1. SPS Accounts:
    Do you find yourself coming back time after time? Do you appreciate the ongoing hard work to keep this community focused and successful in its mission? Please consider supporting us by upgrading to an SPS Account. Besides the warm and fuzzy feeling that comes from supporting a good cause, you'll also get a significant number of ever-expanding perks and benefits on the site and the forums. Click here to find out more.
    Dismiss Notice
Dismiss Notice
You are currently viewing Boards o' Magick as a guest, but you can register an account here. Registration is fast, easy and free. Once registered you will have access to search the forums, create and respond to threads, PM other members, upload screenshots and access many other features unavailable to guests.

BoM cultivates a friendly and welcoming atmosphere. We have been aiming for quality over quantity with our forums from their inception, and believe that this distinction is truly tangible and valued by our members. We'd love to have you join us today!

(If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us. If you've forgotten your username or password, click here.)

Jane Austen mysteries

Discussion in 'Booktalk' started by kuemper, Mar 30, 2007.

  1. kuemper Gems: 31/31
    Latest gem: Rogue Stone

    Joined:
    Jun 19, 2005
    Messages:
    8,926
    Likes Received:
    8
    Remove all ads!
    I picked up some books at the library and found a mystery called Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor by Stephanie Barron. At first glance, it looks to be Barron's tale of mystery using Jane Austen as the detective. Upon reading the editor's foreward, I discover this is not the case. Apparently, Barron "found" a box of documents (letters and diaries) by Miss Austen and the aforementioned novel is based upon Austen's experience at Scargrave Manor. Barron goes on to say, "they [the Westmorelands, who inherited the documents] asked that I undertake the task of editting the notebooks for publication."

    I find this hard to believe. I have read a single Austen novel - Mansfield Park - and found it so boring, dry and tasteless that I can't understand how a decent mystery came from the same individual! Was Austen's real life so exciting that she found solace in penning (imo) dreadful books like Mansfield Park? Furthermore, if Barron is merely an editor, why is Jane Austen not credited as being the author?
     
    kuemper, Mar 30, 2007
    #1
  2. revmaf

    revmaf Older, not wiser, but a lot more fun

    Joined:
    Dec 1, 2006
    Messages:
    1,058
    Likes Received:
    10
    I poked around on Amazon and found a list of books this author has done with Jane Austen as detective here

    So I think his "editor's foreword" is a rhetorical device - kind of like the one in The DaVinci Code. It's fiction, and Barron wrote it, as far as I can tell.
     
    revmaf, Mar 30, 2007
    #2
  3. Nakia

    Nakia The night is mine Distinguished Member ★ SPS Account Holder Adored Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) BoM XenForo Migration Contributor [2015] (for helping support the migration to new forum software!)

    Joined:
    Jun 26, 2003
    Messages:
    5,575
    Media:
    102
    Likes Received:
    136
    Gender:
    Female
    This is Stephanie Barron's explanation of the Jane Austen detective stories. revmaf is correct.
     
    Nakia, Mar 30, 2007
    #3

  4. kuemper Gems: 31/31
    Latest gem: Rogue Stone

    Joined:
    Jun 19, 2005
    Messages:
    8,926
    Likes Received:
    8
    Thank you ladies. I'm going to get the others next time I'm at the library.
     
    kuemper, Mar 31, 2007
    #4
Sorcerer's Place is a project run entirely by fans and for fans. Maintaining Sorcerer's Place and a stable environment for all our hosted sites requires a substantial amount of our time and funds on a regular basis, so please consider supporting us to keep the site up & running smoothly. Thank you!

Sorcerers.net is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to products on amazon.com, amazon.ca and amazon.co.uk. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.