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Jane Austen Mysteries #7
Jane and the Ghosts of Netley
In her seventh captivating adventure, Jane Austen finds her crime-solving mettle put to the test in a confounding case of intrigue, murder, and high treason. Among the haunted ruins of an ancient abbey, Jane is drawn into a shadow world of dangerous secrets and traitorous hearts where not only her life is at stake—but the fate of England.As Jane Austen stands before the abandoned ruins of Netley Abbey, she imagines that ghosts really do haunt the centuries-old monastery. But the green-cloaked figure who startles her is all too human and he bears an unexpected missive from Lord Harold Trowbridge, one of the British government’s most trusted advisers—and a man who holds a high place in Jane’s life.Trowbridge tells Jane about a suspected traitor in their midst—and the disastrous consequences if she succeeds. But is Sophia Challoner, a beautiful widow with rumored ties to Emperor Bonaparte, really an agent of the enemy? Dispatched to Netley Lodge, Jane sets about gaining the confidence of the mysterious and intriguing lady even as Trowbridge’s grim prediction bears a British frigate is set afire and its shipwright found with his throat cut.It’s clear that someone is waging a clandestine war of terror and murder. But before Jane can follow the trail of conspiracy to its source and unmask a calculating killer, the cold hand of murder will fall mercilessly yet again—and suddenly Jane may find herself dying for her country.Elegantly intriguing, Jane and the Ghosts of Netley is a beautifully crafted novel of wit, character, and suspense that transports Jane and her many fans into a mystery of truly historical proportions—and a case that will test the amateur sleuth’s true colors under fire.
352 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2003
74 people are currently reading
1526 people want to read
About the author
Stephanie Barron
45 books877 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Stephanie Barron was born Francine Stephanie Barron in Binghamton, NY in 1963, the last of six girls. Her father was a retired general in the Air Force, her mother a beautiful woman who loved to dance. The family spent their summers on Cape Cod, where two of the Barron girls now live with their families; Francine's passion for Nantucket and the New England shoreline dates from her earliest memories. She grew up in Washington, D.C., and attended Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School, a two hundred year-old Catholic school for girls that shares a wall with Georgetown University. Her father died of a heart attack during her freshman year.
In 1981, she started college at Princeton – one of the most formative experiences of her life. There she fenced for the club varsity team and learned to write news stories for The Daily Princetonian – a hobby that led to two part-time jobs as a journalist for The Miami Herald and The San Jose Mercury News. Francine majored in European History, studying Napoleonic France, and won an Arthur W. Mellon Foundation Fellowship in the Humanities in her senior year. But the course she remembers most vividly from her time at Princeton is "The Literature of Fact," taught by John McPhee, the Pulitzer Prize winning author and staff writer for The New Yorker. John influenced Francine's writing more than even she knows and certainly more than she is able to say. If there were an altar erected to the man in Colorado, she'd place offerings there daily. He's her personal god of craft.
Francine spent three years at Stanford pursuing a doctorate in history; she failed to write her dissertation (on the Brazilian Bar Association under authoritarianism; can you blame her?) and left with a Masters. She applied to the CIA, spent a year temping in Northern Virginia while the FBI asked inconvenient questions of everyone she had ever known, passed a polygraph test on her twenty-sixth birthday, and was immediately thrown into the Career Trainee program: Boot Camp for the Agency's Best and Brightest. Four years as an intelligence analyst at the CIA were profoundly fulfilling, the highlights being Francine's work on the Counterterrorism Center's investigation into the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988, and sleeping on a horsehair mattress in a Spectre-era casino in the middle of Bratislava. Another peak moment was her chance to debrief ex-President George Bush in Houston in 1993. But what she remembers most about the place are the extraordinary intelligence and dedication of most of the staff – many of them women – many of whom cannot be named.
She wrote her first book in 1992 and left the Agency a year later. Fifteen books have followed, along with sundry children, dogs, and houses. When she's not writing, she likes to ski, garden, needlepoint, and buy art. Her phone number is definitely unlisted.
Stephanie Barron was born Francine Stephanie Barron in Binghamton, NY in 1963, the last of six girls. Her father was a retired general in the Air Force, her mother a beautiful woman who loved to dance. The family spent their summers on Cape Cod, where two of the Barron girls now live with their families; Francine's passion for Nantucket and the New England shoreline dates from her earliest memories. She grew up in Washington, D.C., and attended Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School, a two hundred year-old Catholic school for girls that shares a wall with Georgetown University. Her father died of a heart attack during her freshman year.
In 1981, she started college at Princeton – one of the most formative experiences of her life. There she fenced for the club varsity team and learned to write news stories for The Daily Princetonian – a hobby that led to two part-time jobs as a journalist for The Miami Herald and The San Jose Mercury News. Francine majored in European History, studying Napoleonic France, and won an Arthur W. Mellon Foundation Fellowship in the Humanities in her senior year. But the course she remembers most vividly from her time at Princeton is "The Literature of Fact," taught by John McPhee, the Pulitzer Prize winning author and staff writer for The New Yorker. John influenced Francine's writing more than even she knows and certainly more than she is able to say. If there were an altar erected to the man in Colorado, she'd place offerings there daily. He's her personal god of craft.
