Veevers’s writing flows effortlessly and sustains interest by moving back and forth between the two women. Most commendable is the way she depicts the insecure and sometimes demeaning reality of their lives—leaving readers to question what more these individuals might have produced in a society less weighted against them.

Publishers Weekly

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A fresh and richly credible Jane and Dorothy whose complicated characters and situations run parallel yet never meet.

Sensibilities Journal, Jane Austen Society of Australia

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Jane and Dorothy is an enlightening and fascinating book that tells the stories of two very different women, showing what divided them and yet also showing in a surprising and intriguing way, what they had in common.

Susannah Fullerton, President of the Jane Austen Society of Australia

 

Marian Veevers deftly weaves the contrasting lives of these two great writers. She wants to show how two extraordinary women found meaningful lives "outside the prescribed destiny" of a suitable marriage.

Jane and Dorothy is an intriguing book, neither biography nor literary criticism but more a committed personal enquiry into the lives of these two women. By yoking them together, Marian Veevers shows how they each found a voice in the male-dominated society of their day.

Cumbria Life

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Praise for the Dido Kent series

 

If Jane Austen had written Miss Marple, she would have been Dido Kent, the inquisitive spinster of Dean’s American debut, first published in England as A Moment of Silence (2008).  ... the plot is fraught with clever red herrings that are resolved into an unexpected yet tidy and deeply satisfying conclusion. A classic English country-house whodunit with a Regency setting that will delight Austen fans and mystery connoisseurs alike.

Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

 

The central character (of A Gentleman of Fortune) is believable, likeable, and convincing while the historical details are beautifully rendered, subtle, and unobtrusive yet adding an unmistakable sense of period and place. The plot is full of twists and turns with mysterious visitors, disguises, and lots of secrets discovered by Miss Kent. There is never a dull moment and I didn't want it to end. Overall, a wonderful book which I recommend very highly.

Historical Novels Review (editor’s choice)

 

Bellfield Hall by Anna Dean is rich in period detail, transporting the reader to a different time where a visit to a draper’s shop or a walk down the portrait gallery in a manor house reveals many secrets. The relations between the different social classes are complex and through Dido’s discerning eye we travel upstairs and downstairs, inside the house and out in the village, making the necessary connections to solve the mystery.

...Miss Dido Kent shines as the very capable amateur detective; her elegant wit, sensitive observations, and keen intelligence make her an immediate favorite.

... Fans of Jane Austen who are well acquainted with the details of her life as well as her novels will delight in the moments of the book which bring to mind their beloved author. But Bellfield Hall is much, much more than just a loving tribute; it’s an intelligent, suspenseful mystery, elegantly written with engaging characters. It will appeal to Jane Austen fans and historical mystery lovers alike.

AustenBlog