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Jane Austen Addict #1
Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict
In this Jane Austen inspired comedy, love story, and exploration of identity and destiny, a modern LA girl wakes up as an Englishwoman in Austen's time.
After nursing a broken engagement with Jane Austen novels and Absolut, Courtney Stone wakes up and finds herself not in her Los Angeles bedroom or even in her own body, but inside the bedchamber of a woman in Regency England. Who but an Austen addict like herself could concoct such a fantasy?
Not only is Courtney stuck in another woman's life, she is forced to pretend she actually is that woman; and despite knowing nothing about her, she manages to fool even the most astute observer. But not even her love of Jane Austen has prepared Courtney for the chamber pots and filthy coaching inns of nineteenth-century England, let alone the realities of being a single woman who must fend off suffocating chaperones, condomless seducers, and marriages of convenience. Enter the enigmatic Mr. Edgeworth, who fills Courtney's borrowed brain with confusing memories that are clearly not her own.
Try as she might to control her mind and find a way home, Courtney cannot deny that she is becoming this other woman and being this other woman is not without its advantages: Especially in a looking-glass Austen world. Especially with a suitor who may not turn out to be a familiar species of philanderer after all.
After nursing a broken engagement with Jane Austen novels and Absolut, Courtney Stone wakes up and finds herself not in her Los Angeles bedroom or even in her own body, but inside the bedchamber of a woman in Regency England. Who but an Austen addict like herself could concoct such a fantasy?
Not only is Courtney stuck in another woman's life, she is forced to pretend she actually is that woman; and despite knowing nothing about her, she manages to fool even the most astute observer. But not even her love of Jane Austen has prepared Courtney for the chamber pots and filthy coaching inns of nineteenth-century England, let alone the realities of being a single woman who must fend off suffocating chaperones, condomless seducers, and marriages of convenience. Enter the enigmatic Mr. Edgeworth, who fills Courtney's borrowed brain with confusing memories that are clearly not her own.
Try as she might to control her mind and find a way home, Courtney cannot deny that she is becoming this other woman and being this other woman is not without its advantages: Especially in a looking-glass Austen world. Especially with a suitor who may not turn out to be a familiar species of philanderer after all.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2007
134 people are currently reading
11183 people want to read
About the author
Laurie Viera Rigler
4 books311 followersLaurie Viera Rigler’s novels Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict and Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict (both published by Dutton in North America and by Bloomsbury in the UK) could have been considered semi-autobiographical had they not involved time travel and body switching.
Her short story, Intolerable Stupidity, in which Mr. Darcy brings charges against all the writers of Pride and Prejudice sequels, spin-offs and retellings, appears in the anthology Jane Austen Made Me Do It (Ballantine).
Laurie is also the creator of the Babelgum Original web series SEX AND THE AUSTEN GIRL, which was inspired by her Austen Addict novels and had over half a million views.
Her short story, Intolerable Stupidity, in which Mr. Darcy brings charges against all the writers of Pride and Prejudice sequels, spin-offs and retellings, appears in the anthology Jane Austen Made Me Do It (Ballantine).
Laurie is also the creator of the Babelgum Original web series SEX AND THE AUSTEN GIRL, which was inspired by her Austen Addict novels and had over half a million views.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,045 reviews
July 4, 2008
I really agonized over how many stars to give this book. I don't actually know why I finished it - or why I stayed up an hour past my bedtime to finish it. It wasn't worthy of such devoted attention, when nearly every page annoyed me in some fundamental way...and then the ending completely sucked, too! Let me list just a few of the reasons why I sort of hated this book, despite having devoured it in a single day:
For a character who's supposedly addicted to Jane Austen, she's way too condescending toward the historical period and everyone she comes in contact with, and doesn't seem to understand anything about the time. She goes into lengthy longing raptures for her old, modern life despite that fact that it seems to have been singularly depressing and miserable. She spends the entire book whining, and there's far too many mentions of her best friend Wes, who comes across as a total milksop. And then there's her too-bloody-frequent feminist rants.
