This is the second novel by Pitkeathley on the life of Jane Austen. The first explored her relationship with her sister Cassandra, but this one widens the scope to include the cousins and other family members. Told in letters and first person narratives, each chapter gives the reader a point of view or relates an incident as seen from the vantage point of a different family member. The narrative follows chronologically to the major incidents in Jane Austen's life but gives a wider picture of her life. Pitkeathley has obviously immersed herself in Austen's novels and life and there are many delightful comparisons to be made in her writing to that of Austen. It almost makes you think that all of Austen's characters are based on her relatives, something she always denied. But the moans and groans of Mrs. James Austen (Mary) are so like those of Mary Musgrove in Persuasion that she must be one and the same. One of the better novels in this genre, those written in Austen's style. ( )