Jane and the Man of the Cloth

1997, paperback Bantam edition from later that year
Stephanie Barron
Jane and the Man of the Cloth
Bought new for $5.99
Worn paperback
B-

On the plus side, there are fewer footnotes than before.  And I liked seeing Austen's family, even if Mrs. Austen is a bit Mrs.-Bennet-like.  The setting of Lyme and the smuggling plot felt more original than the plot in Scargrave Manor.  On the minus side, the classism is even worse, with Jane basically saying that the murder of a poor man is unimportant.  Also, I didn't like it when Jane puts down her own writing (of The Watsons) and claims that real life is much more interesting.  Sorry, Barron, you're not creating better characters or more intricate plots than Jane herself.  Still, it's a respectable follow-up, itself succeeded by Jane and the Wandering Eye (1998)....