Jane and the Twelve Days of Christmas: Being a Jane Austen Mystery by Stephanie

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Jane Austen turns sleuth in this delightful murder mystery set over the twelve days of a Regency-Era Christmas party!

FORMATPaperback LANGUAGEEnglish CONDITIONBrand New Publisher Description

Jane Austen turns sleuth in this delightful murder mystery set over the twelve days of a Regency-Era Christmas party.Christmas Eve, 1814- Jane Austen has been invited to spend the holiday with family and friends at The Vyne, the gorgeous ancestral home of the wealthy and politically prominent Chute family. As the year fades and friends begin to gather beneath the mistletoe for the twelve days of Christmas festivities, Jane and her circle are in a celebratory mood- Mansfield Park is selling nicely; Napoleon has been banished to Elba; British forces have seized Washington, DC; and on Christmas Eve, John Quincy Adams signs the Treaty of Ghent, which will end a war nobody in England really wanted.Jane, however, discovers holiday cheer is fleeting. One of the Yuletide revelers dies in a tragic accident, which Jane immediately views with suspicion. If the accident was in fact murder, the killer is one of Jane's fellow snow-bound guests. With clues scattered amidst cleverly crafted charades, dark secrets coming to light during parlor games, and old friendships returning to haunt the Christmas parties, whom can Jane trust to help her discover the truth and stop the killer from striking again?

Author Biography

Francine Mathews was born in Binghamton, New York, the last of six girls. She attended Princeton and Stanford Universities, where she studied history, before going on to work as an intelligence analyst at the CIA. She wrote her first book in 1992 and left the Agency a year later. Since then, she has written twenty-five books, including five novels in the Merry Folger series (Death in the Off-Season, Death in Rough Water, Death in a Mood Indigo, Death in a Cold Hard Light, and Death on Nantucket) as well as the nationally bestselling Being a Jane Austen mystery series, which she writes under the penname Stephanie Barron. She lives and works in Denver, Colorado.

Review

Praise for Jane and the Twelve Days of ChristmasLibraryReads November 2014 Top Ten List"Witty, immaculately researched . . . Reminiscent at moments of Sense and Sensibility."—USA Today"Sings with not just a good plot but courtly language and an engaging group of characters worthy of the famed novelist herself . . . A first-rate mystery with so many twists and turns that you can hardly blame a reader who doesn't figure it out until the end."—The Denver Post"Jane and the Twelve Days of Christmas is a complex murder mystery with the same kind of rapier wit that Austen deployed. This is great fun for readers who long ago ran out of Jane Austen novels. Barron nails the period. She talks the talk and knows her history. The story stands up as a mystery as well, festooning its surprises in a tinsel of satire."—The Boston Globe"[A] charming holiday read. Barron re-creates the 1814 world wonderfully, from the elaborate dinner parties and Twelfth Day Children's Ball to the strict social rules and upstairs/downstairs divide—all with a humor and edge that would make Jane herself proud."—The Cleveland Plain Dealer"Just add eggnog and a Yule log."—Ft. Worth Star-Telegram"Ingenious in plot—Barron plays fair with clues in this intriguing whodunit—Jane's latest adventure offers readers still more: a glimpse of holiday celebrations of two centuries ago, a pleasant excursion into the lives of Britons and a collection of well-drawn characters. Add Barron's deft imitation of her subject's prose style, and you have a novel that its subject may well have admired."—Richmond Times-Dispatch"[I]nteresting and exciting… lets us sink into a mode of life and lets us experience the mores ruling European society two hundred years ago, while keeping us intrigued with the outcome of the central mystery. Highly recommended." —I Love A Mystery"[A]n excellent period mystery for all historical fiction fans . . . Jane Austen devotees will especially appreciate immersing themselves in the many biographical details about Austen that accompany the fictional murder mystery."—Library Journal, STARRED Review"Vivid characters propel the subtle plot to its surprising conclusion. The first-person narration captures Austen's tone as revealed in her letters: candid, loving, and occasionally acerbic."—Publishers Weekly, STARRED Review"Barron has clearly done her homework in the language and manners of Austen's time . . . Her latest venture edges out competing authors of Regency whodunits."—Kirkus Reviews"A good double closed house mystery and an engaging historical novel, with careful descriptions of Georgian Christmas customs."—Booklist"[M]aintains Jane Austen as intelligent, witty, observant, kind, quick witted, and logical. The historical details of the time are carefully shown via the actions, dialogue, and setting descriptions . . . Just as Jane is putting together the clues and trying to decide who to trust, the readers can follow and come to their own conclusions."—Gumshoe ReviewPraise for the Being A Jane Austen Mystery Series"If you have a Jane Austen-would-have-been-my-best-friend complex, look no further . . . [Barron] has painstakingly sifted through the famed author's letters and writings, as well as extensive biographical information, to create a finely detailed portrait of Austen's life—with a dash of fictional murder . . . Some of the most enjoyable, well-written fanfic ever created."—O Magazine"Wonderful . . . echoing the rhythms of the Austen novels with uncanny ease."—Entertainment Weekly"A genteelly jolly series."—The New York Times Book Review"Splendid fun!"—Minneapolis Star Tribune

