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The Words I Never Wrote

Jane Thynne (Goodreads Author)

4.04 · Rating details · 837 ratings · 228 reviews

A chance discovery inside a vintage typewriter case reveals the gripping story—and heartbreaking secrets—of two sisters on opposite sides of World War II in this captivating novel for readers of Lilac Girls and The Women in the Castle.

New York, present day: On a whim, photographer Juno Lambert buys the 1931 Underwood typewriter that once belonged to celebrated journalist C ...more

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Hardcover, 400 pages

Published January 21st 2020 by Ballantine Books

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And They Called It Camelot by Stephanie Marie Thornton

Historical Fiction 2020

360 books — 500 voters

WW2 Era Fiction published in 2020

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· 837 ratings · 228 reviews

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Nov 06, 2019 Paige rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction

Two sisters, Irene and Cordelia, find themselves on different political sides of WWII. Irene, married to a high ranking Nazi official, resides in Berlin while Cordelia moves to Paris to work for a journalist reporting on the Nazi's. Throughout the book, the two sisters periodically communicate through letters.

It starts out in 2016 with Juno perusing in a typewriter shop for a piece to use in her next photograph session. She finds Cordelia's typewriter from when she was a journalist and purchase ...more

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Mar 24, 2020 Jenny rated it really liked it

In this day and age of computers, iPads and smart phones, it's hard to believe that it wasn't that long ago that typewriters were the vessels that brought our minds stories to life, some fictional accounts and others all too real.
Modern day photographer, Juno Lambert, buys a 1931 Underwood typewriter and discovers an unpublished novel by celebrated author, Cordelia Capel in Jane Thynne's book, The Words I Never Wrote.
Cordelia's story is the harrowing account of two sisters, Cordelia and Irene. T ...more

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Jan 06, 2020 Susan Johnson rated it really liked it

Shelves: net-galley

4.5

My vow this year was to read less WWII books but here I start with one. Luckily for me it was excellent. I often have wondered what it was like to live in Germany during Hitler. Was there food? Was there deprivation? Was there fun and pride?

This is the story of two sisters and one marries a rich German industrialist before WWII and one moves to Paris to report on fashion. The sister in Germany, Irene, loves Berlin at first. There is a whirlwind of parties and life is great when you are rich ...more

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Oct 20, 2019 Sarah-Hope rated it really liked it

Shelves: netgalley, 2019

The Words I Never Wrote wasn't the novel I was expecting—in fact, it turned out to be much better than that. Yes, it had the hunt for a lost manuscript that I'd anticipated, but it also had relationships between characters and ethical conundrums that took it beyond a simple "fun read."

As one other reviewer noted, The Words I Never Wrote continue to surprise until the very end. At points, I'd think I'd gotten the basic shape of the novel—then my assumptions would be overturned by something unexpe ...more

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Jan 21, 2020 Karen R rated it really liked it · review of another edition

The storyline takes two paths, one present, one past. I loved the past thread in which two intelligent sisters find themselves on opposite sides during World War II. It captivated me. The contrast of Cordelia and Irene’s paths during the brutality of Hitler’s rise in power is vividly imagined by the author and fascinating. The heavy burdens of having to stay silent, hide allegiances, feeling alone and having to keep secrets for the sake of survival touched my heart.

The sisters are fictional, bu ...more

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Mar 18, 2020 Kathy rated it really liked it

Shelves: ww2

Ambitious, successful story from a feminine viewpoint of life in Paris/Berlin in 1930's leading up to Spanish Civil War and Hitler's hold over Germany leading to WWII. There are two main characters, sisters who had been brought up gently in England, allowing for one to be married off to a German industrialist and one to learn journalism in Paris.

