Godmersham Park: The Sunday Times top ten bestseller by the acclaimed author of Miss Austen

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Godmersham Park is inspired by the real-life friendship between Anne Sharp and one of Britain’s most celebrated authors: Jane Austen. There is a running thread through the novel as Anne tries to discover why her father has disinherited her while also trying to find some security in her position at Godmersham Park. While she finds twelve year old Fanny engaging and enjoyable, she figuratively walks a tightrope, not quite fitting in with the servants, but not equal to the family. The novel is inspired by the diaries kept by Fanny Austen Knight, letters exchanged between Anne Sharp and Jane and Cassandra Austen, and a first edition of Emma that Jane signed for Anne.

To shed light on Anne's governess days, we also have the diaries of Fanny Austen Knight, who was Jane's niece and Anne's student for two years at Godmersham Park.It made it more unexpected and gave deeper insight into her life and times by looking at it from those around her and getting their view of the world in which she lived. Anne is surrounded by her own drama, and although sheltered by the Austens, also there, without really knowing what her emotions and feelings are towards them, she begins to suffer, because although she is not a conventional character, she finds difficult to understand kindness without any payment, and herself, she didn't seem to control her own emotions very well. Any ardent admirers of Jane Austen will be enthralled by this peripheral look of Jane Austen, the unconventional friendship that bloomed between two independent yet dependent women, and the inner workings of the Austen family. As for the ending, I had mixed feelings, but appreciated it after I read the author’s note about the characters’ subsequent years.

Already miffed at her drastic change of circumstances, Anne is desolate when she realises that being a governess is akin to being invisible, 'She was neither a guest deserving of especial courtesy, nor a servant to be treated as a friend'. She has been my girl for more years than I’m able to count, and I can’t think of a day where she will not be, in fact, my girl. It also talks about the governess's friendship with Jane, who was like the other side of Henry's coin, both nice, interesting, good and seductive.It's a sobering story of the precarious situation many women without husbands or fathers found themselves in, and the writing is excellent and vivid.

If forced to put the two books side by side, I would have to say the wistful, slightly melancholic and gently humorous mode of Ms. Henry on the other hand, moves between an Austenian hero with the misfortune of having a wife, and no fiancée, and on the other, someone who is a seducer, a kind of Willoughby, and it all seemed very strange to me. I’m, of course, interested in anyone who has a slight connection to the Austen family, but I’m especially intrigued about Anne because of her position as governess.Though she has no experience in the position of governess, having until recently been raised in comfort, she is determined to do her best, and serve the Austen family well. Anne felt incredibly real to me and I loved the way that Gill Hornby has created such a vivid character from Fanny’s journals. As someone who has suffered migraines, I was furious when Elizabeth forced open the curtains in Anne's room, insisting that the light would make her feel better. Having Anne hang around waiting for Elizabeth Austen to kick her out of the house did not really make for an engaging protagonist or indeed a compelling novel.