Francine spent three years at Stanford pursuing a doctorate in history; she failed to write her dissertation (on the Brazilian Bar Association under authoritarianism; can you blame her?) and left with a Masters. She applied to the CIA, spent a year temping in Northern Virginia while the FBI asked inconvenient questions of everyone she had ever known, passed a polygraph test on her twenty-sixth birthday, and was immediately thrown into the Career Trainee program: Boot Camp for the Agency's Best and Brightest. Four years as an intelligence analyst at the CIA were profoundly fulfilling, the highlights being Francine's work on the Counterterrorism Center's investigation into the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988, and sleeping on a horsehair mattress in a Spectre-era casino in the middle of Bratislava. Another peak moment was her chance to debrief ex-President George Bush in Houston in 1993. But what she remembers most about the place are the extraordinary intelligence and dedication of most of the staff – many of them women – many of whom cannot be named.
She wrote her first book in 1992 and left the Agency a year later. Fifteen books have followed, along with sundry children, dogs, and houses. When she's not writing, she likes to ski, garden, needlepoint, and buy art. Her phone number is definitely unlisted.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 152 reviews
July 14, 2011
It is the fall of 1808 and Jane Austen and her family are in mourning after the sudden death of Elizabeth “Lizzy” Austen, the elegant and enchanting thirty-five year old wife of Jane’s elder brother Edward and mother of eleven children. To entertain the two eldest boys while they stay with her in Southampton, Jane takes them rowing up the Solent to the ruins of Netley Abbey, a Cistercian monastery long abandoned and now a picturesque ruin worthy of a Radcliffe Gothic novel, resplendent with tales of ghosts haunting its halls. Startled by a dark figure lurking in the shadows, Jane is called to immediately attend her friend aboard a Royal Naval vessel anchored nearby. It is an unusual request, but she cannot refuse any summons by the Gentleman Rogue. Yes, Gentle Readers. Lord Harold Trowbridge has re-appeared after two years without any communication with our dear Jane.
Her heart is aflutter and her keen mind piqued when he requests her assistance to spy upon a local lady of interest; the beautiful and cunning widow of a French merchant, Sophia Challoner, a Diamond of the First Water who trifled with Lord Trowbridge’s heart, flattering and deceiving him into revealing state secrets to pass along to aid Bonaparte’s cause. Having just returned from Portugal, she now resides at Netley Lodge adjacent to the ruined abbey. Jane’s assignment is to keep “a weathered eye on the activity of that house” and discover how Sophia dispatches her intelligence to France. To aid the investigation, Jane will befriend the dubious and dangerous lady while arson and murders a plenty puzzle the plot, – and Lord Harold and Jane take center stage in the investigation and secretly in each others hearts.
The seventh mystery in the series, Barron really hits her stride with more fluid language from Jane’s perspective, the intricate historical details of the Peninsular War against France, and the political intrigue that fuels spies and generates murder. Having so much dialogue devoted to Lord Harold and Jane is a delight, but readers will be disarmed by the concluding pages and dispatched into a crying jag that could take a week to recover from. This is a three hankie weepie that will startle and sear your soul. Great writing makes it all compelling and tragic. *sigh* Seven is definitely not a lucky number for Jane and the Gentleman Rogue. I loved every word, and hated the ending all the same. *sniff*
Laurel Ann, Austenprose
Her heart is aflutter and her keen mind piqued when he requests her assistance to spy upon a local lady of interest; the beautiful and cunning widow of a French merchant, Sophia Challoner, a Diamond of the First Water who trifled with Lord Trowbridge’s heart, flattering and deceiving him into revealing state secrets to pass along to aid Bonaparte’s cause. Having just returned from Portugal, she now resides at Netley Lodge adjacent to the ruined abbey. Jane’s assignment is to keep “a weathered eye on the activity of that house” and discover how Sophia dispatches her intelligence to France. To aid the investigation, Jane will befriend the dubious and dangerous lady while arson and murders a plenty puzzle the plot, – and Lord Harold and Jane take center stage in the investigation and secretly in each others hearts.
The seventh mystery in the series, Barron really hits her stride with more fluid language from Jane’s perspective, the intricate historical details of the Peninsular War against France, and the political intrigue that fuels spies and generates murder. Having so much dialogue devoted to Lord Harold and Jane is a delight, but readers will be disarmed by the concluding pages and dispatched into a crying jag that could take a week to recover from. This is a three hankie weepie that will startle and sear your soul. Great writing makes it all compelling and tragic. *sigh* Seven is definitely not a lucky number for Jane and the Gentleman Rogue. I loved every word, and hated the ending all the same. *sniff*
Laurel Ann, Austenprose
January 8, 2016
È il primo che leggo di questa collana ma non vedo l'ora di leggere gli altri. Storia intrigante, ricca di dettagli e approfondimenti, suspance e colpi di scena. Non annoia mai, tiene sempre viva la curiosità. Uno spaccato storico dell'epoca impeccabile. Penso che Stephanie Barron abbia creato dei piccoli capolavori. Consigliato per chi ama Jane Austen, poiché offre molti dettagli sulla sua vita arricchendola della dote di scaltra investigatrice, ma è sicuramente una lettura adatta anche per chi è semplicemente affascinato dalla magnifica epoca storica in cui la scrittrice visse (fine 1700-inizi 1800).