This division of sisters results in a global look from all sides and viewpoints as their lives and experiences are revealed in a found manuscript in a ...more

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Nov 20, 2019 Jackie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: giveaways

I won this in a goodreads giveaway. It’s a wonderful and insightful book that I recommend to everyone

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Feb 08, 2020 Tamara rated it really liked it

The one thing I really liked about this book was how everything intertwined well. All the questions were answered and the result is a well-written, well-plotted satisfying story with strong and clear characters. I liked all the characters and I found myself rooting for them all, well except, I was happy when the Nazis didn't win the war which I already knew they would! :) I don't read a lot of historical books situated during WWII for the simple fact that the market is saturated, and yes, it's a ...more

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Jan 17, 2020 Guylou (Two Dogs and a Book) rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2020-tbr

This book takes place during WWII. It is the story of two sisters separated by war and by their decisions. Irene meets Ernst Weissmuller, a German industrialist, at her art exhibit. Ernst purchased one of her paintings and she fell in love with him. They married and she moved to Germany to start her new life. But at the dawn of WWII, Irene soon discovers that her decision to marry Ernst will cost her much. Cordelia, her sister, does not understand Irene’s decision to remain in Germany and suppor ...more

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Mar 01, 2020 RoseMary Achey rated it liked it

It took me reading over 60% of this novel until I was truly hooked. A current day journalist buys a vintage Underwood typewriter with a half finished manuscript. The story is of two sisters starting in the early 1930’s. One sister marries a German Industrialist and moves to Berlin. The other is a reporter in France.

What I liked about this novel was the focus on German life pre WWII. The build up to war and the in depth analysis of the customs and beliefs of the German people during that period. ...more

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Sep 15, 2019 Sydney Long rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2019-reads

Wow! A story of two sisters on opposing sides during WWII. Cordelia and Irene were the best of friends growing up in England. When Irene falls for a German businessman, distance and a world on the verge of war separate them not only physically but emotionally. Cordelia finds herself writing fashion notes in Paris and Irene, having married the German becomes somewhat of a stepford wife in Berlin.

At first the sisters correspond frequently but as war draws nearer...it is quite apparent that they a ...more

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Feb 19, 2020 Lesley Knight rated it it was amazing

The meticulous research Jane Thynne must undertake for her novels remains modestly in the background of this absorbing read. Brava!

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Jan 18, 2020 Gina Moltz rated it it was amazing

The Words I Never Wrote was an excellent historical fiction read! I actually finished it at 5am. And I love sleep! I am always interested to know how every day people live through a war. Cordelia and Irene may have chosen different paths but they were equally intriguing. They were never perfect but simply human. Juno added a great touch- explaining the rest of the story as well as showing us Berlin in the current day. It was interesting to find out some of the characters were based on real peopl ...more

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Jan 15, 2020 Chrysta rated it it was amazing

Truly a beautiful novel seamlessly combining a modern time with the past. Intriguing from the very start! I was so invested in this whole story that I didn’t want it to come to a close! From the twist to the mixing with the modern times this historical fiction was beautiful. My heart was racing at times for the WWII characters Irene and Cordelia, other times my heart broke for them. One of my favorite WWII books lately! Definitely a must read for historical fiction fans!

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Apr 11, 2020 Kristin rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2020-books, 5000-2020, wwi-wwii, historical-fiction, fd-library-avail

The Words I Never Wrote is a good example of strong historical fiction. It is atmospheric with memorable characters. It uses two time periods, one during WWII and one in present day. The plot resonates around two sisters caught on opposite sides of the war as one pleads with the other to escape the surmounting totalitarian regime in Germany. In present day a young woman comes upon their story. Determined to discover its ending, she travels to Germany seeking its conclusion. Although the main cha ...more

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Dec 31, 2019 Molly rated it liked it

THE WORDS I NEVER WROTE

This is a very nice, well written, and enjoyable book. In dual timelines, current day photographer Juno Lambert purchases an old Underwood Portable typewriter and finds within it a manuscript, or half of a manuscript. It tells the story of two British sisters, Irene and Cordelia, and their separate paths during WWII.

Before the beginning of the war, Irene marries a German industrialist and moves from England to Germany to become his wife. As war breaks out, her husband’s ...more

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May 05, 2020 Maureen Grigsby rated it it was amazing

This was a very enjoyable novel about 2 sisters from 1936 -1945 as Europe was leading up to war. One sister had just married a German industrialist and moved to Berlin, and the other one is a journalist who gets sent to Paris. A very interesting WWII novel.

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Jan 31, 2020 Sue Seligman rated it it was amazing

Review to follow!

