Book Review: Jane Austen’s Cousin

Jane Austen’s Cousin

The Outlandish Countess de Feuillide

by Geri Walton

Pen & Sword

Pen & Sword History

Biographies & Memoirs | History | Nonfiction (Adult)

Pub Date 31 Mar 2021

I am reviewing a copy of Jane Austen’s Cousin through Pen & Sword and Netgalley:

Eliza de Feuillide seemed fascinating and outlandish to her cousins in rural eighteen century England. When she visited her cousins village her appearance was electrifying. The attractive and accomplished French countess with a vivacious personality who inspired their imaginations and regaled them with stories of life in London and Paris where she hobnobbed with French nobility and wore the latest fashions. One of these impressionable younger cousins would find Eliza’s stories so fascinating that she would incorporate elements of Eliza’s life into some of the most famous novels in English literature. This cousin was Jane Austen.

But Eliza’s life was not as glamorous as Jane or her Austen cousins might have thought. She had faced many tragedies in her life that her wealth and social class could not protect her against. She had been forced to adapt and re-examine her priorities in a way that would dramatically change her life choices and result in a more sedate lifestyle.

I give Jane Austen’s Cousin five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!