Jane and the Man of the Cloth (Jane Austen Mystery) - Hardcover

Barron, Stephanie

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0553102036 ISBN 13: 9780553102031

Publisher: Bantam, 1997

Synopsis

After her brilliant detective debut in Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor, there can be no doubt that Jane Austen would have made a
remarkable sleuth. And so, with great aplomb, Stephanie Barron reveals the next superb Jane Austen Mystery...

Jane Austen and her family are looking forward to a peaceful late-summer holiday in the seaside village of Lyme Regis. But on the road thither, a fearful storm and an overturned carriage lead the shaken travelers to seek refuge at High Down Grange. And there, in a dismal manor house wrapt in an air of malevolent neglect, Jane meets the darkly forbidding yet strangely attractive master of High Down Grange, Mr. Geoffrey Sidmouth.

What murky secrets does the brooding Mr. Sidmouth hope to preserve behind his fierce glower? And who is the exceedingly lovely young woman dressed in peasant garb who shares his home? Once settled in town, Jane seeks to learn the answers. Yet common gossip is soon forgotten when a man is found hanged from a makeshift gibbet by the sea.

Only the day before, Jane had observed this same man in a heated exchange with Mr. Sidmouth. Still, the worthies of Lyme are certain the labourer's death is the work of "the Reverend," the notorious ringleader of the midnight smuggling trade. The Reverend's identity is the paramount mystery of Lyme Regis.  And Jane, who can never resist a puzzle, is determined to solve this one.

But to her dismay, she must soon admit that she harbours a strange sensibility for a man who could very well be a murderer. And then a second mysterious death draws her into a perilous scheme to entrap and expose Geoffrey Sidmouth. From the drawing- rooms of the cultured and the devious to secret caverns and coarse haunts, her mission will take her far from a lady's proper venue...until even so canny a student of character and valiant adventurer must ask herself: "Is the prize worth the risk--to my heart as well as my person?"

Stylish, suspenseful, and wickedly diverting, Jane and the Man of the Cloth delves deep into the foibles, passions, and ruthless machinations that lurk within the most polite society.

About this title

Review:

One of the sweetest surprises of the recent Jane Austen revival has been the exquisite Jane Austen mystery series begun by Stephanie Barron's Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor. Fans of Jane Austen will appreciate the detailed and stylistic sensitivity of Barron's sequel. When a storm forces Jane to take shelter at the home of Geoffrey Sidmouth, she uncovers a mystery surrounding her host's character and a powerful romantic attraction as well. But this is Austen on the case, and you can count on propriety at every turn. Jane's ear for gossip and her careful manners make her a super sleuth in this romantic mystery full of Victoriana and literary charm.

From the Publisher:

"Delightful...Ms. Barron's skillful rendering of Austen's style, attuned to picking up the most delicate fluctuations in social behavior, reveals it to be an ideal vehicle for the classic cozy murder mystery. Who knew?"
--The New York Times Book Review

"Barron delivers pleasure and amusement in her second delicious Jane Austen mystery...worthy of its origins, this book is a delight!"
--Publishers Weekly, starred review.

Lavish praise for Stephanie Barron's first Jane Austen Mystery:

"There's plenty to enjoy in this crime-solving side of Jane....[She] is as worthy a detective as Columbo, and with better manners."
--USA Today

"A light-hearted mystery...The most fun is that 'Jane Austen' is in the middle of it, witty and logical, a foil to some of the ladies who primp, faint and swoon."
--The Denver Post

"Splendid fun!"
--Minneapolis Star Tribune

"Happily succeeds on all levels: a robust tale of manners and mayhem that faithfully reproduces the Austen style--and engrosses to the finish."
--Kirkus Reviews

"Jane is unmistakably here with us through the work of Stephanie Barron--sleuthing, entertaining, and making us want to devour the next Austen adventure as soon as possible!"
--Diane Mott Davidson, bestselling author of The Main Corpse and Killer Pancake

"A fascinating ride through the England of the hackney carriage...A definite occasion for pride rather than prejudice!"
--Edward Marston

"Well-conceived, stylishly written, plotted with a nice twist...and brought off with a voice that works both for its time and our own."
--Booknews from The Poisoned Pen

About this edition

• Publisher: Bantam
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0553102036
• ISBN 13: 9780553102031
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 288