Jane and the Canterbury Tale by Stephanie Barron

"Three years ago, after a night of reckless gaming, Curzon Fiske fled England for an uncertain future in India, leaving scandal and prodigious debts behind him. When news of his death from fever in Ceylon reached his raven-haired wife, Adelaide, she mourned him for a time—then quietly restored her damaged reputation.

Now Adelaide is at the altar again, her groom a soldier on the Marquis of Wellington's staff. The prospects seem bright for one of the most notorious women in Kent—until Jane Austen discovers a corpse on the ancient Pilgrim's Way that runs through her brother Edward's estate. Why is the dead stranger dressed as a pilgrim, and who wrote the summons he carries in his pocket? Who is the aristocrat masquerading as a sailor? And why will none of Adelaide's friends reveal Curzon Fiske's final wager, the night he abandoned his wife? As Chief Magistrate for Canterbury, Edward is forced to investigate, with Jane as his unwilling assistant. From the shooting parties and balls of her wellborn neighbors, to the grim and airless cells of Canterbury gaol, Jane leaves no stone unturned. When a second corpse appears beside the ancient Pilgrim's Way, Jane has no choice but to confront a murderer...lest the next corpse be her own...."
(synopsis from Stephanie Barron's website)

my thoughts:

Since the synopsis above so succinctly summarizes Jane and the Canterbury Tale, I'm just going to cut to the chase.

I could easily picture dear Jane each evening, after retiring to her room at her brother's home, drawing close to the warmth of a fire to reflect on the days' events and journal her thoughts in her little sewn notebooks. In this autumn of 1813 (only a few years before her actual death), she has come to spend some time at Godmersham Park with brother Edward and his family. Relishing the change of pace from quiet country living, she is enjoying the pleasure of parties and social events in the Canterbury area making mental notes about the people and places to help enrich her novel writing. As the story opens, she is attending the glittering wedding of the beautiful Adelaide Fiske and Captain Andrew MacCallister at Chilham Castle and keeping a close eye on her popular niece Fanny and her beaux. While the guests are enjoying dancing and toasting the happy bride and groom, a mysterious package from a stranger is delivered to the bride....and thus begins a series of mysterious and tragic events, including two dead bodies, that will require all of Jane's keen powers of observation and crime-solving skills as she assists Edward with his magesterial duties.

Lovely storytelling in Austen's voice and a tie-in to Chaucer's Canterbury Tale, Barron's cast of characters each has a story to tell on the road to solving the multiple mysteries -- why was Adelaide's first husband (who was supposed to be dead) still alive at the time of the wedding? Who sent a mysterious package to the bride on her wedding night, and what does it mean? Who has a motive for murder...and who will be the next victim?

I have been enjoying this series as part of the Austenprose Jane Austen Mystery Challenge as I always come away from the books marvelling at Barron's expertise and obvious devotion to the Austen style. Barron weaves actual events in Austen's life as a backdrop for her mysteries, and her depiction of Regency life and customs makes her books entertaining as well as informative.


4/5 stars

Title: Jane and the Canterbury Tale
Author: Stephanie Barron
2011
Bantam Books
307 pages
genre: Historical fiction/Regency mystery

Jane and the Man of the Cloth by Stephanie Barron

"Jane and her family are looking forward to a peaceful holiday in the seaside village of Lyme Regis. Yet on the outskirts of town an overturned carriage forces the shaken travelers to take refuge at a nearby manor house. And it is there that Jane meets the darkly forbidding yet strangely attractive Mr. Geoffrey Sidmouth. What murky secrets does the brooding Mr. Sidmouth seek to hide? Jane suspects the worst--but her attention is swiftly diverted when a man is discovered hanged from a makeshift gibbet by the sea. The worthies of Lyme are certain his death is the work of "the Reverend," the ringleader of the midnight smuggling trade whose identity is the town's paramount mystery. Now it falls to Jane to entrap and expose the notorious Reverend--even if the evidence points to the last person on earth she wants to suspect--a man who already may have won her heart."
(from the publisher)

my thoughts:

Jane and the Man of the Cloth (there's a play on words here) is a delightful cozy mystery from the very talented Stephanie Barron, with all the period details and manners of speech that you find in Jane Austen's writing. It's so very realistic in style and substance that I have to keep reminding myself that this is not actually written by Austen, nor is it an actual account of what happened to her during her lifetime! Barron does base her fictional mysteries on some authentic material gleaned from Austen's letters and known facts about her life, so this makes the stories seem as if they truly are a peek inside Jane's innermost thoughts and feelings in journal form. For anyone who enjoys Austen-inspired works written in true Austen style with mystery and adventure, the Jane Austen-as-sleuth collection is highly recommended. Barron creates Austen as a self-assured sleuth with wit and charm guaranteed to make you want to curl up with a cup of tea. I especially enjoyed this adventure with smugglers, contraband, midnight spying in secret caves, and Jane's tender hearted affection for a gentleman...or is he a rogue?

