A Jane Austen Daydream

FIVE YEAR ANNIVERSARY EDITION

Now with a new foreword and an updated cover showcasing Jane’s own handwriting, this re-imagining of Jane’s life continues to charm and delight readers of literary fiction worldwide.

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All her heroines find love in the end–but is there love waiting for Jane?

Jane Austen spends her days writing and matchmaking in the small countryside village of Steventon,until a ball at Godmersham Park propels her into a new world where she yearns for a romance of her own. But whether her heart will settle on a young lawyer, a clever Reverend, a wealthy childhood friend, or a mysterious stranger is anyone’s guess.
Written in the style of Jane herself, this novel ponders the question faced by many devoted readers over the years–did she ever find love? Weaving fact with fiction, it re-imagines her life, using her own stories to fill in the gaps left by history and showing that all of us–to a greater or lesser degree–are head over heels for Jane.

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My Review: I love Jane Austen. (I know that comes as no surprise to you.) But, being the history nerd that I am, it always drives me crazy, not being able to fill in the gaps of her life; those parts that we don’t know. The empty spaces on her known timeline have always intrigued me, and often have me wondering who Ms. Austen really was. Therefore, needless to say, I was pretty excited to check out A Jane Austen Daydream by Scott D. Southard.

Do you ever get to the last page of a book…a book that you haven’t been able to put down, walk away from, stop thinking about or fretting over…and find yourself frustrated that you can’t thank the author?! Yeah, me too.

(By the by, THANK YOU, Mr. Southard! I need everything you’ve ever written.)

This book was so good and so fun. The author takes Jane Austen, reintroduces her to his readers and then proceeds to flesh her out. As the book progressed, I felt that I was given the gift of getting to know Ms. Austen on a personal level; her private life, her struggles, her hopes and even (in my opinion) her failures. The author took those gaps in her narrative and began filling them in. He took a beloved author, threw in some fact, dropped in some fiction and stitched the whole package together with a raw authenticity. I found myself choked up at parts…angry towards Jane at other parts…and completely obsessed with every page. The book has left me feeling hopeful, thrilled, a little haunted, very grateful, and missing Ms. Austen, already.

World, meet Jane Austen.

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About the Author:

Scott D. Southard, the author of A Jane Austen Daydream, swears he is not obsessed with Scott Southard author pic Jane Austen. He is also the author of the novels: My Problem with Doors, Megan, Permanent Spring Showers, Maximilian Standforth and the Case of the Dangerous Dare, and 3 Days in Rome. With his eclectic writing he has found his way into radio, being the creator of the radio comedy series The Dante Experience. The production was honored with the Golden Headset Award for Best MultiCast Audio and the Silver Ogle Award for Best Fantasy Audio Production. Scott received his Master’s in writing from the
University of Southern California. Scott can be found on the internet via his writing blog “The Musings & Artful Blunders of Scott D. Southard,” where he writes on far-ranging topics like writing, art, books, TV, writing, parenting, life, movies, and writing. He even shares original fiction on the site. Currently, Scott resides in Michigan with his very understanding wife, his two patient children, and a very opinionated dog named Bronte.

Author Links:

Amazon US
Audible
Author Website

Highlighted Reviews:

“For those of you who are exhausted by the innumerable retellings of Austen’s novels, this is a style entirely new…. be rewarded by a quick paced novel unlike any you can ever have read, which injects new ideas and possibilities into the world of Jane Austen.” – Laura Boyle, The Jane Austen Centre

“Mix one-part biography and one-part historical re-imagining…add witty characters and some surprises and you have A Jane Austen Daydream. This was a delightful read.” – Amelia Rodriguez, Jane Austen Society of North America

“…Lovely, thought-provoking novel. Fans of Austen will adore this book.” – Lori Nelson Spielman, author of The Life List

“Southard has taken the facts about the great author and woven them into a credible, touching, and also entertaining portrait of a life.” – Historical Novel Society