Read for the TBR Reading Challenge.
I had a sudden thought about half way through Austenland. What would Jane Austen think of the many books that have been written based upon or in homage to her books?
I enjoyed Austenland. The story centers on Jane Hayes, a woman in her early thirties who has finally realized that she’s given up on every man in her life because they didn’t live up to Mr. Darcy of Pride and Prejudice fame. It’s not something she’s proud of, and one of the few people to figure this out is her great aunt Carolyn. When Carolyn dies, she leaves Jane a trip to a regency themed resort in England.
Jane’s three weeks at the resort are interestingly documented, and followed many of my own thoughts about how much I think I’d actually like living in Regency times. It all seems very romantic on the surface, but the three weeks give Jane a surprisingly long time to think about her life, and what she really wants from it.
There is romance in the book, and it was both predictable and ultimately unpredictable. I blew through this book in two nights (probably could have managed one night on a weekend), and that was two nights enjoyably spent.