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Dec 07, 2019 Elizabeth rated it it was amazing

I was lucky enough to read an advance copy of this book and I loved it! First of all, I'm just a sucker for vintage typewriters so any story that starts with a typewriter is good for me! But this is a fascinating and beautifully written story about two sisters who paths diverge due to the choices they make during wartime. Deeply felt and written with nuance and great emotional depth, it's one of the best stories I've read about women's lives and the choices they made during wartime. ...more

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Sep 22, 2019 Patty rated it really liked it

4.5 Thank you to NetGalley for giving me an advanced copy of Jane Thynne’s newest book. I loved all the books in the Clara Vine books. Surprisingly, the earlier books in the series were not in the library so I bought them all. This is a stand alone book - not a new Clara Vine novel but it is has similarities - set in WW2, features a nazi housewife, and has spies. I read this book in one weekend while down with a cold and it kept me interested with its twists and turns. I also learned more about ...more

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Feb 04, 2020 AC rated it really liked it

Recommends it for: anyone

Shelves: fiction-non-genre-literary

Warning: rape

Jane Thynne brings us an epistolary novel set in London and Berlin in the late 1930s in the runup to WWII.

In the present, Juno Lambert, a photographer working her way through divorce, comes across an ancient Underwood typewriter. The typewriter shop owner tells her it was once the property of Cordelia Capel, a journalist who covered fashion in Paris and then the aftermath of WWII. In the case for the typewriter is a partially-finished manuscript written by Cordelia. Juno purchases t Warning: rape

Jane Thynne brings us an epistolary novel set in London and Berlin in the late 1930s in the runup to WWII.

In the present, Juno Lambert, a photographer working her way through divorce, comes across an ancient Underwood typewriter. The typewriter shop owner tells her it was once the property of Cordelia Capel, a journalist who covered fashion in Paris and then the aftermath of WWII. In the case for the typewriter is a partially-finished manuscript written by Cordelia. Juno purchases the typewriter. Her editor has asked her to go on assignment to Berlin, and she accepts with a double purpose in mind: to perform this assignment, and find out all she can about the Capels to complete the story the manuscript began.

In the 1930s, as the decade comes to an end, the Capel sisters Irene and Cordelia are about to head their separate ways. Close for their entire lives, this brings along a bit of angst, especially as Irene is marrying a German industrialist, who has also joined the Nazi party in order to expand his business. Cordelia, a bit later, heads to Paris to act as the secretary to the news bureau chief there, and eventually begins writing columns about her coverage of fashion there.

At first, the sisters write one another often, detailing the happenings around them - there are many historical people named in the novel, from fashion designers, writers, painters, and assorted other cultural icons in France on Cordelia's side to Nazi leaders in Germany on Irene's.

As the storms of war ramp up, Cordelia begs Irene to leave Germany and head home to London with her. Irene refuses, and after being warned by Mary Dodd (daughter of the US Ambassador) as well as a handsome Nazi officer (Abel Hoffman) to watch what she says and writes, and knowing that she will never be able to leave without her passport (now locked in a safe to which she does not know the combination), decides to restrict her letter to Cordelia to only the social goings-on she is party to as the wife of a wealthy and influential industrialist. She tells herself, however, to memorize the things she is seeing and hearing.

Cordelia, exasperated with Irene, tells her that the letter she is writing now will be her last, since Irene has apparently chosen the Germans over her family. Cordelia falls in love with her station chief, who decides to go to Spain, where a civil war is underway. She pleads with him not to go, but eventually she returns to London, alone. There, she works with British intelligence to prepare people to act as spies. She works with Kim Philby, the notorious double agent who penetrated the intelligence service.

Back in Germany, Irene makes a fateful decision to work with resistance fighters. Not in the field, but by bringing them materials they can use to fake papers, work orders, and so forth. Eventually, she also begins working in a hospital, to treat Germans injured in the war.

Thynne does a wonderful job of describing the environments in which the two sisters lived, but not to the point of it affecting the story negatively. The bustling of both Paris and Berlin prior to the war is depicted, as is the effect of war on the Germans as WWII grinds down on the country with the advances of both US and Russian troops.

The story is strongest when it is focused on Cordelia and Irene and the milieus in which they find themselves. Juno is certainly the weakest link, and when the book reached the last quarter, it was all Juno and what she had been able to discover, with her egocentric ex making an unwelcome appearance - an unneeded push to the story, as he served no purpose other than to reinforce to Juno that she was doing the right thing.

I won't go into the very end so as not to spoil it. I will say this is one of the best books I've read this year so far, and very well written. It is dramatic without being melodramatic, romantic without being cliche, and descriptive without being flowery.

