As a Jane Austin fan I really enjoyed reading about her friendship with Martha. Learning about Martha’s influence over Jane and their overall relationship really interested me.Well written and researched I will be recommending this book.# netgalley#penn&sword.

A book exploring in detail the relationship between Jane Austen and her best friend Martha Lloyd.
The author's research is meticulous and opens up to us a glimpse into the relationship of such close friends and we see the influence Martha had on Jane despite a ten year age difference.
Quick and enjoyable read.

Pub Date 28 Feb 2021
I was given a complimentary copy of this book. Thank you.
All opinions expressed are my own.

This is another of one of the new cluster of books (fiction and non-fiction both) written to the Jane Austen “market”. That is not necessarily a bad thing in principle, but this book will compete with and find its place among the rest that range from the anodyne to extremely fine. I confess that I am not an Austen obsessive, but have read all her novels with admiration, plus a selection of the others and some that reference this historic period.
This book speaks to the friendship of Jane Austen and Martha Lloyd who although some 10 years older, it is suggested is her best friend for most of her life. Martha it seems is a member of one of the cluster of families that the Austen family socialised with and married into. Martha’s sister in fact married one of Jane’s brothers and, at sixty, Martha herself will marry another. Whedden tells us that her book is based on the surviving letters of Jane, Cassandra and other family members. She recognises that this collection – which tells a great deal - has been edited at various times to ensure that Jane’s “memory” passed down to posterity unsullied. And, needless to say when Jane is with a friend she will not be writing, so gaping holes in information flow may be inevitable. But nonetheless she has taken what survives to build a picture of Martha” through” Jane initially and to a lesser extent the years after when this was not possible.
Martha and Jane’s life ran on similar lines, from middle class families at a time when women did not have equality, rarely had independent incomes making then dependent on the generosity – or not – of their male relatives. They would be expected to live in another’s household and provide levels of support around others’ child and household responsibilities. Most would be expected to marry if at all possible – and within a reasonable time too. Neither married early as expected, so life would be a jumble of “making do” – even quite simple “luxuries” might be difficult to acquire, travel would be controlled by money or expectations of meeting the requirements of the homeowner (usually male).
Whedden talks to the practicalities and support that the two (sometimes with Cassandra) provided in the day to day activities of their lives when they were together (or expected to be). Outside issues, rather than their own choices, could dictate whether they were close or living with no real contact for months or years. It is only with the death of Jane’s father – that ironically launched Jane into greater insecurity – that circumstances allowed Martha to eventually become part of the Austen household albeit with care responsibilities for her mother. But more than this Whedden suggests she gives a great support in coping with the constraints of the creative life – in a household that might not have been totally supportive. Thus suggesting although Martha might not have been so “book” focussed as Jane she acted as a practical support in accepting her writing life as “normal” and then later by taking over basic household responsibilities to allow Jane more time to write.
To the dedicated “Jane” reader this book might be disappointing in so far as (although suggesting that Jane’s characters might be not entirely mischievous pictures or compilations of the people around her), there is not a great deal of reference to Jane’s characters in her better known writings in this respect. This might have added a fuller dimension to this book. A historian might suggest that a deeper consideration of the “times” and the constant shadow on all the women’s lives occasioned by the risk to their men by the war. Or even maybe reflecting more fully on the risks and deaths of female friends and relatives in childbirth. A fuller consideration of Martha’s friendship with Cassandra, too, might have given a rounder portrait of Martha and given a more “non-Jane” dimension, a dimension that she surely had, even before Jane’s death. But these are niggles. The book is a good “starter” to the topic and might be more to the less well informed.

At first, I was not so sure I'd like this book, because there's a LOT of information, especially in the beginning. However, I really did enjoy it! It gets better as it goes. It is very informative. I did enjoy reading about Jane's sense of humor, and also more about Martha, much of which I didn't know previously. There was definitely a lot of sadness in both Jane's and Martha's lives, but I'm glad things ended well for Martha.
This book can be a little long in places.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance e-copy of this book. The opinions are my own.

