Brinton, Sybil G., Old Friends and New Faces, Revive Publishing, Lakewood, CO, 1998. $18.87
Reviewed by Charles Wenz.

A palatable side effect of the interest in TV and movie adaptations of Jane Austen in the early 1990s was an increased interest in Jane Austen sequels amongst publishers. But weren't many of them a disappointment? A modern author (you know the prime culprit), earning a living writing novels, might have been expected to make a good stab at the job when commissioned to write sequels. But no. The ability to plan a passable plot, spell the names right and to write to length count for little if the spark is missing. We look for spirit, touch, irony and controlled spite in our sequels.

This newly unearthed book avoids - or avoided - the common pitfalls. And addressing your first question, the answer is yes, Old Friends and New Faces, is very enjoyable.

This is the ultimate Jane Austen sequel, as well as being the first one to start anew, rather than complete unfinished work. It was written in 1913 by Sybil G. Brinton, and reviewed in the London Times of 8 May 1913. It's also the sequel we've all mapped out in our minds and wondered when someone would write. Virtually all the characters left standing at the end of the novels - most particularly the unmarried ones - must all meet up. Bath must feature here, and a little in town too. Elizabeth Darcy is still charming, and she must befriend Mary Crawford. Broken engagements will follow, a few false trails and threatened unacceptable matches must be endured before the Forces of Good prevail. Somebody has to be found for Georgiana Darcy. William Price must be well on the way to his first command (and marriage) by the end, and Captain Wentworth will be pleased about it.

In a helpful list before the Preface, the publishers record Brinton's achievement quantitatively. She includes 38 characters from the novels, generously counting Mr and Mrs Hurst as two. I don't think they all meet at any one point in the novel, but the crosslinking is impressive and - this is what sequels are for - fun.

Enjoyment as opposed to enlightenment, thought provocation and intellectual challenge, has to be the main motivation for those of us who read JA sequels. They spin out the time in between re-reading the 'real' novels and the literary criticism. For a sequel to work, the author has to be in on the joke. Brinton certainly knew the rules, and all credit to her as perhaps the first to succeed. I liked it.

Perhaps it helps that she was writing only 100 years after Jane Austen, but the writing style here is unobtrusive and naturally dated, allowing the characters to take the story along nicely to the denouement, which is suitable slightly in doubt for a satisfying three-quarters of the book.

Old Friends and New Faces was originally published by a vanity publisher. This edition -the claim to 'First edition' status on the title page seems inappropriate - is a welcome addition to the list of for the avid soaker-up of Jane Austen sequels.

Charles Wenz is a science journalist, but Life Member of the Jane Austen Society.