But no sooner are her belongings unpacked than a strangled corpse is discovered in the cellar. Which of her neighbors had cause to murder shiftless Henry French? And what connection does his death have to the legend of the stolen Chawton Emeralds? As Jane sorts through the personal papers Lord Trowbridge bequeathed to her in his will, she can't keep her mind off the mystery. And lurking just out of sight is someone who will stop at nothing to secure...

The intrepid nineteenth-century writer investigates the suspicious death of a mysterious man at the wedding of Andrew MacAllister and Adelaide Fiske.

"November, 1815. The Battle of Waterloo has come and gone, leaving the British economy in shreds; Henry Austen, high-flying banker extraordinaire, is about to declare bankruptcy dragging several of his brothers down with him. The crisis destroys Henry's health, and Jane flies to his London bedside, believing him to be dying. While she's there, the Reverend James Stanier Clarke, chaplain to His Royal Highness the Prince Regent, invites Jane to tour...

"March 1817: As winter turns to spring, Jane Austen's health is in slow decline, and threatens to cease progress on her latest manuscript. But when her nephew Edward brings chilling news of a death at his former school, Winchester College, not even her debilitating ailment can keep Jane from seeking out the truth. Arthur Prendergast, a senior pupil at the prestigious all-boys' boarding school, has been found dead in a culvert near the schoolgrounds--and...