Jane and the Madness of Lord Byron: Being A Jane Austen Mystery [Paperback]

One thinks of Jane Austen as a retiring spinster who writes secretly, prefers her privacy and enjoys quiet walks in the Hampshire countryside. Instead, she has applied her intuitive skills of astute observation and deductive reasoning to solve crime in Stephanie Barron's Austen inspired mystery series. It is an ingenious paradox that would make even Gilbert and Sullivan green with envy. The perfect pairing of the unlikely with the obvious that happens occasionally in great fiction by authors clever enough to pick up on the connection and run with it.

JANE AUSTEN AND THE MADNESS OF LORD BYRON marks Stephanie Barron's tenth novel in the best-selling JANE AUSTEN MYSTERY series. For fourteen years, and to much acclaim, she has channeled our Jane beyond her quiet family circle into sleuthing adventures with lords, ladies and murderers. Cleverly crafted, this historical detective series incorporates actual events from Jane Austen's life with historical facts from her time all woven together into mysteries that of course, only our brilliant Jane can solve.

It is the spring of 1813. Jane is home at Chawton Cottage "pondering the thorny question of Henry Crawford" in her new novel MANSFIELD PARK and glowing in the recent favorable reception of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE. Bad news calls her to London where her brother Henry's wife Eliza, the Comtesse de Feuillde, is gravely ill. With her passing, Jane and Henry decide to seek the solace and restorative powers of the seaside selecting Brighton, "the most breathtaking and outrageous resort of the present age" for a holiday excursion.

At a coaching Inn along the way they rescue Catherine Twining, a young society Miss found bound and gagged in the coach of George Gordon, the 6th Baron of Byron, aka Lord Byron, the notorious mad, bad and dangerous to know poet. Miffed by their thwart of her abduction, Byron regretfully surrenders his prize to Jane and Henry who return her to her father General Twining in Brighton. He is furious and quick to fault his fifteen year-old daughter. Jane and Henry are appalled at his temper and concerned for her welfare.

Settled into a suite of rooms at the luxurious Castle Inn, Jane and Henry enjoy walks on the Promenade, fine dining on lobster patties and champagne at Donaldson's and a trip to the local circulating library where Jane is curious to see how often the "Fashionables of Brighton" solicit the privilege of reading PRIDE AND PREJUDICE! Even though Jane loathes the dissipated Prince Regent, she and Henry attend a party at his opulent home the Marine Pavilion. In the crush of the soirée, Jane again rescues Miss Twining from another seducer.

Later at an Assembly dance attended by much of Brighton's bon ton, Lord Byron reappears stalked by his spurned amour, "the mad as Bedlam" Lady Caroline Lamb. Even though the room is filled with beautiful ladies he only has eyes for Miss Twining and aggressively pursues her. The next morning, Jane and Henry are shocked to learn that the lifeless body of a young lady found in Byron's bed was their naïve new friend Miss Catherine Twining! The facts against Byron are very incriminating. Curiously, the intemperate poet is nowhere to be found and all of Brighton ready to condemn him.

'Henry grasped my arm and turned me firmly back along the way we had come. "Jane," he said bracingly, "we require a revival of your formidable spirit - one I have not seen in nearly two years. You must take up the role of Divine Fury. You must penetrate this killer's motives, and expose him to the world."' page 119

And so the game is afoot and the investigation begins...

It is great to have Jane Austen, Detective back on the case and in peak form. Fans of the series will be captivated by her skill at unraveling the crime, and the unindoctrinated totally charmed. The mystery was detailed and quite intriguing, swimming in red herrings and gossipy supposition. Pairing the nefarious Lord Byron with our impertinent parson's daughter was just so delightfully "sick and wicked." Their scenes together were the most memorable and I was pleased to see our outspoken Jane give as good as she got, and then some. Readers who enjoy a good parody and want to take this couple one step further should investigate their vampire version in JANE BITES BACK.

