Hi there!
Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.
Today, we're joining Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours for a stop along a promotion already in progress. It's a perfect fit for HF fans and Austenites alike as the author takes the life story of the authoress we know and love, and gives it a little twist of fate, if you will. Being the first volume in the series, there's no better way to get acquainted with everyone and everything that's about to unfold, so ready or not, here we go! Today's book of choice is....
A Novel by a Gentleman, Volume 1
by
Collins Hemingway
9781504911023
Authorhouse
Authorhouse
About the book...
Everyone should marry once for love – Even Jane Austen
Jane Austen, single and seemingly comfortable in the role of clergyman’s daughter and aspiring writer in the early 1800s, tells friends and family to hold out for true affection in any prospective relationship. Everybody, she says, has a right to marry once in their lives for love.
But when, after a series of disappointing relationships, the prospect of true love arrives for her, will she have the courage to act? The Marriage of Miss Jane Austen re-imagines the life of England’s archetypal female by exploring what might have happened if she had ever married. It shows how a meaningful, caring relationship would have changed her as a person and a writer.
It also takes her beyond England’s tranquil country villages and plunges her info what the Regency era was really about: great explorations and scientific advances, political foment, and an unceasing, bloody war.
In such times, can love—can marriage—triumph?
Amazon | Austen Books | Barnes and Noble
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What WOULD happen if Jane had fallen in love? How would it have changed the writer or her writing? In what ways would her world have been easier, harder, more fulfilling, or less? Would we even have the stories we know like the back of our hands, or perhaps we'd have more, but in additional shades of splendor? There's no simple answer, but oh so many suppositions that can be made...making this particular one as much a possibility as any other.
Though I've read several works fit for the Austenite masses, each one has its own charms. In this particular undertaking, we have Jane receiving the attention of a familiar young man with his intentions as obvious as the day is long...at least to everyone BUT the intended. Ah yes, Ms. Austen seems to be oblivious to that which is on offer from one Mr. Dennis, and yet, I can't help but second her second guessing nature. Was it too much to ask that the question be asked plainly? Was it too much to have some courtship, however frivolous it may seem, if not out of courtesy, than out of love? Was it too hard to see that while not actively seeking another half, the appearance of what might be her perfect match would be as dis-settling as it was secretly welcomed? No matter how level headed or practical a girl, pardon me...a woman is, it doesn't mean that all the romance should be swept under the rug...even when it comes to someone as wily with words as our dear Jane.
In the end, I enjoyed the trip through the early 1800's for the story as well as the company we kept. It's not every day you meet a young man trying desperately to impress a woman of which he is sweet on, only to have his efforts thwarted time and again by both the woman herself and outside forces (think hot air balloon ride turned cross country expedition!). The scandal that follows was fitting for the times but enough to turn any modern woman red in the face in exasperation...as was the ensuing shunning of both parties, family, and friends. The broken paths of relationships that follows, however brief and caste they may be, paves the way for a potential "one day" that'll find them in the right place, at the right time, and in the right frame of mind AND heart...while delivering a story that readers can believe in, as much as any fictitious story can become a truth.
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About the author...
Whether his subject is literature, history, or science, Collins Hemingway has a passion for the art of creative investigation. For him, the most compelling fiction deeply explores the heart and soul of its characters, while also engaging them in the complex and often dangerous world in which they have a stake. He wants to explore all that goes into people’s lives and everything that makes tThe hem complete though fallible human beings. His fiction is shaped by the language of the heart and an abiding regard for courage in the face of adversity.
As a nonfiction book author, Hemingway has worked alongside some of the world’s thought leaders on topics as diverse as corporate culture and ethics; the Internet and mobile technology; the ins and outs of the retail trade; and the cognitive potential of the brain. Best known for the #1 best-selling book on business and technology, Business @ the Speed ofThought, which he coauthored with Bill Gates, he has earned a reputation for tackling challenging subjects with clarity and insight, writing for the nontechnical but intelligent reader.
Hemingway has published shorter nonfiction on topics including computer technology, medicine, and aviation, and he has written award-winning journalism.
Published books include The Marriage of Miss Jane Austen trilogy, Business @ the Speed of Thought, with Bill Gates, Built for Growth, with Arthur Rubinfeld, What Happy Companies Know, with Dan Baker and Cathy Greenberg, Maximum Brainpower, with Shlomo Breznitz, and The Fifth Wave, with Robert Marcus.
Hemingway lives in Bend, Oregon, with his wife, Wendy. Together they have three adult sons and three granddaughters. He supports the Oregon Community Foundation and other civic organizations engaged in conservation and social services in Central Oregon.
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Special thanks to Amy at HF Virtual Book Tours for the chance to bring this tour to you as well as to author Collins Hemingway for the signed copy for review. (THANKS!) For more information on this title, the series, the author, the publisher, this tour, or those on the horizon, feel free to click through the links provided above. This title is available now via Authorhouse, so click on over to your favorite online retailer to snag your copy today! Stop by the other sites on the tour for more bookish fun.
BEFORE YOU GO....
DON'T MISS YOUR CHANCE TO WIN!
Up for grabs...two paperback copies of The Marriage of Miss Jane Austen!
To enter, CLICK HERE to access the Gleam form...
To enter, CLICK HERE to access the Gleam form...
Rules:
– Giveaway ends at 11:59pm EST on January 12th. You must be 18 or older to enter.
– Giveaway is open to residents INTERNATIONALLY.
– Only one entry per household.
– All giveaway entrants agree to be honest and not cheat the systems; any suspect of fraud is decided upon by blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at our discretion.
– Winner has 48 hours to claim prize or new winner is chosen.
Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!
Thanks so much for hosting The Marriage of Miss Jane Austen Blog Tour!
ReplyDeleteAmy
HF Virtual Book Tours