Jane by the Sea: Jane Austen's Love Story

by Carolyn V. Murray

Very little is known about the young man that Jane Austen met during a seaside holiday in 1800. Her sister was later to say that she believed this young man was falling in love with Jane and was someone she felt was truly worthy of her sister. What transpired that summer? Perhaps it happened this way …

Jane begins her search for love with giddy optimism, but her first encounter proves devastating. The young Irishman who captured her heart is convinced by his family that marrying a penniless clergyman’s daughter would be a terrible mistake. Jane resolves never again to succumb to false hope, romantic delusions, and pathetic heartbreak.

Lieutenant Frederick Barnes is on medical leave from the Royal Navy. By the time he crosses paths with Jane, she has lost her faith in love and is determined to protect her heart at all costs.But the Lieutenant is captivated and equally determined to break through her defenses. Jane must battle between what she knows and what she feels. What will happen to her heart if she is wrong again?

Genres: Romance, Historical Fiction, Ebooks, Historical

199 pages, Paperback

First published July 19, 2015

About the author

Carolyn V. Murray spent her childhood with the proverbial nose inside a book; between Encyclopedia Brown, the Laura Ingalls Wilder saga, A Wrinkle in Time, etc…she could not start the next book soon enough. At the age of eleven, she approached a librarian and asked to see books on how to become a writer. The librarian was amused, and Carolyn was NOT happy to be the source of this amusement. It would be a couple more decades before she really believed that writing was her destiny.

Her "9-5" life included the good (teaching) the bad (working in casinos) and the ugly (catering in an electric clown suit.) Her writing path took a long detour into the pursuit of screenwriting, where she got selected as a Walt Disney Writing Fellow, had four original screenplays optioned, and wrote one freelance script that made it to the TV screen.

But these days, she's a lot more excited about creating the kinds of books that sustained her childhood. She is drawn to history, biography, love stories, and travel. Jane by the Sea is her first novel.

Reviews

[Ceri · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review was first posted on Babblings of a Bookworm: http://babblingsofabookworm.blogspot....

Jane Austen is possibly the world’s best known romantic novelist (not that I would call her a romantic novelist, but that label is often applied to her). We know that she didn’t marry but that she did have some brushes with romance herself. There was an attraction towards Tom Lefroy, who was the nephew of Jane’s close friend and neighbour, Madame Lefroy, which came to nothing after his family intervened, wanting him to marry higher. There was a seaside romance that again came to nothing. I have read such different accounts of this as to puzzle me exceedingly :) The gentleman in question is either said to be a sea captain, or a Reverend Blackall, and the reason for the romance not ending in marriage differs too. A couple of years later there was a marriage proposal from a family friend that Austen accepted and then drew back from, presumably because she didn’t love the gentleman. Marrying only for love was a big theme of Austen’s novels, and so it seems safe to assume that it was something she personally believed.

Unfortunately, many of the letters and other documents that Jane Austen wrote were destroyed by her sister Cassandra. However, if you read what are remaining of Jane Austen’s letters you get a sense of her quick wit and mischievous, acerbic sense of humour (think Elizabeth Bennet’s humour, but with more of a bite to it!). This story is loosely based on the seaside romance that Jane Austen is said to have had around 1800, before she moved to Bath, where her writing ceased for some years. Some of the details are changed from what I had read previously of that seaside romance, which surprised me a little when I realised it, but the flip side of the changes was that I had less idea of where the story was going. I learned afterwards that there appears to be more than one interpretation of the truth of it and I am not sure whether the real truth of the episode has been established.

We first meet with Jane here in the heyday of her romance with Tom Lefroy. I always feel a little melancholy when reading books based on Austen’s life as we know where they are headed, so you know straight away that this romance is doomed and I just had to wait for the hammer to fall. I thought the author did a nice job of capturing her wit and cheekiness, though I wonder if Austen was ever as naive as she seems here. Although a romantic, I think Jane Austen was also a realist, and such a keen observer that she would have known very well how the world of marriage worked at the age of 21. So although she might have hoped for a different outcome I don’t think she would have been as surprised by it as is shown here. When themes like this are discussed in Austen’s novels the only character who seems surprised by the general customs around marriage appears to be the über-romantic Marianne Dashwood, and I got the impression when I read that story that Austen wasn’t that sympathetic towards her, though of course that could have been just the bitterness of looking back. Once Jane has gone through this, and other, painful experiences, she resolves to learn from them, and not to be hurt again.

