Jane And The Genius Of The Place (1999) - Plot & Excerpts
A fascinating Jane Austen inspired Regency mystery involving horseracing, French spies and the "improvement of the estate"In the summer of 1805, we find Jane Austen visiting her wealthy brother Edward and his large family at their palatial country estate Godmersham Park in Kent, enjoying the comforts of living above “vulgar economy,” and the privileges of ease and splendor. Her father Rev. Austen had passed away the following January, displacing herself, her sister Cassandra and their mother from their rented residence in Bath. This was the beginning of their wilderness years, when the Austen women would shuffle about from relative to relative, homeless genteel vagabonds, dependent on the generosity of their families for a roof over their heads. While Jane visits in Kent, her sister Cassandra resides nearby Goodnestone with Mrs. Bridges, the mother of Edward’s wife Elizabeth, and Mrs. Austen is in Hampshire.Jane wastes no times in enjoying their opulent society with an outing to the Canterbury Races to picnic on the green and watch her brother Henry’s latest folly with the Sporting Set, his magnificent race horse Commodore, who is set to take his paces against the local favorites. Among the festivities, it is hard not to notice a beautiful young woman in a scarlet riding costume siting in a phaeton near their own carriage. As she lashes out injuring a young man with her driving whip, Jane is shocked by her wild behavior. Her sister-in-law Elizabeth Austen explains that she is the notorious Francoise Lamartine Grey, the spirited young wife of a wealthy local banker who owns the grand neighboring estate The Larches. Besides being a Frenchwomen in England during the height of the “Great Terror,” when many feared Bonaparte’s invasion of the English coast, she is disliked by everyone in the neighborhood because of scandalous behavior. While Henry’s horse loses the race, Mrs. Grey loses her life.Brutally strangled by her hair ribbon and striped of her red riding costume, she is found in the carriage of her former lover Denys Collingworth, a man of “slim means, illiberal temper and general disfavor of the whole neighborhood.” As the local Justice of the Peace, Edward Austen steps forward and takes command of the investigation, aided by the observant eyes of his sister Jane, his wife Elizabeth and their governess Anne Sharpe, they are able to recount the events of the day involving Mrs. Grey’s movements. But something is awry. How could she lie dead in the carriage and then later be seen on horseback recklessly jumping the racecourse rail, chasing after the galloping horses, collecting the winners up, and then promptly departing in her phaeton? All eyes are on Collingworth who feigns absence corroborated by a witness. He points the finger at family friend Captain Woodford and Elizabeth Austen’s brother Rev. Edward Bridges who are both deeply in debt to Mrs. Grey. Later we learn that her husband does not mourn Francoise’s death, nor does he attend her funeral. As the suspects add up, Edward and Jane are uncertain that what appears to be a lovers quarrel gone terribly wrong, in fact involves international espionage and Bonaparte far reaching ambitions.Jane and the Genius of the Place, is the fourth Being a Jane Austen Mystery, by Stephanie Barron, the very popular series involving British novelist Jane Austen as an amateur sleuth paralleling actual events from her own life. It is told in a first person narrative from Jane’s perspective edited from her personal journals discovered by the author in an outbuilding on an ancient Maryland estate. They blend the factual and the fictional, incorporating known events and facts from Austen’s letters, history, culture and politics with a clever mystery story. This is my fourth of the series and I found it fascinating. The storyline introduces many of the social pursuits that a Regency gentleman would aspire to: horse racing, “improvement of the estate,” cultivation of the manor house and family. In addition to the return of Jane’s favorite brother Henry Austen, we are introduced to her elder brother Edward, his wife Elizabeth, daughter Fanny and the brood of their other eight children. Governess to the two daughters is Anne Sharpe, who Jane will develop a lifelong friendship with. Barron did superb job with Elizabeth “Lizzy” Austen as companion and sounding board to Jane and the investigation. Elegant, intelligent and composed, Lizzy is the kind of mother, sister-in-law or friend that we all should have in our lives, but rarely do. It is understandable how her death in 1808 was such a shock to Jane and her family.I loved the introduction of the Austen’s governess Anne Sharpe, who we know little about other than a few surviving letters, and that Jane valued her friendship enough to give her a presentation copy of Emma when it was published in 1815. In this story she has a flirtation of such with landscape designer Julian Southey, which I wish had been played out more. The aesthetic