Six Weeks by the Sea

Summer 1801. Sidmouth, England.

The Austen Family descends upon a fashionable Georgian seaside resort in Devonshire for a six-week holiday. Jane's brother, Frank, is on leave from the Royal Navy, and dearly wishes to unite his sister with his friend Captain Peter Parker. But another holidaymaker, a handsome stranger, catches sight of Jane and is determined to make her acquaintance. This rival to Captain Parker is Samuel Rose: a lawyer, literary man and abolitionist. As the weeks pass, Jane's relationship with both men brings about unexpected surprises. By the end of the summer, the course of her life will have changed forever.

Set against the backdrop of Austen’s family, the tensions of the war against France, and naval and colonial politics, SIX WEEKS BY THE SEA is the fascinating story of how the most famous romance writer of all time fell in love for the first time.

© 2025 William Collins (Audiobook): 9780008753191

Release date

Audiobook: August 28, 2025