‘If only it had been explained to me from an early age... my lack of value in the marriage economy. Then I should be quite reconciled by now to a long, unending, solitary future.’

But then she goes to the seaside, where there is both a clergyman and a seaman, and she will find her resolve tested...

I very much enjoyed this book. I have my doubts whether Austen’s speech was so shocking in real life, though I am confident she was capable of thinking every one of the cheeky thoughts attributed to her here! One thing that I found particularly enjoyable in this book was spotting the inspiration for many of the characters and situations that found their way into her books (all of which were yet to be published at this time of her life). There is a clear Mr Collins, lines from her books, a situation reminiscent of Louisa Musgrove’s behaviour on the Cobb at Lyme and so on.

“And do these compliments spring from the moment?” I inquired. “Or are they the work of previous rehearsal?”

Jane is working on more than one book during this novel, and we see her passing on the lessons she has learned to her characters Elinor, Marianne, Elizabeth and Jane. The melodrama of the situations she puts them in are more in the line of her juvenilia than the finished articles, but it’s worth bearing in mind that they were a decade off being fully polished.

The language usage in this book was pretty good on the whole, although there were some American and modern words that I noticed, but I am particularly distractable by such things so other readers might not notice them too much.

As I said above I usually find books about Austen’s life melancholy as we know they are heading toward spinsterhood and a premature death but this book is saved from that by the amount of humour in it. There were some real laugh out loud moments, and the end particularly is pretty funny, which is quite an achievement! The below quote is Jane’s plan to get her dear friend Martha (potentially the model for Charlotte in ‘Pride & Prejudice’) invited to live with the Austens if Martha’s mother should die:

‘I laid out my plan. Mama was already fond of Martha, and with just a little exertion, Martha could make herself even more agreeable. During her visits, she could offer cheerful assistance with chores. Humour Mama’s medical complaints. Make herself indispensible. When Cassie was called away to play nursemaid to our expectant sister-in-laws, Martha would be there to fill the void. I should do my own part by becoming more and more useless, so that Martha’s assistance would grow to be essential.’

I’d certainly recommend this book to people who like books based on Jane Austen’s life. I felt it had a real flavour of the author’s wit and character, and managed not to be too sad a read. This is Carolyn V Murray’s debut book and I hope she writes more. I’d rate this as a 4 star read.

*I received an ebook of this story from the author for my honest review.

[Sophia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love stories about Jane Austen's characters and retellings of her stories, but I also love fictional stories about her own life. It is a work of fiction, but the author put the time in to quote Jane from her letters and place her in situations and with people around her that really happened. In the gaps, she speculated knowledgeably and the choices she made in the story fit what is know from Jane's life. I was engaged with the story and had strong emotional responses.

The story gives a glimpse of Jane as a child, as an eager girl falling in love only to have it crushed by the reality of her circumstances, then to have that truth brought home while visiting her brother, Edward's home so that by the time she encounters a handsome Navy Lieutenant in Sidmouth, she is scathing with her words and dismissive of his interest.

I enjoyed several things including the early drafts of Jane's stories, the encounters with people who bare striking resemblance to later characters in her novels, and the sharp and witty dialogue. Each man that Jane was drawn to had exciting minds and were worthy of her interest. The last part of the story was very emotional and the author brought things to a close right where it should.

The Jane of this story is not a soft, romantic woman though she enjoys some romance. Her observations and wit are intimidating to some and she is unapologetic about who she is. The family dynamics felt right. These are real people with good and flawed traits both.

All in all, I would heartily recommend this to the lovers of Jane Austen, but also historical fiction and romance fans who would want to learn more about this real life person.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jane Austen’s love stories are timeless romances sprinkled with endless wit and intriguing characters. Where did Jane find her inspiration for such romance and characters when she herself was never married? Carolyn V. Murray takes inspiration from little known facts about Jane’s summer spent in the Seaside town of Sidmouth and imagines Jane’s intense love affair with Royal Navy Lieutenant Frederick Barnes. Jane’s father is a clergyman who has fallen on hard times. Jane is now a daughter with poor prospects, but high hopes in the romance department. After a failed encounter due to her family’s status, Jane is apprehensive of another failed relationship and accepts her future spinster status. However, after a chance encounter with the determined Lieutenant, Jane’s heart begins to soften at the chance for love.

