by Stephanie Barron
Bantam Books
384 pages
Recommended for ages 14 and up
Author Stephanie Barron hears voices. In particular, she hears the voice of British novelist Jane Austen, author of such classics as Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice. But to Barron, Jane is not just a novelist -- in addition, her powers of observation and deduction and her understanding of human nature make her an ideal detective. And in Jane and the Stillroom Maid, the fifth of Barron's Austen mysteries, Jane is faced with the most complicated case she has seen to date.
During a walk through the Derbyshire hills, where she is staying with her cousin Edward Cooper, her mother, and her sister Cassandra, Jane discovers a dead body. Though the body appears to be that of a man, a local coroner informs Jane it is actually the body of Tess Arnold, the stillroom maid of Penfolds Hall, Derbyshire. Puzzled by the maid's murder and the manner in which her body was mutilated after her death, Jane is determined to investigate. The only obstacle in her path is her lack of access to the lords of Penfolds Hall, and that problem is solved when Jane encounters Lord Harold Trowbridge, an old acquaintance who is aware of Jane's detective abilities. With Lord Harold's help, Jane is able to meet the Danforths, the lords of Penfolds Hall, and the Cavendishes, another local noble family. It takes many conversations with the Danforths and the Cavendishes, however, as well as the discovery of Tess Arnold's stillroom book, before Jane is able to understand the maid's death.
Though I'm only an amateur Austenite, I think that Stephanie Barron has captured Jane Austen's writing style perfectly. Passages from Jane's diary alternate with excerpts from Tess Arnold's stillroom book, which serve to illuminate the story and paint an even clearer picture of life in Regency England. In addition, the plot of Jane and the Stillroom Maid is gripping -- once I started the book, I could not put it down. And Barron has made Austen so appealing as a protagonist that I found myself eager to go back and reread Austen's original works. Stephanie Barron contends that novels in Regency England were what mysteries are today -- that if Austen were a modern-day author, she might be writing mystery novels much like the ones in which she now stars. Austen's gift for observation and deduction and her comprehension of human nature would have made her the perfect sleuth, and Stephanie Barron has fully developed the idea of Jane-as-detective. Indeed, I think Jane Austen would approve.
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