Austenland

Austenland by Shannon Hale
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Jane Hayes hasn't had much success in the boyfriend department--she's been dumped a dozen times over the years, sometimes quite painfully. She takes refuge in her favorite movie, Pride and Prejudice. (The real one, a.k.a. the BBC version starring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle.) Fantasy men like Mr. Darcy don't let you down like real men. Even so, she's reluctant to claim the inheritance left to her by her Aunt Carolyn: an all-expenses paid 3-week trip to Austenland in the UK where she'll live as Jane Austen and her characters did.

Jane eventually decides to make the most of her vacation, using it to immerse herself in her fantasy, thereby putting it to rest forever. Despite having sworn off men forever, Jane finds herself teasing the irritating Mr. Nobley, one of the male actors, and snogging Martin, a handsome gardener, and realizes she not only isn't ready to give up men, she likes the new freer Jane, who isn't so obsessed with finding The One. However, in a world where everyone's playing a role, how do you know what's real and what's not?

I saw and loved the movie a couple of years ago, not realizing it was based on a novel. I did enjoy reading the book, although I think I actually like the movie a little bit better, despite how closely the movie follows the novel. (I usually prefer the books!) It is a good beach read type of book--light and often humorous.

My younger self could really relate to Jane, although my current self wishes someone would smack her upside the head and remind her that there isn't anything wrong with being single, especially when the alternative is accepting a bad relationship like a needy ninny. In most respects, Jane is successful, and I wish she could SEE that and be more self-confident (ironically a trait that would almost certainly attract a better mate for her). My favorite part of the book was actually witnessing Jane rediscover her joy as a painter. I wish more authors would write stories about people who are happy, confident, and single. It can be done! The best romance authors often tell stories about characters who enjoy their lives and then happen to meet and fall in love with someone.

For readers' advisors: character doorway is primary. There is virtually no swearing and only kissing/making out (no sex). No violence, other than a small tussle in the airport.

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Death Comes to Pemberley

Death Comes to Pemberley by P.D. James
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

On the eve of the annual Lady Anne Ball at Pemberley, an hysterical Lydia Wickham arrives by coach, sobbing that her husband and Captain Denny are lost in the woodland and possibly shot. Mr. Darcy and Captain Fitzwilliam mount a small search and rescue mission and discover a drunken Wickham kneeling over Denny's body, saying he's killed his only friend. They return to Pemberley and summon the magistrate and constables. But is Wickham really guilty of murder?

James does a pretty good job of summarizing Pride and Prejudice and keeping faithful to the original characterizations. The chain of events seems plausible for the world of Jane Austen, although James' use of the term "police" seems out of place for the time period. (The word existed, but did the "police force" exist as such?)

The epilogue to this book is quite unnecessary, however. The superfluous explanatory scene feels like it should have been put at the end of the original Pride and Prejudice instead (or cut entirely). It really has almost nothing to do with the murder mystery but rather is a conversation between Darcy and Elizabeth that primarily rehashes their bumpy courtship--a conversation which should logically have occurred during the engagement or honeymoon periods, not 6+ years into a good marriage.

Still, it was an enjoyable read.

For readers' advisors: story doorway is primary, setting is secondary

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His Good Opinion: A Mr. Darcy Novel

His Good Opinion: A Mr. Darcy Novel by Nancy Kelley

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Way to go, Nancy!! So many Austen spin-offs feel as though the author only glanced through the parent book once or twice, but this one really feels like Darcy is telling his side of the (same) story. The dialogue from scenes where Elizabeth is present is taken directly from Pride and Prejudice, and everything that happens when Elizabeth is offstage still feels like Austen herself might have written it (aside from the modern spellings).

Nancy answers so many of my questions, like, "So how DID the conversations between Darcy and Col. Fitzwilliam go?" Or, "How on earth did Darcy locate Wickham in London?" Or, "What finally convinced Wickham to actually marry Lydia?" Or, "What was Darcy thinking?" (That one applies to many of his scenes in the original, either voiced with curiosity or while shaking head in bafflement.) And I hope someday she considers writing a sequel featuring Col. Fitzwilliam and Georgiana, who are much more three-dimensional characters in this book.

I bought a copy for my mother, and I will be buying one for myself and another for my cousin. To start with. I may hand them out to all my friends next Christmas, too. :)

For readers' advisors: character and story doorways primary, setting secondary



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