Letting Go of Jane Austen ~~ Sort Of!

Well, I have to confess that I find it extremely difficult to make my way through a Jane Austen novel because of how frequently I have to stop to consider meaning and context. And to ponder ramifications and culture, too.

Would that I were smarter! :)

So for now, I think I will stick with knock-offs, novels that have Jane Austen literature as a backdrop or reference but are more modern.

For my first "modern" pick...

Jane Austen Ruined My Life






Emma Grant, the heroine of Pattillo’s first outing, has a major beef to settle with her literary heroine, Jane Austen. Austen’s novels taught Emma, a college professor, to believe in happy endings, but her own happy ending goes up in flames when she discovers her husband, Edward, in the arms of her teaching assistant, after which the two have her professionally discredited by claiming she plagiarized a paper. Disillusioned and disgraced, Emma flees the U.S. for her cousin’s house in England after being contacted by Gwendolyn Parrot, an elderly woman claiming to be in possession of a stash of lost Austen letters. Rather than simply handing over the letters, Mrs. Parrot sends Emma on a succession of tasks that gradually reveal a secret about Austen’s life previously unknown to scholars. Along the way, Emma reconnects with Adam, her former best friend whom she fell out of touch with after marrying Edward. Filled with all the whimsy and romantic literary fun the title promises, Pattillo’s novel is a rewarding read. --Kristine Huntley