And then there's that invariably annoying scene in books of this sort: the place where the modern liberated gal complains of her corset. In this particular book, the heroine can hardly manage to sit on the ground for her vast discomfort. What utter rot! Setting aside a few historical corsets (the infamous Victorian S-Bend corset for one) corsets weren't torturous. They weren't even meant to constrict you into a tiny waist; they weren't laced that tightly. Woman of all classes wore them, not just the idle rich, and women *worked* in their corsets, and worked hard. As someone who's worn and worked in a corset all day, and sometimes several days in a row, I can attest that they are far more comfortable and easy to move in than many a pair of shoes I wear on a far more regular basis. I just wish 'historical' authors would stop letting themselves be influenced by Hollywood films and do a little real-world research before writing these thoroughly ridiculous scenes - it's akin to asserting that a knight in full armor who's knocked from his horse has to lie like a turned over turtle until someone with a winch comes along. (Pssst...knights in armor can actually do somersaults and cartwheels...I've seen it done!)
Reasons why I read this book and read it past my bedtime? I honestly don't know. But the fact that I did is the only reason it got two stars...Oh yes...and there's the scene where she meets Jane Austin in the flesh. I did like that, but only because of Jane's reaction to this infuriating heroine.
For a character who's supposedly addicted to Jane Austen, she's way too condescending toward the historical period and everyone she comes in contact with, and doesn't seem to understand anything about the time. She goes into lengthy longing raptures for her old, modern life despite that fact that it seems to have been singularly depressing and miserable. She spends the entire book whining, and there's far too many mentions of her best friend Wes, who comes across as a total milksop. And then there's her too-bloody-frequent feminist rants.
And then there's that invariably annoying scene in books of this sort: the place where the modern liberated gal complains of her corset. In this particular book, the heroine can hardly manage to sit on the ground for her vast discomfort. What utter rot! Setting aside a few historical corsets (the infamous Victorian S-Bend corset for one) corsets weren't torturous. They weren't even meant to constrict you into a tiny waist; they weren't laced that tightly. Woman of all classes wore them, not just the idle rich, and women *worked* in their corsets, and worked hard. As someone who's worn and worked in a corset all day, and sometimes several days in a row, I can attest that they are far more comfortable and easy to move in than many a pair of shoes I wear on a far more regular basis. I just wish 'historical' authors would stop letting themselves be influenced by Hollywood films and do a little real-world research before writing these thoroughly ridiculous scenes - it's akin to asserting that a knight in full armor who's knocked from his horse has to lie like a turned over turtle until someone with a winch comes along. (Pssst...knights in armor can actually do somersaults and cartwheels...I've seen it done!)
Reasons why I read this book and read it past my bedtime? I honestly don't know. But the fact that I did is the only reason it got two stars...Oh yes...and there's the scene where she meets Jane Austin in the flesh. I did like that, but only because of Jane's reaction to this infuriating heroine.
June 2, 2008
(some spoilers ahead) One of the worst books I have read. It is about a woman, Courtney Stone, who (after a breakup) ends up in the body of a girl, Jane Mansfield (who lives during Courtney's favorite author, Jane Austen's, era).
Turnoff one--Basically Courtney is now Jane (even though she knows she is not. She realizes that she even has Jane's accent, mannerisms, and talents (such as needlepoint). Despite this, she continues to be afraid to do the things Jane would naturally do.
Turnoff two--Throughout the entire book this woman whines about her situation and how she can get back to her real life.
Turnoff three--even though she knows she is in the 1800s, she continues to interject 20th century language. Some of that was fine, but when she asks a woman whether Hargrove Court was a retirement center--I mean, come on, surely she knows better!
Turnoff four--one of the worst! She finally meets Jane Austen, and all she can do is go on about how great the books were as movies and what great kissing scenes there were at the end. If she is truly a "Jane Austen addict" then she would know that most true, diehard Jane Austen fans are bothered about these overly romantic scenes. Plus--Jane Austen would not even have a clue what a movie was!
It had the potential to be such a great book--the idea was good--but the lack of character development (as well as the obnoxious characters), the loose ends, and the flubbed ending just made this book flop.
Turnoff one--Basically Courtney is now Jane (even though she knows she is not. She realizes that she even has Jane's accent, mannerisms, and talents (such as needlepoint). Despite this, she continues to be afraid to do the things Jane would naturally do.
