What Would Jane Austen Do?

Seriously, what would Jane Austen do?

Surprisingly, I quite enjoyed myself when reading What Would Jane Austen Do? The summary on the back cover was nothing spectacular, but I was surprised at the charming answers to WWJAD as Eleanor attempted to fit into the different time period. She deftly thwarted two gentlemen about to challenge each other to a duel to protect her honor. She flirted quite wittily with Lord Shermont that might make Jane Austen proud. She calmly kept her cool around the snooty women and managed to keep the sisters - the real ones, not ghosts - in prim and proper line (though perhaps a wee independent and forward-thinking).

I believe any Austen fan will appreciate Eleanor's channeling of Austen - I mean, who hasn't dreamed of going back in time in order to rub elbows Austen-style, possibly find a Mr. Darcy to match wits with, and perhaps meeting the lady herself?

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

A clever title that delivers a fun and frothy summer read!

Heroine Eleanor Pottinger is a costume designer from Los Angeles who arrives in Hampshire, England for Regency Week jetlagged and downtrodden after being unceremoniously dumped by her boyfriend. She has booked her accommodations at Twixton Manor Inn, an eighteenth-century grand manor house converted into a hotel whose staff has lost her reservation and must put her up in the only room left available - the haunted one that they never use. Undaunted, Eleanor just wants sleep and does not care if she shares it with anyone, spectral or otherwise. When the two ghostly sisters Mina and Deirdre materialize to haunt her, she strikes a bargain with them to travel back to Regency times to thwart a deadly duel that kills their brother Teddy if they will in turn introduce her to their neighbor, her favorite author Jane Austen. Eleanor awakens in 1814 to meet the sisters and their family living at Twixton Manor with a house full of guests including hunky rake Lord Shermont, an agent for the crown who is secretly hunting for a Napoleonic spy among them. Eleanor quickly becomes his chief suspect. Motivated to meet Jane Austen, Eleanor engages in a week of social activities to discover which of the sister's honor will be compromised provoking Teddy into duel with Shermont. As a twenty-first century woman, Eleanor struggles with the Regency lifestyle and often asks herself "what would Jane Austen do?" in the same situation which works beautifully until romance gets in the way as she is courted by Teddy and the known womanizer Lord Shermont. Questioning their motives may be the key to her unraveling the mystery and discovering if she has fallen in love with a spy or an Austen-esque hero.

Author Laurie Brown has pulled together elements of several genres - historical romance, spy thriller, time travel, and Jane Austen - in an ambitious endeavour. The plot moved very quickly and was evenly paced. I enjoyed traveling back in time with Eleanor, meeting Lord Shermont and of course encountering Jane Austen. Who wouldn't? Brown obviously researched her Regency history and has read Austen's novels quoting characters and scenes (though I must correct her reference to Knightley criticizing Emma Woodhouse after the picnic at Boxhill where she had treated Jane so badly! It was Miss Bates who was abused not Jane Fairfax.). Taken as a fun and frothy summer read, I have very few quibbles. However, when an author chooses to use Jane Austen or her characters that ups the ante in my book, and the standards are raised. Unfortunately, the opportunity to distinguish the present and the past with language nuances was missed as modern words such as Tarzan, yummy, omigod leaked in to the Regency world, and misnomers such as Arabian thoroughbred was used to describe Lord Shermont's horse. Additionally, at times I would like to have rested and discovered more about characters and their motivations, which was Austen's forte. In the end, I knew very little about the heroine and hero's inner thinking and felt the plot skipped past moments to elaborate and reflect just a bit more. The author did however supply the requisite Austen-esque heroine transformation and happily-ever-after ending, which Jane would have chosen to wrap-up more swiftly with far less effusion. In the end, was I entrapped by Jane Austen's name into reading this novel? You betcha! Do I have any regrets? Like Austen's character Emma Woodhouse, in this instance "I would much rather have been merry than wise."

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

sooo good!

It is like an episode of Doctor Who written by Jane Austen!

Ahhh

It is so flippin good

Pleasantly Surprised!!!