movement of the “improvement of the estate” is woven into the plot in detail, and as a landscape designer myself for many years, I appreciated the beautiful descriptions of the transformation of English countryside into the picturesque visions made popular by designers Humphrey Repton and Capability Brown.Even though Jane Austen is criticized for not broaching politics in her novels, she did talk about them in her letters and followed the Napoleonic Wars through her two brothers in the Royal Naval. Politics, international espionage and French spies factor heavily into this novel in a clever way. In addition, with the introduction of new characters I did not miss the lack of Cassandra Austen, who seems to be a killjoy in the series, nor Mrs. Austen who is a bit of a downer for “our” Jane. Even thought the mystery drove the plot, I found myself guessing whodunit early on. It really didn’t matter in the least. The writing is so entrancing, the descriptions so mesmerizing and the characters so enjoyable, that nothing was wanting – well, except the shortage of Lord Harold Trowbridge, Rogue, Flirt and personal Infatuation. I patiently await his return.Laurel Ann, Austenprose
Jane is on the move again. This time she is at the Canterbury Races in Kent with her brother Edward and his family. Also at the races is the scandalous Mrs. Grey, a Frenchwoman who has captured the interest of many of the men in Kent but not many of the ladies. Scandalous Mrs. Grey is rumored to have had numerous affairs while her husband was occupied with business in London. Mrs. Grey gives rise to the rumors when she is seen hitting a gentleman with her riding crop. Later she is seen entering a neighbor's carriage and then following the horses as they race. Finally, she is discovered dead in the neighbor's carriage, strangled to death with her own hair ribbon and wearing only her shift. As Justice of the Peace, Neddie Austen is charged with finding the murderer and bringing them to justice. He immediately suspects the neighbor in whose carriage Mrs. Grey was found, but isn't positive. Neddie needs Jane's help to solve the mystery of the murdered woman. Among the other suspects are Mr. Grey who is said to have had little affection for his wife, Neddie's impecunious brother-in-law Edward, Edward's military friend, a timid governess, a dashing French count and a genius of a landscape architect. This mystery can probably be figured out in part by those who have read any number of novels, include Miss Austen's own. Some situations and conversations appear in her novels, a joke which I really wish the author would abandon. It makes the mystery way too obvious. I figured out the what but not the why or who. The why was a bit confusing and seemed to be summarized far too quickly and wrap up too neatly. As usual there's a bit too much history tossed in and some pointless conversations between characters that seem to go nowhere though actually lead to clues. I'm not a big fan of the footnotes and usually the reader can figure out the context just by reading the story. An author's note would better explain the history behind the story but as Barron is writing as an editor of Austen's journals, I see why she chooses to add footnotes. I like Jane the character a lot. She's intelligent and witty and she refuses to be pressured into being someone she's not. The mysteries are a lot of fun and I look forward to reading the rest.
What do You think about Jane And The Genius Of The Place (1999)?
I wasn't sure how I felt about this latest installment of the Jane mysteries. It has more twists and turns than a bendy straw and sometimes reminded me more of a modern day soap opera than a mystery novel. I also missed Lord Harold. He's one of the most compelling characters created in this series. There's some hope that he'll feature in the next one. :o)I don't know whether it happened more often in this novel or if after three books the novelty of it has just worn off, but hearing the real Jane Austen's lines come out of other people was beginning to be off-putting. The general tone of the writing was very good but those lines made it feel like a cheap imitation and they weren't necessary to the "feel" of the novel. It was more jarring to have them there because instead of thinking of the current story you suddenly think of whatever book that quote came from and then how that character compares to whoever said it --- and is the author saying Jane copied lines these famous lines from real people in her life instead of coming up with them herself? And so on. Then you've lost the original story thread and have to concentrate to get back into the story world.I also thought Jane was less directly involved with solving the mystery in this book than the others. She didn't "hunt down" as many clues and there were several that I was able to pick up on well before they were revealed at the end. I enjoyed the family interplay and it had wonderful characters. I'm looking forward to seeing more of Lord Harold (hopefully) in the next book.