Turnoff two--Throughout the entire book this woman whines about her situation and how she can get back to her real life.
Turnoff three--even though she knows she is in the 1800s, she continues to interject 20th century language. Some of that was fine, but when she asks a woman whether Hargrove Court was a retirement center--I mean, come on, surely she knows better!
Turnoff four--one of the worst! She finally meets Jane Austen, and all she can do is go on about how great the books were as movies and what great kissing scenes there were at the end. If she is truly a "Jane Austen addict" then she would know that most true, diehard Jane Austen fans are bothered about these overly romantic scenes. Plus--Jane Austen would not even have a clue what a movie was!
It had the potential to be such a great book--the idea was good--but the lack of character development (as well as the obnoxious characters), the loose ends, and the flubbed ending just made this book flop.
June 13, 2008
I have stacks of books just waiting to be read, but instead I wasted the last two days reading Laura Viera Rigler’s Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict.
Considering my own Jane Austen addiction, it’s no surprise that I was initially attracted to the book. Courtney, the book’s heroine, is a modern woman from LA. One morning, not long after the disastrous end to her engagement, Courtney wakes up to find herself inhabiting another woman’s body: Jane Mansfield (snark snark) from regency England.
The premise is intriguing. How would an Austen enthusiast adjust to life two hundred years ago? How would she react to the strict social mores and bed pans?
Apparently, not well. For someone who claims to be a Janeite, Courtney knows very little about the time period. She is shocked to discover “proper” young women do not wear makeup, finds being escorted to dinner by a male partner “odd,” and is completely clueless about the rules of courtship. The latter is particularly perplexing since Austen novels are replete with romance.
Courtney is an unappealing heroine, both in her time and Austen’s. She lacks any sort of charisma or logic, at one point even lecturing Jane Austen herself about cinema. Huh?
Of course, Courtney isn’t really to blame but Rigler. Her writing is awkward and self-conscious. I found it difficult to get past the stilted words in order to fall into the story. She also adds inexplicable elements and leaves several loose ends in the book’s convoluted wrap up.
I love Jane Austen, and I wouldn’t mind experiencing time travel myself. However, Confessions is not the best means of enjoying either.
Considering my own Jane Austen addiction, it’s no surprise that I was initially attracted to the book. Courtney, the book’s heroine, is a modern woman from LA. One morning, not long after the disastrous end to her engagement, Courtney wakes up to find herself inhabiting another woman’s body: Jane Mansfield (snark snark) from regency England.
The premise is intriguing. How would an Austen enthusiast adjust to life two hundred years ago? How would she react to the strict social mores and bed pans?
Apparently, not well. For someone who claims to be a Janeite, Courtney knows very little about the time period. She is shocked to discover “proper” young women do not wear makeup, finds being escorted to dinner by a male partner “odd,” and is completely clueless about the rules of courtship. The latter is particularly perplexing since Austen novels are replete with romance.
Courtney is an unappealing heroine, both in her time and Austen’s. She lacks any sort of charisma or logic, at one point even lecturing Jane Austen herself about cinema. Huh?
Of course, Courtney isn’t really to blame but Rigler. Her writing is awkward and self-conscious. I found it difficult to get past the stilted words in order to fall into the story. She also adds inexplicable elements and leaves several loose ends in the book’s convoluted wrap up.
I love Jane Austen, and I wouldn’t mind experiencing time travel myself. However, Confessions is not the best means of enjoying either.
July 11, 2016
Eeeeeesh. Somebody save me, please. I stopped on p. 119 of 288 because:
a) It's boring. Atrociously boring. NOTHING exciting is happening at all.
b) The heroine is bloody AWFUL. She wines, she complains, she doesn't know what she wants and she's a total snob. Her Jane Austen addiction is so unbelievable. She wakes up in the Regency era and is never, not even for one fraction of a second, excited about having landed in her supposedly favourite author's world. Not even a tiny little "Oh my goodness, this is SO COOL!" moment. I mean, if I were stuck in 1813 I'd start panicking too after a few days, but come on! This is fiction! Courtney should be so elated to wake up and have the chance to be a real Austenesque heroine! But no. Miss only wants her lousy job and crappy apartment back. WELL, FINE.