I love Jane Austen's books and have read them many times. I also like reading books about her and have read several good ones. When I saw this one I was excited because even though I know Jane and Martha had a great friendship, I wanted to know about it in greater depth.
Sadly, this is not the book to inform on this subject. It did not hold my attention at all and I found my thoughts drifting and that's not a good sign, I thought it was long winded and the author gushed a lot in certain parts. Really it told us nothing new. It was full of supposition and maybes. Whatever the author gleaned was from Austen's letters so there was nothing direct from Martha. Indeed at times it was like I was reading a work of fiction.
People who love Austen will probably want to read it, lets face it, we can't get enough of her life, but I would say it won't add anything to your knowledge of the author or her friend.

As a huge Jane Austen fan I quickly devoured this book to find out more information about Jane's best friend Martha Lloyd. It's very hard to find a new spin or facts that Janeites won't already know but Zoe Wheddon does a cracking job in her fun book recreating Austen's world and the importance of the friendship between the two women. It's light-hearted and heart-warming, featuring their love lives, delight in shopping and shared interests, despite Martha being ten years older than Jane. This is a great book although readers wanting an academic-style literary biography should look elsewhere - 'Jane Austen's Best Friend' is not that.

Jane Austen's Best Friend
The Life and Influence of Martha Lloyd
by Zoë Wheddon
Pen & Sword
Pen & Sword History
Biographies & Memoirs | History | Nonfiction (Adult)
Pub Date 28 Feb 2021 |


I am reveling a copy of Jane Austen’s Best Friend through Pen & Sword and Netgalley:


Fans of Jane Austen throughout the world believe themselves to be best friends with the beloved author and this book shines a light on what it meant to be exactly that. Jane Austen’s Best Friend; The Life and Influence of Martha Lloyd offers a unique insight into Jane’s private inner circle.




Martha was one of a very minimal number of people who heard and was present at the inception of the unfiltered versions of Jane Austen’s writing, her writing in its purest of forms, saying exactly what she wanted to say, about whom she wanted to say it and using the exact language that she wanted to use.



Every chapter in Jane Austen’s Best Friend details the fascinating facts and friendship forming qualities that tied Jane and Martha together. In these pages we will learn relive their shared interests, the hits and misses of their romantic love lives, their passion for shopping and fashion, their family histories, their lucky breaks and their girly chats.





If you are looking for a behind the scenes tour of the shared lives of a fascinating pair and the chance to deepen our own bonds in ‘love and friendship’ with them both.




Jane and Martha had a friendship that went more than skin-deep. Together they shared hopes, and dreams.



If you are looking for a unique, well researched biography, I’d recommend Jane Austen’s Best Friend!


Five out of five star!


Happy Reading!

First sentence: It is also a truth universally acknowledged that a woman in possession of a great talent must be in want of a brilliant best friend and Jane Austen was no exception. She may even have appreciated that friend more than we will ever know. That is to say she enjoyed the delights of having someone in her life who would become one of her closest and dearest, nay even beloved people, but was not bound to her by the calls of family duty or a father’s will.

Premise/plot: Jane Austen's Best Friend is a biography of Martha Lloyd that focuses on the friendship between Jane and Martha. The two were close, as close as sisters. Their friendship spanned decades. Jane was around twelve years old when the two met. This perspective gives readers an inside glimpse of Jane's personality. Wheddon writes, "Through tracing the tale of Martha and Jane, we will get to see the human side of our heroine author and really feel like we can get to know her better. In looking back somewhat longingly at Martha and Jane’s friendship we can examine all their shared interests, including the hits and misses of their romantic love lives, their passion for shopping and fashion, their connection to their community and the female biography of the period, their family histories, their lucky breaks, their epic fails and their girly chats. In this way, it is my aim for us to ‘recover a personal Jane Austen’, to allow us the opportunity to spend time in a ‘plausible emotional and psychological hinterland’, to create something like our own time-travelling coffee shop, wherein Jane Austen is revealed to us in a different context, in a different light, through the prism of the magical link of friendship."

Martha wasn't just close to Jane, she was close to the entire Austen clan. (Later in life, Mrs. Austen, Jane, Cassandra, and Martha lived together.) Several years after Jane's death, she marries one of Jane's widower brothers.

The chapters:

In the Beginning
Early Writings
Moving Away
Love Lives
Fashion Fun
Fun and Frolics--Out and About
In Sickness and In Health
Home Is Where the Heart Is
Charity Begins At Home
Our Chawton Home
The Character of Friendship
Anything You Can Do...
The Spirit of Friendship
Life After Death
Friendship Never Ends

My thoughts: This book was a good fit for me!!! I really love reading Austen and reading about Austen. I would recommend this one to anyone with similar taste. Love reading Austen's novels? Love reading about Jane Austen? Love the Georgian/Regency time period? Love history? This one may be for you. It releases in April 2021.

