Welcome to Litsy!

#Pemberlittens Ch.28: seemed a bit of a quick ending but overall, a satisfying one. I couldn‘t help but think how sad it must be to know you are writing your last letter to a friend, sensing the end is near. I enjoyed this book for the most part. It was good to see some of the motivations behind why Cassandra might have burned Jane‘s letters. I didn‘t love the way Jane was portrayed but I understood the author‘s choices, most of the time.

#Pemberlittens Ch.27: a difficult chapter to get through for sure. We knew it was coming but it wasn‘t easy to read. Also, once more we see the callousness of Fulwar. I do wonder how Eliza put up with her husband.

#Pemberlittens Ch.26: Cassandra is feeling contrite and Dinah is feeling a bit snug that her plan worked. She tells Cassandra that her meddling only caused heartbreak. Cassandra tells the sisters that maybe moving in together is a bit hasty and everyone is so happy for a reprieve - what an interesting family dynamic! But will Isabella go to the doctor or is she doomed to miss out on her HEA?

#Pemberlittens Ch.25 - Cassandra seems to have found her “Utopia” at Chawton with Jane, Martha and her mother. She has no regrets even though Mrs.Hobday still writes to her to rub in how happy her son is (wtf?) I still feel bad for Anna. She seems desperate to escape Mary - but who can blame her?

#Pemberlittens Ch.24: a short Ch but a doozy! Just as Cassandra is about to share the ?good? news that Isabella is to gain a roomie out of her oddball sister, Dinah literally throws herself down the stairs. It‘s all a bid to get the doctor there - because she knows that Isabella & the doctor love each other but aren‘t together b/c of family disapproval. Cassandra sees everything happening and feels terrible that she may have cost Isabella her HEA

#Pemberlittens Ch.23 - poor Elizabeth dies from who knows what after having 11 kids and surviving each birth (no easy feat), and at first Edward wants Cass to give up her life to take care of his. It would give her security but take her away from Jane. So she hints enough that he finally offers the cottage in Chawton - yay! But also - sad. Yes. We‘re sad. But also Yay.

#Pemberlittens Ch.21-22: Cass is set to take care of everyone, especially after the death of her father - and no one seems to need it more than Jane. I don‘t like seeing Jane like this, full on depressed. Does anyone know if this is an accurate portrayal? Does she just have an artistic temperament? Sounds to me to be very serious. Poor Cassie. 👇

#Pemberlittens Ch.20: we see Cassandra show a bit of backbone with Dinah when she demands the letters be returned. We see a bit more of her motivations (and again it comes down to duty - and a fear of her and Jane‘s lives being dissected - especially by Mary). We see a lot of Mary in Caroline 😒 - she said some pretty tactless things in front of Cassandra. This family gives me a headache.

#Pemberlittens Ch.19: the Austen girls are bothering me. I understand why Jane didn‘t go through with it even though it would have given her the security she was desperate to have, but why now does Cassy need to stop writing to poor Hobday? Because she‘s leading him on? Why can‘t she just say yes to him? Oh yes, her duty. Feeling frustrated. And for the girls to have to slink back to their parents - how embarrassing and hopeless.

#Pemberlittens Ch.17-18: Oh Cassy…sigh. You‘re punishing yourself and destined for a lonely life. How disappointing. Now granted, it would have been nice to get to know Henry a bit more before he proposed, but things were different back then. By all accounts, he was perfect. And you blew it. And then jump to 1840 - no wonder you‘re desperate to settle Isabella and give her a future. 👇

#Pemberlittens Ch.16: I missed a day! My library ebook got returned right as I was in the middle of a chapter - very frustrating. I had to find another copy. Anywho…boy those meddling Mamas…they‘re so transparent it‘s embarrassing but also to be expected. Mrs.Austen has not given up. Her house has all the single ladies and she wants that to change. Jane intends to scare off anyone who comes close. 👇

#Pemberlittens Ch.15: Cassandra ventures out into the not so idyllic town and we are reminded that the Fowles are not the perfect upstanding family they appear to be. They have family drama and Cassandra is appalled at being confronted with it. How can they not hold each other up as the Austens do? Although she needs to be reminded that she was thrown out of her house by her brother once upon a time.

