Dear Mr. Knightley
Author: Katherine Reay
Type of Austenesque Novel: Austen Inspired Original
Release Date: November 5th, 2013
Pages: 336
Available in: Paperback and Ebook
Available at: Amazon and Barnes and Noble
from goodreads.com:
Dear Mr. Knightley is a contemporary epistolary novel with a delightful dash of Jane Austen.
Samantha Moore survived years of darkness in the foster care system by hiding behind her favorite characters in literature, even adopting their very words. Her fictional friends give her an identity, albeit a borrowed one. But most importantly, they protect her from revealing her true self and encountering more pain.
After college, Samantha receives an extraordinary opportunity. The anonymous “Mr. Knightley” offers her a full scholarship to earn her graduate degree at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. The sole condition is that Sam write to Mr. Knightley regularly to keep him apprised of her progress.
As Sam’s true identity begins to reveal itself through her letters, her heart begins to soften to those around her—a damaged teenager and fellow inhabitant of Grace House, her classmates at Medill, and, most powerfully, successful novelist Alex Powell. But just as Sam finally begins to trust, she learns that Alex has secrets of his own—secrets that, for better or for worse, make it impossible for Sam to hide behind either her characters or her letters.
MY THOUGHTS:
- A heroine who identifies with fictional characters? I’m already endeared to her!
- I love that it is an epistolary novel!
- Given the title, I wonder if there is a Knightley-Emma kind of romance…
- Looking forward to reading Samantha’s letters with Mr. Knightley. It sounds like she opens up to him.
- Uh oh…this Alex-dude doesn’t sound good…
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS?
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Previous Posts:
- Austenesque Novel Finds #21 – Sense and Sensibility
- Austenesque Novel Finds #20 – Unequal Affection
- Austenesque Novel Finds #19 – The Highbury Murders
- Austenesque Novel Finds #18 – Jane Austen Goes to Hollywood
- Austenesque Novel Finds #17 – Pride, Prejudice and the Perfect Match
Meredith, have you read Daddy Long Legs? It sounds like it is following a similar path but I wonder will it end the same. If it is, then I’m guessing this Alex dude is the Mr Knightley, her benefactor.
No, I haven’t read that book. Is it inspired by Jane Austen? That would be an interesting twist! I hope to read it soon and find out!
Nope, I think it’s a children’s classic and like what Candy said, you can get it free. Didn’t watch the movie though but saw the cartoon series which lead me to search for it and found it is a book written by Jean Webster.
Yes! This book does sound like Daddy Long Legs! I was just talking about DLL yesterday! It’s a classic (you can get it for free on kindle) and I love the movie with Fred Astaire! Now, I’m going to have to read Dear Mr. Knightley! Thanks for the find, Meredith!
Just read the book blurb for DDL – definitely see what you guys are talking about! Interesting! Glad you like the find, Candy! 🙂
This sounds like a great read – I’m going to keep my eye out for it (maybe even both!)
LOL! It does sound like a very interesting read!
I just saw this (and added it) on Goodreads yesterday. It looks pretty good! I love the idea of people falling in love with each other through letters.
Yes, it is quite romantic!!! I’ve read a couple of Austenesque epistolary novels, but the letters weren’t between the hero and heroine. Still wonderful though!
Hey! I got this one for review because I thought it sounded good too.
Awesome, Sophia Rose! I look forward to us comparing our thoughts!
I may just HAVE to get this one because Mr. Knightley is my favorite Austen hero…hmmmm You know, I have seen the DLL movie and hope to Heavens the age difference in this is not THAT big or it’s not very Knightley-esque. LOL
Yes, Mr. Knightley is all kinds of wonderful, isn’t he? I wonder if the character in this book will have much resemblance to him. 🙂
Oh, epistolary relationships are so much fun! It allows you to be yourself without much interruption 🙂 Dear Mr Knightley sounds like a great story.
Yes, I agree about epistolary relationships and being yourself. I think opening up in a letter is much less intimidating than doing it in person. 🙂
I had the pleasure of reading this month’s ago. I loved it – though it is not technically an Austenesque novel but contains many literary illusions and Austen-like characters. I do hope you enjoy it also Meredith. Katherine is indeed a charming and talented writer. We met again last week at our local JASNA meeting and I had the pleasure to learning about her next novel which she just completed. It also contains many literary illusions and connections to Austen, so we have more to look forward to.
Thank you for stopping by Laurel Ann! That’s wonderful to hear that her next novel also has some connections to Austen! Looking forward to hearing more about it! 🙂