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Reviews
I Was Jane Austen's Best Friend
It is 1791, and shy, sensible Jenny Cooper and her bold cousin Jane Austen are in a rather bad way. Jane is very sick with a fever and the cruel and rather unscrupulous headmistress of their girls' boarding school is refusing to contact Jane's parents.
Jenny feels she has no other choice than to venture out in the middle night, alone, to take a letter to the post inn to try to warn her aunt and uncle of Jane’s poor health...
Although written in contemporary prose, this lovely novel captures Jane Austen's times perfectly.
This is a social account of the end of the eighteenth-century England just as much as it is a bit of girly fun.
Coral Harrison most definitely did her homework; the boundaries between fact and fiction are often blurred, as the author was inspired both by real events and characters and episodes in Jane Austen's life (mostly recorded in her correspondence to several people) as well as the imaginary characters and scenes in her novels.
They all come together very well and Cora Harrison manages to touch on subjects that were close to Austen's heart too: the issues around marriage, with true love always competing against finding a match that will bring financial security is central, and girls with an independent mind are pivotal to the story...
This quirky romantic novel is a great introduction to Jane Austen for younger readers and an insight of what life might have been for her, seen through the eyes of her cousin. The fact that it is written in the form of a journal, accentuated by pretty illustrations, makes it effortless to read, and one that I very much enjoyed.
...I Was Jane Austen's Best Friend is a sweet, heart-warming tale of love, friendship and ball gowns. Written in diary form, Jenny Cooper reveals her secrets and desires in a book that fans of Jane Austen novels will enjoy!
I really enjoyed reading this book despite not having read anything by Jane Austen before. It picked up from the first page and I was immediately transported back to 1791 in the streets of Southampton. As I live near Southampton and in Hampshire (where the story is set) it was really interesting to see the contrast between the time periods through Jenny's eyes. I loved the additions to the text as well. There were beautifully drawn illustrations accompanying real prints of short stories that Jane Austen wrote...
Intrigue aplenty... Teenage Fiction for All Ages review
First Line:
My Journal Monday, 7 February 1791
Jane looks like she could die.
... I Was Jane Austen's Best Friend is a stately paced novel which takes the reader into the eighteenth century with ease and there is intrigue aplenty in the last 50 pages. I found this a quick read and though I thought the romance element a little improbable due to Jenny's youth and naivety it is in fact based on true life events... I appreciated the illustrations by Susan Hellard which added another level of charm to this book.
Cover: This is an exceptionally pretty cover which caught my attention.
A charming, heartwarming, emotional and clever read - loved it!
Review by Funky Librarian. All things teen library
... Jenny's is a shy and timid character, quite the opposite to Jane who is very confident and as you would expect, always coming up with entertaining stories and jokes that keep everyone amused.
The book is Jenny's story of the journey from child to young woman, with some heartwarming moments and shocking twists along the way.
Harrison really opens up what it would have been like to be a young woman growing up without a fortune in the 18th Century. The relationships she develops between Jane and her brothers were so realistic and the exchange between them written with humour and warmth.
Where Harrison has filled in the blanks, it is done so cleverly and intuitively. A true Austen fan!
A charming, heartwarming, emotional and clever read - loved it!
4/4/2010
A charming introduction ... UK Sunday Telegraph review
...a sprigged muslin of a novel – light and fluffy but with a good structured underskirt.
It is told in diary form by Jane Austen’s cousin and offers a sideways glimpse into the imagined world of Austen as a teenager.
Along with the balls, dresses, flirtations and biographical details are incidents and characters to be unpicked from the later novels – a light-hearted diversion for those who know their Eltons from their Bennets, and a charming introduction to those who don’t. (Age: 11-14)
Review by Georgia on the Chicklish website
Cora Harrison’s I Was Jane Austen’s Best Friend is a gripping book, good for a wide age range. It gives an enthralling insight into 18th century life, with a brilliant storyline to keep you guessing what will happen next. It’s also written in an exciting journal format... - Review by Georgia, aged 13
Read more of this review on our I Was Jane Austin's Best Friend page...
Rich in period detail and full of romance and fantasy, this is a delightful imaginary diary of Jenny Cooper which gives entertaining insights into what Jane Austen might have been like as a teenager.
Jenny is the pretty,
clever but shy cousin of the young Jane. The girls meet at a horrible boarding school but soon escape to the warmth of Jane's family home where Jenny enjoys with Jane the bustling life of cards and games and gowns and balls and, above all, the delights of finding a hero.
