Susan: A Jane Austen Prequel by Alice McVeigh is a historical novel with a great plot and fascinating characters. Sixteen-year-old Susan Smithson is expelled from school unexpectedly. Susan knew that she was going to eventually leave the London school for young girls, but not in the unexpected and disgraceful manner in which Mrs. Ansruther is sending her away. Now at Lady Catherine de Bourgh’s home, she attracts the interest of a dashing young nobleman, but her guardian does not hesitate to send her to Kent upon a small provocation. Everything changes in a sleepy town when Frank Churchill arrives. Follow these characters as they evolve through family drama, adventure, and love.

This is an intelligently plotted and expertly written novel. Alice McVeigh has a strong gift for character and she writes characters with flaws that make them believable. The author introduces readers to Susan immediately and to a premise that sparks off the drama. She is a poor but intelligent, artistic, and capricious young woman who gets expelled from school after a scandal. The author explores the inner world of the characters brilliantly and writes dialogues that are captivating. There is a nobility in language that reflects the historical setting of the story. Apart from the protagonist, characters like Alicia and Frank Churchill are cleverly written and compelling. Susan: A Jane Austen Prequel is a propulsive historical drama with characters that fans of Jane Austen will adore and a setting that transports readers to an historical moment, unveiling social mores and values that are peculiar to the time.

Susan: A Jane Austen Prequel by Alice McVeigh is a character-driven historical novel that follows sixteen-year-old Susan Smithson after she is unexpectedly expelled from school for being involved in a scandal. As a poor girl who has also suffered a great loss, she is uncertain about what life at the home of Lady Catherine de Bourgh has in store for her. The excitement of capturing the heart of a young nobleman is short-lived as Lady Catherine sends her off to Kent, a place that seems bereft of activity and even life until Frank Churchill arrives. Everything changes with prospects of love for Alicia and a lot of adventure for the wily, beguiling Susan, who always seems to have something up her sleeve.

Alice McVeigh creates a perfect portrait of a historical period that readers will be fascinated to read. From the language that reflects the manner of speech of the time to characters that are intriguing, the author recreates a spellbinding drama, exploring social status among the nobility and a young woman’s struggle to fit in. The fully-blown characters are written with ingenuity and the author is meticulous in the way she writes about Susan. The prose is gorgeous and the descriptions are vivid; the deft exploration of the emotions and psychological state of the characters augments the entertaining potential of this story. Alice McVeigh’s gift for creating conflict is evidenced in this novel and it will be fun to follow the characters, especially Susan as she deals with strong emotional urges. Alice McVeigh is a first-rate historical fiction writer, and her attention to detail, time, and period is commendable. Susan: A Jane Austen Prequel is a balanced and skillfully delivered historical novel.