—Margaret Metz
Un buon modello per Frank ChurchillQuesto romanzo mi ha riappacificato con la serie di Jane Austen Investigatrice di Stephanie Barron, che da un po' avevo abbandonato per 'disamoramento'.Dopo un lungo periodo di attesa, dunque, ho intrapreso la lettura del quarto caso e... delizia delle delizie: ho ritrovato la MIA Jane Austen!Il caso è ambientato nella zona di Canterbury (Kent) nel 1805, subito dopo la morte del reverendo Austen. Jane è in visita dal fratello Edward (Neddie) e dalla cognata Elizabeth (Lizzy, una fonte di ispirazione, tanto che talvolta sono giunta a considerarla la vera protagonista del romanzo, come se fosse Lizzy Bennet!) nella tenuta di Godmersham. Il caso è legato alle corse ippiche ma, soprattutto, è immerso nella Storia, quella storia che Jane Austen faceva entrare pochissimo nei suoi romanzi, ma che tuttavia influenzava la sua vita. In quel periodo Napoleone era sul punto di invadere l'Inghilterra. Il Kent, in quanto regione meridionale costiera poteva essere proprio uno degli obiettivi per lo sbarco delle truppe e la minaccia di evacuazione aleggiava su tutte le tenute signorili della zona. Essendo poi la prima vittima della storia una signora francese, la prima cosa a cui si pensa è lo spionaggio o il tradimento.Numerosissimi i riferimenti (e le citazioni da romanzi e lettere) alla vera vita di Jane Austen e le fonti di ispirazione (come ho detto prima con capovolgimento dei ruoli) per i suoi scritti. Particolare attenzione è riservata all'architettura di giardini, ai suoi esponenti (Lancelot "Capability" Brown, Humprey Repton) e ai suoi stili. In Mansfield Park Jane Austen coglierà l'occasione per esprimere le sue opinioni, con la sua solita penna affilata.Tuttavia ciò che mi ha maggiormente colpito è la 'storia ispiratrice' della relazione segreta di Jane Fairfax e Frank Churchill in Emma (da qui il titolo della recensione). Jane Austen (quella vera) 'salva' la sua coprotagonista dal destino di istitutrice (destino verso il quale la odiosa Mrs Elton cercava di spingerla). In Jane e lo spirito del male, invece, il personaggio parte già da tale situazione.Troppe giovani gentildonne di buona famiglia e patrimonio esiguo si erano consegnate alla relativa schiavitù del mestiere di istitutrice, né nobile né infimo, però suscettibile di essere apprezzato o disprezzato a seconda degli umori dei padroni di casa. Così, le istitutrici vivevano in una sorta di limbo un'esistenza che non era servile e neppure signorile, subendo mille umiliazioni, mille privazioni, perennemente obbligate a rimandare la realizzazione delle loro speranze soltanto per concludere i loro giorni nella povertà iniziale, costrette a sopravvivere col minimo salario ricavato inculcando un minimo d'istruzione a numerose ragazze frivole, sprecando del tutto la loro bellezza e sacrificando il periodo migliore della loro giovinezza.Unica pecca di questo libro, IMHO, è la traduzione del titolo, che avrei lasciato fedele all'originale (Jane and the Genius of The Place - Jane e il Genio del Luogo), con riferimento ad Alexander Pope, che aveva detto che nell'architettura di giardini niente si poteva ottenere senza rispettare il "genio del luogo", ovvero lo spirito che pervadeva e dominava il paesaggio.Una lettura deliziosa per un falso d'autore: sembra di leggere veramente un diario di Jane Austen e ci si sente davvero vicini alla scrittrice, alla sua vita, al suo periodo e ai suoi pensieri. Potete trovare la recensione completa del libro QUI
—Georgiana 1792
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, so much so that occasionally I had to remind myself that Stephanie Barron and NOT Jane Austen had written it. Having overdosed on Agatha Christie of late (and her very 'to the point' sentence stucture, initially I found this a bit hard going, but the more I read the more effortless it became. I swear the woman is channeling Austen - there is no other explanation for her gift. It's all there, the wit, the insight, the irony, the social commentary - with murder and pretty dresses thrown in for good measure. Once in a while I found myself glimpsing inspiration for her future characters... Mrs. Elton. Frank Churchill. Even the dreaded Mr. Collins. I am delighted to have discovered this lady's work, and will snap up any of her books that I am fortunate enough to come across.
—Sarah
