Jane's sister & her life of love.loss and family

JANE Austen never goes out of style with a fresh wave of books, films and TV dramas every year reinterpreting her life and work.

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And while I might be late to the party, I'm now fully on board-thanks to Miss Austen, Gill Hornby's brilliant novel that shifts the focus away from Jane and on to her devoted sister, Cassandra.

At first glance Cassandra's story seems to fit the classic Austen mould: in 1795, she was engaged to Tom Fowle, a match that promised the usual happy ending.

Then, disaster - Tom died in the West Indies, leaving Cassandra in a strange kind of widowhood before marriage.