October 1, 2017
Found this book slow going at first. It picked up near the end. I now know I definitely don't like books where Jane is the main character. The ending surprised me and when I think about it now, I don't know why it did, it couldn't have ended any other way.
I think it would have been a good mystery read with a different character as it's restricted to what can happen because of having a factual person in the main role.
Janeites will possibly enjoy it but it really wasn't for me.
I think it would have been a good mystery read with a different character as it's restricted to what can happen because of having a factual person in the main role.
Janeites will possibly enjoy it but it really wasn't for me.
April 17, 2022
"There are few prospects so replete with romantic possibility - so entirely suited to a soul trembling in morbid awe - as the ruins of an English abbey." (quote from the book)
I have been enjoying this series for several years. I was not disappointed in this latest one that brings Jane together again with the 'Gentleman Rogue' Lord Harold Trowbridge...who sets her pulse to racing. She is tasked by him to learn as much as she can of the doings of one Mrs. Sophia Challoner who has recently arrived from Portugal to reside in her late husband's home, Netley Lodge. Lord Harold fears treason is afoot and Mrs. Challoner at the centre of it.
"Of course I admire her. Sophia Challoner possess the wit and courage of a man, honed by a woman's subtlety. And is it the subtlety you cannot forgive - or the wit, my Lord? I have talked when I should not. I have trusted too easily. I have allowed myself to be flattered and deceived. Then you have been a man." (quote from the book)
This is an intricate plot based on treasonous actions with many players. Unfortunately, I was distracted from the book with real life commitments and was not able to fully engage with it until the last third. I did enjoy Jane's intrepid spirit, the general normalcy of her life and the historical background and events that are used to flesh out this mystery. I did not, however, come close to figuring out who the main culprit was nor the surprise at the end. I never saw it coming.
"Love, my dear Miss Austen, can be nothing compared to 'freedom'. And freedom is only possible when one may command the means to purchase it." (quote from the book)
I do highly recommend this series!
I have been enjoying this series for several years. I was not disappointed in this latest one that brings Jane together again with the 'Gentleman Rogue' Lord Harold Trowbridge...who sets her pulse to racing. She is tasked by him to learn as much as she can of the doings of one Mrs. Sophia Challoner who has recently arrived from Portugal to reside in her late husband's home, Netley Lodge. Lord Harold fears treason is afoot and Mrs. Challoner at the centre of it.
"Of course I admire her. Sophia Challoner possess the wit and courage of a man, honed by a woman's subtlety. And is it the subtlety you cannot forgive - or the wit, my Lord? I have talked when I should not. I have trusted too easily. I have allowed myself to be flattered and deceived. Then you have been a man." (quote from the book)
This is an intricate plot based on treasonous actions with many players. Unfortunately, I was distracted from the book with real life commitments and was not able to fully engage with it until the last third. I did enjoy Jane's intrepid spirit, the general normalcy of her life and the historical background and events that are used to flesh out this mystery. I did not, however, come close to figuring out who the main culprit was nor the surprise at the end. I never saw it coming.
"Love, my dear Miss Austen, can be nothing compared to 'freedom'. And freedom is only possible when one may command the means to purchase it." (quote from the book)
I do highly recommend this series!
August 21, 2011
Have ever read a book whose hero or heroine is someone you found yourself relating to on a deep level? Maybe you saw some of yourself in that person; or someone who you wished you were. Maybe that person represented a choice you made -- or one you wish you had or had not made. Regardless, it was a character whose shoes and dress you easily slipped into to live vicariously through their journeys with them. I've long loved and admired Jane Austen and Stephanie Barron's series has afforded me with an opportunity to see things through Jane's eyes. (Even if it is fiction.) And when Jane met Lord Harold Trowbridge, I met Lord Harold Trowbridge. And as Jane fell in love with him, I fell in love with him. In Jane and the Ghosts of Netley we both lose the man we secretly loved -- and who secretly loved us, back.
A short way into this book, I told someone that this was the first of Barron's Jane Austen mysteries that really grabbed me right from page one. I typically find myself slowly easing into the text, like stepping into a cold pool. This time, I was fully immersed from the start. From Jane being summoned to meet Lord Harold aboard a ship to her quick pain in finding that he needed help with "a conquest," to the slow unraveling of Lord Harold's true intentions and feelings for Jane and, finally, the agony of having to say goodbye just as love was requited and admitted. It isn't fair. And I do feel a bit heartbroken.
