Jane and the Man of the Cloth (Jane Austen Mysteries, #2)

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Jane and the Man of the Cloth (Jane Austen Mysteries #2)

3.76 of 5 stars 3.76 · rating details · 1,384 ratings · 111 reviews

For everyone who loves Jane Austen...the second tantalizing mystery in a new series that transforms the beloved author into a dazzling sleuth!

Jane and her family are looking forward to a peaceful holiday in the seaside village of Lyme Regis. Yet on the outskirts of town an overturned carriage forces the shaken travelers to take refuge at a nearby manor house. And it is the...more

Paperback, 368 pages

Published November 3rd 1997 by Crimeline (first published January 1st 1997)

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Feb 23, 2012 Alice rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: jane-austen-around, séries-en-cours

Deuxième volet de la saga de Stephanie Barron, on retrouve ici Jane Austen en partance pour Lyme Regis en compagnie de sa soeur et de ses parents. Un accident en route les obligera à accepter l'hospitalité de Mr. Sidmouth, un personnage bien étrange et mystérieux sur lequel les avis divergent...

Je ne sais pas si c'est du au bord de mer mais je retrouve la même ambiance dans ce livre que celle que j'apprécie tant dans Sanditon, le sentiment quand je referme le livre que je viens de passer quelq...more

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Feb 15, 2012 Victoria rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is the first I read of this author and series and I am not totally sure yet how much I like it. I did enjoy the book but I am not in love with it. (I have a lot of mental distractions right now so it may be my fault.)The personality that is assumed for Jane Austen to investigate mysteries is believeable and people discuss items of political interest the way we now discuss the presidential candidates. The author weaves the fiction of the mystery into the actual settings and situations that J...more

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Feb 01, 2012 Bridgette Redman rated it 4 of 5 stars

Stephanie Barron has converted the infamous sophomore curse into the sophomore blessing with her publication of Jane and the Man of the Cloth. It’s fortunate, for her debut novel left much to be desired.

Indeed, I found the first book in the series to be so uninspirational, that it was several years before I picked up the second novel. I was in the midst of one of those rare bookstore visits in which I could find nothing to suit my mood. (Yes, this was in the days before Epinions and my must-read...more Stephanie Barron has converted the infamous sophomore curse into the sophomore blessing with her publication of Jane and the Man of the Cloth. It’s fortunate, for her debut novel left much to be desired.

Indeed, I found the first book in the series to be so uninspirational, that it was several years before I picked up the second novel. I was in the midst of one of those rare bookstore visits in which I could find nothing to suit my mood. (Yes, this was in the days before Epinions and my must-read list was not so overflowing.) I was current on all the mystery and science fiction series I was following. I was in the mood for a medieval mystery, but the bookstore offered nothing I hadn’t already read. I browsed the paperback new arrivals and found Jane and the Wandering Eye, the third in the series. I had a momentary memory lapse and could not recall whether I liked the first book. I remembered only that I had read it. So I returned to the mystery shelf and found the second book in the series. With the impulse that marks most of my book buying, I ended up purchasing both. I’m glad I did.

Jane and the Man of the Cloth is a finely crafted novel. Barron has been meticulous in her research, allowing actual surviving letters of Jane Austen and other historical documents to provide the framework for her novel. It takes place in the Dorset coastal town of Lyme Regis in the late summer of 1804. The one surviving letter of the period introduces characters and stray events. Barron fleshes them out with delightful detail.

Once again, Jane finds her feelings being romantically aroused—an arousal we the readers know can come to only frustration as Jane Austen died an unmarried woman in 1818. Nonetheless, it makes for a more interesting novel, and a rare one in that the romance stays at the desire stage, never progressing even past a kiss.

Like the first novel, the book is written as if it were a series of journal entries which the author/”editor” has fastidiously footnoted. The footnotes provide important geographic, cultural, and political contexts for the reader. I’ll admit to finding the footnotes as enlightening and entertaining as the main text for they illuminate a complex culture that is more foreign to me than the Elizabethan or even the Saxon period. Austen lived in a period where stations and behaviors were strictly defined and the social graces a determinant of one’s place in life.

There are moments when the journal device stretches our willingness to suspend disbelief. The protagonist has recorded events so accurately and completely that it is hard to believe she had time to actually experience them—especially at the fast pace at which events occur. Yet, it would be a dull novel if Jane did not faithfully reproduce conversations and minute observations, so we must allow for the inconsistency for the sake of our enjoyment.

The book begins with an action-packed scene that could make a good opening to a movie. You can almost taste the rain and feel the mud splattering about your ankles. You experience the momentary panic and continued distress as the carriage the Austens have rented overturns, seriously injuring Cassandra and leaving no one but Jane to run for help. We get goosebumps with Jane as she arrives at a creepy manor house. For a moment it feels as if we are entering a gothic horror novel or Sherlock Holmes’ moor, but Jane’s sensibility restores itself and pulls us back.