I got this when it was a free read. Took me a while to get around to reading it, but so glad I did!! Easy read & enjoyable story!!

LOVED IT!!!!

Fun read

Wish they had all Browns books for nook.

Wonderful Read!

This was a wonderful read in which a modern woman is brought back in time to the regency period. This book is full of interesting characters and a well written plot that is full of surprises and will keep you captivated until the very end.

What would Jane do? Read this book!

This is a wonderful tale that Laurie Brown has written. I wonder how well I would have fared going back in time? The charcters were a joy to meet and experince their life and times.

What would Jane do?

This is wonderful look at what would it be like to go back to the time of Jane Austen. Lautie Brown did a wonderful job of creating likable and loveable charcters.

Fun read for the summer!

Very funny and romantic. Wished it was longer...look foward to reading more of her work.

Darcy+fans+with+just+eat+this+book+up

Summer+is+my+time+that+I+indulge+my+guilty+pleasure+and+get+lost+in+books.+This+book+%22what+would+Jane+Austen+do%22+is+a+fast+paced+fantasy+and+I%27m+lovin+each+and+every+second+of+it.

quick, fun read

a fun light read...nothin to do really with austens characters but the author herself in small part...wraps up too quickly but was a nice read for escape time.

Fun Regency read

Honestly, I'd probably give this one three and a half stars...What Would Jane Austen Do? is a cute story with a fun premise--not terribly believeable, but fun. Costume designer Eleanor Pottinger has been disillusioned by her former fiance and is in England for what would have been her honeymoon but is now a working vacation including an annual Jan Austen convention. When her reservation is lost, she agrees to sleep in the inn's haunted suite of rooms. There, she encounters a pair of ghosts in distress who transport her back to Jane Austen's time in an attempt to right a wrong from their past. I really enjoyed the principal characters, especially the two sisters/ghosts of the house, Mina and Deirdre. My only issues, if you can call them that, are that many things, especially at the end, are a bit rushed and a little too simplistic and that at times the conversation seems a bit stilted and awkward. (There's even one of those moments where the villian reveals all to us, and it just didn't seem to be written in a terribly realistic way.) There are also a few issues with accuracy, but they really didn't get in the way of my enjoyment. All in all, it was a fun read and I do look forward to seeing more from this author.

fun light reading

A costume designer and Jane Austen admirer travels back through time to the Regency period, has an interesting time trying to fit in with the customs of the day, and finds love. Totally unbelievable, fun, light read.

LOVED IT

I only douwloaded this one because it was free, and jane austen was in the title, but once i started it, i could not put it down!! It has a very strong similiarity to Knight in Shining Armory, but has some twists i wasnt really expecting! i would recommend this if you like romance, over coming obstacles and time travel

Very Enjoyable!

I thought this book was great! It didn't rock my world or change my perspective on anything important but it was fun! Great characters, witty dialogue, thoroughly enjoyable read! I'm not sure why other reviewers are boo-hooing about it not being classic historical fiction. It's a modern girl in a historical setting and I think the combination of those two work well. I'll be looking for more from this author!

Fun read

This isn't exactly what I would call "Historical Fiction" but it's a fun and interesting read. More mystery than romance. It's an interesting premise that a costume designer is transported back in time to the period she specializes in. That, at least, was interesting. I really enjoyed learning about Regency "do's and don't's".

Not What I Expected

I purchased this book because I like historical fiction, however I wouldn't put actually call this book historical fiction. I don't usually give bad reviews so I won't go into what I liked and didn't like, it just wasn't for me.

Loved it! Just don't expect Austen's eternal wisdom.

I though this book was extremely enjoyable to read. I loved how all this occured to a woman of modern times. The author I felt wrote in a fun, quirky text that felt more as if you were speaking to a girlfriend. Just, don't expect the classic language and eternal wisdom as with Jane Austen. It was defintely a book you read quickly, and laugh out loud to. Just expect it to be a fun read. In my opinion it's a great summer read, and even better when you share it with a friend :) Then you can laugh together at the hillarious characters. For the price it's well worth it! :)