I quickly ran out to the library for the next book in the series, Jane and His Lordship's Legacy, but, I have to admit, the gild is off the rose for me a little bit. I'm definitely going to keep reading, but I will do it in Jane Austen fashion: with a heavy heart.
A short way into this book, I told someone that this was the first of Barron's Jane Austen mysteries that really grabbed me right from page one. I typically find myself slowly easing into the text, like stepping into a cold pool. This time, I was fully immersed from the start. From Jane being summoned to meet Lord Harold aboard a ship to her quick pain in finding that he needed help with "a conquest," to the slow unraveling of Lord Harold's true intentions and feelings for Jane and, finally, the agony of having to say goodbye just as love was requited and admitted. It isn't fair. And I do feel a bit heartbroken.
I quickly ran out to the library for the next book in the series, Jane and His Lordship's Legacy, but, I have to admit, the gild is off the rose for me a little bit. I'm definitely going to keep reading, but I will do it in Jane Austen fashion: with a heavy heart.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 26, 2024
Jane Austen as a secret agent during the Napoleonic war. Well if she can be a vampire hunter why not! To be honest I think this one has gone a bit over the top, perhaps a little too much action. Otherwise it's a good thriller and you get to learn all about Jane Austen and the political situation at the time. I enjoyed it, but I hope for something a little more serious next time.
December 20, 2017
3.5 stars
Read
February 20, 2025Such a wonderful series. I used to not like the non-domestic crimes in this series but now I feel these form such an integral part of it. This was, as always, a good mystery though with a sad ending
July 15, 2008
I loved this book. You have to suspend disbelief to read this series (Jane Austen solves crimes that just happen to happen to people around her, almost all of which somehow involve Lord Harold Trowbridge, whom she slowly falls in love with over the course of the first seven books), but I love the characters. I also love how well-researched the time period is. It's like stepping into England of the early 19th century. I was unsure how I felt about where the Lord Harold/Jane romance was going (Jane Austen in love? How dare she mess with a cultural icon!), but I think it was handled well, although they could have kissed and that would have been okay with me. When Lord Harold died at the end of this book, telling Jane he should have married her years ago and making her promise she would continue to write, I was sobbing and had to pick up the next in the series immediately. The eighth book is titled "Jane and His Lordship's Legacy" -- Jane inherits all of Lord Harold's diaries and letters. I'm looking forward to reading it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 14, 2019
A particularly sad and poignant entry in the series, but wonderful nonetheless. I can't help but find joy in mysteries set among abbey ruins.
January 30, 2025
The first question you might be asking yourself is, does the sleuth in this book need to be actual author Jane Austen? The answer is...no, probably not. But it was entertaining, the pace was quick, and there were interesting footnotes for the historically-inclined. (Plus, extra points in my opinion for writing a book that didn't make me feel like I was missing out on something huge for not having read the first six entries in the series, while also not subjecting me to endless recaps.)
May 18, 2022
Very surprising ending 👀
January 3, 2024
This review is based only on the last page:
WHAT THE 🤬🤬🤬🤬?????
WHAT THE 🤬🤬🤬🤬?????
March 9, 2018
An entertaining tale and interesting as some characters were Catholic recusants. Charles Carroll of Maryland is mentioned as well as Society of Jesus. However, the villain was a tad obvious.
July 5, 2023
One of the best of the series so far
November 2, 2014
This 7th installment finds Jane still living in Southhampton living with her mother, sister and friend while waiting for Mrs. Austen to decide whether to move to one of Edward's holdings in Kent or Hampshire. Jane's curiosity is awakened by the arrival of someone at Netley Abbey. Rumor has it that the Abbey is haunted by ghosts of the monks who used to live there. Jane doesn't quite believe it but it's fun to imagine just the same. She is surprised by a visit from The Gentleman Rogue himself. Lord Harold wants Jane to spy on the beautiful but dangerous widow Sophia Challoner who resides at the Abbey. Lord Harold believes that Mrs. Challoner, whom he had known intimately in Portugal, is a French spy. An unlucky accident brings Jane right into Mrs. Challoner's home and her confidence. The widow has nothing good to say about Lord Harold and Jane begins to question whose opinion is correct. The arrival of a stranger from Baltimore arouses Jane's suspicion but she becomes confused again when Maria Fitzherbert, a cast off royal mistress, joins the house party. While Jane socializes with Mrs. Challoner and friends, she dreams of living the life of a tonnish lady by Lord Harold's side. Another mysterious stranger arrives at the Abbey and Mrs. Challoner's maid accuses her employer of witchcraft. With the help of His Lordship's valet, Jane attempts a more in-depth investigation involving hysterical maids, secret tunnels and a stranger called Mon Singeur. Just as Jane thinks she has it all worked out, something goes horribly wrong and one dear to her becomes the victim. This is not the best mystery of the series.
It's not too difficult to figure out who Mon Singeur is and what the connection between Mrs. Challoner's houseguests is. I also suspected the villain and I think that Lord Harold was stupid and should have figured it out. This story is darker and more sad than some of the others. Jane spends almost the whole book mooning over Lord Harold and I find it quite out of character for her.