We meet the brooding Mr. Geoffrey Sidmouth, who offers Jane only the most grudging of help for her family. The novel continues in the way it begins—plenty of action and plenty of mood. Jane is quickly caught up in uncovering the truth about a murderous smuggling ring and the secret identity of “the Reverend,” its ringleader.

Barron continues to ape Austen’s style, but she does so much more effectively in this novel than in the past. In the first novel, Barron tried too hard to force Austen references and make stilted suggestions about how the events she created inspired Austen’s fiction. It was a backward way of doing things. In Jane and the Man of the Cloth Barron has found her own voice and in doing so has better replicated Austen’s. Barron uses her story to postulate unknown events in Austen’s life rather than using her story to explain Austen’s fictional inspirations. It’s much more effective and makes for a more enticing story.

Although I like the third book in the series, Jane and the Wandering Eye, this second novel remains my favorite. The characters are compelling and interesting, the plot is suspenseful and intriguing, and the pacing is outstanding. The writing pulls the reader into the story. It has shed the staleness found in the first novel and builds intensity rather than detracts from it.

In instances like this, I am grateful for my flaws. Impulse buying and memory lapses were rewarded with an exuberant reading experience that I would have regretted missing. Also, since I waited so long to resume the series, books four and five have already been published.(less)

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Apr 07, 2011 Georgiana 1792 rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: old-friends-new-fancies, giallo-storico

Jane Austen o Jane Eyre?

E' la quinta volta in pochi mesi che mi reco - solo via libro, purtroppo - a Lyme Regis: calcolando le due riletture di Persuasion (una in Italiano ed una in Inglese), il Captain Wentworth's Diary e questa, si può dire che l'unico 'viaggio' scollegato da Jane Austen sia stato quello in cui mi ci sono 'recata' con Tracy Chevalier per Remarkable Creatures, per quanto, anche in quel caso, abbia notato numerosissime influenze austeniane.
Nella prima parte del romanzo più che J...more

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Jun 21, 2009 Amanda rated it 3 of 5 stars

I liked this second Jane Austen mystery much better than the first. For one thing, I thought the plot was much better. More importantly, there weren't nearly as many instances of the author 'stealing' lines and situations from Jane Austen's own works. The main similarity that is drawn is with Mr. Sidmouth and Captain Fielding, whose relationship is very similar to that of Darcy and Wickham. My only problem with this is that the novel takes place in 1804, after Pride & Prejudice had already b...more

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Feb 11, 2011 Ruth rated it 5 of 5 stars

Some two years have passed since Jane Austen had cause to exercise her fledgling detective skills on behalf of a friend - namely, Isobel, Countess of Scargrave, who, being charged with murder, found herself exonerated thanks to her friend's tireless efforts to uncover the truth of the sad circumstances surrounding her husband's death. Now Jane is bound for the coastal town of Lyme, in the company of her parents and beloved sister Cassandra, when en route their coach is overturned in a violent st...more Some two years have passed since Jane Austen had cause to exercise her fledgling detective skills on behalf of a friend - namely, Isobel, Countess of Scargrave, who, being charged with murder, found herself exonerated thanks to her friend's tireless efforts to uncover the truth of the sad circumstances surrounding her husband's death. Now Jane is bound for the coastal town of Lyme, in the company of her parents and beloved sister Cassandra, when en route their coach is overturned in a violent storm and Cassandra is left injured. The ever-resourceful Jane seeks help and refuge from the closest home available - High Down Grange, where she meets its owner, the brooding Geoffrey Sidmouth and his beautiful French cousin, Seraphine LaFevre. The manner of their introduction leaves Jane convinced that all is not as it seems at the Grange. After the Austens are safely installed at their rented cottage, the mystery of Geoffrey Sidmouth takes a sinister turn when the object of the man's scorn is found hung at the water's edge. Her curiosity roused, Jane begins to make discreet inquiries and discovers it is openly assumed that Sidmouth is "the Reverend" or "the Man of the Cloth," one of the Gentlemen of the Night - smugglers - who haunt the English coast specializing in the illicit "import" of fine silks and other highly-taxed goods. When one Captain Fielding, a retired Naval officer who claims to be investigating the Reverend, is discovered murdered and all evidence points to Sidmouth's guilt, Jane must use all of her intelligence and investigative abilities to discover the truth of Sidmouth's activities on the coast - for she is as loathe to believe his guilt as she is to admit that the master of the Grange may have captured her heart.

