Quite simply, this is a collection of short stories all inspired by Jane Austen. Some are set in Jane Austen’s time, some are set in the present day, some are set in a fantasy world. As can only be expected with such a collection, and with such a varying range of writing styles, some are far more enjoyable than others and preferences will probably differ from reader to reader.
My favourites were the ones with a touch of humour, and – surprisingly for me because I am a big Austen fan – I preferred the ones set in the present day.
My favourites were Jane Austen’s Nightmare by Syrie James (where Austen meets several of her characters who berate her for her treatment of them through her writing); ‘Jane Austen, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah!’ by Janet Mullany (where several contemporary schoolgirls learn lessons about love and life through discovering Austen’s works), and ‘The Love Letter’ by Brenna Aubrey.
Most of the others were enjoyable enough if not particularly memorable for me, although there were a couple I unfortunately did not like at all – ‘Jane Austen’s Cat’ by Diana Birchall just seemed extremely silly, and ‘The Chase’ by Carrie Bebris, while obviously well researched (it is based on an incident in the Navy career of Austen’s brother Francis) also did not work for me. However as mentioned before, such opinions are of course completely subjective.
Overall, if you have an interest in Jane Austen or her characters, I’d recommend giving this book a try. And as it is a collection of stand-alone stories, it’s one you can easily dip in and out of.
Between the Pages 
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