”Lovingly-crafted and brilliantly executed… the Highbury Trilogy is an outstanding companion and tribute to Jane Austen’s Emma. Rich with comprehensive detail, thoughtful developments, and emotive prose.” Austenesque Reviews.Jane Bates has left Highbury to become the companion of the invalid widow Mrs Sealy in Brighton. Life in the new, fashionable seaside resort is exciting indeed. A wide … exciting indeed. A wide circle of interesting acquaintance and a rich tapestry of new experiences make her new life all Jane had hoped for.
While Jane’s sister Hetty can be a tiresome conversationalist she proves to be a surprisingly good correspondent and Jane is kept minutely up-to-date with developments in Highbury, particularly the tragic news from Donwell Abbey.
When the handsome Lieutenant Weston returns to Brighton Jane expects their attachment to pick up where it left off in Highbury the previous Christmas, but the determined Miss Louisa Churchill, newly arrived with her brother and sister-in-law from Enscombe in Yorkshire, seems to have a different plan in mind.
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My heart has cried a deep red grief since you’ve been gone, pulsing crimson pain. ~ Terri Guillemets
I loved this bittersweet story of the Bates family we know so well from Jane Austen’s “Emma.”
Part Two of the Bates family trilogy finds young Jane Bates taking a step toward independent adulthood as she leaves Highbury to become a companion to an old woman in Brighton. Her mother accompanies her on the journey while her older sister Hetty visits a friend. During a stop to rest at an inn, the ladies meet the Churchill family: Mr. & Mrs. Churchill and Mr. Churchill’s young sister, Louisa.
Louisa forms an instant bond to Jane, vowing the girls will attend many events together when they reach Brighton. Will Louisa’s friendship endure?
Jane discovers the “old” woman she is to aide is not so very old after all. Mrs. Sealy had been severely injured years before and was unable to walk. That doesn’t stop the young widow from desiring an active social life, however, and Jane accompanies her. She does see Louisa but rarely for long.
You flew off with the wings of my heart and left me flightless. ~ Terri Guillemets
Captain James Weston arrives at Brighton and Jane expects him to renew his attentions to her from the previous Christmas. He is friendly and often meets her for walks but seems distant. She sees him in company with Miss Churchill. What does Miss Churchill have to do with him? Why is Miss Churchill also seen in company with Mrs. Sealy’s step-son?
Mrs. Bates has remained temporarily at Brighton, visiting the Fairfax family. Mrs. Fairfax is newly married, already with child, and unskilled at household management. Mrs. Bates makes herself useful, indeed, practically indispensable. Then heartbreaking news arrives from Highbury and Mrs. Bates must hurry home.
Love blooms petals, thorns, and nettles. ~ Terri Guillemets
Allie Cresswell gives us an intimate look at many of the characters we know marginally in “Emma”:
Mrs. Churchill, the sickly Aunt of Frank Churchill, is here, controlling and crabby even as a young woman.
James Weston, who later marries Miss Taylor, shows himself amiable to the extent he allows the wind to blow him anywhere it wants.
Angus Fairfax appears and Jane Bates finds the strength that is lacking in James Weston.
Colonel Campbell, a close friend of the Fairfax family, plays his part.
Hetty Bates, who loves to read letters, also does an outstanding job of writing them.
Most of all, we come to love Jane Bates as she completes her journey.
My only regret is that the author didn’t end this section of the story a bit sooner. We know poor Jane Fairfax is an orphan. I wish that had been the beginning of Part 3 instead of the end of Part 2. The Bates family is one that has persevered in spite of the hard knocks life has given them. These three stories show us why George Knightley scolds Emma when she mistreats Miss Bates. I will look at that scene differently now.
Part 3 will be the childhood of the orphaned Jane Fairfax leading up to her arrival at Highbury, secretly engaged to Frank Churchill. It will be available this spring. I look forward to it and recommend this series to anyone who enjoys JAFF.
Heartache awaits the next love as a seed awaits the spring. ~ Terri Guillemets