For Myself Alone

A Jane Austen Inspired Novel

By: Shannon Winslow

Narrated by: Beverley A. Crick

From the author of The Darcys of Pemberley comes a new story, straight out of the world of Jane Austen and told in a style reminiscent of her six classic novels. Set in nineteenth century Hampshire and Bath, For Myself Alone is the tale of Josephine Walker, a bright, young woman whose quiet life is turned upside-down by an unexpected inheritance. With a tempting fortune of twenty thousand pounds, she's suddenly the most popular girl in town. Yet Jo longs to be valued for who she is, not for her bank balance.

She cannot respect the men who pursue her for her money, and the only one she does admire is considered the rightful property of her best friend. Now, even the motives of her new fiance are suspect. Does he truly love her for herself alone? There's one sure, but extreme, way to find out…if Jo has the courage to take it. For Myself Alone will appeal to those who long for more Jane Austen, for more stories like the ones she told written in the elegant language of her time. Just for fun, the author has sprinkled lines from Jane Austen works throughout the audiobook for fans to find.

©2012 Shannon Winslow (P)2013 Shannon Winslow

No Jane

Shannon is a competent author but not a new Austen.
Starts too slow. Story too predictable. Good outcome.
Last chapters carry the story

I doubt Austen would like this much

Would you try another book from Shannon Winslow and/or Beverley A. Crick?

I don't think I'd try another Shannon Winslow novel if it's one in which she's trying to mimic Jane Austen. Beverley A. Crick's narration seemed better-modulated to a book for much younger readers.

Would you be willing to try another book from Shannon Winslow? Why or why not?

I'd try another book of Shannon Winslow's only if it were of a different genre, although I'm not sure which one.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Beverley A. Crick?

A narrator with a less Pollyanna-ish style would have given the book a bit more weight. Crick's style made it seem even more fluffy than it was.

Could you see For Myself Alone being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

No, please! There were too many points I felt were ignored legal and social realities for women of that period.

Any additional comments?

This doesn't seem to be the same universe in which Dickens wrote Bleak House, or in which women's rights to property were severely limited by entailments, etc. Jo seems to behave too much like a 20th century woman in handling her affairs, in moving about socially, etc. The subplots with the suitors lack anything like the subtleties of Austen's handling. Therefore, to attach Jane Austen's name to it is, to put it very mildly, disappointing.