#Pemberlittens Ch.14: when you finally meet a guy - He could be a 10, but he‘s into Conchology…Cass is definitely interested in Henry and even goes to lunch with his mother (😮) only to be told they‘re on their way to Europe. Well…what was the point of inviting them then, Mrs. Hobden? How disappointed Cass is. The light has once again been snuffed and she is sinking back into a shell of herself.

#Pemberlittens Ch.13: I don‘t know what I‘m happier about: the fact that Cass is attracted to a stranger or the fact that Mrs. Austen‘s bowels are feeling better. “This was a new hell: a fusion of spinsterhood with the troubles of digestion.” Haha. Even back then families talked about poop.

#Pemberlittens Ch.12: the fact that Jane is so openly talking about how Mary truly is to her sister shows that everyone had the same opinion of her. The poor Austens! Being kicked out of their home. And Anna - I feel terrible for her. Mary is the wicked stepmother for sure. And then there is Jane‘s revelation - Cassandra was in love - with someone other than Tom!

#Pemberlittens Ch.11: James, pressured certainly by Mary, basically tells his parents to get gone and make room for the next generation- the nerve! Not once does he think of his sisters or where they should go. Poor Cassandra and Jane - an uncertain future would be so scary!

#Pemberlittens Ch.10: Interesting - there‘s a secret liaison in Cassandra‘s past - I don‘t think it was Jane falling for a man by the sea. At least that wasn‘t the impression I got. And then she has the bad manners to get sick - how awfully inconsiderate of her. Do you think Dinah found the letters? Is she a spy for Mary?

#Pemberlittens Ch.9: how scary to have your future suddenly gone. To go from fiancé to probable spinster aunt in such a short time. To have all your prospects gone. How scary to be a woman. The only thing I can say is - and don‘t take this the wrong way - at least he died and didn‘t jilt her- or they didn‘t have a falling out. At least this way she garners sympathy and not blame.

#Pemberlittens: Ch.8 - wow. Just wow. Mary Austen is evil and mean spirited. First with that tactless poem, then with that letter. Poor Cassandra. And I really feel for Mary‘s daughter too.

#Pemberlittens Ch.7 - so Mary, now Mary Austen, is the worst! She‘s the relative everyone dreads seeing. And we now know she‘s the one who will be going through Eliza‘s papers and will be the main antagonist I think when it comes to Cassandra‘s mission. Also, bad news is coming about Tom I think-in the past. How will reliving it affect Cassandra in the present?

#Pemberlittens Ch.6 Cassandra is taken back to when she was working hard to match Mary Lloyd with her widower brother James - perhaps not the best idea but hindsight is 20/20. I guess she had to keep herself occupied during Tom‘s long absence. But Mary seems whiney and desperate and a bit mean to her sister and not worthy of becoming an Austen. IMO.

#Pemberlittens Ch.5: Cassandra is awash in memories and Dinah is suspicious of her wandering around the house. And did the maid see the letters on Cassandra‘s bed? Probably. Then Cassandra goes for a walk and sees none other than Isabella meeting someone, a “gentleman”. How strange!

#Pemberlittens Ch.4: Cassie goes to visit Tom‘s family after he‘s back for Christmas break and she‘s basically miserable. They seem like such a subdued bunch and she misses her fun loving family. Tom‘s not the same after his experiences at sea and senses that he might not return when he finally leaves on his journey. 👇

#Pemberlittens Ch.3: poor Cassie - her fiancé (who let‘s face it, doesn‘t seem like the sharpest tool in the shed) is leaving her for at least a year to seek adventure and find his fortune. All Cassie can do is support his decision because he wouldn‘t ask her permission, of course. No, he made this decision without consulting her. Which annoys her and us but was totally par for the course back then.?

#Pemberlittens Ch.2 - after a bit of guilty snooping, Cassandra thankfully finds the letters - before Mary Austen gets in there. Now she has to read through them to find anything that‘s incriminating to protect Jane‘s reputation. What could be in those letters I wonder? Also, poor pathetic Isabella! I feel bad for her actually. Her father sounds like a peach.

#Pemberlittens #JaneAdjacent Ch 1: Awkward! Cassandra Austen, who appears to be an old family friend, arrives practically unannounced at the vicarage and receives a truly lukewarm reception. In a time period where hospitality was so important, they practically show her none. But Cassandra has a reason for being there and she doesn‘t intend to leave until she finds the letters she is looking for - despite the chilly feel to the air of the house.