Austen at Sea

A Novel

By: Natalie Jenner

Narrated by: Rupert Graves

Two pairs of siblings, devotees of Jane Austen, find their lives transformed by a visit to England and Sir Francis Austen, her last surviving brother and keeper of a long-suppressed, secret legacy. This program is read by English actor Rupert Graves, known for his role as Mr. Weston in the 2020 film Emma.

In Boston, 1865, Charlotte and Henrietta Stevenson, daughters of a Massachusetts Supreme Court Justice, have accomplished as much as women are allowed in those days. Chafing against those restrictions and inspired by the works of Jane Austen, they start a secret correspondence with Sir Francis Austen, her last surviving brother, now in his nineties. He sends them an original letter from his sister and invites them to come visit him in England.

In Philadelphia, Nicholas & Haslett Nelson—bachelor brothers, veterans of the recent Civil War, and rare book dealers—are also in correspondence with Sir Francis Austen, who lures them, too, to England, with the promise of a never-before-seen, rare Austen artifact to be evaluated.

The Stevenson sisters sneak away without a chaperone to sail to England. On their ship are the Nelson brothers, writer Louisa May Alcott, Sara-Beth Gleason—wealthy daughter of a Pennsylvania state senator with her eye on the Nelsons—and, a would-be last-minute chaperone to the Stevenson sisters, Justice Thomas Nash.

It's a voyage and trip that will dramatically change each of their lives in ways that are unforeseen, with the transformative spirit of the love of literature and that of Jane Austen herself.

A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin’s Press.

Preface to the Jane Austin Society

It was often complicated and hard to follow. The writing is excellent and the characters endearing. Definitely recommend

A well done story of what could have been

The story was well written even if it want the long way around to get to the heart of the story.
It was a delight to learn about these characters and how they and the people around them kept Austen's memory alive even across a sea.
Well written and very well performed by Mr. Graves.

This writer really knows her subject

I really enjoyed this bit of a sequel, well really a prequel, to the authors novels about a 20th century Jane Austen Society. There are no immediately clear pairings, and the characters developed slowly, as they do, you know, like in real life. Very enjoyable.

An outstanding performance by the narrator

I enjoyed this book along with the recording. All of this author's books are excellent.

Struggled with the Narration

I struggled with the narration. The “American” and “New England” accents were on again off again, and I think there were too many characters for 1 narrator. Mr. Graves seems to have run out of decent voices for all of the women characters. Unfortunately, it distracted from the story. The producers maybe should have sprung for the cost of hiring a female narrator to work alongside Mr. Graves - particularly considering the book’s consistent attention to women’s rights during the time period.