I got an eARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange of an honest review.
Well I DNF-ed (Did not finish) this book. It just wasn't up my alley. I did give it some time too but no. I didn't really like the writing style either. I'm a huge Austen fan and this was kind of a disappointment . Hence 1 star.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
It's an enjoyable book for any janeite out there. It's well written and you can start and finish it without even realizing it. I really enjoyed reading about the friendship of this two Regency women, as well as the in depth information provided.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange of an honest review.

Who doesn't like Jane Austen and don't want to learn more about her life and what or who inspired her in her daily life for her writing?
I have watched many documentaries about J.A but her relationship with Martha Lloyed was absent. This book made me discover more about Jane, her character and how much she valued a real good friendship. I have to be honest, I had no idea about who was Martha to Jane. I always believed that her best friend was her sister Cassandra. Through my reading of this book, I discovered Martha and I learnt more about Jane Austen's personality and how she really was in her life. It wasn't that sad maiden who suffered an heartbreak in her prime youth which led to her grief in finding love and to have a second chance or her continual fight for a stable financial life like many portrayed her.

Jane loved Martha and made her life much more interesting. Martha also played an important role in Jane's life as an authoress. We learn that in Jane's life love came really after friendship and family. This book was about how a true friend can have an impact on your life and your dreams. Some people live their whole life through and never find a friend like Martha or Jane.

Martha was Jane's BFF as we call it today and vice versa but they weren't alaways glued to each other, each one respected the privacy, interests and tastes of the other. Martha had a scientific mind with her love for plants and animals. We learn about her well-known recipe for ink which was a real gift for a friend who was an author.

At the end, Martha's life had a beautiful happy ending like the heroines of her best friend's books. Jane, before she died, tryed to help in the fulfilement of a second chance in happiness for her best friend with her brother.

This book was a work of research and hard work. I loved it and I respect the author's efforts. Thank you for this beautiful story about a true friendship.

This books details the influence of Austen's friend Martha Lloyd on Austen's work. But because there are very few primary sources from Martha's hand, much of the book is one-sided conjecture based on Austen's letters with little proof to support Wheddon's assertions of Lloyd's part in supporting Austen's writing. Lots of "maybes," "perhapses," and "must haves" here, and assumptions rather than proof. The book doesn't know what it wants to be--researched findings about Lloyd or a simple biography. Wheddon's writing style is too sentimental for either, making pronouncements about Martha or Jane's sweetness and kindness, and is also too colloquial and assumes a lot about the nature of the friendship based on more modern understandings of "best friendship." Ultimately, I'm unconvinced about the extent of influence that Lloyd had over Austen's work.

Jane Austen was especially close to her older sister Cassandra. She had many mentors and friends. And she had Martha Lloyd, who was a 'second sister', and who lived with Jane, Cassandra and Mrs Austen.

They became friends when Jane was yet a girl. Although ten years older than Jane, Martha had much in common with her.

"Martha was a strange mix of...amusing and highly sensible, experienced yet not educated into a forced air of formality," Wheddon writes. She held a deep Christian faith.

She loved being outdoors, she loved to laugh, she was efficient and calm and she adored Jane's writings. The two friends shared in-jokes.

I did enjoy learning about Martha, her family history, her relationship to the Austen family, all that she contributed to Jane's happiness. But, Wheddon's writing style felt wordy, long passages of imagined delights, descriptions of what Jane and Martha's relationship was possibly like, and then quotes from letters and other sources upon which her imaginings are based. I wanted to rush her along. The breezy, conjectured passages of what their friendship was possibly like became weighty.

But it seems I am in the minority, as better lights have awarded this biography 5 stars--Lucy Worsley Dr Paula Byrne, Natalie Jenner, Rose Servitova.

Chapters consider aspects of their life, including Fashion, Frolics, Charity, Love Lives and more, to Martha's life after Jane's death.

I received a free ebook from the publisher through NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased.