It's not too difficult to figure out who Mon Singeur is and what the connection between Mrs. Challoner's houseguests is. I also suspected the villain and I think that Lord Harold was stupid and should have figured it out. This story is darker and more sad than some of the others. Jane spends almost the whole book mooning over Lord Harold and I find it quite out of character for her.
July 10, 2025
One of my favorite books. And my favorite series.
The most important details about this novel are spoilers. I can't even characterize my reaction without spoilers. But here's what I can say: Jane Austen the character is such a pleasure--being intelligent, brave, sensible, loyal, modest, kind, and doggedly persistent in pursuit of answers to mysteries, even when forced to behave outside the norms of her society--that it's impossible not to admire her and wish the best for her and feel protective of her as if she were a real person. (I mean, she was a real person, but you know...) And when someone else, someone with status and power and money and position, sees the value in her that so many other people overlook, and knows to admire her, you can't help but cheer for her and hope the best for them both.
The connection between Jane and the so-called Gentlemen Rogue drives this novel, and it makes it unforgettable. Mrs. Challoner is interesting, too, and I love the grumpy old seaman, Mr. Hawkins, who helps Jane get around on the water, but the whole thing revolves around the mutual admiration and apparent love story going on between the two main characters. And it makes this possibly the best book in the series.
Napoleon is trying to sabotage England's war machine, and spies are everywhere along the coast. Good mystery, good history, good action, and great characters. Highly recommended.
But read all of them.
The most important details about this novel are spoilers. I can't even characterize my reaction without spoilers. But here's what I can say: Jane Austen the character is such a pleasure--being intelligent, brave, sensible, loyal, modest, kind, and doggedly persistent in pursuit of answers to mysteries, even when forced to behave outside the norms of her society--that it's impossible not to admire her and wish the best for her and feel protective of her as if she were a real person. (I mean, she was a real person, but you know...) And when someone else, someone with status and power and money and position, sees the value in her that so many other people overlook, and knows to admire her, you can't help but cheer for her and hope the best for them both.
The connection between Jane and the so-called Gentlemen Rogue drives this novel, and it makes it unforgettable. Mrs. Challoner is interesting, too, and I love the grumpy old seaman, Mr. Hawkins, who helps Jane get around on the water, but the whole thing revolves around the mutual admiration and apparent love story going on between the two main characters. And it makes this possibly the best book in the series.
Napoleon is trying to sabotage England's war machine, and spies are everywhere along the coast. Good mystery, good history, good action, and great characters. Highly recommended.
But read all of them.
January 14, 2012
This would've been as okay as the other books, except for the ending. I was *devastated* by the ending -- I was resigned to Jane never getting to marry (or even get together with) Lord Harold, but I *never* expected him to be murdered. Right in front of her. UGH. Wasn't Jane Austen's actual life sad enough without the author making up a new love of her life, only to kill him off after seven books?
DO NOT WANT.
DO NOT WANT.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 7, 2010
The most amazingly tragic book of this series! I am still sighing over the satisfying yet desperately sad ending. A complete must read, but the impact of the story won't have it's full effect unless you read the 6 previous books. It's an excellent series, so why not?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 28, 2015
I'm heartbroken. I think I fell in love with lord towbridge as Jane did. I knew they would never marry, but I long for more of him :( I think this was one of my favorite of the series but I am in very low spirits at the moment.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 11, 2017
This series goes from strength to strength. I suspected the malefactor almost immediately, but the suspense of shifting loyalties kept me spellbound until the heartbreaking ending. I almost cried.
April 15, 2011
Hated the ending.
March 20, 2023
#StoryGraph: fiction historical mystery group-read
352 pages • first pub 2003
(Being the 7th Jane Austen Mystery)
Jane Austen finds her crime-solving mettle put to the test in a confounding case of intrigue, murder, and high treason. Among the haunted ruins of an ancient abbey, Jane is drawn into a shadow world of dangerous secrets and traitorous hearts where not only her life is at stake--but the fate of England.
DESCRIPTION
In her seventh captivating adventure, Jane Austen finds her crime-solving mettle put to the test in a confounding case of intrigue, murder, and high treason. Among the haunted ruins of an ancient abbey, Jane is drawn into a shadow world of dangerous secrets and traitorous hearts where not only her life is at stake--but the fate of England.
As Jane Austen stands before the abandoned ruins of Netley Abbey, she imagines that ghosts really do haunt the centuries-old monastery. But the green-cloaked figure who startles her is all too human and he bears an unexpected missive from Lord Harold Trowbridge, one of the British government's most trusted advisers--and a man who holds a high place in Jane's life.Trowbridge tells Jane about a suspected traitor in their midst--and the disastrous consequences if she succeeds. But is Sophia Challoner, a beautiful widow with rumored ties to Emperor Bonaparte, really an agent of the enemy?