To read about the historical background and letters Barron used to create Jane and the Man of the Cloth, visit Stephanie Barron's website here.

This book completes the third book I've read for Being a Jane Austen Mystery Reading Challenge 2011 sponsored by Austenprose.


4/5 stars

Title: Jane and the Man of the Cloth
Author: Stephanie Barron
1997
Bantam
335 pages
genre: historical mystery

Meeting Diana Gabaldon, Lauren Willig, & Stephanie Barron

Meeting Diana Gabaldon


So, here it is...one of the most surreal, wonderful moments of my life! Diana Gabaldon was absolutely beautiful, warm, friendly, and gracious while I was a bundle of nerves! I didn't know that the event would be so small and intimate, so I had not prepared anything intelligent (ha!) to say to her personally as I never thought that I would have that opportunity! I would have been happy just to see her from afar and stand in line to get my book signed. But Barbara Peters, the owner of the Poisoned Pen bookstore whom I had met earlier in the day, was kind enough to walk over to Diana and point me out. Barbara said, "This young lady flew in from New Orleans to meet you," and she motioned for me to come over! I almost passed out right then and there!! So I walked over and introduced myself and shook her hand and I THINK I said it was an honor to meet her and that I loved her books....I say I THINK because I swear I had a brain freeze and felt my IQ reduced to zero! Shortly after, book-blogging buddy Julie came in and received her introduction, and Diana very graciously posed for several pictures and laughed with us as I stood there hyperventilating! What an extraordinary experience!



Chatting with Lauren Willig as she signed Blood Lily

Later that night, I had the opportunity to sit and chat with the wonderful Lauren Willig as she signed my copy of The Betrayal of the Blood Lily. I cannot begin to tell you how sweet and charming Lauren was all weekend! I first met her at the Georgette Heyer Tea and talked a little about our shared interest in the Heyer books. At a later event, she and Stephanie Barron spoke about topics related to historical research for their books, and afterwards Julie and I had a long talk with her. We discussed our favorite books and authors, of course, and tried to get her to tell us a little about her future books. She was absolutely adorable and friendly and now I love her books even more now that I've had the chance to meet the person behind the stories. She's a walking encyclopedia of history and literature and I could talk to her all day! I can't wait until the fall release of The Mischief of the Mistletoe (Jane Austen fans will love this one, set in Bath during the Christmas season of 1803).

With Stephanie Barron while she signed my book

Stephanie Barron, author of A Flaw in the Blood and the Jane Austen mystery series, was another amazing author that I had the opportunity to meet. She was an incredibly interesting speaker, very knowledgeable about the Regency period, and was there promoting one of her latest historical fiction releases, The White Garden: A Novel of Virginia Woolf. It is a fictional account of what happened to Virginia Woolf in the weeks between her disappearance and the day her body was found -- part mystery and suspense, rich in historical detail, with beautiful prose. On a funny note, after we left the Tea, Stephanie Barron needed a ride back to the hotel, so she hopped in the car with us and of course, we talked and laughed about books, books, and more books! I kept telling myself, "This is so surreal -- here I am sitting in the back seat chatting with Stephanie Barron!"

Alas, all good things must come to an end, so it's back home to normal.....you know, normal like hurricanes and oil spills and all the rest of those things that keep life crazy! Thanks, Julie and Cathy, for meeting up with me and sharing these wonderful experiences!

The Thrill of a Lifetime!

Well, I'm back home from Arizona and I still don't think my feet have touched the ground!

I recently attended a spectacular book event sponsored by the Poisoned Pen Bookstore in which I was able to meet and mingle with authors such as Lauren Willig (The Pink Carnation series), Stephanie Barron (The Jane Austen Mystery series, and........Diana Gabaldon (the Outlander series)!!

There's so much to tell about the events, the books I brought home, and of course, wonderful stories about the authors I met, that it will take several posts to share everything! And another benefit of attending this event was that book-blogging buddy Julie from Outlandish Dreaming and I had a chance to finally meet and hang out and talk about books, books, and more books!

So, the top photo of Diana Gabaldon is the one I took while she was signing her Echo in the Bone book....but there's lots more of her to come!

And here are my new book buddies..... Julie from Outlandish Dreaming (center) and the fabulous Lauren Willig (right).



So come back and visit over the next few days as I will share so much more about my weekend in Phoenix!