Allie Cresswell

Dear Jane is the final part of the Highbury Trilogy, a back-story and prequel to Jane Austen's Emma. If you've ever read and loved Emma this will enhance it for you.

Amazon UK link

Amazon US link

Book description

The final instalment of the Highbury trilogy, Dear Jane recounts events hinted at but never actually described in Jane Austen’s Emma; the formative childhood years of Jane Fairfax and Frank Churchill, their meeting in Weymouth and the agony of their secret engagement.
Orphaned Jane seems likely to be brought up in parochial Highbury until adoption by her papa’s old friend Colonel Campbell opens to her all the excitement and opportunities of London. Frank Weston is also transplanted from Highbury, adopted as heir to the wealthy Churchills and taken to their drear and inhospitable Yorkshire estate. Readers of Emma will be familiar with the conclusion of Jane and Frank’s story, but Dear Jane pulls back the veil which Jane Austen drew over its remainder.


My review -

This is the third in the Highbury trilogy. It meshes well with Emma, the book on which its characters are based. The author gives us a credible background that goes deeper than the original book and I’ve enjoyed them all. It’s good to see the final melding where people and events we know from Emma are brought into play. If you enjoy Jane Austen, or other books set in this period, you won’t be disappointed. Highly recommended – but read the other two first.

About the author

Allie Cresswell was born in Stockport, UK and began writing fiction as soon as she could hold a pencil.
Allie recalls: 'I was about 8 years old. Our teacher asked us to write about a family occasion and I launched into a detailed, harrowing and entirely fictional account of my grandfather's funeral. I think he died very soon after I was born; certainly I have no memory of him and definitely did not attend his funeral, but I got right into the details, making them up as I went along (I decided he had been a Vicar, which I spelled 'Vice'). My teacher obviously considered this outpouring very good bereavement therapy so she allowed me to continue with the story on several subsequent days, and I got out of maths and PE on a few occasions before I was rumbled.'
She went on to do a BA in English Literature at Birmingham University and an MA at Queen Mary College, London.
She has been a print-buyer, a pub landlady, a book-keeper, run a B & B and a group of boutique holiday cottages. Nowadays Allie writes full time having retired from teaching literature to lifelong learners.
She has two grown-up children, one granddaughter and two grandsons, is married to Tim and divides her time between Cheshire and Cumbria.

~~~

Just a thought

Thank God for books and music and things I can think about. 
― Daniel Keyes

The Other Miss Bates

The second book in the Highbury Trilogy, inspired by Jane Austen's 'Emma'

Amazon UK link

Amazon US link

Book description

Jane Bates has left Highbury to become the companion of the invalid widow Mrs Sealy in Brighton. Life in the new, fashionable seaside resort is exciting indeed. A wide circle of interesting acquaintance and a rich tapestry of new experiences make her new life all Jane had hoped for. 
While Jane’s sister Hetty can be a tiresome conversationalist she proves to be a surprisingly good correspondent and Jane is kept minutely up-to-date with developments in Highbury, particularly the tragic news from Donwell Abbey. 
When the handsome Lieutenant Weston returns to Brighton Jane expects their attachment to pick up where it left off in Highbury the previous Christmas, but the determined Miss Louisa Churchill, newly arrived with her brother and sister-in-law from Enscombe in Yorkshire, seems to have a different plan in mind. 

My review -

This story fills in much of the background detail from the original Jane Austen story, Emma. Like the earlier Mrs Bates of Highbury, it rings true to the original. It treats Miss Austen’s work respectfully and feels and reads as true to the time. The characters we know from the original are not altered but merely expanded and it all feels like part of the story of Emma. This isn’t merely fan fiction but a credible contribution to the backstories of many favourite characters. It’s an enjoyable read for Austen lovers but also makes a great tale on its own behalf. I’ve loved these two books and look forward to a third. Author info Allie Cresswell was born in Stockport, UK and began writing fiction as soon as she could hold a pencil. Allie recalls: 'I was about 8 years old. Our teacher asked us to write about a family occasion and I launched into a detailed, harrowing and entirely fictional account of my grandfather's funeral. I think he died very soon after I was born; certainly I have no memory of him and definitely did not attend his funeral, but I got right into the details, making them up as I went along (I decided he had been a Vicar, which I spelled 'Vice'). My teacher obviously considered this outpouring very good bereavement therapy so she allowed me to continue with the story on several subsequent days, and I got out of maths and PE on a few occasions before I was rumbled.' ~~~ Just a thought - A room without books is like a b ody without a soul.