This was an incredibly sweet story that also felt very authentic. I think Murray did an excellent job capturing Austen’s voice, personality and interactions. Jane was an amazing character, full of life, complex emotions and plenty of tenacity and cleverness. It was very interesting to learn about her family, their circumstances and Jane’s relationships with them, especially as these relationships affected her fictional characters. I loved Jane's ups and downs within her relationship with Frederick, it seemed like such a natural progression and they were so perfect together. I really enjoyed seeing how her changing perspective on Frederick and love itself influenced the character of Darcy in her writing. Overall, this was a highly entertaining, sweet and quick read for any fans of Jane Austen or historical romance.

This book was provided for free in return for an honest review.

[Elizabeth Stanley · Rating 5 out of 5]

JANE BY THE SEA is apparently Carolyn V. Murray's first novel and what an accomplished book it is. She really nails Jane Austen's voice and I adored the way that she imagines the evolution of Jane Austen's greatest works as springing from Austen's own direct experiences in life and love. Murray's Jane feels both authentic to the time period and simultaneously utterly contemporary. I recommend JANE BY THE SEA wholeheartedly. It's a novel that not only will appeal to Austen fans around the world, but one that can and should find an even wider audience.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having recently read Miss Austen, and previously read other works of fiction that touch on Jane Austen's supposed one (or two) moments of love, I found this to be the sweetest take on that quasi-known part of the author's personal history. Most of this book is supposition, by Carolyn V. Murray's admission, but she pulls from Austen's own published works (both in scenes and characters, and in direct lines from the novels), which makes this something of a love-letter to Jane Austen.

I was a bit startled at Jane's writing scenes to express frustration by punishing her fictional characters- both the level of violence and the act of it felt immature, and not something I'd expect from a woman whose perception of human nature feels like it would come with self-awareness. But it was entertaining, and I don't honestly know if Jane wrote bloodthirsty scenes as a child (it's possibly reference to that survived in letters).

Jane's own second-chance romance mirrors Persuasion so much that it's hard to not be charmed by Lieutenant Barnes. Even knowing what happens (from my previous reading), I had hope for a better ending for Austen. And I get the impression that Carolyn V Murray did, too.

So if you lean into the fiction part of historical fiction, and you're a fan of Jane Austen (the woman and/or her works), I highly recommend this sweet, entertaining story.

[Mary Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gentle Readers Everywhere,
I have met (on my kindle) the new Jane Austen and her name is Carolyn V. Murray. If you think this is just another JA fan fiction (not that there's anything wrong), you are in for a treat. Part biography and part historical fiction, this book is beautifully crafted from beginning to end. One of the many amazing aspects of the book is how the author convincingly conveys how the events in Austen's life change and shape her as a writer. But the writing itself is exquisite, and follows in the Austen footsteps of intelligent, subtle, tragic and witty observations of human behavior. Ms. Murray, I am your fan. Mary Ann Henry, Author

[Sarah M · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think Carolyn did a great job capturing Jane Austen. I think Jane by the Sea was well written. It's sweet without being sappy and Jane still manages to come across with enough spice and wit to keep you smiling.

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

C'est certainement l'une des lectures qui me tentait le plus, depuis longtemps, alors que je me suis un peu lassée des austeneries. Cette couverture magnifique ne peut que donner envie de plonger dans le roman et de se retrouver à Lyme Regis, auprès de notre chère Jane Austen. On fait alors la connaissance de son amour secret, rencontré au bord de la mer, dont Cassandra aurait parlé tardivement à ses nièces...

Ici, l'auteur nous emmène donc dans la vie de Jane Austen mais elle emprunte également beaucoup à ses oeuvres. Ses parents, par exemple, sont calqués sur les Bennet et on croise quelques autres personnages. Ce ne serait pas gênant si on ne s'éloignait pas parfois un peu trop de la personnalité de ceux qui ont réellement vécu comme Cassandra qui est ici très moralisatrice ou Jane elle-même qui est bien naïve, un qualificatif que l'on aurait quand même du mal à lui attribuer, et dont les manières sont déplorables. J'ai trouvé également l'évocation de sa rencontre avec Tom Lefroy expédiée et inutile et la transformation de Jane Austen, de chasseuse de mari en vieille fille décidée à le rester, très maladroite.