4 out of 5 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the advance copy. ...more

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Jan 22, 2020 Maggie Boyd rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2020-reading-year, historical-wwii

Set during the tumultuous era encompassing WWII, The Words I Never Wrote is an interesting take on how easily we can misunderstand those we love.

Our story begins with an elderly journalist receiving yet another award. Cordelia Capel already has a Pulitzer, has previously been honored with the White House Correspondents Association Award and this latest trophy will be just one more piece of memorabilia gathering dust on her overcrowded shelves. It is not the keepsake Cordelia wants. “If I have to Set during the tumultuous era encompassing WWII, The Words I Never Wrote is an interesting take on how easily we can misunderstand those we love.

Our story begins with an elderly journalist receiving yet another award. Cordelia Capel already has a Pulitzer, has previously been honored with the White House Correspondents Association Award and this latest trophy will be just one more piece of memorabilia gathering dust on her overcrowded shelves. It is not the keepsake Cordelia wants. “If I have to have a memento as I sit here in my apartment in the summer of my ninety-sixth year,” she tells us, “I would choose the snow globe from the nursery at Birnham Park.”

That snowglobe had been unique. Custom made in London, it depicted Cordelia’s childhood home in England – the aforementioned Birnham Park – in perfect detail, including the two little girls who lived there. Cordelia and her older sister Irene are reproduced perfectly within the glass orb, playing on the lavish lawn of their miniaturized home. Theirs was a happy childhood, with the sisters being boon companions, who grew up to be accomplished, elegant, beautiful young women. All is bliss till 1936, when Irene gets engaged to Ernst Weissmuller, a German industrialist who plans to take her to Germany after the honeymoon. At the wedding, while wondering what to do with her own future, Cordelia impetuously agrees to work for a friend of her father’s as a secretary for the Paris office of his newspaper. As if she had sensed this would be in Cordelia’s future, Irene’s surprise gift to her sister, given as she leaves for her honeymoon, is an Underwood Portable typewriter.

In New York City in 2016, Juno Lambert is looking for the perfect prop for the portrait she is doing of an actress in a Tennessee Williams play. She plans to capture a 1940s feel in the picture, and decides to add a vintage typewriter to the paraphernalia she is including in the shot. She purchases an Underwood Portable typewriter that comes with a bonus; a 150 page story about two sisters separated by politics during WWII, written by the elderly owner right before she died.

See the rest of my review at http://allaboutromance.com/book-revie... ...more

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Jan 20, 2020 Bookish Biker rated it really liked it

In 2016, Juno Lambert, recovering from a break-up and the loss of a pregnancy, purchases an antique Underwood typewriter, which contains an unreleased manuscript by a famous journalist. In it, she discovers the story of two women - Cordelia Capel, a young woman trying to find her way through a very man-centric world, and her sister Irene, who marries a German industrialist just as Hitler is coming to power.

Told in two timelines and in three voices, The Words I Never Wrote follows Cordelia as she In 2016, Juno Lambert, recovering from a break-up and the loss of a pregnancy, purchases an antique Underwood typewriter, which contains an unreleased manuscript by a famous journalist. In it, she discovers the story of two women - Cordelia Capel, a young woman trying to find her way through a very man-centric world, and her sister Irene, who marries a German industrialist just as Hitler is coming to power.

Told in two timelines and in three voices, The Words I Never Wrote follows Cordelia as she travels to Paris, first as a secretary at a newspaper office and then as a fashion journalist, Irene as she settles into her new married life in Germany, hob-knobbing with the upper echelons of the Nazi party and trying to reconcile her glamorous lifestyle with the bitter truth of Hitler's reign and the reality that it could turn against her at any moment, and finally, Juno as she becomes enthralled by the sisters' story and their separation.

Jane Thynne mostly skips the war itself, aside from a few relevant details, concentrating instead on Hitler's rise to power and the aftermath. Most of the book covers the sisters, so I was curious more than halfway through to see where Juno was going to fit back in. In that, we see the sweet story of a young woman reclaiming her own life after adversity.

The Words I Never Wrote also includes several historical figures - not just the usual Nazi suspects, but the likes of Kim Philby (the Cambridge Five), Martha Dodd and Janet Flanner.

