Source: Author Jane Odiwe
Paperback, 318 pages
On Amazon and on Kobo
Searching for Captain Wentworth by Jane Odiwe is a time-traveling romantic novel in which Sophie Elliot uncovers her ancestors connections to her beloved Jane Austen when she visits Bath after a tough break-up with her boyfriend. Sophie is a young woman adrift after the end of her relationship and when she learns that she didn’t get the job she had hoped. Traveling to Bath, she has romantic ideas about what this famous city would be, but it is more bustling than she expects, until she reaches her family’s home and finds that she has stepped back in time.
“My family had enjoyed a life of leisure, privilege and wealth, but in my Great-Granmother’s time the First World War changed everything. The family fortunes dwindled along with the estates, which had had to be sold. Now, all that remained was a black and white print of Monkford Hall, the manor house that the first Elizabethan queen had given in recognition of services to the crown, which my mother had framed and put in pride of place above what she had jokingly called her other “seat,” in the loo.” (page 32)
Sophie wanders around Bath and finds a white glove, which she believes must belong to her neighbor, Josh Strafford, who is putting together an exhibit at the local museum. His eyes are captivating, and his kind manner is endearing, but Sophie is not ready for romance, or so she thinks. As she uncovers the secrets of her family in the attic and upper rooms of the house in Bath, and a rosewood box she’s given, Sophie falls deeper into the past, becoming a part of it — taking a vacation from reality. In her vacation from reality, Sophie steps into the life of her namesake, Sophia Elliot, and learns that women are more constrained by society’s expectations than their clothes.
“I looked through the glass, but I couldn’t see Josh. The dark, heavy doors needed all my weight to move them, but once I’d got them started they swiftly seemed beyond my control to stop. Very quickly, the doors picked up a frightening speed and started to spin so rapidly it was impossible to make any attempt to get out. Faster and faster they turned, moving with a force all of their own. No matter how much I shifted my weight to lean against the one behind, nothing would slow the increasing acceleration of the revolving doors. i clung to the brass rail with fear, shutting my eyes tight because I felt so giddy and nauseous. It was only when the sensation completely stopped that I dared to open them.” (page 82)
Searching for Captain Wentworth by Jane Odiwe is about the love we seek when it sometimes is right in front of us. Sophie must learn how to stand on her own, to know what she wants, and to reach out and grab it while she can. Only when she has the resolve to be happy, can she truly take advantage of the opportunities and happiness before her. Odiwe writes this time-travel novel in a way that makes it believable and readers will be as swept up in the past as Sophie Elliot.
About the Author:
Jane Odiwe is an artist and author. She is an avid fan of all things Austen and is the author and illustrator of Effusions of Fancy, consisting of annotated sketches from the life of Jane Austen. She lives with her husband and three children in North London. Check out Jane Odiwe’s blog here.
Other reviews of this author’s work:
I really like time travel and this sounds lovely. Thanks for sharing.
If you like the time travel, you’ll really like this one
Interesting premise. This sounds really good!
Holly, I liked this one a lot.
These books are always fun, aren’t they? I love Austen and retellings. 🙂
This one was really good, Rachel!
I sort of love time travel. This sounds like a fun read.
It was fun. I like fun reads in summer that help pass the time in the sun and aren’t too taxing on my brain power. 🙂
I love Odiwe’s time travel novels! This is a personal favorite of mine among all the Austenesque books. Glad you enjoyed it, too!
She has other time-travel novels?
Yes, Project Darcy.
OOO, I will have to check that one out!