c) The Regency details/setting is mediocre at best. Honestly, this story could be taking place during pretty much any time of the 19th century. There is nothing (save the appearance of Ms. Austen herself later on) to really identify the setting as Regency. And Miss Courtney, for all her supposed love and knowledge of Austen's world, is completely clueless. She's not even trying to act like a Regency lady. She doesn't watch her language and launches into feminist speeches. She doesn't seem to have any idea how the society works (and she's in the country for heaven's sake, it's not as though she'd been thrown in the middle of a debutante ball in London!). And she has apparently read all 6 Austen novels over and over again? If you ask me, the only thing remotely Austenesque she ever did was watch the '95 adaptation of P&P to swoon over that Darcy-in-the-lake scene. AUSTEN ADDICT, MY AUNTIE!
d) Speaking of which, there are NO Austen-feels to this book AT ALL. It would have been much better if this book had nothing whatsoever to do with Jane Austen.
e) All the other characters (except maybe Wes) are so super one-dimensional and boring. They have no personality, and they're not interesting.
f) What the heck is even the point of this story?? JA retelling? I don't think so. We've already established that Courtney is anything but a heroine. A romance? Where on earth is the darned hero? Just what IS this???
g) Some elements of the time-traveling concept make no sense at all. Excepting the fact that we don't have a single clue how Courtney ever ended up in the body and life of Jane Mansfield in 1813 England (but I didn't finish the book so maybe it's explained in the end), the idea that Courtney knows how to do certain things and not others as though she were Jane, is hardly believable. For example, she knows how to embroider perfectly well without really having to think about it, but she has no idea how taxing it is on the servants to have to prepare her bath. I know this book is supposed to be far-fetched, but this made no sense. It was also weird how she started having Jane's flashbacks and memories, as though her mind was becoming Jane's. I think it would have worked better if Courtney's mind had remained entirely her own, and only her body was changed.
Readers, I'm really sorry. I know many of you loved this book, and I'm honestly happy it worked for so many of you. I started out really liking the concept (love time-traveling!) and I was really excited for this book. I've had it on my shelf for a long time and was really looking forward to it. I might have finished it had an ARC I got for review not arrived just as I was getting very bored, but truly I don't think it would have made much difference as there were already too many things that annoyed me and prevented me from enjoying it. I happen to own the sequel as well, Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict, and will probably give it a chance at some point as the premise once again sounds really good (Jane wakes up in Courtney’s life in 21st century L.A.), but this time I’ll be prepared for a disappointment.
a) It's boring. Atrociously boring. NOTHING exciting is happening at all.
b) The heroine is bloody AWFUL. She wines, she complains, she doesn't know what she wants and she's a total snob. Her Jane Austen addiction is so unbelievable. She wakes up in the Regency era and is never, not even for one fraction of a second, excited about having landed in her supposedly favourite author's world. Not even a tiny little "Oh my goodness, this is SO COOL!" moment. I mean, if I were stuck in 1813 I'd start panicking too after a few days, but come on! This is fiction! Courtney should be so elated to wake up and have the chance to be a real Austenesque heroine! But no. Miss only wants her lousy job and crappy apartment back. WELL, FINE.
c) The Regency details/setting is mediocre at best. Honestly, this story could be taking place during pretty much any time of the 19th century. There is nothing (save the appearance of Ms. Austen herself later on) to really identify the setting as Regency. And Miss Courtney, for all her supposed love and knowledge of Austen's world, is completely clueless. She's not even trying to act like a Regency lady. She doesn't watch her language and launches into feminist speeches. She doesn't seem to have any idea how the society works (and she's in the country for heaven's sake, it's not as though she'd been thrown in the middle of a debutante ball in London!). And she has apparently read all 6 Austen novels over and over again? If you ask me, the only thing remotely Austenesque she ever did was watch the '95 adaptation of P&P to swoon over that Darcy-in-the-lake scene. AUSTEN ADDICT, MY AUNTIE!
d) Speaking of which, there are NO Austen-feels to this book AT ALL. It would have been much better if this book had nothing whatsoever to do with Jane Austen.
