Julia Golding

Pedro’s slave master is set to drag him back to the West Indies, but not if Cat can help it. Then Cat disguises herself as a Westminster School boy when the police come after her.

Set in the early industrial revolution and the great canal building age, a young Jane Austen takes on the role of detective as she seeks to solve the mysterious events at the Oxford canal terminus.

Nearing completion, convicts work on completing the wharf overseen by the charming secretary Mr George, who shows Jane around. A rude convict Gardiner does not make a good impression though. When Gardiner goes missing and canal funds turn up short, an exciting manhunt ensues but Jane begins to expect something suspicious about the secretary and the reasons why Gardiner was in prison. Were Jane's first impressions very wrong about the relative merits of the convict and the secretary? With the ever-present Austen spirit, Jane with notebook in hand, boldly overcomes the obstacles to finding the truth and expose the secrets. Inspired by Austen's third novel Pride and Prejudice (working title First Impressions).

Cat Royal is an orphan who is adopted by the owner of the Drury Lane Theatre, London, in the 1790s. When she overhears that there is a diamond hidden in the theatre she is determined to solve the mystery with the help of Pedro, a gifted musician.