Dispatched to Netley Lodge, Jane sets about gaining the confidence of the mysterious and intriguing lady even as Trowbridge's grim prediction bears fruit: a British frigate is set afire and its shipwright found with his throat cut.It's clear that someone is waging a clandestine war of terror and murder. But before Jane can follow the trail of conspiracy to its source and unmask a calculating killer, the cold hand of murder will fall mercilessly yet again--and suddenly Jane may find herself dying for her country.
Elegantly intriguing, Jane and the Ghosts of Netley is a beautifully crafted novel of wit, character, and suspense that transports Jane and her many fans into a mystery of truly historical proportions--and a case that will test the amateur sleuth's true colors under fire.
352 pages • first pub 2003
(Being the 7th Jane Austen Mystery)
Jane Austen finds her crime-solving mettle put to the test in a confounding case of intrigue, murder, and high treason. Among the haunted ruins of an ancient abbey, Jane is drawn into a shadow world of dangerous secrets and traitorous hearts where not only her life is at stake--but the fate of England.
DESCRIPTION
In her seventh captivating adventure, Jane Austen finds her crime-solving mettle put to the test in a confounding case of intrigue, murder, and high treason. Among the haunted ruins of an ancient abbey, Jane is drawn into a shadow world of dangerous secrets and traitorous hearts where not only her life is at stake--but the fate of England.
As Jane Austen stands before the abandoned ruins of Netley Abbey, she imagines that ghosts really do haunt the centuries-old monastery. But the green-cloaked figure who startles her is all too human and he bears an unexpected missive from Lord Harold Trowbridge, one of the British government's most trusted advisers--and a man who holds a high place in Jane's life.Trowbridge tells Jane about a suspected traitor in their midst--and the disastrous consequences if she succeeds. But is Sophia Challoner, a beautiful widow with rumored ties to Emperor Bonaparte, really an agent of the enemy?
Dispatched to Netley Lodge, Jane sets about gaining the confidence of the mysterious and intriguing lady even as Trowbridge's grim prediction bears fruit: a British frigate is set afire and its shipwright found with his throat cut.It's clear that someone is waging a clandestine war of terror and murder. But before Jane can follow the trail of conspiracy to its source and unmask a calculating killer, the cold hand of murder will fall mercilessly yet again--and suddenly Jane may find herself dying for her country.
Elegantly intriguing, Jane and the Ghosts of Netley is a beautifully crafted novel of wit, character, and suspense that transports Jane and her many fans into a mystery of truly historical proportions--and a case that will test the amateur sleuth's true colors under fire.
July 1, 2018
Here in Jane Austen’s seventh novel-length adventure, the love story arc stretching from the first book finds its tragic climax, but along the way, Jane Austen’s wit and brilliance take center stage. Readers all know that there is no hope that this romance can end happily, but we have had hope that there would be happiness along the way. Stephanie Barron has provided us with a tale that walks along a tense line dividing happiness and grief.
I really liked the detection in this novel. Jane is insightful, clever, witty, and ultimately, correct in all her assumptions and deductions. It is a pleasure to watch her play the detective so well with Lord Harold, and to have her aided by her brother Frank as well as all the other interesting characters who help.
Jane and her household are breaking up—her mother, Martha Lloyd, and her sister, Cassandra (who spends the time of this novel in Kent where her brother Edward and his family are mourning the death of his wife) are on the point of accepting Edward’s offer of Chawton Cottage for their future home, and they will move there when the winter is over. Frank and Mary Austen have moved over to the Isle of Wight.
This novel is certainly one of the very best of the series.
I really liked the detection in this novel. Jane is insightful, clever, witty, and ultimately, correct in all her assumptions and deductions. It is a pleasure to watch her play the detective so well with Lord Harold, and to have her aided by her brother Frank as well as all the other interesting characters who help.
Jane and her household are breaking up—her mother, Martha Lloyd, and her sister, Cassandra (who spends the time of this novel in Kent where her brother Edward and his family are mourning the death of his wife) are on the point of accepting Edward’s offer of Chawton Cottage for their future home, and they will move there when the winter is over. Frank and Mary Austen have moved over to the Isle of Wight.
This novel is certainly one of the very best of the series.
June 22, 2018
Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
Well, I was more motivated to read this one and it went quickly. Lord Harold wants Jane to inveigle her way into the society of a suspected traitor, who is also beautiful and charming. Sophia Challoner charms Jane and thinks of her as a friend all the while Jane must wrestle with Lord Harold's opinion of Sophia and her own inclinations. Clearly there is a history between LH and Sophia. Jane is now 33 and past harboring hopes of marriage (which she claims would get in the way of her writing anyway). And historically we know she dies in her early 40s, single. Still, her mother ping-pongs between thinking LH is gonna pop the question and thinking he's the worst man on earth. Lord Harold actually goes so far as to ask Jane if he should ask for her hand, but in such a way that she thinks it's in jest.
And he teaches her to shoot a pistol!
Oh, and there's treachery about and, gasp!, Roman Catholicism. And the Prince Regent's mistress/possible wife turns up. Golly!
