Published By: William Collins
Pages: 240
Released On: 28/08/2025
Summer 1801. Sidmouth, England.
The Austen Family descends upon a fashionable Georgian seaside resort in Devonshire for a six-week holiday. Jane’s brother, Frank, is on leave from the Royal Navy, and dearly wishes to unite his sister with his friend Captain Peter Parker. But another holidaymaker, a handsome stranger, catches sight of Jane and is determined to make her acquaintance. This rival to Captain Parker is Samuel Rose: a lawyer, literary man and abolitionist. As the weeks pass, Jane’s relationship with both men brings about unexpected surprises. By the end of the summer, the course of her life will have changed forever.
Set against the backdrop of Austen’s family, the tensions of the war against France, and naval and colonial politics, SIX WEEKS BY THE SEA is the fascinating story of how the most famous romance writer of all time fell in love for the first time.
*****
Thanks to William Collins and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this title in return for an honest review.
This sounded delightful: historical, romance, and Jane Austen, what more do you need? I want to know when doctors stopped sending people to the seaside for their health. I’m sure six weeks by the sea would cure all my maladies.
I had some concerns with this book but there were good points.
It’s almost written in Austen’s style. It’s not a copy, because I’m not sure anyone can truly do justice to her style but there are definitely influences which I liked. But on the flip side, I haven’t read a classic in a while and so I was out of practice with that kind of writing, so I liked it, but it did take a little longer to get into.
I find writing weather and scene setting really quite difficult without it sounding like I’m just writing a list of adjectives. But Paula has managed it rather well. She’s given it a proper sense of place.
I think it’s a niche story for the average historical reader, but perfect for fans of Austen and fans of historical romance stories. Her books are so well known but she is such an enigma, and I think fans will really get pleasure out of it.
It’s quite a short book, which I think is to its benefit, because it is quite heavy on description. I enjoyed it, but it didn’t hold my attention for all of it. It was heavy on detail but like on….stuff, if that makes sense. I found myself liking it but wanting something a bit more to happen, as it felt quite safe.
You can tell Paula is passionate about history and Jane Austen and historical women in general, and I will definitely be keeping an eye out for her other work.
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