What I Loved: Jane Thynne has drawn very real, very nuanced characters and given them an emotional edge that is rare. She covers events we don't usually hear about (the rise of the Nazi party and the reality of life in Germany after the war) with grace, while not shying away from the brutal reality, bringing it all into focus with the alternate lives of the two sisters and the lengths they would go to to protect each other.

What I Didn't Love: Some of the time jumps could be a little jarring.

Conclusion: A different take on the WWII historical, The Words I Never Wrote is a great addition to an overstuffed genre, filled with heartbreak, sacrifice, and redemption. I am a definite fan! ...more

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Feb 22, 2020 Judi Easley rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: readers of WWII dramas

Recommended to Judi by: blog/library new books rack

Shelves: recommended, lit-adult, review-done, cultural-interracial, historical-novel, read-in-hardcover, from-the-library-or-person

The Words I Never Wrote
Jane Thynne
Ballantine Books, Jan 2020
380 pages
Historical Fiction, WWII
Borrowed from Derry Public Library
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The cover is interesting with the misty background of a city then the woman in a tailored suit looking pensive. In front of that is the old typewriter with the title typed on the paper and there is an overlay of old water-stained paper. You know you’re going to be looking into the past. I had seen this book written up on one of my feeds several days before I was at The Words I Never Wrote
Jane Thynne
Ballantine Books, Jan 2020
380 pages
Historical Fiction, WWII
Borrowed from Derry Public Library
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The cover is interesting with the misty background of a city then the woman in a tailored suit looking pensive. In front of that is the old typewriter with the title typed on the paper and there is an overlay of old water-stained paper. You know you’re going to be looking into the past. I had seen this book written up on one of my feeds several days before I was at the library and it rang a bell in my head. Still intriguing. Yes!

And the decision paid off. I left this for the last book to read out of my library stash for what reason, I really don’t know. But what a great book.

The two sisters in the book are situated on different sides of WWII because one is still at home in England and the other has married a German industrialist and moved to Berlin. Irene had fallen in love with Ernst and hadn’t given a thought to what it would mean in a more worldly sense. The sisters weren’t able to keep up their correspondence for very long because Irene couldn’t write what she really thought and what she was really doing after awhile. She knew her mail was being read and she was being followed. Cordelia thought her sister was becoming a good little Nazi wife since she was socializing on the highest level of society and military and government. She couldn’t write about the other side of her life, the part that was taking place in the shadows. The part she did because it’s what her sister would expect her to do.

Cordelia goes about her life. Mourning the man she had met and loved when she was living in Paris for several years who had been killed by the Germans. Another strike against her sister. The sisters don’t speak or see each other until the British and their allies are in control of Berlin and debriefing the citizens. Irene is still there, and Cordelia is among the debriefers. Finally, they get to share their stories and secrets.

Juno is a correspondent who bought an old typewriter with a case. In that case was a partial manuscript for a novel, Cordelia’s novel. She’s curious enough to want to know what is missing, so she travels to Berlin to pick up where the manuscript stops in mid-sentence to find out what secrets are left.

Jane Thynne has crafted heartbreaking scenes and heart-touching scenes as she created this sometimes brutal, sometimes lovely story. You got to know characters on both sides of the battle and you liked and hated them on both sides. Why should we consider Jews good just because they were Jews when they made money by turning in other Jews to the Nazis, but a Nazi officer was bad even though he looked the other way when a woman was hiding a Jew in her house rather than report him as was his job? Jews weren’t all good, and Germans weren’t all bad. They were all people caught up in a horrible situation that most of them had no control over. Some of them made good decisions and some made bad decisions. Some lived and some died. Ms. Thynne brings all this to vivid life. She is an author I would like to read more of. Highly recommended. ...more

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Feb 02, 2020 Alina rated it it was amazing

I've read so many books that took place during WWII, it was a pleasure to read "The Words I Never Wrote" by Jane Thynne as the novel takes place and tells the reader a story of the years prior to the great war.

During a hot summer day, Juno Lambert, a photographer, and occasional writer, finds herself in an antique shop where she comes across an old 1931 Underwood typewriter that once belonged to a journalist Cordelia Capel. To her amusement, the old typewriter came with a bonus, a manuscript/bio I've read so many books that took place during WWII, it was a pleasure to read "The Words I Never Wrote" by Jane Thynne as the novel takes place and tells the reader a story of the years prior to the great war.