Stephanie Barron's second offering featuring the beloved Jane Austen as amateur sleuth is every bit as delightful as the first, proving Barron to be a master at channeling Austen's style and incisive wit and fleshing out what little is known of her life with historical fact and rich period detail. It is established fact that Jane visited Lyme during 1804, and indeed what she encounted there must have made a powerful impression since the town is featured in her final novel, Persuasion. Little correspondence survives from this period in Austen's life, and family rumor alone alludes to a "nameless and dateless" romance Jane experienced with a clergyman during a seaside holiday that provide tantalizing, but unformed, glimpses into this period of Jane's life. Barron uses these bare facts as the basis for Man of the Cloth, fleshing out this period in Austen's life, resulting in a rousing tale of mystery, adventure, espionage, and ill-fated romance. Jane's adventures are wildly varied - she gains as much intelligence from assembly room dances and sitting room calls as she does from highly unorthodox investigations of smugglers' caves and hidden tunnels. One could argue that so much outdoors adventure is outside the realm of possibility in the life of an author known for incisive social commentary, but I for one find the high adventure aspect of this fictional sojourn in Jane's life a fitting tribute of sorts to the adventurous, sensational gothic novels popular in Austen's day, that she would later satirize in her own Northanger Abbey.

One of the many things I love about this novel is the way in which Barron grounds Jane's supposed adventures in historical fact. With much of the author's life a veritable blank slate, thanks in large part to Cassandra's measures to protect Jane's privacy by destroying much of their correspondence after her death, Barron has free rein with which she can explore various aspects of 19th-century society and conjecture as to how these adventures may have informed Austen's writing. I was enthralled by Jane's encounter with "free trade" and the Gentlemen of the Night who practiced their dangerous and illicit activities along the English coast. There is something irresistably romantic in association with dangerous and enigmatic rogues who flout law and convention, as Jane discovers with Geoffrey Sidmouth. I was reminded of the 1954 film Moonfleet, and though the film is set some fifty years prior to this novel's action, Stewart Granger's portrayal of a dashing smuggler gave a powerful visual to my image of Sidmouth. Coupled with a dash of espionage that Jane would've been hard-pressed to escape in a coastal community, thanks to England's conflict with Bonaparte and France and her brothers' naval service, Man of the Cloth is a wildly entertaining mystery told with the style, wit, and insight that only a woman of Jane Austen's superior intellect and sense could provide. Bravo, Jane & Stephanie, here's to many more adventures!(less)

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Jun 05, 2012 Ruth rated it 4 of 5 stars

Four stars for great fun! Sunday afternoon I dragged a few boxes of kids' books up from the basement to see what I had saved for toddlers, now that I have a granddaughter in that category. Somehow this book had been stuck into a box filled mostly of the joke books that my son collected during elementary school. It looked vaguely familiar--the cover illustration being memorable only for its awkwardness, I have to say--but as I began to read nothing in the story was familiar. I guess someone gave...more

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Jan 02, 2012 Nancy O'Toole rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction, mystery

After the events in Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor, Jane Austen's believes that her life has returned to normal. Then, while spending a holiday in Lyme with her family, Jane's pleasant vacation is interrupted by the sight of a murdered man dangling from a noose. The only clue left behind is a white lily. Everyone places the blame on The Reverend, a local smuggler who's identity is a secret. When another body is found, Jane once again finds herself on the case.

I first read Jane an...more After the events in Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor, Jane Austen's believes that her life has returned to normal. Then, while spending a holiday in Lyme with her family, Jane's pleasant vacation is interrupted by the sight of a murdered man dangling from a noose. The only clue left behind is a white lily. Everyone places the blame on The Reverend, a local smuggler who's identity is a secret. When another body is found, Jane once again finds herself on the case.

I first read Jane and the Unpleasantness of Scargrave Manor a few years back. Despite enjoying the book, I never got around to reading the sequel. When I recently got in the mood for a mystery, I decided that it was time to return to the series. I think what makes these books so enjoyable is the fact that the author takes pains to draw from the real life of Jane Austen whenever possible. Jane is not just randomly dumped on the beach because it's convenient for the plot. The real Jane Austen did spend time in Lyme in 1804. Characters she encounters in this book are drawn from her actual letters, and lines that can be found in her letters in novels are revealed to have their source in conversations and observations that take place during the mystery. These little Easter eggs, illustrated in helpful footnotes, make the book highly enjoyable for a Jane Austen fan. It's clear that these events never happened, but it makes you feel as if they could.