I am a lifelong fan of a Jane Austen and have read extensively on her life. This book was intriguing, I’ve read a lot about Jane and Martha’s friendship and was very keen to read this. The good points for me were that the writers research was meticulous, and the love she has for her subject clearly shines through. However I struggled a little with the writers style, the writing seems very ‘patchy’ some chapters, notably the one on dancing and in Southampton was clear, detailed and fascinating. Unfortunately for me in other chapters there was a bit too much conjecture, and all in all I felt this didn’t add much to my understanding of Jane Austen and her life though it was an enjoyable read.

Wheddon's debut provides a fascinating glimpse into a rarely-explored but key relationship in Jane Austen's life, that of her lifelong friendship with Martha Lloyd. The author brings almost forensic energy to examining the small but pivotal moments, mutual humour and sensibility, and essential candour that define friendship as a whole, and that were critical to the happiness and satisfaction of Austen in particular. Heartfelt, thought-provoking and wise, Jane Austen's Best Friend: The Life and Influence of Martha Lloyd is a powerful testament to female friendship, its effect on genius, and the confidance and confidence it can inspire. We might not know of Martha Lloyd today without Jane Austen, but Wheddon makes a very strong case that we wouldn't have the literary genius we know and love without Martha Lloyd.

I had a blast reading this! I learned so much and now I want to learn more about Jane Austen's life!

It seems that with both Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters, biographers are looking beyond these authors themselves and examining the lives of their parents, siblings and friends. This is no problem for me as I love to read about these authors and the times in which they were living but sadly Jane Austen’s Best Friend did not live up to my expectations. For me the writing style was just not interesting or engaging and I don’t think it is as well written as any of the other literary biographies I have recently read. In some places we were given too much information and in others it was a case of ‘she might have done this’ or ‘this may have happened’ which is something I dislike in biographies especially if it's overused.

It was interesting in some places to read about the two friends but mostly I was disappointed and not engaged with the writing. I hope that another biographer writes about Jane and her friendships as it would be interesting to read. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the oppurtunity to read and review this book.

Friendship, beautiful and pure friendship is the main subject of this book. The author discusses what being a best friend really means, one you can share every bit of your life with, hysterical laughter which no one else understands to knowing how to help through sorrow to trust to discussing topics openly without judgement. Jane and Martha had a long and spectacularly close friendship, though Martha was ten years older than Jane. It made no difference whatsoever in their relationship. I have had the pleasure to visit Jane Austen territory and this book confirmed what I thought (and hoped!) of Jane's personality, thankfully, and gave me insight into Martha and her relationship with Jane.

When the two were separated geographically, their friendship grew even deeper. They visited whenever possible and eventually did live with Jane's family after Mr. Austen's death. Martha wasn't an intrusion whatsoever but her stalwart Christian beliefs, lovely personality, kindness and practical side endeared her to everyone. Cassandra and Jane's sister relationship was as close as can be and with Martha had a very tight bond. Martha's encouragement, comfort, ease of laughter and peacefulness contributed to Jane's writing. I did not realize her profound impact! They stuck together through everything, absolutely everything. They both loved many of the same things such as walking, fashion, dancing, nature and chatting but did have differences which meant they maintained their independence. The author goes on to describe both of their lives and those around them, the joys and the pains.

What resonates with me most is the depth of this precious friendship. It's breathtaking. The photographs are interesting, too.

Jane Austen fans will happily devour this different slant of information about our beloved author and dear Martha. We get glimpses into the daily lives of this devoted pair. If you are new to Jane Austen, you will surely enjoy this as well!

My sincere thank you to Pen & Sword and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this enchanting and sweet book in exchange for an honest review. Much appreciated.

I am a huge Jane Austen fan, and looked very much forward to reading this book. However, I struggled with it from the beginning. The author did more "reading between the lines", "believing" and speak in broad generalizations than doing any historical research.
The first third of the book was mostly a general description of friendships, without a solid foundation in any of the letters from Jane that she promised to use for writing this book. When we did hear a little about the said letters, it was tiny snippets of the actual letters, and the authors interpretation, that just didn't sit right with this reader.
In my opinion, it would have worked much better if the author had tried to write an amusing work of fiction about the two women and their friendship.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in advance.

As a huge fan of Jane Austen this book was right up my alley. It was a beautiful read that touched my heart and seeing friendships blossom. It was your typical, cute, classic love story between friends. It honestly was good to read something so uplifting that made me smile and feel cosy.

Thank you Zoe for allowing me to read this ARC and NetGalley for the opportunity.