Julia Eccleshare (children's editor of the Guardian) in Lovereading4kids.co.uk 'books of the month'
24/12/09
I
Was Jane Austen’s Best Friend is a wonderful and original way to introduce younger generations to Jane Austen’s life and work. Even more poignant perhaps is the fact that the foundations of this story are real.
Author Cora Harrison, who specialises in children’s historical fiction, has researched the characters for her book in such a way that it provides invaluable insight into the life of the wild, witty, imaginative young girl Jane Austen was.
We see the young author through the eyes of her shy cousin, Jenny Cooper, who comes to stay for the summer. And that summer will change her life forever, because above all else this book is a romance, and one that echoes those that we will know and love from Jane Austen’s work in the years to come.
Waterstones's Books Quarterly review.
The people and places in this account are real, based on what is known of Austen’s adolescence, and Harrison has made good use of her own love of Austen’s novels and characters, imagining them to be fictional accounts of family and friends.
Late eighteenth and twenty-first-century literary styles are well combined, and lively characterisation provides an engaging text which creates a typical Austen short novel around Jenny’s whirlwind romance.
Harrison also addresses the plight of George, Jane’s brother, and attitudes of the time towards learning difficulties and physical disability.
Booktrust, November 2009
Review in French from:
Forum des amoureux de la littérature et de la culture anglaise at http://whoopsy-daisy.forumactif.net/oeuvres-derivees-f33/i-was-jane-austen-s-best-friend-de-cora-harrison-t571.htm
Citation:
When shy Jenny Cooper goes to stay with her cousin Jane Austen she knows nothing of the world of beautiful dresses, dances, secrets, gossip and romance that Jane inhabits. But Jane is already a sharp observer of the customs of courtship, and when Jenny falls utterly in love with the dashing Captain Thomas Williams, who better than Jane to help her win the heart of this most eligible of men?
Ce petit livre est en fait le journal intime de Jenny Cooper, la cousine orpheline de Jane Austen qui a résidé chez sa famille à Steventon. Ce roman se lit donc presque avant tout comme tel. Le lecteur est plongé dans les pensées, souvenirs, troubles et espoirs d'une jeune fille de 16 ans...
Read more of this review on our I Was Jane Austin's Best Friend page...
The Burren Mysteries by Cora Harrison
"The Burren on the western seaboard of Ireland was then, in the year of 1509, as it is now, a land of stony fields and swirling mountain terraces..."
A series of six murder mystery books set in medieval Ireland
With her superb attention to detail, Cora Harrison brings medieval Ireland into vivid life, being equally skilful at portraying the good, the bad, and the ugly. Mara is up there with the great fictional detectives. - Historical Novel Society, Editors' Choice Titles for August 2009
Ellis Peters and Peter Tremayne fans who have yet to discover Harrison will be overjoyed. - Publishers Weekly starred review
"This richly conceived and authentically detailed series of historical whodunits..." - Booklist
"... well-drawn characters, a tantalizing mystery and an intriguing look at the surprisingly complex and liberal laws of 1509 Ireland." - Kirkus reviews
"Mara is wonderfully depicted... The historical and geographic setting is so well written you feel a part of the time." - New Mystery Magazine
"You’ll enjoy this mystery and learn much about our Irish heritage." - Irish American News
"Outstanding"
- Publishers Weekly"a wonderfully appealing character ...an alluring perception of Ireland – [Cora Harrison is] exceptionally talented at crafting an intriguing whodunit." - The Truth About Books.com
The London Murder Mystery series
Extract from The London Murder Mystery series
Click here to read an extract from The first in the London Murder Mystery series, The Montgomery Murder
"It was a foggy day in late November. The gas lamps shone like cloudy balls of light and the horses slipped on the wet streets.
"
The police must move fast to catch his killer. They need an insider, someone streetwise, cunning, bold . . . someone like Alfie.
"When Inspector Denham makes him an offer he can’t refuse, it’s up to Alfie and his gang to sift clues, shadow suspects and negotiate a sinister world of double-dealing and danger – until the shocking truth is revealed...
Reviews for the Montgomery Murder
"a hugely enjoyable read..."
In the mean streets of Victorian London lies the body of wealthy Mr Montgomery.
The police must move fast to catch his killer. They need an insider, someone streetwise, cunning, bold . . . someone like Alfie.
When Inspector Denham makes him an offer he can’t refuse, it’s up to Alfie and his gang to sift clues, shadow suspects and negotiate a sinister world of double-dealing and danger – until the shocking truth is revealed...