I admittedly, do not read too many mystery books. But when I do, I enjoy books that feature a colorful cast of characters, which this book has in spades. Jane herself is a likable narrator with a strong voice. I think the author made a good choice in utilizing a dairy format. There is romance to be found here as well, as Jane finds herself feeling affection for two different men, retired military man Captain Fielding, and the moody and mysterious Mr. Sidmouth. One flaw I found in this book can be found in the mystery plotline, which occasionally was a little predictable. I also found that when the novel was fully focused on the murder mystery, and less on cleverly weaving in real life elements, that the book became less interesting to me. This is probably partially due to the fact that I am not a huge fan of mystery novels, but I also believe that the storyline was a little on the weak side, and probably wouldn't have been as enjoyable had you taken away the Jane Austen elements,

Jane and the Man of the Cloth is an overall fun read, despite it's weaknesses. Despite my love for Jane Austen, I don't usually read the numerous spin off titles and sequels that have sprung up over time. This is one series that I am oka(less)

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Jan 26, 2009 Gayle rated it 3 of 5 stars

Stephanie Barron has developed a charming premise for a mystery series: follow Jane Austen though her well-documented life, and fill in the blanks with a murder and an opportunity for Miss Austen to discover the truth and bring the true criminals to justice.

Having read both the first (JA and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor) and the second, I can say that they are pleasant and well written. The author manages to avoid making Jane Austen too modern, for the most part, and she carefully follo...more

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Feb 22, 2011 Margaret Metz rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

I think I liked this second installment in the series better even than the first! :o)

The same wit is employed but Jane is much more active in this investigation - sneaking about and gathering clues on her own. Some of this may not have been nearly as easy to accomplish in her day as the author made it seem, but it did make for an exciting and tense mystery story and I think the real Jane would certainly have been capable of coming up with the ruses and thinking through the clues as well as the c...more

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Jul 23, 2010 ladywallingford rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery

I found myself hoping that this would be an alternate timeline of Jane's life and she would elope with Mr. Sidmouth. However, it was not to be. I also kept pondering during this novel about how the greatest, most passionate loves seem to be forged during the heat of war. This could be an over-exaggeration stemming from the hopeless romantic residing in my head, but I wish we could have pursued Mr. Sidmouth more. Nevertheless, if the author did that, then what point would there be to Harold Trowb...more

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Feb 19, 2009 Marie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Whereas "Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor" was a tightly plotted closed-house murder mystery, this was a more open format, being a tale of skulduggery and intrigue, and for a while it frustrated me, because that was not the book I thought I was setting out to read. It's rather a spy novel, set in 1804 with as many drawing room meetings as possible.

But over-all I liked it, because I just adore this characterization of Jane Austen as a heroine. The incidental characters are marvy and...more

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Jul 16, 2009 Elizabeth rated it 2 of 5 stars

The Jane Austen madness continues! This enterprising author combines Jane Austen and a mystery. Jane is presented as middle ground between the fiesty Eliza and her sister Jane - which is probably more realistic. The best part of the book is that it is presented as a real diary which the author has annotated. I am not sure if the footnotes are real, but they added a great authenticity and humor to the work. And of course, Jane had a love interest, but it was hard to get too excited since any true...more

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Oct 19, 2012 Babs rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: romantic-suspense, mystery-historical, mystery-romance

Really enjoying this series, but I need to do more research on the author and the series. The author continues (this is only the second in the series)to present this series as based in fact, but I've not found anything to support this on the internet. This is confusing me a bit. I'm not sure what to believe, which is unfortunate, since the author has footnotes throughout the book explaining the mores of the time and of the English culture of the time. What I've done is just tried to suspend any...more

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Oct 26, 2012 Mary Ronan Drew rated it 4 of 5 stars

We who love Jane Austen can't get enough of her and when an author is able to get as close to Jane as Stephanie Barron is able to do in this series of mysteries, it is time for rejoicing. Jane and the Man of the Cloth is the second in the series (the first was Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor) and there are nine more mysteries to look forward to. The most recent is set in 1813 (Jane died in 1817) and was published in 2011, so one can hope the author is working on another. . . .

To r...more

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Aug 04, 2009 Karyl rated it 5 of 5 stars

I loved this book. It's written from Jane Austen's point of view and retains a lot of the mannerisms and constructions that she uses in her own novels. But they're easier to get through, having been written for a modern audience. I particularly enjoyed all the footnotes present in the text to help the reader with some of the more arcane words. I never was sure what exactly a "barouche" was when reading other books set in this time period, but this book defined it for me.

