Memoir Mondays... We start the Jane Austen Birthday Week with The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen by Syrie James!

What if, hidden in an old attic chest, Jane Austen's memoirs

were discovered after hundreds of years?

What if those pages revealed the untold story of a life-changing love affair?

The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen by Syrie James... From the Publisher, "The premise behind this spellbinding novel, which delves into the secrets of Jane Austen's life, gives us untold insights into her mind and heart. Jane Austen, her sister Cassandra, and their mother are left homeless and nearly penniless when Jane's father dies. Although Jane's brothers pitch in to offer financial support, Jane still lacks privacy and a settled place in which to live and write. She has long since give up her dream of becoming a published author.

On a fateful trip to Lyme, Jane meets the well-read and charming Mr. Ashford, a man who is her equal in intellect and temperament. The two fall deeply in love. Inspired by the people and places around her, and encouraged by Mr. Ashford's faith in her, Jane begins revising Sense and Sensibility, a book she began years earlier, hoping to be published at last.

Written in a compelling and witty style that echoes Austen's own, The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen stays faithful to the facts of Jane Austen's life, while revealing the untold story of Jane's impassioned, life-changing love affair. At the same time, the novel showcases Jane's struggle with her own talent—and offers a possible scenario for the inspiration behind some of her most beloved romantic tales."

This book has gotten so much positive buzz! And since it is Memoir Monday, Jane never wrote really wrote her memoirs, and we are celebrating Jane Austen's birthday this week, I thought we could all enjoy this "memoir" that is written so convincingly in Jane's style! Syrie James did extensive research to truly understand all things Austen, and writes,

"I felt a great responsibility to remain true to Jane Austen's known history, and to accurately represent not only her, but her real-life friends and family members. It was a challenge to interweave my love story with the known dates, times, places and facts of Jane Austen's life. When I was finished, I hoped it would be difficult for even the most discerning Jane Austen scholar to determine where fact ended and fiction began."

Read more about her research at her website HERE. There is even a Reader's Guide HERE, for book clubs interested in reading The Memoirs of Jane Austen as a group! Would you like to read an excerpt? Here's a link to CHAPTER ONE. And this book is Kindle Ready too!

Stop by the rest of the week for more books based on the writings of Jane Austen! And Celebrate Jane this week- her birthday is Dec. 16th!