birth, and mothering several young children. Part epistolatory novel, part first person narrative told from Fanny and Jane's perspectives, Emsley's novel threads together well-researched facts with convincing speculation. Tracing the different pathways the two women chose, The Austens contrasts the costs and trials of marriage and motherhood with the costs and trials of a life of writing. An excellent read.
August 27, 2025
The Austens is a remarkable, beautifully written, intensely researched feat that portrays the friendship between two women who made very different choices in their lives. Jane Austen, who refused to settle for marriage to a man she didn’t love, chose freedom and the ability to pursue her literary ambitions, despite the poverty and lack of social position she knew would ensue. Austen’s sister-in-law, Fanny Palmer, did marry for love and became a naval wife and mother, which brought her happiness for a time but came at a great cost, with its own set of difficulties and privations. As the story unfolds, the two heroines, who connect at first through correspondence before at last meeting in person, try hard to understand and respect each other despite their very different life experiences.
Sarah Emsley is a gifted writer who brings her witty Jane Austen to such vibrant life, you will feel as though you are hearing the famous author’s actual thoughts and feelings and reading her real journals and letters. We are treated to a thrilling look inside Jane Austen’s head as she works on her novels, learning first-hand how and why she may have come to develop and write her beloved characters and stories. I was equally enthralled by the Fanny Palmer chapters. We experience Fanny’s wonder when she falls in love with the charming Charles Austen, and her contemplations and fears as she struggles to lovingly raise one infant daughter after another and maintain the role of a devoted Naval Captain’s wife while living onboard the claustrophobic confines of her husband’s warship. Although I knew of Fanny’s fate, I wept when I read the final chapters.
Emsley asks us to question whether Jane Austen was being honest in her stories that conclude with marriage as a happy ending. We all enjoy, and perhaps at times we need, a good, escapist, romantic tale. But what happens, Emsley wants us to consider, after the wedding? What were women’s lives in her era really like? Brimming with intelligence, empathy, and pathos, The Austens will linger in your mind long after you have turned the last page.
Sarah Emsley is a gifted writer who brings her witty Jane Austen to such vibrant life, you will feel as though you are hearing the famous author’s actual thoughts and feelings and reading her real journals and letters. We are treated to a thrilling look inside Jane Austen’s head as she works on her novels, learning first-hand how and why she may have come to develop and write her beloved characters and stories. I was equally enthralled by the Fanny Palmer chapters. We experience Fanny’s wonder when she falls in love with the charming Charles Austen, and her contemplations and fears as she struggles to lovingly raise one infant daughter after another and maintain the role of a devoted Naval Captain’s wife while living onboard the claustrophobic confines of her husband’s warship. Although I knew of Fanny’s fate, I wept when I read the final chapters.
Emsley asks us to question whether Jane Austen was being honest in her stories that conclude with marriage as a happy ending. We all enjoy, and perhaps at times we need, a good, escapist, romantic tale. But what happens, Emsley wants us to consider, after the wedding? What were women’s lives in her era really like? Brimming with intelligence, empathy, and pathos, The Austens will linger in your mind long after you have turned the last page.
August 18, 2025
Timeless! I was nervous to start reading as I didn't want to admit I remember nothing of 'Pride and Prejudice' from high school English class and before reading, knew nothing of Jane Austen other than the titles of her books. But this! I so loved being immersed in the world of Fanny and Jane 200 years ago and having little idea of which parts were imagined and which parts were based on fact meant that the whole story was unexpected and surprising. I loved the writing style of letters intermixed with scenes with the incredible level of historical detail and I was delighted to be familiar with many of the places the characters lived. Sarah Emsley has created vivid characters that illuminate the struggles of women of any era who are defying societal expectations and their family's judgements to create their own paths. As such the story is immensely human and relatable; I found myself caring deeply for Fanny as she "grew up" through the story and also for Jane as a female writer trying to get published in the 1800s. A great reminder that we really don't know what anyone else is going through, what is unsaid is so important and that letters (which in today's world, might include social media posts) convey only part of the story. This one will stay with me for a long while and I can't wait to read more!
October 16, 2025
The Austens is an insightful and engaging novel. The reader is swept back into the early 19th century as experienced by Jane Austen and her sister-in-law, Fanny Palmer Austen. The relationship between the two women is imagined against the harsh historical realities of naval life during the Napoleonic Wars. Sarah Emsley carefully crafts the escalating tension which develops between the them: Jane is committed to her art and has chosen independence and the freedom to write novels, rather than marry for money and security, while Fanny has chosen to become a naval wife, who marries for love and must navigate a life of uncertainty in a naval world along with the repeated risks of pregnancy and giving birth. Sarah Emsley is a gifted and articulate writer. She makes the sights, sounds, and other sensory features of her settings in Nova Scotia and England come alive. The book is scrupulously researched and narrated with lively detail. Here is historical fiction at its best.
November 8, 2025
In The Austens, Sarah Emsley’s deep knowledge of the early 19th century and of the Austen family, their connections to Halifax, and to each other, is a gift for all her readers. We are placed, with needle-pricked fingers, in stuffy parlours; in cold ship’s cabins, our ears blocked against the horrors of a flogging; in front of hand-stitched notebooks in the company of Elinor, Marianne, Elizabeth, Emma, and Anne. With great skill and with compassion for all her characters, Sarah Emsley describes what happens after Jane’s happy endings. The pregnancies, confinements, and child-rearing of a naval wife torn between devotion to her husband and the needs of her children are explored through the difficult friendship between Jane, a spinster, and her sister-in-law, Fanny. The Austens is a brilliant and courageous novel, the novel that Jane Austen chose never to write.
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July 27, 2025I learned of this book here: https://bookjotter.com/2025/07/26/win...
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