During a hot summer day, Juno Lambert, a photographer, and occasional writer, finds herself in an antique shop where she comes across an old 1931 Underwood typewriter that once belonged to a journalist Cordelia Capel. To her amusement, the old typewriter came with a bonus, a manuscript/biography hidden in its case. The script has lured Juno into its pages with an appealing story of two sisters who fought the same great war, from the opposite sides.

Regrettably, the sisters' relationship is torn apart by the horrific war. Newly married Irene joined her German husband in the heart of Germany - Berlin, at the same time as her younger sister Cordelia, a journalist in training was sent to France. During the years prior to WWII sisters often exchange letters that contain their political views and social life in pre-war Berlin and Paris. As the warning of the upcoming war becomes real, young Cordelia learns that Irene's husband is a Nazi sympathizer and urged her sister to leave her husband's side and return home before it's too late. With no explanation, Irene chooses not to follow Cordelia's pleas, and in result sisters' communications stops, and their lives go into different directions.

The biography is cut short, leaving Juno yearning for more. After throw research, she finds very little on Irene and Cordelia's lives during and after the war. Why Cordelia has not set her foot in Europe after 1945? Has Irene survived the war? Has Cordelia ever forgiven her sister for betraying their beliefs and homecourty? Juno packs her bags and boards the plane to the place that might hold answers to all her questions - Berlin.

I was immersed in the story of the triumph of the human spirit, and courage, as well as the strength and perseverance of strong women. Thank you NetGalley and Ballantine Books publishers for a free and advanced copy of this wonderful novel. ...more

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Jan 03, 2020 Maureen Timerman rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2020

As the book begins we are at the wedding of the older sister Irene’s, as her life is about to begin with her new husband, she is marrying a rather well to do man who is from Germany and we are in the 1930’s.
The author also gives us a younger sister Cordelia, and we follow her as she goes about her life to become a journalist.
What put the story together, well, we are given a young woman who happens to buy a beautiful vintage typewriter, how I would love one! With the typewriter is a partial novel ...more

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Apr 21, 2020 Simone rated it it was amazing

Shelves: arc

Thank you, NetGalley and Random House, for a complimentary copy of this book! This review reflects my personal opinion!

Oh my, oh my, where to begin with this review! The author did a fantastic job writing this one with dual timeline and multiple POVs. I was able to experience the feelings and thoughts of the main characters. Another thing that really stood out was that Jane Thynne made me feel like I was reading a nonfiction book in narrative format. She included names that were familiar--both o ...more

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Sep 06, 2020 Julia rated it really liked it

An intriguing, suspenseful book about two sisters that end up on different sides before and during World War II. Cordelia, an ambitious journalist, works in England and France after her sister, Irene, marries a wealthy Nazi and moves to Berlin. I don't want to say much else about this book, that started off slowly, setting the scene and letting the reader really get to know the characters, but then became very suspenseful.

This book is a perfect complement to Erik Larsen' IN THE GARDEN OF BEASTS. ...more

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Mar 26, 2020 DONNA Edwards rated it it was amazing

My favorite genre is WW2 novels. I keep wondering how many books can be written about that period. Is there anything new to say? But yes. Another book from that era and another new plot. This book centers around the lives of two sisters who were always close growing up in England.

As with many novels today, we are taken back and forth through several time periods. It starts with a female, American photographer in 2016 who buys a vintage typewriter. Then the author transports us through the ‘30’s ...more

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Sep 24, 2019 Kim Fox rated it really liked it

I think I have found another favorite author!! Last night I finished The Words I Never Wrote by Jane Thynne. What a wonderful book! After you have read as many historical fiction books based during WWII ,as I have, you don't think you can be surprised. You have a feeling how the story will be told, but this one surprised me, all the way until the end. It is a story of family, sacrifices, pain, heartbreak, redemption, and that doesn't even cover half the book. The story starts in present day New ...more

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About Jane Thynne

Jane Thynne

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Jane Thynne was born in Venezuela and educated in London. She graduated from Oxford University with a degree in English and joined the BBC as a journalist. She has also worked at The Sunday Times, The Daily Telegraph and The Independent, as well as for numerous British magazines. She appears as a broadcaster on Radio 4 and Sky TV. Jane has three children and lives in London.