Three women, two families, one forbidden marriage. Get ready to fall in love with the brand-new regency romance from the Sunday Times bestselling author of Godmersham Park and Miss Austen, now a major BBC TV series.

‘A richly imagined family saga, love story and social comedy’ Times

'Gripping and moving and also so sharp and funny. I loved it!’ Sabine Durrant, bestselling author of Lie with Me

‘Has all the wit and wisdom of a Jane Austen novel’ Red

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‘It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.’

1820. Mary Dorothea Knatchbull is living under the sole charge of her widowed father, Sir Edward – a man of strict principles and high Christian values.

But when her father marries Miss Fanny Knight of Godmersham Park, Mary’s life is suddenly changed.
Her new stepmother comes from a large, happy and sociable family and Fanny’s sisters become Mary’s first friends. Her aunt, Miss Cassandra Austen of Chawton, is especially kind. Her brothers are not only amusing, but handsome and charming.

And as Mary Dorothea starts to bloom into a beautiful young woman, she forms an especial bond with one Mr Knight in particular.

Soon, they are deeply in love and determined to marry. They expect no opposition. After all, each is from a good family and has known the other for some years.

It promises to be the most perfect match. Who would want to stand in their way?

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Praise for The Elopement:

‘Hornby’s Austen books are funny, bittersweet family sagas, impeccably researched and lavishly imagined’ The Times

'Tremendous . . . Darker than Miss Austen but rendered with her characteristic lightness of touch and quick wit' Nigella Lawson

'Has all Austen’s wit and unnerving powers of observation with an extra twenty-first century zap' Ferdinand Mount, prize-winning author of Big Ceasars and Little Caesars

‘Few writers are as perspicacious or half as delightful as Hornby’ Karen Joy Fowler, international bestselling author of The Jane Austen Book Club

‘A captivating return to the world of the Austens’ Woman & Home

‘Combines meticulous period research with a fine feeling for the characters' inner lives, hopes and fears’ Daily Mail


Readers are loving The Elopement:


'I was hooked from the first page' 5-star reader review

'I loved every minute of this novel' 5-star reader review

‘One of the best books I’ve read this year. It’s a delight - by turns refreshing, funny, romantic, poignant and touching’ 5-star reader review

‘Full of warmth, wit and suspense’ 5-star reader review

'It is so well-written with vivid period detail that I felt immersed in the Austen world and did not want it to end' 5-star reader review