I'm five chapters into this book and it's not at all what I'd expected (which I now realise was something glib and light and instantly comforting).
The scope is broad, the pace is measured and the tone is sombre, almost melancholy. Everyone's story is edged with grief or the threat of grief.
Austen is their common thread, their room of refuge and her flawed characters, passionate, stubborn, blind to their own needs or the needs of others, are valued companions all the more welcome because they are guaranteed a happy ending.
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