AUSTEN’S DILEMMA
In 1803 the author Jane Austen caused a scandal in society when she turned down a marriage proposal a day after accepting it. She would later go on to write some of the most celebrated and passionate romance novels in English literature. But was she able to do this because she herself had experienced a major, life changing love affair? That’s the premise of Jay Margrave’s delightful novel Love and Loyalty.
I was slightly wary when I was asked to review this book as I have never been an Austen fan and I wasn’t sure whether the author could pull off such an ambitious feat. However, I needn’t have worried as Margrave does a more than credible job. Her Jane is a likable, practical woman for whom love and desire are the flip side of integrity and decency.
Tomas Priedeux, a French captain in Napoleon’s navy, is the man she falls for and while their commitment to each other is genuine, Jane finds herself in a dilemma: can she be loyal to her country while loving a man who serves the enemy? This neatly written novel captures the essence of Austen’s personality, while skilfully conveying the complex rituals of love and courtship in Regency England.
Reviewed by Juliette Foster
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Why not buy a copy of Jay Margrave’s Can Her Glory Ever Fade? A Life of Mary Seacole
