Austenprose – A Jane Austen Blog

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1. on 3 August 2011 at 8:38 pm | Reply LynnS

   Brightsea tells the story of the elder Miss Steele some ten years after the events of Sense & Sensibility. In following the minor characters, Jane Gillespie avoids the problem of imagining a future for the Dashwoods that contradicts the readers’ own ideas.

   Nancy Steele is placed in the position of a companion to Louisa Retford, a young heiress just out of school. Miss Steele’s being little equipped for such a position is of less interest to Mr. Palmer, who arranges the matter, than the removal of Miss Steele from Cleveland, where she has landed following an estrangement with her
   sister. One is amused by Miss Steele’s outlandish dress, lack of manners and her assumption that Louisa’s suitors are actually her own! Louisa is tolerant of her companion’s poor judgment and vulgarity, firstly, because she is able to manage Nancy enough to get her own way in those things that are important to her; but also because Louisa herself has so little knowledge of the world, she is unaware of many of Nancy’s shortcomings. Louisa is a sympathetic character, initially because one would pity anyone placed in the charge of Nan Steele. Later on, as Miss Retford develops an interest in the people around her and forms relationships with them, she becomes a more interesting character in her own right.

   That Louisa will be beset with problems is inevitable, especially after Lucy Ferrars arrives on the scene. No one who has read Sense & Sensibility will be surprised that Lucy and Nancy’s relationship continues as full of arguments, jealousies, manipulations and competition as ever. However, there is little doubt that Gillespie will extricate poor Louisa from her difficulties before the end of the book. Indeed, after becoming involved with Louisa, the conclusion of her storyline is dissatisfyingly rushed. Gillespie spends more time bringing Nancy’s story to its conclusion and while Louisa has grown and evolved, Nan Steele manages, like her sister, not to get the comeuppance she so richly deserves. She remains ignorant, silly, oblivious and vain and, one imagines, continues to cause more troubles for others than she does for herself.

   This book was a both entertaining and enjoyable. Jane Gillespie has written two other Austen inspired Regencies, which I have requested from my library and am looking forward to reading.

   This is my 4th review for the Reading Challenge.

   
   
2. on 25 September 2011 at 3:53 am | Reply Meredith (Austenesque Reviews)

   I’m happy to see that someone reviewed this book! I like Jane Gillespie’s writing, and her attention to minor characters. Her books are so hard to come by though. She actually wrote about 6-8 Austenesque novels and they are not all for P&P! I’ve read Aunt Celia which is about Emma and Teverton Hall which is about P&P, I just tracked down Deborah which I found on amazon and it is about Anne De Bourgh, haven’t gotten around to reading it yet though!

   
   
3. on 25 September 2011 at 7:19 am | Reply LynnS

   The book jacket only mentioned Ladysmeade and Treverton Hall, but it was obviously an early edition of the book! I will look for the others, too. Have you read Uninvited Guests?

   
   
4. on 25 September 2011 at 8:11 am | Reply Meredith (Austenesque Reviews)

   I have heard of Uninvited Guests – it’s about NA, right? But I’ve never come across it. Sounds like one I would like to read though!

   
   
5. on 8 December 2011 at 7:46 am | Reply Lauren Cartelli

   http://www.theliterarygothamite.com/2011/12/review-brightsea-by-jane-gillespie.html