Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor

By Stephanie Barron,

Book cover of Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor

Book description

For everyone who loves Jane Austen...a marvelously entertaining new series that turns the incomparable author into an extraordinary sleuth!

On a visit to the estate of her friend, the young and beautiful Isobel Payne, Countess of Scargrave, Jane bears witness to a tragedy. Isobel's husband—a gentleman of mature years—is felled…

Shepherd is reader supported. When you buy books, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Why read it?

2 authors picked Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor is the first of Stephanie Barron’s 14 Jane Austen mysteries, based on Austen’s “discovered” diaries about her adventures as a sleuth.  The series’ witty tone is true to Austen’s, and portrayals of Austen’s family are based in fact. In this opening volume, Jane is visiting a friend “of more fashion than means” newly married a middle aged earl—who dies, poisoned, after a celebratory party. His will divides his estate between his countess and an heir known to be too fond of her, making the pair obvious suspects. As Jane works to prove her…

As someone who re-reads all major Austen works every year or so, I am so grateful for Stephanie Barron’s creation of Jane as an amateur sleuth who can’t seem to visit a country house or a London mansion without coming across a murdered peer or a suspicious “suicide”! True to the actual Jane’s acquaintances, life events, and characters (she meets “Mr. Darcy” and other people who will show up in her novels), this fictional Jane sounds like the books she writes but with even more humor, acerbity, and sarcasm. 14 books and counting! Never gets stale!

Want books like Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor?

Our community of 11,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor.

Browse books like Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in Jane Austen, Based on Pride & Prejudice, and London?

Jane Austen 101 books
London 856 books