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The Penguin Podcast: episode 3 – the classics

Godmersham Park

From the number one bestselling author of Miss Austen, a powerful and moving novel featuring Jane Austen's closest friend and confidante . . . 
 
* Waterstones Fiction Book of the Month * 
 
'So envious of anyone yet to read this. A triumph!' Nigella Lawson 
'A masterly piece of storytelling.' Helena Kelly 
'The great writer is brought to life in this clever, well-researched piece of fiction' The Times 
'Thoroughly entertaining, Godmersham Park has some of the same understated wit and sharp observation as Austen's novels' Sunday Times 
'Displays a keen sense of wit and rich characterisation ... a thoroughly enjoyable book' Observer 
________________ 
 
January 1804: Anne Sharpe arrives at Godmersham Park in Kent to take up the position of governess. 
 
At thirty-one years old, she has no previous experience of either teaching or fine country houses. But her mother has died and she desperately needs an independent income if she is to survive. 
 
For her new charge, twelve-year-old Fanny Austen, Anne's arrival is all novelty and excitement. 
 
But Anne is keenly aware that her new role is an awkward one: she is neither one of the servants nor one of the family, and to balance a position between the 'upstairs' and 'downstairs' members of the household is a diplomatic chess game. One wrong move may result in her instant dismissal. 
 
She has just begun to settle into her position when dashing Henry Austen and his younger sister Jane come to stay. 
 
Both take an immediate interest in the pretty, clever governess who quickly becomes drawn into the above stairs life of the Austen family. 
 
Despite her best endeavours, Anne finds that she is beginning to fall in love. But has her survival at Godmersham Park just become a good deal more precarious? 
________________ 
 
More love for Godmersham Park . . . 
 
'If you love Jane Austen you're sure to enjoy Gill Hornby's stylish glimpse into the life of young governess Anne Sharp ... this elegantly written tale skilfully recreates a world where governesses are midway between the family upstairs and the servants downstairs.' The Independent 
'Utterly absorbing and illuminating ... Gill Hornby's best book yet.' Esther Freud 
'I read it straight through without looking up.' Karen Joy Fowler 
'Meticulously researched, Hornby's absorbing novel revels in the joys and tensions of life above and below stairs.' Mail on Sunday 
'An invigorating riff on an author whose life and works keep on giving, and an ideal companion for your beach towel this summer.' Metro 
'Gill Hornby has created another winning tribute to the genius of Jane.' Woman 
________________ 
 
Readers can't get enough of Godmersham Park . . . 
 
***** 'An utter joy - powerful, moving, clever and entirely delightful.' 
***** 'I enjoyed the pace of the story as well as learning about the family.' 
***** 'I was quite transported by Godmersham Park, which often feels as if from Austen's own pen.' 
***** 'I have never loved a book so much!' 
***** 'I thoroughly enjoyed the story.' 
 
Sunday Times bestseller, January 2023

Gill Hornby is the author of the novels The Hive and All Together Now, as well as The Story of Jane Austen, a biography of Austen for young readers. Her subsequent novels, Miss Austen and Godmersham Park, were Sunday Times bestsellers, and Miss Austen will be a four-part BBC adaptation starring Keeley Hawes as Cassandra Austen. She lives in West Berkshire with her husband and their four children.

Early evening, 1804: Anne Sharpe arrives at Godmersham Park in Kent. 
 
Alone and desperately in need of an independent income, she is to become a governess to twelve-year-old Fanny Austen. 
 
But her new role in this large household where she is neither a servant nor a member of the family is an awkward one, and Anne is keenly aware that one wrong move may result in her instant dismissal. 
 
Then dashing Henry Austen and his younger sister Jane come to stay. 
 
Both take an immediate interest in the pretty, clever governess, and Anne quickly becomes drawn into the above-stairs life of the Austen family. 
 
Soon, and despite her best efforts, she finds she is falling in love. 
 
But has her survival at Godmersham Park just become a good deal more precarious?

The Elopement

‘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?____________ 
 
Love for Godmersham Park... 
 
'So envious of anyone yet to read this. A triumph!' Nigella Lawson 
'A masterly piece of storytelling.' Helena Kelly 
'The great writer is brought to life in this clever, well-researched piece of fiction' The Times 
'Godmersham Park has some of the same understated wit and sharp observation as Austen's novels' Sunday Times

1820, and the marriage between wealthy widower Sir Edward Knatchbull and Jane Austen’s handsome, dutiful niece Fanny Knight is widely praised as being the most excellent match in the county. 
 
As Sir Edward’s wife, Fanny pays attention to the upbringing of young Mary Dorothea, the only girl of the Knatchbull family, and the apple of her strict father's eye. 
 
Poor Mary has hitherto been raised under a cloud of quiet misery. But as the Knight and Knatchbull families merge, she discovers something like fun. 
 
The Knight girls are so sweet and the boys so very handsome and charming - especially Ned, the eldest and therefore the heir to Godmersham Park. 
 
As Mary approaches her seventeenth birthday, a bond forms between her and Ned Knight, an understanding that leads, on the last day of the year 1825, to Ned declaring his hand. 
 
Sir Edward's outrage is immediate; his refusal unyielding. Ned Knight is his own wife's brother! And besides, he dislikes the fellow. The marriage will never take place 
 
There appears to be only one solution for Ned and Mary - but can it really involve elopement?

Gill Hornby is the author of the novels The Hive and All Together Now, as well as The Story of Jane Austen, a biography of Austen for young readers. Her subsequent novels, Miss Austen and Godmersham Park, were Sunday Times bestsellers, and Miss Austen will be a four-part BBC adaptation starring Keeley Hawes as Cassandra Austen. She lives in West Berkshire with her husband and their four children.

‘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?____________ 
 
Love for Godmersham Park... 
 
'So envious of anyone yet to read this. A triumph!' Nigella Lawson 
'A masterly piece of storytelling.' Helena Kelly 
'The great writer is brought to life in this clever, well-researched piece of fiction' The Times 
'Godmersham Park has some of the same understated wit and sharp observation as Austen's novels' Sunday Times

Gill Hornby

Throughout her lifetime, Jane Austen wrote countless letters to her sister. But why did Cassandra burn them all? 
 
1840: twenty three years after the death of her famous sister Jane, Cassandra Austen returns to the village of Kintbury, and the home of her family's friends, the Fowles. 
 
She knows that, in some dusty corner of the sprawling vicarage, there is a cache of family letters which hold secrets she can never allow to be revealed. 
 
As Cassandra recalls her youth and her relationship with her brilliant yet complex sister, she pieces together buried truths about Jane's history, and her own. And she faces a stark choice: should she act to protect Jane's reputation, or leave the contents of the letters to go unguarded into posterity? 
 
Based on a literary mystery that has long puzzled biographers and academics, Miss Austen is a wonderfully original and emotionally complex novel about the loves and lives of Cassandra and Jane Austen.

Gill Hornby

Books by Gill Hornby

Articles featuring Gill Hornby

The Penguin Podcast: episode 3 – the classics

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