The Elopement

Hornby (Miss Austen) continues her series devoted to the family of Jane Austen with a supple tale of Fanny Knight, the eldest daughter of Jane’s brother Edward. In 1820 England, 28-year-old Fanny seems resigned to a life of caring for her siblings on their widowed father Edward’s estate of Godmersham Park. Then Fanny receives a marriage proposal in the mail from Sir Edward Knatchbull, whom she met when he recently visited for dinner, and with her father’s blessing she agrees to marry him and care for his five children. After the wedding, Fanny and Sir Edward move into his home, Mersham-le-Hatch. Fanny eventually gives birth to a daughter with whom she shares a tighter bond than with her stepchildren, especially Mary Dorothea, Sir Edward’s only daughter. Though Fanny is often distant towards Mary Dorothea, the girl enjoys spending time at Godmersham Park with Fanny’s siblings, and eventually captures the attention of Fanny’s brother, Ned. Sir Edward, however, refuses Ned’s request to marry Mary Dorothea, who must consider whether her own happiness is worth defying her father. Hornby breathes life into the characters, highlighting the societal restrictions faced by women in Regency England and their roles as daughters and wives. Fans of Hornby’s earlier Austen novels will be satisfied. (Oct.)