Definite spoiler below:
Anyway, Barron apparently kills Lord Harold off in the last line of the book. Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! Where will she get the ... Romantic Tension she created between Jane and Lord Harold? Luckily, Jane is already in mourning for her sister-in-law so the black outfit can serve a double purpose. I don't know what to feel. I'm already heart-broken for this fictional Jane knowing she will never know the love of a really interesting man. The real one might have been more sanguine about her life for all I know. Anyway, onward to the next volume.
Well, I was more motivated to read this one and it went quickly. Lord Harold wants Jane to inveigle her way into the society of a suspected traitor, who is also beautiful and charming. Sophia Challoner charms Jane and thinks of her as a friend all the while Jane must wrestle with Lord Harold's opinion of Sophia and her own inclinations. Clearly there is a history between LH and Sophia. Jane is now 33 and past harboring hopes of marriage (which she claims would get in the way of her writing anyway). And historically we know she dies in her early 40s, single. Still, her mother ping-pongs between thinking LH is gonna pop the question and thinking he's the worst man on earth. Lord Harold actually goes so far as to ask Jane if he should ask for her hand, but in such a way that she thinks it's in jest.
And he teaches her to shoot a pistol!
Oh, and there's treachery about and, gasp!, Roman Catholicism. And the Prince Regent's mistress/possible wife turns up. Golly!
Definite spoiler below:
Anyway, Barron apparently kills Lord Harold off in the last line of the book. Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! Where will she get the ... Romantic Tension she created between Jane and Lord Harold? Luckily, Jane is already in mourning for her sister-in-law so the black outfit can serve a double purpose. I don't know what to feel. I'm already heart-broken for this fictional Jane knowing she will never know the love of a really interesting man. The real one might have been more sanguine about her life for all I know. Anyway, onward to the next volume.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 16, 2018
YES. Absolute favorite so far, the ending regarding Jane and Lord Harold, I actually gasped out loud in shock, it was that unexpected. Whew, now that that's out of the way, this volume walked the fine line, for me, of the reader being able to solve the mystery but still be kept guessing as to certain particulars. This, I believe, it was makes a mystery engaging in the first place, and this installment in the series had it in spades. The new faces we met, Sophia, Mr. Ord, were sympathetic, interesting, dynamic characters, and I appreciated this feeling more like part of the series by so many recurring characters from last book, given as they remained in Southampton.
I could take or leave the whole French spies/Peninsular War/Catholics in England bit, but that is always the case, the characters are more compelling than the backdrop in which they are set.
This takes a turn towards more direct information relating to extant historical details on Jane's life - where she is in her writing career, the missive from Ned regarding Chawton - and I'm not sure how I feel about that. It makes one feel that the protagonist is decidedly Jane Austen, which in the previous books had been someone lacking and I tended to think of the character named as Jane Austen merely as a Regency woman of similar circumstances. In delineating these factual details, the author opens herself up to more scrutiny, is this woman really Jane?, that sort of thing, and so my reading was tinged more with the color of doubting whether actual!Jane would do as fictional!Jane does.
I could take or leave the whole French spies/Peninsular War/Catholics in England bit, but that is always the case, the characters are more compelling than the backdrop in which they are set.
This takes a turn towards more direct information relating to extant historical details on Jane's life - where she is in her writing career, the missive from Ned regarding Chawton - and I'm not sure how I feel about that. It makes one feel that the protagonist is decidedly Jane Austen, which in the previous books had been someone lacking and I tended to think of the character named as Jane Austen merely as a Regency woman of similar circumstances. In delineating these factual details, the author opens herself up to more scrutiny, is this woman really Jane?, that sort of thing, and so my reading was tinged more with the color of doubting whether actual!Jane would do as fictional!Jane does.
February 7, 2023
Lord Harold asks Jane Austen to keep an eye on Netley Lodge near the ruins of the ancient Netley Abbey. He fears there are French spies plotting mischief in the area. Jane takes her paint box and pretends to sketch the abbey ruins while keeping a close watch on all the comings and goings at the Lodge. But her watchfulness is in vain. A ship in the dockyards is set on fire and the shipwright is murdered. It is definitely the work of spies and traitors against the British crown.
I really liked this story and the history behind it. There is quite a lot of real history woven into the story with Jane's family and her acquaintances, but of course the murder mystery and Jane's involvement in the investigation are entirely fictional.
I enjoyed seeing more of Jane's brother Frank, whom she nicknamed "Fly". Jane also has a sweet scene with her sister-in-law, Mary, that shows how close they were. It was lovely to see how Jane cares so much for her family, but they also exasperate her at times. Jane is especially annoyed by her mother sometimes. Her mother is similar to Mrs. Bennet, always fussing and worried.
The murder mystery itself is good, and all the intrigue with the spies is exciting! I was completely shocked at the ending! I never imagined what the ending could be, and it was a total surprise.
I love the formal writing style that mimics the Regency era language. The dialogue is fairly close to what a real conversation might have been like in that time period. It really immerses you in the history.
