Eccentric Fran wants a second chance. Thanks to her intimacy with Jane Austen, and the poet Shelley, she finds one. Jane Austen is such a presence in Fran's life that she seems to share her cottage and garden, becoming an imaginary friend. Fran’s conversations with Jane Austen guide and chide her – but Fran is ready for change after years of teaching, reading and gardening. An encounter with a long-standing English friend, and an American writer, leads to new possibilities. Adrift, the three women bond through a love of books and a quest for the idealist poet Shelley at two pivotal moments of his life: in Wales and Venice. His otherworldly longing and yearning for utopian communities lead the women to interrogate their own past as well as motherhood, feminism, the resurgence of childhood memory in old age, the tensions and attractions between generations. Despite the appeal of solitude, the women open themselves social to ways of living - outside partnership and family. Jane Austen, as always, has plenty of comments to offer. The novel is a (light) meditation on age, mortality, friendship, hope, and the excitement of change. “A beautiful book - a true treat and gift. Todd gives us an allusive dialogue of the living in vivid conversation with the illustrious dead. The voices of her learned, witty, aging twenty-first-century characters—like present-day Mrs. Dalloways going about their business in provocative daily routines—bring new life to the great authors of the past. This is a wonderful, moving novel of playful experimentation, gorgeous image, and brilliantly irreverent juxtaposition.” Devoney Looser, Foundation Professor of English, Arizona State, and author of The Making of Jane Austen . “Dazzlingly inventive, fabulously enjoyable” Sandi Toksvig. Washington Post " A charming new novel about friendship and the literary life."  "In this delightful novel, Virginia Woolf, William Wordsworth, Elizabeth Bishop, Dr. Samuel Johnson and Lord Byron all make cameos, along with, of course, Jane Austen .... what great company these characters and the many writers who inhabit this novel make. It's as if we readers are taking a trip to Cambridge, Wales and Venice, too, and encounter in the local pubs a few witty, quirky locals who just happen to be literary scholars. They regale us with their favorite lines from poems while they share a glass of wine or a pint of ale, as if we are all friends just enjoying each other's company in a summer that — in our imagination anyway — can go on as long as we'd like." Booklist  " Todd's charming, quirky, thoughtful, challenging, and encouraging tale includes engaging photos and illustrations that enhance the story, adding up to an unusual and intriguing literary romp." "Fran and Annie have been friends for decades, from their time teaching in higher education and experiencing motherhood to Annie's current visit to Fran's remote retirement cottage in South Norfolk, England. While contemplating the next phase of their friendship, Fran consults with Jane Austen, a ghostly presence in her life. A group of earthly friends is loosely formed, and they embark on a journey tracing the footsteps of the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, although the growth of their friendships may be the most rewarding discovery they make. Literary critic, biographer, and novelist Todd provides a variety of reading experiences, ranging from reflections on gender inequities of the past and present to multiple viewpoints on the prospect of aging, investigating the consequences of Shelley's dramatic life choices, considering the role of women in Austen's world, and navigating the difficulties involved in following your own path while trying to fulfill the expectations of friends, family, and society. Todd's charming, quirky, thoughtful, challenging, and encouraging tale includes engaging photos and illustrations that enhance the story, adding up to an unusual and intriguing literary romp." Foreword Magazine "With consuming literary passion, Janet Todd's complex novel combines the past and the present together with the living and the dead." "Fran is a widow who spent her life immersed in teaching, reading, and gardening. Her retirement (and her reluctant glances at herself in mirrors) reminds her that she is getting on in years. The thought of making a major life change while there's still time plays at the edge of her mind. "Somewhat obsessed with Siberian recluse Agafia Lykova, who cracked nuts with her teeth while alone on the tundra, reclusive Fran thinks, 'I may have to learn to live with people before it's too late.' But Fran is not alone: the ghost of Jane Austen haunts her, making unsolicited comments on her thoughts, beliefs, and choices. Though sometimes resentful of Austen muttering in her ear, Fran accepts that her presence "makes the world a little less cold. "Then Fran bonds with two other women over their mutual love of literature: Annie, a longtime English friend, and Rachel, an Americ