Jane And The Unpleasantness At Scargrave Manor
by Stephanie Barron

The very worst musical experience of my life occurred at a concert for Primary Schools, when, as an interlude, we were subjected to "Little Polly Flinders" à la mode de Mozart, Verdi, Beethoven, Haydn and so on. The smaller children were upset, because something cosy and familiar had been twisted - rather like finding a pet kitten with it's neck wrung - whilst the older children and their parents were all too aware that the great composers, even in their most desperate, pot-boiling times, would never have stooped so low. This was an insult to sense and sensibility.

Jane and the Unpleasantness... was the literary equivalent. Worse, this book threatens to be the first of a series.

If you must spend your money on American-written "19th Century English" tales, believe me, you can buy several volumes for the price of this one. Many of them are better written. None of them make such pretensions.

Even the really sad people who feel compelled to buy anything with 'Jane Austen' on the cover should wait until this book is remaindered. If you can't wait that long, seek a reviewer's copy in your nearest charity shop / dustbin / bonfire.

Reviewed by Sheila Coe