Effusions Of Fancy

In her recent book, Jane Odiwe attempts to answer some of the lingering questions we might have, by filling in some of these gaps with letters written, as if by Cassandra, in response to known letters of Jane's. Added to this are sumptuous watercolors depicting daily life for the Austen girls from their early childhood through Jane's residence in Bath. While Jane Austen excelled in writing, Cassandra was the artist of the family. While we may thank her for the only authenticated portraits of Jane as well as other family members, there is, to the true devotee, always a desire for more. With this in mind, Jane Odiwe has expanded this collection with paintings of the Austen Family, a "younger" portrait of Jane, and what is perhaps her most excellent work, a completion of the "Jane in a Blue Dress" sketch done by Cassandra, in which Jane turns her head to the painter, finally allowing us to see her face. She rounds out the collection with a love letter to Jane from her mysterious Sidmouth admirer. At last we have the opportunity to see, at least for a moment, the happiness she wished for all her heroines, visited on Jane. Everywhere full of facts, details and minutiae from the Austen's lives, this book is sure to be treasured, along side of Austen's own novels and letters. Nowhere is liberty taken too greatly to be believable. We are not presented with more that is already known and verified. Instead, we see a more complete picture of this sister who was more than all to Jane and are given a delightful hour's read, which is, like its subject's own, "Light, Bright, and Sparkling." Laura Boyle for the Jane Austen Centre on-line magazine