It is a truth universally acknowledged,
that a Janeite fan in possession of a good novel, must be in want of a mystery.
Every Janeite knows that each new release in the world of Jane prompts a fear that
something might not fit with their own private vision of Austen's work. Jessica
Bull’s debut novel sidesteps her novels and instead invites us to join her as we ourselves enter into Austen’s world. Miss Austen Investigates is the first in a series for
debut author Jessica Bull. In it, we follow Austen as, while attending a
ball, the body of lace-maker Madame Renard is discovered. When Jane’s brother
George is accused of the crime, Austen becomes embroiled in the case as she
tries to clear George’s name.
From the very first page,
when we are introduced to Austen’s family, Jessica perfectly captures Jane’s
humour and her relationship with each of her relatives, as Jane describes
her favourite brother, Henry as: ‘The most horrid brother who ever lived’.
It is this knowledge of Austen that allows Jessica to
perfectly capture the humour, the strength, and the vulnerability of Austen, that
in turn allows us to relax and allow Jane to take us by the hand and lead us
into her world. The setting for Miss Austen to investigate her cosy crime is
enhanced by the inclusion of so many real people from Jane’s life. These include Mary
Lloyd (the Lloyd sisters were later to marry two of Jane’s brothers) and the Austen family friends
at Manydown, which would later become the scene of Harris Bigg-Wither’s thwarted proposal to Jane. Jessica
Bull’s research and knowledge enable her to create these wonderful references to Austen’s
world.
One such nod is present in the novel as at the end of each of Jane’s letters to Cassandra she instructs her sister to destroy each of her letters in increasingly inventive and hilarious ways: ‘Please screw this letter into a ball and use it to knock the cobwebs from the rafters of Mr Fowle’s barn’. This provides a humorous nod to the missing letters of the sisters' correspondence at the hands of the protective Cassandra. It is the inclusion of these nods to the author's history and the incorporating of family, friends and neighbours, that provides as much fun for a Janeite in seeking out the clues to Jane’s life, as trying to discover the culprit in the intriguing mystery that Jessica Bull has creatively weaved around it.
Every Janeite has harboured a desire to know what it would
be like to meet Jane, to take tea and share gossip and to watch events unfold at a
ballroom. Now, with Jessica Bull’s insightful capture of Austen's character, we
can all achieve this dream, as long as the dream includes a corpse and a
mystery to solve, that is.
I look forward to the next adventure with Jane, and Jessica Bull's informed knowledge of Austen’s world has proved that, once again, the great Jane was correct, when she said:
‘A fondness for reading, […] properly
directed, must be an education in itself’.