I haven't yet read the f...more

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Nov 15, 2010 Ka rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: giallo, storico, jane, austen

All'inizio temevo che il racconto fosse una copia di Cime tempestose, terribile.. Poi migliora sempre più. Come ne "La disgrazia di lady scargrave" l'autrice parte un po' a rilento, il vero caso inizia oltre metà libro. Prima dispone i pezzi sulla scacchiera e arrovella il cervello del lettore per fargli capire da che parte stare. Naturalmente il personaggio migliore è proprio quello considerato terribile da tutti. Penso agisca così perchè inizio/assassinio => conclusione/cattura lo renderebb...more

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Nov 08, 2012 Roberta rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, mystery

Jane and the Man of the Cloth è il secondo romanzo della serie di Stephanie Barron 'Le indagini di Jane Austen' ('Jane Austen Mysteries' in lingua originale). Jane con tutta la famiglia (padre, madre e sorella Cassandra, dato che i fratelli sono nella Marina) si trasferiscono a Lyme Regis per una vacanza. L'arrivo nella bella cittadina costiera però non è dei migliori: la vettura su cui stanno viaggiando si ribalta e Cassandra batte la testa, per cui Jane è costretta a raggiungere l'abitazione p...more Jane and the Man of the Cloth è il secondo romanzo della serie di Stephanie Barron 'Le indagini di Jane Austen' ('Jane Austen Mysteries' in lingua originale). Jane con tutta la famiglia (padre, madre e sorella Cassandra, dato che i fratelli sono nella Marina) si trasferiscono a Lyme Regis per una vacanza. L'arrivo nella bella cittadina costiera però non è dei migliori: la vettura su cui stanno viaggiando si ribalta e Cassandra batte la testa, per cui Jane è costretta a raggiungere l'abitazione più vicina insieme al conducente per cercare aiuto. Si imbatte così nel maleducato e scorbutico Mr. Sidmouth, che suo malgrado li ospita per la notte, e diventa poi oggetto di molte speculazioni quando la famiglia Austen scopre, frequentando la società di Lyme Regis, che è tenuto in gran considerazione da alcune persone, e un infame da altre, che addirittura lo accusano di essere il famigerato Reverendo, un contrabbandiere locale. Ovviamente Jane si imbatte nel solito mistero che risolve da sola affrontando molte avversità!

Che delusione! Il primo libro mi era piaciuto parecchio (Lady Jane e la disgrazia di Lady Scargrave) anche se, a distanza di tre anni, ricordo solo di aver apprezzato molto lo stile, mentre la storia gialla in sé e per sé mi era parsa piuttosto blanda. Per questo volume, posso solo ripetere che la storia gialla davvero non merita: fin dai primi paragrafi si capisce già moltissimo, la narrazione è trasparentissima. Per quanto riguarda lo stile, invece, non mi è piaciuto per nulla: esagerato, quasi pacchiano, e con una narratrice davvero spocchiosa. Aggiungo anche che - anche se in linea di massimo non lo ritengo fondamentale - la figura di Jane Austen rappresentata è _davvero_ inverosimile. E' vero che una certo grado di libertà è necessario visto che stiamo accettando l'idea che Jane Austen possa comportarsi da detective in erba, ma qui mi sembra si esageri, tanto che molti lettori si sono chiesti se il libro non fosse ispirato più a Jane Eyre che all'autrice Jane Austen. Belle le note, invece, che forniscono informazioni più o meno interessanti relativamente alla vita dell'epoca e alle reali connessioni con la vita vera di Jane Austen - in generale ho apprezzato la descrizione della vita quotidiana dei personaggi. Volevo leggere l'introduzione per avere conferma della veridicità di queste note ma purtroppo il libro mi è piaciuto così tanto che ho realizzato solo ora che me ne sono già liberata!

http://robertabookshelf.blogspot.it/2...(less)

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Aug 20, 2011 Jenna rated it 3 of 5 stars

The second book in Stephanie Barron's series, Jane and the Man of the Cloth, both disappointed and surprised me. I found it to be a little long-winded when it came to some of the descriptions of scenes (especially in and among the caves) and I thought there were a few too many players on the scene. Nevertheless, I found more that I liked and enjoyed about the book that far outweighed my own personal dislikes.

My likes:
+Mr. Sidmouth. What a great character! Mysterious and misjudged. Reminded me ve...more

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Feb 13, 2011 Laurel rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: austen-sequel, mystery, regency-era-fiction

Beside the great mystery and historical detail, Barron has a wicked sense of humor

Manners meet mayhem again in the second Being a Jane Austen Mystery, Jane and the Man of the Cloth. It is 1804 and Jane and her family are traveling by post chaise to Lyme Regis on the Dorset coast to escape the oppressive summer heat in Bath when their carriage is overturned and Jane’s sister Cassandra injured. Seeking help at a local estate, Jane and her family take refuge at High Down Grange and are thrown into...more Beside the great mystery and historical detail, Barron has a wicked sense of humor

Manners meet mayhem again in the second Being a Jane Austen Mystery, Jane and the Man of the Cloth. It is 1804 and Jane and her family are traveling by post chaise to Lyme Regis on the Dorset coast to escape the oppressive summer heat in Bath when their carriage is overturned and Jane’s sister Cassandra injured. Seeking help at a local estate, Jane and her family take refuge at High Down Grange and are thrown into the care of its mysterious owner Geoffrey Sidmouth and his beautiful young cousin Seraphine LeFevre. The manor house and its owner have enough of an oddness about them that our observant Jane thinks something amiss.

