Marianne, Louisa and Cassandra Knight May, Lou and Cass were Jane Austen s nieces.

Ruth Deacon s academic career is in the doldrums, her marriage is in shreds, an elderly relative with dementia has become an impossible burden. Ruth needs a miracle. It comes in the form of The Memory Book .

Belfast 1955: our past was still their future .

A dramatic monologue from one of Jane Austen’s bitter relatives is directed at the famous female writer. A deceptive, subversive intelligence emerges beneath the lightness and simplicity of the stories in this dazzling volume.