The Elopement
A Novel
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- 13,99 €
Description de l’éditeur
A richly imagined novel of the Austen family by the #1 International bestselling-author of Miss Austen.
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.
1820. Mary Dorothea Knatchbull is living under the sole charge of her widowed father, Sir Edward – a man of strict principles and high Christian values.
But when her father marries Miss Fanny Knight of Godmersham Park, Mary’s life is suddenly changed.
Her new stepmother comes from a large, happy and sociable family and Fanny’s sisters become Mary’s first friends. Her aunt, Miss Cassandra Austen of Chawton, is especially kind. Her brothers are not only amusing, but handsome and charming.
And as Mary Dorothea starts to bloom into a beautiful young woman, she forms an especial bond with one Mr Knight in particular.
Soon, they are deeply in love and determined to marry. They expect no opposition. After all, each is from a good family and has known the other for some years.
It promises to be the most perfect match. Who would want to stand in their way?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
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.