e) All the other characters (except maybe Wes) are so super one-dimensional and boring. They have no personality, and they're not interesting.
f) What the heck is even the point of this story?? JA retelling? I don't think so. We've already established that Courtney is anything but a heroine. A romance? Where on earth is the darned hero? Just what IS this???
g) Some elements of the time-traveling concept make no sense at all. Excepting the fact that we don't have a single clue how Courtney ever ended up in the body and life of Jane Mansfield in 1813 England (but I didn't finish the book so maybe it's explained in the end), the idea that Courtney knows how to do certain things and not others as though she were Jane, is hardly believable. For example, she knows how to embroider perfectly well without really having to think about it, but she has no idea how taxing it is on the servants to have to prepare her bath. I know this book is supposed to be far-fetched, but this made no sense. It was also weird how she started having Jane's flashbacks and memories, as though her mind was becoming Jane's. I think it would have worked better if Courtney's mind had remained entirely her own, and only her body was changed.
Readers, I'm really sorry. I know many of you loved this book, and I'm honestly happy it worked for so many of you. I started out really liking the concept (love time-traveling!) and I was really excited for this book. I've had it on my shelf for a long time and was really looking forward to it. I might have finished it had an ARC I got for review not arrived just as I was getting very bored, but truly I don't think it would have made much difference as there were already too many things that annoyed me and prevented me from enjoying it. I happen to own the sequel as well, Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict, and will probably give it a chance at some point as the premise once again sounds really good (Jane wakes up in Courtney’s life in 21st century L.A.), but this time I’ll be prepared for a disappointment.
May 3, 2008
If you are a self-confessed Jane Austen addict, there are things you should just inherently know.
#1 Women have no rights, no freedom and are often seen as a trophy, baby maker, and house keeper. If you read Jane Austen you would know that. You wouldn't walk into a Jane Austen era household and start throwing fits about feminism no matter how much it's needed. Yes, we know that Lizzie Bennett was a strong willed woman who wanted to marry for love, but she also knew the era's decorum - what a woman did and didn't do, and what a woman could get away with.
#2 You would know that as a woman everything you did was on display for the entire city, country, town, etc. So you wouldn't go traipsing off to the city park by yourself and meet a man under your status no matter how stodgy that would be.
These were my biggest problems with this book. The protagonist just had no clue how to behave in Jane Austen's England. For all her talk about how she was so addicted to Jane Austen novels she had absolutely no clue as to how to act or even speak when she transferred to the Regency England. Stupid, big flaw in a book title Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict.
The cool thing about this book is that we get a peek at just how frustrating and dirty it was to live back then. How body odor is the norm as is dirty teeth. How women really had no freedoms at all. That stuff was interesting, the historical stuff. Jane Austen never talked about Lizzie Bennett having to take a shower or use a bed pan or how the doctors would most likely have used leeches to bleed Jane Bennett when she took ill at her beloved's home.
This book is purely brain candy. Something you would read sitting at the pool. Get it from the library.
#1 Women have no rights, no freedom and are often seen as a trophy, baby maker, and house keeper. If you read Jane Austen you would know that. You wouldn't walk into a Jane Austen era household and start throwing fits about feminism no matter how much it's needed. Yes, we know that Lizzie Bennett was a strong willed woman who wanted to marry for love, but she also knew the era's decorum - what a woman did and didn't do, and what a woman could get away with.
#2 You would know that as a woman everything you did was on display for the entire city, country, town, etc. So you wouldn't go traipsing off to the city park by yourself and meet a man under your status no matter how stodgy that would be.
These were my biggest problems with this book. The protagonist just had no clue how to behave in Jane Austen's England. For all her talk about how she was so addicted to Jane Austen novels she had absolutely no clue as to how to act or even speak when she transferred to the Regency England. Stupid, big flaw in a book title Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict.
The cool thing about this book is that we get a peek at just how frustrating and dirty it was to live back then. How body odor is the norm as is dirty teeth. How women really had no freedoms at all. That stuff was interesting, the historical stuff. Jane Austen never talked about Lizzie Bennett having to take a shower or use a bed pan or how the doctors would most likely have used leeches to bleed Jane Bennett when she took ill at her beloved's home.