I really liked this story and the history behind it. There is quite a lot of real history woven into the story with Jane's family and her acquaintances, but of course the murder mystery and Jane's involvement in the investigation are entirely fictional.
I enjoyed seeing more of Jane's brother Frank, whom she nicknamed "Fly". Jane also has a sweet scene with her sister-in-law, Mary, that shows how close they were. It was lovely to see how Jane cares so much for her family, but they also exasperate her at times. Jane is especially annoyed by her mother sometimes. Her mother is similar to Mrs. Bennet, always fussing and worried.
The murder mystery itself is good, and all the intrigue with the spies is exciting! I was completely shocked at the ending! I never imagined what the ending could be, and it was a total surprise.
I love the formal writing style that mimics the Regency era language. The dialogue is fairly close to what a real conversation might have been like in that time period. It really immerses you in the history.
May 8, 2023
Book seven in the series. Jane is still at Southampton, but not for long. Recently widowed brother Edward has offered his mother and sisters one of his cottages which will bring them back to their beloved Hampshire. And there is little reason to stay on the coast since brother Frank’s wife has also moved to her own domicile. The mystery in this book involves that Gentleman Rogue: Lord Harold. He is back after an absence of some years and he wants Jane to help him root out a French spy he believes is active in the area. He is otherwise particularly a jerk in a lot of this book; rather careless of Jane’s feelings. This is not the first time, but still.
I thought the blend of history in this one was pretty well done her. I had never heard of Mr. James Ord and his possible connection to Maria Fitzherbert and George IV. The ending was very sad. I was hoping for something different, but alas. I also had the bad guy pegged from the start and am a little surprised that neither Lord Harold nor Jane copped on sooner – or rather the author didn’t allow for this.
I thought the blend of history in this one was pretty well done her. I had never heard of Mr. James Ord and his possible connection to Maria Fitzherbert and George IV. The ending was very sad. I was hoping for something different, but alas. I also had the bad guy pegged from the start and am a little surprised that neither Lord Harold nor Jane copped on sooner – or rather the author didn’t allow for this.
September 18, 2023
Between the 'ghosts' in the title and the story's opening at a ruined abbey, I got my hopes up that this would be Barron's take on a gothic tale like the ones Austen enjoyed and commented on in Northanger Abbey. But it's not.
Any ghosts are purely metaphorical and it's a metaphor you have to go hunting for yourself since none of the characters make it. That's not a complaint. I'm a fan of metaphor hunting. It's just a long way off from the kind of story I hoped for.
As many of these Austen mysteries turn out to be, this one's an espionage story. And as the best Austen spy books do, it features my favorite Barron creation: swashbuckling, rakish superspy Lord Harold Trowbridge.
There are spoilery developments in this one that I won't specify, but they make it easily the most emotional installment in the series so far. If I actually enjoyed all the developments, this would be a five-star book. But enjoyment or not, they're certainly powerful and I really respect Barron for going there.
Any ghosts are purely metaphorical and it's a metaphor you have to go hunting for yourself since none of the characters make it. That's not a complaint. I'm a fan of metaphor hunting. It's just a long way off from the kind of story I hoped for.
As many of these Austen mysteries turn out to be, this one's an espionage story. And as the best Austen spy books do, it features my favorite Barron creation: swashbuckling, rakish superspy Lord Harold Trowbridge.
There are spoilery developments in this one that I won't specify, but they make it easily the most emotional installment in the series so far. If I actually enjoyed all the developments, this would be a five-star book. But enjoyment or not, they're certainly powerful and I really respect Barron for going there.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 17, 2024
Before I read Ghosts of Netley, I read the Madness of Lord Byron. And in the later book, I could believe Jane Austen really did take a seaside holiday with her bereaved brother, and then they solve a murder mystery together. And during the non-Byron parts of that book, Jane reveals that she, herself is still grieving an event that occurred some years ago, in Netley.
Thus, I borrowed this book about Netley to find out what was the haps.
I was not expecting how this book seems to be written by a different author. The events are clunkier. Jane’s words are less believable.
And she has a love interest? He has all the charisma of a cardboard cutout.
And in this book, either Jane herself (or the projection of the author?) dwells several times how much she loathes wearing black mourning clothes. Like she wants to make a pile of all her black garments and set them on fire. I really don’t get why that near obsession was made a part of this book. Was the author trying to hint: “oh you’re whining about mourning? Here, I’ll give you something real to mourn about!”
Thus, I borrowed this book about Netley to find out what was the haps.
I was not expecting how this book seems to be written by a different author. The events are clunkier. Jane’s words are less believable.
And she has a love interest? He has all the charisma of a cardboard cutout.
And in this book, either Jane herself (or the projection of the author?) dwells several times how much she loathes wearing black mourning clothes. Like she wants to make a pile of all her black garments and set them on fire. I really don’t get why that near obsession was made a part of this book. Was the author trying to hint: “oh you’re whining about mourning? Here, I’ll give you something real to mourn about!”
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