With Cassandra on the mend they arrive at their rented cottage at Lyme and are shortly joined by Jane’s brother Henry and wife Eliza. After a walk on the Cobb Jane witnesses a heated exchange between Mr. Sidmouth and a local worker. The next day the man is found dead, bound hand and foot, swinging from a makeshift gibbet at the end of the Cobb. Intrigued, Jane seeks out the best source of information that a young lady of her gentility can garner: the mercantile shop and the weekly Assembly Dance. There the local gossip from Mrs. Barnewall, the Crawfords, Lucy Armstrong and the dashing naval officer Captain Percival Fielding inform Jane that Mr. Sidmouth is much more than the enigmatic romantic figure that she has suspected. Deep into the Napoleonic Wars, the Dorset coast is a hotbed of smuggling, spies and espionage whose ringleader, the notorious “Reverend,” or the “Man of the Cloth,” is known to favor fine silks in his nighttime free trade. Jane is conflicted over her feelings for Mr. Sidmouth and the fact that Captain Fielding claims he is the culprit. When Fielding is found murdered and Sidmouth arrested, Jane is asked by the local authorities to aid in the investigation setting her on the path of intrigue and danger.

This is my second novel in the Being a Jane Austen Mystery series. It was another delight. Barron in known for interlacing known facts from Jane Austen’s life into her plots. This period of history for Jane is a bit of a mystery. There are very few letters remaining and only family lore alluding to her unfortunate love affair with a clergyman that she met on a seaside holiday who later died. This “nameless and dateless” romance leaves lots of room for speculation and opens up the possibilities of a great mystery plot which Barron uses to her advantage. Our Jane is much more adventurous and daring in this narrative, sneaking out at night and investigating caves. We do get our share of Assembly Balls, frocks and finery, but the action was occasionally outside what gentile ladies are usually allowed to do, and at times I thought is a bit unbelievable – almost Jane Austen/Nancy Drew.

The historical detail always brought me back into focus and I especially enjoyed the footnotes, though I understand they annoy some readers. I found myself laughing out loud, when I fear I should not, when Jane is introduced to High Down Grange with its dark, unkempt and unwomanly appearance and its present broody owner Mr. Sidmouth with his snarling dogs Fang and Beelzebub. Evoking memories of Bronte heroes, either my brain has been addled by too much historical romance reading, or Stephanie Barron has a wicked sense of humor!

Laurel Ann, Austenprose(less)

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Aug 10, 2011 Kim rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: austen-influenced, mysteries, historical-fiction

For those of you who have never heard of the Jane Austen mystery series, let me enlighten you. Stephanie Barron, author of the series, is at a friend’s house when a huge discovery is suddenly made. A trunk filled with letters and journals belonging to THE Jane Austen is discovered that fills in the details that have been missing about her life, post 1804. These journals and letters reveal that during her time Jane was a bit of a sleuth, finding mystery and intrigue at her every turn. Now, we all...more For those of you who have never heard of the Jane Austen mystery series, let me enlighten you. Stephanie Barron, author of the series, is at a friend’s house when a huge discovery is suddenly made. A trunk filled with letters and journals belonging to THE Jane Austen is discovered that fills in the details that have been missing about her life, post 1804. These journals and letters reveal that during her time Jane was a bit of a sleuth, finding mystery and intrigue at her every turn. Now, we all know that these journals and letters are fake, but imagine if they weren’t? Imagine being able to read the correspondences that Jane wrote during those missing years? It’s a pretty clever if you ask me!

Our mystery begins with Jane and her family traveling to Lyme Regis on the Dorset coast to seek cooler temperatures in the harsh summer heat. Suddenly, the carriage in which they are traveling overturns and Jane’s sister, Cassandra, is injured. With nowhere else to turn, Jane and her family look for help at the closest estate, known as High Down Grange. The estate is owned by Geoffrey Sidmouth and his cousin Seraphine LeFevre. For all their kindness in helping Jane and her family in their hour of need, Jane finds something odd about Mr. Sidmouth and his home. During her stay at the Grange Austen sees many things that make her question what truly goes on in that household. They remove to their own cottage a few days later and Jane thinks things are back to normal. Boy is she wrong. She wakes up one morning to find a man has been hung on make-shift gallows. This begins to set Jane off on a path of sleuthing, where she tries to find out who this man was, and why he was murdered. The more that Jane uncovers, the more she finds herself surrounded by smuggling, assassins, and even more murder! Can Jane get to the bottom of the mystery and find out the true nature of Sidmouth before she becomes too entangled in this dangerous web?