This book is purely brain candy. Something you would read sitting at the pool. Get it from the library.
November 6, 2007
Well, this book was weak at its best. I was sucked in by the ode to my lady Jane. Books like The Jane Austen Book Club should have taught me not to be so tempted, but alas, I was lulled into a belief that this book would be worthy because the author is a fellow Jane-lover. Her book, however, does nothing to convince me that she has ever even read a Jane Austen book. It is peppered with quotes, but those are easy to come by. The protagonist was whiny and a tad on the "loose" side where morals are concerned. She unwittingly ends up in the body of a Regency England period well-to-do female and must figure out her life essentially to get back to her own. The character is supposedly someone who had spent her modern day life pining for the era of Jane's books and reading them voraciously, yet she knew very little about the era and seemed perpetually surprised by the times, the conditions, and the dialogue. The plot was poorly executed, the main character was not engaging, the idea started with merit but flopped rapidly. The ending left me so disappointed that I would hazard the guess that even a lover of this book would have frowned and felt sold short. All I can say is that if you are craving a little Jane, then go read something by the lady herself. She would NOT have cared for this "tribute."
February 28, 2022
5/22/19 Notes: I'm taking a chance on this audiobook offering from my library via Libby. It reminds me of the movie Austenland. So far, there has been the occasional swear word - by the main character - but it's not so pervasive that it honestly bothers me. Like it? No, but I am able to brush it off.
Another content issue is that the main character's fiancee cheated on her, and there is a reference to "doing it" but there's been nothing graphic so far. I've not yet completed the book at this point, but I do see that a couple of my GR friends have labeled it as a clean read. So it's not squeaky clean due to the language and sex reference, but so far, it's an Austenesque offering that I'm enjoying, regardless of the occasional swear. Hopefully, this doesn't change for the worse. Already, I'm seeing elements of - presumably - time travel/body swapping that I think are explored well by the author.
May 23, 2019: The main character has some memories and skills which belong to the person whose body she's inhabiting. So far, I'm willing to buy it because it seems consistent. I do, however, take issue with her casual modern speech when at one point the main character reflects that she's doing a good job of using period language. And she's not...
There's some use of present tense in the narration, which stands out to me every once in a while.
At one point, the main character mentions that someone danced FIVE dances with one man without being engaged to the man. THREE has always been the number of dances indicating a scandal according to every other Regency I've ever read. On the other hand, I don't remember previously reading in any other book that there is a register in Bath (in the Pump Room?) where visitors can leave information about where they are staying to help friends locate each other. So that's something new that I learned from this book, which is something I always appreciate when reading historical fiction.
An update on content: The heroine definitely leaves the reader in no doubt that she has previously been in intimate relationships. I'm a bit bummed about that, because that's not my preferred sort of heroine, but I'm continuing on because I'm enjoying the premise, something I've only ever seen in Austenland and in a couple of Nichole Van's time travel Regencies.
5/26/19 update: I'm only somewhat satisfied with the ending. The journey - if I ignore the swearing and the world view of sex - was an interesting one. I took one star off my rating due to what's in the spoiler tag.
Also, unless I mistook the intention of the author, it seemed that the heroine - and the author - thought she was doing a good job of being period-appropriate in Regency times when she really wasn't. I fully admit that perhaps that I misunderstood the intent of the author, and it was tongue-in-cheek or some such thing. (I don't know. The blurb describes it as a comedy. But I didn't find that funny - just annoying.)
I think I have to give this book 3.5 stars. The journey was interesting, and it was well written, outside of not being completely Regency appropriate, for which I took another .5 off the rating. Content issues would have dropped it down further had this been a Christian fiction book, but as it's not, I'm not allowing that to affect my rating, such as it is.
5/22/19: I'm temporarily - I hope - departing from my usual review style while life is crazy and we're in the construction zone. I'm trying this rather than no review at all. I'm basically going to make occasional notes as I read, which is not as satisfactory to me, but hopefully they'll still be helpful.
2/25/22 update: I slightly edited this review because it was written in chunks by the seat of my pants, and I found some places where I didn't think my meaning was clear.
