“Book Descriptions: THE WATSONS Jane Austen s fragment CONTINUED AND COMPLETED BY JOHN COATES
In this continuation of Jane Austen's fragment, John Coates was presented with the beginning of a good story and a number of promising characters. There is a charming if rather correct heroine, Emily Watson, who returns to her family after a long absence to renew acquaintance with her ailing father and her three unmarried sisters; an awkward peer, who pays Emily marked attention, and his friend, a flirtatious bachelor; a highly eligible clergyman; and an almost unlimited quantity of officers from the local garrison. The chief characters meet at the first ball of the season in the town of Dunford in Surrey, and from this encounter develops a story which is rich and lively creation in its own right, not just an imitation of Jane Austen's other novels.” DRIVE