Giveaway - First Impressions - Charlie Lovett

I've got a wonderful giveaway for Jane Austen fans today! Charlie Lovett's new novel First Impressions: A Novel of Old Books, Unexpected Love, and Jane Austen releases October 20/14..

What's it about? From the publisher, Viking Books:

"Charlie Lovett’s best-selling debut novel The Bookman’s Tale introduced scores of readers to the true meaning of the word bibliophile. In his delightful second novel, FIRST IMPRESSIONS: A Novel of Old Books, Unexpected Love, and Jane Austen, Lovett once again immerses readers in a world where books hold closely guarded secrets that threaten to turn the literary world upside down. For Lovett, a former antiquarian bookseller and collector, old books hold a power like none other; in his thrilling, suspenseful mysteries, their contents become matters of life and death.

In 1796, Jane Austen is living in Hampshire and working on her first book, an epistolary novel tentatively titled Elinor and Marianne, when she strikes up an unlikely friendship with an aging cleric named Richard Mansfield. An author himself—albeit of a less-than-artful book of allegories—Mansfield soon becomes Jane’s closest literary companion. On long walks through the countryside and engaging chats by the fire, they offer each other not only friendship, but also professional advice. Neither can foresee the impact their collaborations will have on future generations.

In present day London, Sophie Collingwood is a lifelong book lover bereft at the loss of her beloved Uncle Bertram. After his books are sold off to pay debts, Sophie takes a job at an antiquarian bookshop hoping to earn enough to slowly buy back the books and restore his collection. When, on the same day, two customers request a copy of the same obscure book—the second edition of Little Book of Allegories by Richard Mansfield—Sophie is drawn into a mystery that will cast doubt on the true authorship of Pride and Prejudice.

Sophie, a dogged a dogged researcher and devoted Jane Austen fan, is quickly drawn into a frantic search for a book that threatens not just Jane Austen’s reputation, but Sophie’s own life. Combining a very Austen-like love triangle; a portrait of one of our greatest literary legends; and a tribute to the typesetters and printing presses of the eighteenth century, First Impressions> will charm bibliophiles and Jane Austen lovers everywhere. Lovett skillfully pulls readers into his world where true joy comes from a life lived in books."


"Charlie Lovett is a former antiquarian bookseller, an avid book collector, and a member of The Grolier Club, the preeminent club for bibliophiles in North America. He and his wife split their time between Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and Kingham, Oxfordshire, in England."

PS - Did I mention that a hardcover copy of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, courtesy of Penguin Booksis part of this prize pack? For a chance to win both books, simply leave a comment with the title of your favourite Jane Austen book. Open to US and Canada, no PO boxes please. Ends Oct 25/14.