A SUMMER WITH JANE: PAULA BYRNE ON SIX WEEKS BY THE SEA

 

by Maria Grazia, My Jane Austen Book Club

 It is a real pleasure to welcome acclaimed biographer, novelist and Austen scholar Paula Byrne to our blog today. Paula is the author of numerous bestselling works, including Belle: The Slave Daughter and the Lord Chief Justice, The Real Jane Austen, The Genius of Jane Austen, and Mad World: Evelyn Waugh and the Secrets of Brideshead, and she is widely respected for the depth, elegance, and originality of her work including biographies, literature, and history.

Her latest novel, Six Weeks by the Sea, offers a compelling blend of historical insight and imaginative storytelling. Set during the summer of 1801, the book follows a young Jane Austen during a six-week holiday in Sidmouth, where she becomes entangled in a quietly dramatic love triangle—with both a dashing Royal Navy captain and a thoughtful, abolitionist lawyer vying for her heart. Drawing on known facts and rich period detail, Paula creates a vivid world of family ties, social pressures, and romantic possibility—all with her signature grace and intelligence.

In the conversation that follows, Paula speaks about the inspiration behind the novel, the real history that underpins her story and how she approached writing about our beloved—and still mysterious—Jane Austen.

I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did.  

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Paula, thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions. It’s a real pleasure to feature you and your beautiful new novel at My Jane Austen Book Club. Six Weeks by the Sea imagines a pivotal summer in Jane Austen’s life. What inspired you to explore this particular moment in her biography, and how much is based on historical evidence versus imaginative reconstruction?

 The novel is indeed grounded in a real-life event from Jane Austen’s biography—the summer of 1801, when she is believed to have met a mysterious stranger during a seaside holiday. According to family accounts, they fell in love, and he was considered by her family to be a gentleman truly worthy of her. However, the historical record offers very little detail beyond that poignant glimpse. It’s precisely this combination of emotional truth and historical mystery that drew me to the moment. While the novel is anchored in that real encounter, much of the story is necessarily imagined—an attempt to fill in the emotional and narrative gaps with plausible, empathetic fiction. It was both a challenge and a joy to reimagine what might have happened during those six weeks by the sea.

 

The novel blends real historical figures—like Jane Austen and her family—with fictionalized relationships and events. How did you weave together fact and fiction in writing this story?

 Although I drew on my knowledge of Jane Austen and her family—particularly her brother Frank and her beloved sister Cassandra—I also created fictional characters to enrich the narrative. Captain Peter Parker, for instance, is an invented figure who serves as a foil to Austen’s real romantic interest. I also imagined a young girl of mixed race, who becomes a significant and moving presence in the story. While I aimed to remain as historically accurate as possible, especially in portraying the world Jane inhabited, I also relished the creative freedom to invent characters and scenes—balls, garden parties, beach outings—that brought the period vividly to life.

 The inclusion of Samuel Rose, a lawyer and abolitionist, adds rich historical and thematic texture. What drew you to choose him as a potential romantic interest for Jane?

Samuel Rose was a real historical figure—the kind of cultured, thoughtful gentleman I imagined Jane Austen might have genuinely been drawn to. By all accounts, he embodied many of the qualities she admired: he was amiable, intelligent, and handsome, with a strong moral compass as an abolitionist. He also shared her literary sensibilities, being an admirer of William Cowper, the poet she held so dear. In many ways, he seemed an ideal match—not only in temperament and values, but in the deeper emotional and intellectual affinities that Jane so clearly cherished.

 Jane Austen’s family dynamics are central to the novel. What new insights did you hope to bring to readers’ understanding of the Austen family? 

I wanted to shine a light on the deep emotional ties within the Austen family, especially the relationships that shaped Jane’s inner world. In particular, I focused on her beloved brother Frank, who was close to her in age and spirit. They shared a strong bond, and I believe echoes of Frank can be found in the character of William Price in Mansfield Park. I also gave special attention to Jane’s relationship with her sister Cassandra, which was perhaps the most profound and enduring of her life. Their closeness, their mutual support, and the quiet intimacy of sisterhood were central to the emotional landscape of the novel.

You explore issues of war, colonial politics, and abolition—weighty subjects that are often only lightly touched upon in Austen’s own novels. What role did you want these themes to play in your story?

Although issues like war, colonial politics, and abolition are touched on only subtly in Austen’s novels, they were nevertheless deeply significant in her life and worldview. Jane was strongly pro-abolition—she admired figures like Thomas Clarkson—and the character of Miss Lambe in Sanditon, a wealthy biracial woman, reveals her awareness of race, class, and empire. I also wanted to reflect the profound impact of having two beloved brothers serving in the Royal Navy during the French and Napoleonic Wars. These experiences shaped her perspective, and by weaving these themes more fully into the novel, I hoped to honour both the wider world she lived in and the quiet moral clarity that runs through her writing.

 

As a renowned Austen scholar, how did writing a work of fiction about her differ from your previous biographical or critical work? Did anything about the process surprise you?

 What a wonderful question. Writing fiction about Jane Austen was both a thrilling and daunting departure from my usual biographical and critical work. While the novel still required extensive research to ensure historical accuracy, the creative process was entirely different. I was genuinely terrified at the prospect of stepping into Jane’s shoes—trying to capture even a fraction of her wit, brilliance, and emotional depth. Portraying her as a character, especially in a moment of romantic awakening, was a delicate task. I tried not to overthink it—just to imagine how she might have felt meeting the love of her life in that idyllic seaside setting. It was an enormous challenge, but also a joyful and liberating one.

 

Your portrayal of Jane feels deeply human—curious, conflicted, romantic. How did you approach giving voice and interiority to someone as iconic and enigmatic as Austen?

 

That’s such a kind observation—thank you. Giving voice to someone as iconic and elusive as Jane Austen was truly daunting. I drew on over 25 years of writing, teaching, and thinking deeply about her work and life. I immersed myself in her letters, her novels, and also the books she loved—the literature that helped shape her voice and imagination. My aim was to honour her wit, sensitivity, and complexity, while also allowing space for emotional vulnerability. Ultimately, I tried to listen closely to her world and let that guide how I imagined her inner life.

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About the Book

Summer 1801. Sidmouth, England.

The Austen Family descends upon a fashionable Georgian seaside resort in Devonshire for a six-week holiday. Jane's brother, Frank, is on leave from the Royal Navy, and dearly wishes to unite his sister with his friend Captain Peter Parker. But another holidaymaker, a handsome stranger, catches sight of Jane and is determined to make her acquaintance. This rival to Captain Parker is Samuel Rose: a lawyer, literary man and abolitionist. As the weeks pass, Jane's relationship with both men brings about unexpected surprises. By the end of the summer, the course of her life will have changed forever.

Set against the backdrop of Austen’s family, the tensions of the war against France, and naval and colonial politics, SIX WEEKS BY THE SEA is the fascinating story of how the most famous romance writer of all time fell in love for the first time.  

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Picture by Guillem Lopez

About the Author

 

Paula Byrne is the critically acclaimed author of five biographies, including Belle: The Slave Daughter and the Lord Chief Justice, The Real Jane Austen, The Genius of Jane Austen, and Mad World: Evelyn Waugh and the Secrets of Brideshead. She lives in New York City with her husband, the academic and biographer Jonathan Bate.