Jane Austen Book Club: Letters to Alice by Fay Weldon

Welcome to our Truth Universally Acknowledged Book Club: here's your chance to reread your favourite Jane Austen books in the company of like-minded readers. Even better, you can explore the perceptiveness and skill of her writing for the first time.

Why not join Ros and Sue as we immerse ourselves month by month in the delights of Sense & Sensibility, Pride & Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma, Northanger Abbey, Persuasion, Sanditon and Lady Susan. We'll also read other authors who have been inspired by Jane's work to create their own versions of her stories: Jane Austen Ruined My Life by Beth Pattillo, Jane Austen at Home by Lucy Worsley and short story compendium Jane Austen Made Me Do It.

And if you have any further suggestions for Austen-themed books, do share them with us.

Please bring along £1 (or £12 for the year) as a contribution to Meetup fees - this £1 is only payable by non-IVC fully-paid members (and can be reclaimed if you decide to join the CambsIVC membership group).

Reading choice for Tuesday 10th November:
Fay Weldon's Letters to Alice In this charming sequence of fictional letters - inspired by those Jane Austen sent to her own niece - 'Aunt Fay' writes to her niece Alice, an 18-year-old student and aspiring writer with green hair and zero interest in reading Austen for her college English class. What begins as a passionate defence of the joys and rewards of wide reading, soon becomes a sparkling tribute to Austen's enduring brilliance - and an exploration of the craft and pleasure of fiction itself.

Read so far:
Sense and Sensibility (published 1811)
Sense & Sensibility - Joanna Trollope (published 2013)
Miss Austen - Gill Hornby (published 2020)
Pride and Prejudice (published 1813)
The Other Bennet Sister - Janice Hadlow (published 2018)
Longbourn - Jo Baker (published 2013)
Death Comes to Pemberley - P D James (published 2011)
Mansfield Park (published 1814)
Godmersham Park - Gill Hornby (published 2022)
Emma (published 1815)
Emma - Alexander McCall Smith (published 2014)
Miss Austen Investigates - Jessica Bull (published 2024)
Northanger Abbey (published 1817)
Northanger Abbey - Val McDermid (published 2014)
Jane Austen at Home - Lucy Worsley (published 2018)
Charlotte - Helen Moffett (published 2021)
Persuasion (published 1817)