William Lavender’s Just Jane begins with 14-year-old British-born Lady Jane Prentice arriving in Charleston, South Carolina. The year is 1776 and Charleston seems a city where nothing should go wrong. However, tension grows from spirited arguments between Loyalists and Patriots to a British attack on this beautiful city, causing Charlestonians and Jane to prepare for something tremendous. Love, bravery, and loyalty to one’s family, country, and self play across the pages of this deeply dramatic and moving novel, one I could not put down until I had finished the very last page. Mr. Lavender’s writing brings history to life, drawing readers into Jane’s world. Planted into a new life of family tensions, romance, and war, Jane is a smart and brave character on a journey of self-discovery, a journey any one of us might make. Her search to determine who she is is uniquely inspired by the American Revolution, her new home’s search for its own identity. Anybody who enjoys historical fiction with a touch of romance and a strong character will most certainly find Just Jane a thoroughly engrossing read, and will learn much about American history along the way!