I was sadly disappointed at how long it took Jane and the Man of the Cloth to pick up pace and engage me as a reader. I devoured the first book in the series and was truly saddened by this one. I felt like there weren’t enough characters or events to drag me into the story the way Scargrave Manor did. Scargrave Manor moved at such an excellent pace by inserting multiple murders, threatening notes, multiple wrong accusations, and secret love affairs. Here, all of the “action” is thrown into the last 100 pages. It took me forever to get through the monotonous beginning of the novel, and when I finally did, it really took off. There is one scene where Jane leaves her house in the dead of night and follows smugglers in the dark; my heart was racing the entire time. If this sense of adventure had permeated through the whole book, I would have been elated.

This series is an incredibly creative idea on Barron’s part; after reading one of the novels in the series it was clear to see that Barron really did her homework not only on Jane, but also about the events of the period. Jane and the Man of the Cloth is filled with footnotes expanding upon allusions in the text that relate to Austen’s writing of Persuasion or The Watson’s. Not only does Barron make references to Austen’s published works, but to letters or journals that have survived over the years. The wealth of information provided in the books as well as the style of the writing really does give the illusion that it’s Austen’s hand doing the writing and not Barron. I think that this has to be the highest praise I can give Barron and the series. It’s so realistic and characteristic of Austen it’s scary!

If you’re into mystery, and have yet to give the wonderful world of Jane Austen fan fiction a try, this might be the series to introduce you to this wonderful genre!

Kimberly (Reflections of a Book Addict)
http://wp.me/p18lIL-vO (less)

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Oct 27, 2011 Meredith (Austenesque Reviews) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: jane-austen

The Being A Jane Austen Mystery Series by Stephanie Barron is a brilliant series of novels that features our beloved Jane Austen being thrust into the midst of mystery, murder and mayhem. In each novel Jane Austen uses her astute observational skills, keen understanding of human nature, and fierce determination to solve various mysteries. Each novel follows the time line of Jane Austen's career and accurately portrays true events and people from her life. This second book takes place in the year...more

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Sep 25, 2008 Gloria rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: austen-stuff, mysteries, i-own

So when I was younger, I used to like to read Jane Austen. That's a thing for a lot of girls of a certain age. It was especially popular when all of those movie of Austen novels were made, you know, the ones with the witty dialogue and cute guys in suits? Yeah, those ones, like Emma with Gweneth Paltrow and Jeremy Northam. Or the six hour A and E special, with Colin Firth. I just ate that stuff up as an adolescent with dreams of true love in a bygone age. Well, since I still fondly remember that...more

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May 02, 2011 Jeni rated it 4 of 5 stars

I am really enjoying these Jane-Austen-as-sleuth books. I just love the language of her writing, and even though I would say the depth is not the same as Miss Austen's actual works, still there is enough of the social commentary and sly witticisms to make her avid fans swoon. The setting is different (of course)which makes it interesting, not just for a change of scenery, but also to learn a little of a different part of England's history and geography. I think in this one Jane is a bit more cou...more

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Aug 18, 2009 Janet rated it 4 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this second book in the Jane Austen mystery series even better than the first. I found it much easier to get into the story. I'm still not crazy about the fact that it's supposed to be Jane Austen involved in solving the crimes but I just ignore that and enjoy the mystery. This took place in Lyme, involving smuggling and murder. Who was "The Reverend" - the feared leader of the smuggling ring? Was it the gentleman that Jane found herself falling for? Who murdered one of the men suspect...more

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Jan 18, 2009 Kristen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction, mysteries

I think the later volumes are of a slightly higher quality than the first two. There is not as much depth to Jane here, which does make sense considering her acquaintance with mystery and violent death only begins with the first volume. This one is sadly short of Lord Harold, at least till the very end. I won't spoil your enjoyment of ether book (if you think to try them) by going into much more detail. These ARE mystery novels, after all.