Review Quote

Praise for Jane and the Twelve Days of Christmas LibraryReads November 2014 Top Ten List "Witty, immaculately researched . . . Reminiscent at moments of Sense and Sensibility. " --USA Today "Sings with not just a good plot but courtly language and an engaging group of characters worthy of the famed novelist herself . . . A first-rate mystery with so many twists and turns that you can hardly blame a reader who doesn''t figure it out until the end." --The Denver Post " Jane and the Twelve Days of Christmas is a complex murder mystery with the same kind of rapier wit that Austen deployed. This is great fun for readers who long ago ran out of Jane Austen novels. Barron nails the period. She talks the talk and knows her history. The story stands up as a mystery as well, festooning its surprises in a tinsel of satire." --The Boston Globe "[A] charming holiday read. Barron re-creates the 1814 world wonderfully, from the elaborate dinner parties and Twelfth Day Children''s Ball to the strict social rules and upstairs/downstairs divide--all with a humor and edge that would make Jane herself proud." --The Cleveland Plain Dealer "Just add eggnog and a Yule log." --Ft. Worth Star-Telegram "Ingenious in plot--Barron plays fair with clues in this intriguing whodunit--Jane''s latest adventure offers readers still more: a glimpse of holiday celebrations of two centuries ago, a pleasant excursion into the lives of Britons and a collection of well-drawn characters. Add Barron''s deft imitation of her subject''s prose style, and you have a novel that its subject may well have admired." --Richmond Times-Dispatch "[I]nteresting and exciting... lets us sink into a mode of life and lets us experience the mores ruling European society two hundred years ago, while keeping us intrigued with the outcome of the central mystery. Highly recommended." --I Love A Mystery "[A]n excellent period mystery for all historical fiction fans . . . Jane Austen devotees will especially appreciate immersing themselves in the many biographical details about Austen that accompany the fictional murder mystery." -- Library Journal , STARRED Review "Vivid characters propel the subtle plot to its surprising conclusion. The first-person narration captures Austen''s tone as revealed in her letters: candid, loving, and occasionally acerbic." --Publishers Weekly , STARRED Review "Barron has clearly done her homework in the language and manners of Austen''s time . . . Her latest venture edges out competing authors of Regency whodunits." --Kirkus Reviews "A good double closed house mystery and an engaging historical novel, with careful descriptions of Georgian Christmas customs." -- Booklist "[M]aintains Jane Austen as intelligent, witty, observant, kind, quick witted, and logical. The historical details of the time are carefully shown via the actions, dialogue, and setting descriptions . . . Just as Jane is putting together the clues and trying to decide who to trust, the readers can follow and come to their own conclusions." --Gumshoe Review Praise for the Being A Jane Austen Mystery Series "If you have a Jane Austen-would-have-been-my-best-friend complex, look no further . . . [Barron] has painstakingly sifted through the famed author''s letters and writings, as well as extensive biographical information, to create a finely detailed portrait of Austen''s life--with a dash of fictional murder . . . Some of the most enjoyable, well-written fanfic ever created." --O Magazine "Wonderful . . . echoing the rhythms of the Austen novels with uncanny ease." --Entertainment Weekly "A genteelly jolly series." --The New York Times Book Review "Splendid fun!" --Minneapolis Star Tribune