En revanche, j'ai beaucoup plus apprécié la seconde partie du roman où il se passe enfin quelque chose d'interessant, de nouveau... L'auteur prend là encore des libertés, ne respecte pas forcément les dates et les lieux, ce qui peut être un parti pris interessant mais quitte à faire ça, j'aurais vraiment aimé qu'elle ose carrément et nous offre une fin différente de celle, si triste, que l'on connaît ou que l'on soupçonne.

Enfin, dernier bémol : je ne supporte pas que l'on écrive un texte en déclarant qu'il est de la plume de Jane Austen. Personne ne peut être à la hauteur et ici, en plus, c’est plein d’élans et d’exagérations qui ne ressemblent pas à l'auteur que nous connaissons bien.


http://janeausten.hautetfort.com/arch...

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

This turned out to be the dearest book. I’m still on the edge of fresh tears as I write this. Carolyn Murray captured the language and the voice of Austen’s era so very well, and her characterizations were endearing and immensely enjoyable. This is a Jane I would love to know, and indeed it felt like who she could’ve been. The way Murray wove in bits of Austen’s stories, as if Jane was finding inspiration around every corner, rang authentic to me, while also indulging the Austen fan in me. This was clearly written with care, and with love for Miss Jane Austen. If you love the authoress too, I highly recommend this sweet, heartfelt, sadhappy book.

[Beth Dowse-Pollock · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, how I loved this book. My husband gave it to me as Christmas present, and I read it in less than 2 days. Carolyn Murray has an excellent flare for making the reader feel as though they know Jane. The romance is alive with reality and hope. ( No spoilers, I promise). What a gem of a book.

[Treva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fictional account of Jane Austen's life. Had enough real life connections that made it enjoyable and thoughtful. The tie-ins to people she was meeting and those she wrote about in her novels were humorous.

The truths of what a single woman endured if she didn't come from money was all too true.

[K. · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author sent a copy of this book to the library, where I'm employed, as a gift. As a fan of Jane Austen's writing & that era, I was eager to read this novel. Carolyn V. Murray does not disappoint with this lovely work of historical fiction. It captured my attention at page two of the prologue and held me hostage until the final page.

The book reads much like a short memoir, written as if by Jane Austen, herself. It took me from my little farm in South Dakota to a world miles away and years ago. This novel is so well written, it was easy to feel as if I was in the room, at the ball, frolicking in the ocean, and sharing the fears, sorrows, joys, and challenges met by Miss Austen and her family.

The worst part of this book was having to set it aside, to take care of real life in the here & now. Since adding this book to the collection at the library where I work, it's been checked out & even has a reserved list starting. I highly recommend it, as a lovely, light and fun escape from now. This book left me feeling (I love a book that makes me FEEL) like I'd taken a vacation to old England and made a friend, Jane, by the Sea.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely written story, I think the author captured Jane's personality well - or at least what the common perception of her personality is. It kept me entertained throughout and I especially enjoyed the relationship between Jane and her sister Cassie. I recommend it for Austen enthusiasts, it suggests a somewhat different (cheeky?) origin of the stories of Sense & Sensibility and Pride & Prejudice. I wonder if it was when Jane's heart was broken for the second time that she decided to always have a happy ending in her novels? We will never know!

[Valerie · Rating 5 out of 5]

How I loved this book. Instead of portraying dear Jane as a pious spinster, she is re-imagined here as a plucky, charming young woman with dreams beyond her set station in life. Yes, it is another imagining of Jane's love life, but this one is well done. I loved the interplay between both of Jane's beaus in this story and how sisters, while loving to one another, actually acted like real siblings. Best of all, was the hidden thoughts that one can only guess during this little known time in Jane Austen's life. Ms. Murray, please write more stories!!

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fictionalised account of Jane Austen while staying with her family at Sidmouth, and meeting a Lieutenant Frederick Barnes.

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly exquisite.