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Oct 10, 2011 Mirjam rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery

Jane and the Man of the Cloth, the second book in the Jane Austen Mysteries, went off on a slow start, but once Jane made up her mind to find out the identity of the Reverend (leader of a group of smugglers) things got infinitely more interesting. Barron skilfully brings the early 1900s to life with her vivid desriptions. The editor's notes help readers understand allusions to Lyme or events of the time. Smugglers, French royalists, murder, betrayal; it's all to be found in this book. The sharp...more

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Oct 16, 2012 Laura Rodd rated it 4 of 5 stars

Fun and smart. Using letters written by Austen to her sister Barron finds her threads to spin incredible mystery fiction. Austen did have a fascinating life and traveled extensively with her parents through the English countryside. This mystery is about the English coast facing France during the rise of Napoleon and how important the role it played in protecting foreign attack while simultaneously being used to smuggle in non taxed European goods, especially silk to keep the London ladies in sty...more

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Dec 31, 2009 Kristen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Jane Austen is an incredibly clever and brash detective! On a trip to Lyme Regis with her parents and sister Cassandra, Jane finds herself at the persuasion of an engaging and dangerous man and winds up in the middle of an international smuggling scheme with two murders to solve before she becomes the next victim. Well, written and engaging. A worthy read.

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Jul 08, 2011 Cindy rated it 4 of 5 stars

I will read every one of this series. I haven't found such a delightful group of books since reading DE Stevenson. Normally I steer clear of series, and also of books that spin off from a classic. Barron does an exquisite job channeling Jane Austen's voice and transports me back to her world, and makes me excited to return again and again.

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Jane Austen Sequels: Jane and the Man of the Cloth: Being a Jane Austen Mystery #2, by Stephanie Barron	1	2	Oct 26, 2012 06:56pm
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About Stephanie Barron

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Stephanie Barron was born Francine Stephanie Barron in Binghamton, NY in 1963, the last of six girls. Her father was a retired general in the Air Force, her mother a beautiful woman who loved to dance. The family spent their summers on Cape Cod, where two of the Barron girls...more Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Stephanie Barron was born Francine Stephanie Barron in Binghamton, NY in 1963, the last of six girls. Her father was a retired general in the Air Force, her mother a beautiful woman who loved to dance. The family spent their summers on Cape Cod, where two of the Barron girls now live with their families; Francine's passion for Nantucket and the New England shoreline dates from her earliest memories. She grew up in Washington, D.C., and attended Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School, a two hundred year-old Catholic school for girls that shares a wall with Georgetown University. Her father died of a heart attack during her freshman year.

In 1981, she started college at Princeton – one of the most formative experiences of her life. There she fenced for the club varsity team and learned to write news stories for The Daily Princetonian – a hobby that led to two part-time jobs as a journalist for The Miami Herald and The San Jose Mercury News. Francine majored in European History, studying Napoleonic France, and won an Arthur W. Mellon Foundation Fellowship in the Humanities in her senior year. But the course she remembers most vividly from her time at Princeton is "The Literature of Fact," taught by John McPhee, the Pulitzer Prize winning author and staff writer for The New Yorker. John influenced Francine's writing more than even she knows and certainly more than she is able to say. If there were an altar erected to the man in Colorado, she'd place offerings there daily. He's her personal god of craft.

Francine spent three years at Stanford pursuing a doctorate in history; she failed to write her dissertation (on the Brazilian Bar Association under authoritarianism; can you blame her?) and left with a Masters. She applied to the CIA, spent a year temping in Northern Virginia while the FBI asked inconvenient questions of everyone she had ever known, passed a polygraph test on her twenty-sixth birthday, and was immediately thrown into the Career Trainee program: Boot Camp for the Agency's Best and Brightest. Four years as an intelligence analyst at the CIA were profoundly fulfilling, the highlights being Francine's work on the Counterterrorism Center's investigation into the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988, and sleeping on a horsehair mattress in a Spectre-era casino in the middle of Bratislava. Another peak moment was her chance to debrief ex-President George Bush in Houston in 1993. But what she remembers most about the place are the extraordinary intelligence and dedication of most of the staff – many of them women – many of whom cannot be named.

She wrote her first book in 1992 and left the Agency a year later. Fifteen books have followed, along with sundry children, dogs, and houses. When she's not writing, she likes to ski, garden, needlepoint, and buy art. Her phone number is definitely unlisted. (less)

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Books by Stephanie Barron

Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor (Jane Austen Mysteries, #1)

Jane and the Wandering Eye (Jane Austen Mysteries, #3)

Jane and the Genius of the Place (Jane Austen Mysteries, #4)

Jane and the Prisoner of Wool House (Jane Austen Mysteries, #6)

Jane and the Stillroom Maid (Jane Austen Mysteries, #5)

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Quotes from Jane and the Man of th...

“Is lawlessness to be permitted, simply because it is effected with a certain style? Jane, Jane! Where are your finer sensibilities? All o'erthrown, by a man with a golden tongue and a mocking glance?” — 3 people liked it

“Providence, assuredly, is a mysterious mover, and who is Jane to ignore it's direction?” — 1 person liked it

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Jane and the Man of the Cloth (Jane Austen Mysteries #2)

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