Jane Hayes, like many well-read modern women, suffers from disappointment in the arena of love, which stems mostly from the modern man's inability to live up to the romantic image of Colin Firth as Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy. When her wealthy Aunt Carolyn passes away, to her mother's dismay, she bequeaths Jane a three-week paid vacation to Pembrook Park, a well kept secret Austenland, where women can transport themselves back into Regency era and find themselves wooed by actors cast to embody the characteristics of the best and worst of Austen's leading men. And there are two such men who catch Jane's fancy, but she finds herself torn between feeling giddy at the shameless flirting and depressed by the unmistaken lack of reality underneath it all. After all, the players are acting, or are they?Any Austen fan will enjoy this story. Unlike the common Austen fan fic and stories set in an alternate Austen universe, Hale is able to replicate Austen's witty sarcastic banter between characters, while still creating unique characters, rather than cheap caricature's of the originals. Jane Hayes, at thirty-four, channels her inner Elizabeth Bennet when immersed in the fake Austenland, but constantly second guesses herself and truly lacks her spirited backbone and confidence (which makes her all the more identifiable to those of us who also only wish we could aspire to be as confident and unwilling to settle as a twenty year old woman with no fortune in Regency England).
The story is cute, a little too cute at times. But it's easy to chuckle at Jane's clumsied attempts to be as polished as a lady of the 18th century and her realizations that life as an Austen heroine is not it all that it's cracked up to be. In fact, it can be dreadfully boring at times, and it's no wonder Austen skimmed over a lot of the paltry dialog women would have been forced to have on an everyday basis. There are several inside jokes and references Austen fans (or more appropriately addicts) will appreciate, but at the same time, this novel could be read and enjoyed by someone who had not yet enjoyed Austen's novels.
Without giving away the ending, I found myself slightly dissatisfied with the rash change in Mr. Nobley's character. It is too brazen to be Austen-esqe and too unrealistic given Nobley's real history (which Jane finds out through her illegal use of modern technology while in Austenland) and the modern day realities of the relationships between men and women. My biggest complaint, however, is that the novel could easily have been longer and in fact ends at precisely the scene I would have liked to see drawn out and more fully explained as to prove the setting is realistic rather than a fantasyland.
All in all, it's a thoroughly enjoyable read and left me feeling wistful, wishing such a place as the resort at Pembrook Park truly existed and I might endeavor to afford a trip there some time soon.
Visit Shannon Hale's site.