Excerpt from Book

CHAPTER ONE: Encounter in a Storm Saturday, 24th December 1814 Steventon Parsonage, Hampshire "Jane," said my mother over the lolling head of the parson slumbering beside her, "be so good as to shift your bandbox and secure my reticule. I cannot manage the hamper with one hand, to be sure." "No, indeed." I pressed my bandbox--already crushed from the confines of the stage, which was crowded beyond bearing--into my friend Martha''s lap, and seized my mother''s purse. She had netted it from silk, an effort demanding considerable invention and time; none of us should hear the end of it if Mrs. Austen''s work were ruined, well before it could be universally admired. I braced my booted feet against the unsteady coach''s floor and cradled the reticule as tenderly as a newborn babe. My mother''s hamper was a sturdy article, its contents swaddled in linen. She had provided herself with a nuncheon of cold brawn, cheese and bread, and was determined to partake of it when we quitted the coach at Basingstoke. I doubt that any of our party had the stomach for brawn--which is invariably strong in both taste and smell--after swaying together for more than fifteen miles. Martha appeared faint and my sister Cassandra has never borne well with public conveyances since the overturning of our chaise a decade ago in Lyme. For my own part, a medicinal glass of mulled wine seemed in order: My feet were become as insensible as ice, for the interior of the carriage was almost as frigid as the air without. The odor of pickled boar''s head wafted to my nostrils; Mamma had determined to inspect the hamper''s contents. She was inordinately fond of brawn; it was just such a dish as recalled the festivities of her girlhood, when meals were less elegant and more English. I reflected that the increase in the numbers of French among us--due to the horrors of the guillotine and Buonaparte--has done much to improve the British palate in recent years. " Lord ," whispered Cassandra hurriedly, one gloved hand over her pinched nostrils. She was seated on my left, closer to the hamper than Martha or I. "Never fear," I murmured. "A quarter-mile at most shall end the agony." We wallowed through the rutted outskirts of Basingstoke, the stage lurching as though at sea. We ought to have been six within, but the coachman''s avarice had persuaded him to add two more to his complement, burly fellows of the prosperous yeoman class. These were snoring within moments of our departure. Their personal cleanliness did not appear remarkable. Martha huddled against my right shoulder, Cassandra my left; and in short, we were quite crushed from the moment of quitting Alton. The coach windows were fogged with damp, and a light snow had begun to fall; but if I narrowed my eyes and peered over my sister''s shoulder I could just discern a pair of ostlers, poised at the entrance of the Angel''s coaching yard with a fresh change of horses. Happy release! With a harsh halloo and a blare of his horn, the coachman turned into the yard and pulled up his strengthy beasts. The ostlers were at their heads in a moment. The coach door was pulled open, admitting a welcome blast of air, icy and tinged with the smell of horses. I drew a shuddering breath and waited for the burlier folk to quit their seats. Next to me, Martha heaved an unhappy sigh. "I cannot bear the thought of continuing on alone to Bath," she said. "Perhaps I ought to have accepted my sister''s invitation, and passed the Christmastide with all of you at Steventon." Martha''s sister, Mary, is my brother James''s wife. It was to spend Christmas among our friends and relations in Steventon that we had ascended the stage this morning. Martha, however, was fortunate in a pressing invitation to Bath--and must bear all the indignities of a public conveyance until well past nightfall. We were to transfer to private accommodation here in Basingstoke for the final four miles of our journey. James had promised to send a man for us. I glanced at the lowering sky--the fall of flakes only increasing--and fervently hoped that my brother had elected a closed carriage over his usual donkey cart. "Pray take the hamper, Jane," said my mother briskly, holding out her hand for her reticule. "I am sure the good man at the Angel will overlook our nuncheon, provided we offer custom in another quarter. I shall order hot lemonade, to throw off the cold." At a few pence per draught, this should hardly supply the loss of a fine dinner in a private parlour--but Mr. Fitch, the Angel''s publican, was unlikely to expect much from us in any case. Four ladies of shabby-genteel appearance, ranging in age from thirty-nine to seventy-five and traveling upon the common stage, are unlikely to loosen their purse-strings. Even if the purse is netted of silk. Martha was already supplied with a steaming mug of what I suspected to be mulled wi≠ as the coachman would