Another content issue is that the main character's fiancee cheated on her, and there is a reference to "doing it" but there's been nothing graphic so far. I've not yet completed the book at this point, but I do see that a couple of my GR friends have labeled it as a clean read. So it's not squeaky clean due to the language and sex reference, but so far, it's an Austenesque offering that I'm enjoying, regardless of the occasional swear. Hopefully, this doesn't change for the worse. Already, I'm seeing elements of - presumably - time travel/body swapping that I think are explored well by the author.
May 23, 2019: The main character has some memories and skills which belong to the person whose body she's inhabiting. So far, I'm willing to buy it because it seems consistent. I do, however, take issue with her casual modern speech when at one point the main character reflects that she's doing a good job of using period language. And she's not...
There's some use of present tense in the narration, which stands out to me every once in a while.
At one point, the main character mentions that someone danced FIVE dances with one man without being engaged to the man. THREE has always been the number of dances indicating a scandal according to every other Regency I've ever read. On the other hand, I don't remember previously reading in any other book that there is a register in Bath (in the Pump Room?) where visitors can leave information about where they are staying to help friends locate each other. So that's something new that I learned from this book, which is something I always appreciate when reading historical fiction.
An update on content: The heroine definitely leaves the reader in no doubt that she has previously been in intimate relationships. I'm a bit bummed about that, because that's not my preferred sort of heroine, but I'm continuing on because I'm enjoying the premise, something I've only ever seen in Austenland and in a couple of Nichole Van's time travel Regencies.
5/26/19 update: I'm only somewhat satisfied with the ending. The journey - if I ignore the swearing and the world view of sex - was an interesting one. I took one star off my rating due to what's in the spoiler tag.
Also, unless I mistook the intention of the author, it seemed that the heroine - and the author - thought she was doing a good job of being period-appropriate in Regency times when she really wasn't. I fully admit that perhaps that I misunderstood the intent of the author, and it was tongue-in-cheek or some such thing. (I don't know. The blurb describes it as a comedy. But I didn't find that funny - just annoying.)
I think I have to give this book 3.5 stars. The journey was interesting, and it was well written, outside of not being completely Regency appropriate, for which I took another .5 off the rating. Content issues would have dropped it down further had this been a Christian fiction book, but as it's not, I'm not allowing that to affect my rating, such as it is.
5/22/19: I'm temporarily - I hope - departing from my usual review style while life is crazy and we're in the construction zone. I'm trying this rather than no review at all. I'm basically going to make occasional notes as I read, which is not as satisfactory to me, but hopefully they'll still be helpful.
2/25/22 update: I slightly edited this review because it was written in chunks by the seat of my pants, and I found some places where I didn't think my meaning was clear.
March 24, 2019
I picked this paperback up at a secondhand bookstore during Christmas vacation for $2.50. When it has Jane Austen in the title or anything related to any of her books, I just cannot resist. Published in 2007, the book immediately begins with 21st century L.A. girl, Courtney Stone, waking up in the body of 19th century, Englishwoman Jane Mansfield . A longtime fan of the works of Jane Austen, Courtney is now living in her favorite author's world. But oh my heavens does she fumble her way around! In her own time, Courtney dealt with her share of man troubles, but she soon learns that Jane Mansfield also dealt with her share too.
It's an okayish type of read, as far as Jane Austen fan books go, Austenland is still the conquering hero of my heart. As far as time travel novels go, it pales in comparison to Outlander or The Mirror. However, I found it an easy read and I did like some of characters that Courtney/Jane meets up with.
It's an okayish type of read, as far as Jane Austen fan books go, Austenland is still the conquering hero of my heart. As far as time travel novels go, it pales in comparison to Outlander or The Mirror. However, I found it an easy read and I did like some of characters that Courtney/Jane meets up with.
May 29, 2008
This book has so many problems I don't know where to start. The title isn't really appropriate, as there is nothing confessional about the book. The premise, that a modern woman goes back to Austen's time, is interesting, but most of the story works against itself. Supposedly the main character loves Austen, but then she doesn't seem to know how to act appropriately. And she's constantly thinking about her old life in the 21st century. She's not very self aware for someone who spends most of the book thinking about herself, and she doesn't seem to understand the mores of the time, though she says she's read P&P and S&S more than 20 times.
