Jane Austen has a problem. In addition to be incredibly witty and unwilling to suffer fools, she’s become one of the Damned. It was an unfortunate accident brought on by a silly flirtation, but now her family is terribly worried for her. She must now travel to Bath to take the cure by means of ingesting the water there.
Thus begins the adventure of a young Jane Austen in Jane and the Damned by Janet Mullany.
Her creator, before doing the deed, captivates her attention and draws her into conversation by showing interest in the young novelist after she speaks on receiving a rejection notice.
She shrugged. ‘It is a novel, a story of two sisters who live unfashionably in the country and who have little money but wish to marry well and for love. I flatter myself – or rather I flattered myself when I thought well of my work – that my work resembled that of Mr. Richardson, whom I much admire. But now, I see I must abandon my original plan and start afresh. I am not sure how, however.’
Every girl just wants to speak and be heard, true? Later, things don't turn out so well with her creator.
In the silence that fell, William looked Jane up and down. 'I beg you will excuse me. She is not vampire enough to tempt me.'
Tsk! After being abandoned by her creator and left drifting, she confesses her predicament to her father who, as a man of the cloth, insists she take ‘the cure.’ While in town preparing to take her medicine, Bath is invaded by the French army and overtaken completely. The town in under siege and only the Damned can bring England back to its former rule!
Jane and the Damned is well written and has an interesting love story with a few plot twists and hitches thrown in to keep you guessing. Historical figures mixed in for good measure help keep the book interesting and keeps the pace up until the end. Jane clearly struggles with being a vampire and wanting to be a writer. This underlying theme is also a tension that entertains the reader.
If you are a purist, please don’t bother picking this book up. You’ll just upset yourself.
If you are in the mood for some paranormal romance with a regency twist, this book is for you. There are some blatant historical inaccuracies, but there are also some consistencies with Jane’s real life you’ll find interesting and amusing.
4 out of 5 stars.
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Read my interview with Janet Mullany here.
Read more about the author, Janet Mullany and her published works here.
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