stay only for the change of horses, she could not spare a moment for the Angel''s interior. I gave her a swift hug and wished her joy of the Christmas season in Bath, which was likely to be far more festive than our own; considered briefly the madcap notion of abandoning the brawn in the stable yard and stowing away in the coach with my friend; then turned resolutely and trudged after my family. Novelists, I reflected, are rather apt to pass in silence over the rigours of travel. Our heroines are generally accommodated in private carriages, complete with fur lap robes, enormous muffs, and hot bricks to their feet; they travel post, with private teams of horses at every sta≥ and invariably are pursued by a rogue so handsome and dangerous as to render them insensible for the better part of the journey. I should dearly wish to be insensible for the remainder of mine . "Miss Austen, ma''am?" I glanced up from the muddy ruts, already turning grey with snow. A man in nankeen breeches, heavy boots, and a worn sailor''s jacket: James''s man, no doubt. "Jem Harley, ma''am," he said. "Rector sent me to fetch you. I''ve stowed the cart in the stables so''s to keep the nag warm." The cart. My heart sank. Four miles through open country at a snail''s pace. In snow. Having been pretty well-acquainted with James for nearly forty years, I ought not to have hoped for much else. The man was holding out his hand for the hamper. "Pray partake of the contents," I urged as I handed him the basket. "I am sure you will need fortifying for the journey ahead." Dusk comes swiftly in late December, particularly when the sun is obscured by a heavy layer of cloud. Now that the snow was falling in earnest, the roads out of Basingstoke were grown deserted as more sensible people sought safety within doors. I am sure that our driver, Jem, could hardly see beyond the nose of his nag. He did not complain or mutter oaths, however; indeed, he uttered not a syllable, his head hunched between his shoulders and his gaze fixed on the road. The unfortunate horse moved at a walk. Given the weight of our baggage and ourselves, I was surprised that it moved at all. It was nearly four o''clock, and growing dark. More prosperous travelers would have lit their carriage lamps before departing the Angel. But we had none to light. "Ought not we to turn back, Jane?" Cassandra asked in a lowered tone. "James and Mary expect us every moment--they shall be in considerable suspense--and James has already laid out good money for the services of this man--but surely our present attempt is out of all proportion to what is required ?" She was huddled beneath one edge of the lap robe, which was so narrow as to prevent its being tucked beneath her; we had decided without comment to place our mother as warmly and securely as possible between us. Both Mamma and Cass kept their heads bowed, as though at Divine Service, to prevent the snow from stinging their cheeks. Cassandra''s feathers--so proudly set to trim her Christmas bonnet a few days ago--were sodden and draggling by the tip of her nose. "James may lament the loss of his coin when he has sense enough to hire a closed carriage," I retorted crossly. "His parsimony has long been cause for ridicule, but I refuse to allow it to finish us. Jem! Jem!" Our driver turned his head. "Pray pull up your horse. We--" I broke off, mouth agape in dread, my eyes fixed upon the luminous spheres wavering over Jem''s shoulder. Carriage lanterns! At the same instant I caught the muffled beat of hooves, deadened by snow. The oncoming coachman could not perceive us for the whirl of flakes; our paltry conveyance was unlit, and moreover, should afford not the slightest protection from the imp

Description for Sales People

Jane Austen remains hugely popular r in the UK, with popular reimaginings such as Longbourn (Black Swan, 2014). Set over the 12 days of Christmas 1814, the book is rich in fascinating historical details. Publishing just in time for Christmas 2014, this is sure to be an enticing gift as well as a hotly anticipated title. Stephanie Barron is a prolific writer whose specialises in historical fiction, detective fiction, and spy fiction. This critically acclaimed series moves to Soho Press.

Details ISBN1616955724 Author Stephanie Barron Short Title JANE & THE 12 DAYS OF XMAS Language English ISBN-10 1616955724 ISBN-13 9781616955724 Media Book Format Paperback Residence Evergreen, CO, US Birth 1950 Series Being a Jane Austen Mystery Imprint Soho Press Inc Place of Publication New York Country of Publication United States Subtitle Being a Jane Austen Mystery Series Number 12 UK Release Date 2015-10-27 Year 2015 Publication Date 2015-10-27 AU Release Date 2015-10-27 NZ Release Date 2015-10-27 US Release Date 2015-10-27 Publisher Soho Press Inc DEWEY 813.6 Audience General Pages 352 We've got this

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