Barron continues to prove that she is an Incomparable, the most accomplished writer in the genre today rivaling Georgette Heyer in Regency history and Austen in her own backyard. Happily readers will not have to wait another four years for the next novel in the series. Bantam is publishing JANE AND THE CANTERBURY TALE next year with a firm commitment of more to follow. Huzzah!

Laurel Ann, Austenprose

And so does Byron in this tenth novel in the Jane Austen series by Stephanie Barron. On their way to Brighton, Jane and her brother Henry rescue a fainting beauty from the fell clutches of Lord Byron, who has conceived a passion for the one woman in England able to resist his fatal allure. When the beauty is murdered, Byron falls under suspicion and Jane of course ferrets out the truth.

Barron makes England's Regency era come alive in the period detail, and the characters, especially the sullen, sexy Lord Byron and the fey, feckless Lady Caroline Lamb fairly leap off the page. For Austenites there is much to enjoy in Jane's mental segues into Mansfield Park, the current work under construction:

I cannot like my poor Fanny, tho' her scruples are such as must command respect; I believe I shall spare the darling Henry such a cross, and bestow the lady upon her cousin Edmund -- who has earned her as a penance, for her utter lack of humour.

There are echoes of many of Austen's characters in the characters inhabiting Brighton during Jane's investigation, among them Mr. Forth, the Master of Ceremonies in the Assembly Rooms at Marine Parade, who will bring the character of Anne Elliot's father irresistibly to mind. At the time this novel is set, Pride and Prejudice has been published to much acclaim, and while with one exception the author's identity is still only that of "A Lady," we enjoy her fans' praise as much as she does.

Crime fiction fans will love Jane's businesslike investigation, too. In a time where physical evidence amounted to the body, eyewitness testimony is essential, and the list of questions that must be asked Jane draws up to begin with are pithy and very much to the point, and by listing them she and the reader come to a better understanding of the murder and what kind of a murderer she is looking for. Her interview of a drunken Byron is riveting, Jane really has a tiger by the tail, and at the end of the novel you will be convinced beyond all shadow of a doubt that he was indeed "mad, bad and dangerous to know."

Unlike some writers who have capitalized on Jane Austen and her plotlines, Stephanie Barron's mystery series pays homage to one of the most beloved authors of all times. Fashioning Jane as a sleuth in mysteries works quite well, for fans can easily imagine the author trying to solve these puzzles. Barron creates new stories that fall into line with events in Austen's life by using the author's letters and diaries and a wealth of historical research to make each plot seem plausible. The result is always enjoyable and such is the case with the tenth book in the series, "Jane and the Madness of Lord Byron".

After the death of Jane's beloved sister-in-law Eliza, Jane convinces her widowed brother Henry to travel to Brighton in search of rest and relaxation. Yet rest is hardly to be found, especially when while in transit to the resort town they rescue a young girl from the clutches of Lord Byron, finding her bound and gagged in his carriage with the poet intent on an elopement. From that moment on, Jane is leery of Byron and forms an attachment to the young girl, one Catherine Twining, who seems to have a knack for getting herself into dangerous situations. But when Catherine's body is found murdered in Lord Byron's chamber, Jane isn't convinced that the poet is the murderer, although she may be convinced that he is rather mad. At the behest of her friend Mona, niece to Lord Harold, Jane tries to uncover the truth behind Catherine's murder and just happens upon a slew of characters who could have killed the young innocent, for their are many people who had motives to kill - especially, perhaps, one of Byron's scorned and crazed lovers.

Barron does a commendable job of combining real historical events and personages with a fictional story. While it is not known that Austen and Byron ever met each other, or that Austen ever traveled to Brighton, there is enough circumstantial evidence to believe it is a possibility. Certainly Barron takes great license here with Byron's story (since he was never arrested for murder), but she does paint a vivid picture of the enigmatic poet, beloved and hated by many. The pace is sometimes slowed down by too much exposition and the mystery is fairly easy to solve. However, "Jane and the Madness of Lord Byron" is an enjoyable read. For anyone who wishes that there were more original works by Austen herself, these lost "journals" are wonderful wish fulfillment.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 61 reviews  4.2 out of 5 stars