jane austen

Book Review: Austenland

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Austenland by Shannon Hale

Austenland (Austenland, #1)
by Shannon Hale

1 out of 5 stars

Jane has always been obsessed with Mr. Darcy and can’t find happiness in any of her relationships. She goes on a vacation to Austenland, where the guests all dress up in Regency clothing and interact with actors as though it is 1816. Jane hopes that immersing herself in her Austen fantasies will help her to get it out of her system and allow her to be content in her real life. However, she discovers that love and fantasy are formidable foes, when she begins to flirt with a handsome gardener but also hopes to win the heart of a brooding Mr. Darcy-type character.

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Book Review: Dear Jane Austen

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Dear Jane Austen by Patrice Hannon

Dear Jane Austen: A Heroine’s Guide to Life and Love
by Patrice Hannon

1 out of 5 stars

The author gives advice through Jane Austen’s voice in a “Dear Abbey” style, answering letters from modern women who want to have a happy ending like the heroines in Austen’s books. Jane Austen is sitting at home and receives letters from the future. She sits down at her little writing desk to answer the letters, but is sometimes interrupted by her family and nieces visiting and commenting on the letters as well.

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Classic Book Review: Sense & Sensibility

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Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

Sense and Sensibility (Modern Library)
by Jane Austen

5 out of 5 stars

Elinor and Marianne are two sisters with very different personalities. Elinor is practical and reserved. Marianne is emotional and vivacious. They struggle to understand each other, but ultimately they learn from one another. Although the sisters find romance in unexpected places, it is their sisterly relationship that defines them.

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Book Review: Unmarriageable

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Unmarriageable by Soniah Kamal

Unmarriageable
by Soniah Kamal (Goodreads Author)

1 out of 5 stars

DNF at page 49.
Alys and her four sisters are attending the biggest wedding of the year, and their mother, Mrs. Binat, is hoping that they will catch the eye of rich bachelors. Alys is not interested in hunting for a husband, until she meets the handsome Valentine Darsee.

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Book Review: Jane and the Final Mystery

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Jane and the Final Mystery by Stephanie Barron

Jane and the Final Mystery (Being a Jane Austen Mystery #15)
by Stephanie Barron

4 out of 5 stars

Jane knows she is nearing the end of her life. Her health has been deteriorating for months and the doctors give her six months to live. However, when her old friend Elizabeth Heathcote is in trouble, Jane and her nephew Edward are ready to help. Elizabeth’s son, William, has been accused of murdering a schoolmate at Winchester College, a boys’ boarding school. Jane’s nephew Edward tells her all about the boys college and how William endured hazing and cruel pranks. But could William have lashed out at his tormentors to the extent of murdering one of them?

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Book Review: Jane and the Year Without a Summer

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Jane and the Year Without a Summer by Stephanie Barron

Jane and the Year Without a Summer (Jane Austen Mysteries, #14)
by Stephanie Barron

5 out of 5 stars

Jane and her sister Cassandra are visiting Cheltenham in Gloucestershire. They hope that by sampling the sulfurous waters, Jane’s health might improve. They stay at a boarding house and are very curious about the other guests. One of the boarders is Miss Williams, a young lady confined to a wheelchair, who is constantly fussed over and spoiled by her faithful friend. A married couple are always complaining and making things unpleasant for everyone. Jane is surprised to find that her friend Raphael West appears to know another one of the boarders, Mrs. Smith, who works with a theater company. But when a murder occurs at a masquerade ball, Jane realizes there must be some connection to the people at their boardinghouse.

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JASNA Meeting Notes

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Today I was invited to speak at a meeting with the Jane Austen Society of North America at the Georgia Chapter in Atlanta! It was a wonderful group of people, all excited to talk about classic literature and Jane Austen.

Here are my notes from that speech! So you can look up anything that you missed during the meeting.

jasna-meeting-luminous-libro-notesDownload

And you can watch the entire event in the Youtube Livestream!

Book Review: Jane and the Waterloo Map

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Jane and the Waterloo Map by Stephanie Barron

Jane and the Waterloo Map (Jane Austen Mysteries, #13)
by Stephanie Barron

4 out of 5 stars

Jane is invited to the palace of the Prince Regent to visit his library. She is “delighted” that the Prince Regent has “granted her the honor” of dedicating her next book to him, even though she secretly despises the Prince Regent for his selfishly lavish lifestyle. While Jane is visiting the library, a military man stumbles in, foaming at the mouth and evidently poisoned. Before he dies, he manages to whisper two words to Jane, “Waterloo Map”. Jane begins to investigate what the poor man could have meant, and why he would have been poisoned in the Prince Regent’s own house.

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Book Review: Jane and the Twelve Days of Christmas

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Jane and the Twelve Days of Christmas by Stephanie Barron

Jane and the Twelve Days of Christmas (Jane Austen Mysteries #12)
by Stephanie Barron

4 out of 5 stars

Jane, Cassandra, and their mother, Mrs. Austen, are visiting their old country parsonage where Jane’s brother, James, is now residing. They visit the Chute family at their estate for the Christmas festivities, but a military messenger is found dead, thrown from his horse. Jane thinks it must be murder, and one of the other guests, an artist, agrees with her.

The best part of this story is learning about the Regency Christmas traditions, games, food, parties, and other family habits at Christmastime!

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Book Review: Jane and the Canterbury Tale

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Jane and the Canterbury Tale by Stephanie Barron

Jane and the Canterbury Tale (Jane Austen Mysteries, #11)
by Stephanie Barron

3 out of 5 stars

Jane is visiting her brother Edward at his large estate. Their acquaintance Adelaide Fisk is getting married again, but her previous husband shows up on her wedding day… dead. He was thought to have died abroad years ago, but his murdered body is discovered adjacent to Edward’s property. As the magistrate, Edward must investigate – with Jane to help, of course!

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