I’d forgotten that I’d put off writing a ‘just discovered’ author post earlier this week. So, you guessed it, this here is it.

The author is Syrie James, and I must say, I am hooked!

A few weeks ago, I read The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen, basically because I’ll give pretty much anything a shot if it’s got Ms. Austen at the center of it, but more importantly, because I was intrigued by the plot line, i.e. that some of Jane Austen’s lost memoirs were found (you saw that coming, didn’t you?), uncovering a previously unknown passionate romance of her own, and the inspiration for Mr. Darcy.

I was completely drawn in by it. The writing style was so effortlessly Austen that I almost felt as if I truly was reading a memoir penned by her own hand. And while these lost memoirs were just a fabrication, Ms. James did a terrific job of melding the historical details from Ms. Austen’s life with the details of the memoir.

While reading Jane’s story, I read a review from Barrie Summy’s Book Review Club for The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Bronte. Naturally, this book had to come next. I pushed aside all the books I already had out from the library to get started on this one, and oh, was it worth it. If I read the Author’s Note correctly, this book was actually based on Ms. Bronte’s real and recently discovered journals, so, in essense, it was Charlotte’s mostly true life story. And so fascinating! Now I want to go back and read Jane Eyre again. It’s been so long I’ve almost forgotten it completely.

And next by Ms. James…out at the end of July…you can bet I’ll be reading this one too!