by Gill Hornby
For being the first readers and their general bucking up, I am grateful to Nick Hornby, Amanda Posey, Catherine Bennett, Sabine Durrant, Joanna Kaye, and Julia Kreitman. And finally, of course, to my family, Holly, Charlie, Matilda, Sam, and, most especially, Robert Harris: thank you, for simply everything.
Recommend Miss Austen for your next book club!
Reading Group Guide available at
www.readinggroupgold.com
ALSO BY GILL HORNBY
The Hive
All Together Now
About the Author
Gill Hornby is the author of the novels The Hive and All Together Now, as well as The Story of Jane Austen, a biography of Austen for young readers. She lives in Kintbury, England, with her husband and their four children. You can sign up for email updates here.
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Contents
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Map
The Families
Epigraph
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Authors Note
Acknowledgments
Also By Gill Hornby
About the Author
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
MISS AUSTEN. Copyright © 2020 by Gill Hornby. All rights reserved. For information, address Flatiron Books, 120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271.
www.flatironbooks.com
Cover design by Lee Ann Falciani
Cover photograph courtesy Biodiversity Heritage Library
Map by Darren Bennett—www.dkbcreative.com
The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.
ISBN 978-1-250-25220-3 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-250-25219-7 (ebook)
eISBN 9781250252197
Our ebooks may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, extension 5442, or by email at [email protected].
Published by arrangement with Century. Century is part of the Penguin Random House group of companies.
First U.S. Edition: April 2020