The biggest problem with the book, however, is the way the story is told. It is told rather than presented in scenes. I felt like most of the story was summarized. And I began to get fed up with the protagonist's rants about how women were trapped by marriage, etc. Wait...I thought she liked Austen? I agree that we can look back on that time and see problems, but, again, as a "Jane Austen addict", doesn't she have at least some romantic notions about that time? I also found the writing to be flat much of the time.
The biggest problem with the book, however, is the way the story is told. It is told rather than presented in scenes. I felt like most of the story was summarized. And I began to get fed up with the protagonist's rants about how women were trapped by marriage, etc. Wait...I thought she liked Austen? I agree that we can look back on that time and see problems, but, again, as a "Jane Austen addict", doesn't she have at least some romantic notions about that time? I also found the writing to be flat much of the time.
February 15, 2008
Generally I am not a fan of Jane Austen “sequels” and other fiction based on her work but I keep finding myself reading them. I thought this one sounded promising. Courtney Stone wakes up one morning in Regency England, living another woman’s life. The book did not hook me at all. It was a quick read but not an “I can’t put it down” read. I felt it took too long for anything to really happen. There was too much “Why I am here? How do I get back? Ok. I accept that I am here.” And then back to the “why am I here” etc etc. I kept waiting for something to actually happen. I felt like the author kept introducing ideas and plot points that could have been interesting but then never developed them. Like the journal with the names written over and over again and Jane telling James about Abraham Lincoln and Rosa Parks. About half way through things started to pick up but then just slowed down again.
I did find the meeting with Jane Austen comical if not a bit odd. If you had the chance to actually meet Jane Austen would you really go off about movie adaptations and other things that Austen would have no idea about?
The biggest disappointment was the ending. What happened? Did Courtney wake up in LA without time passing? Had Jane inhabited Courtney’s life while Courtney inhabited Jane’s? How did Jane know about Abraham Lincoln etc? When/where had she learned these things? So much left unexplored or explained.
My favorite part of the book was the start of chapter 14 when Courtney/Jane describes why she reads and re-reads Jane Austen."There is comfort in the familiarity of it all, in the knowledge that it will all turn out well..." That is exactly how I feel about reading Jane Austen.
I did find the meeting with Jane Austen comical if not a bit odd. If you had the chance to actually meet Jane Austen would you really go off about movie adaptations and other things that Austen would have no idea about?
The biggest disappointment was the ending. What happened? Did Courtney wake up in LA without time passing? Had Jane inhabited Courtney’s life while Courtney inhabited Jane’s? How did Jane know about Abraham Lincoln etc? When/where had she learned these things? So much left unexplored or explained.
My favorite part of the book was the start of chapter 14 when Courtney/Jane describes why she reads and re-reads Jane Austen."There is comfort in the familiarity of it all, in the knowledge that it will all turn out well..." That is exactly how I feel about reading Jane Austen.
April 4, 2017
3.5 stars...
Fun premise where a modern day woman wakes up in the body of a Jane Austen-era lady. This story had lots of potential and I enjoyed my time spent reading it. I felt it did leave a few loose ends and could have maybe improved in a key scene or two, but overall liked it a lot. Tons of humor and lots to think about here. Recommended to all Jane Austen Addicts!
Fun premise where a modern day woman wakes up in the body of a Jane Austen-era lady. This story had lots of potential and I enjoyed my time spent reading it. I felt it did leave a few loose ends and could have maybe improved in a key scene or two, but overall liked it a lot. Tons of humor and lots to think about here. Recommended to all Jane Austen Addicts!
January 19, 2010
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live in the time of Jane Austen? Do you love her world so much that sometimes you long to "take a turn in the shrubberies" or "dance at an assembly ball?" Courtney Stone, a Jane Austen addict from the 21st century, sometimes felt that the world of Jane Austen was infinitely better than her own (especially when her best friend betrays her and her fiance cheats on her!) One morning she gets her wish as she wakes up to the startling discovery that she is no longer in Los Angeles, California, but in Somerset, England and the year is 1813! Can you imagine the shock!
No, this book is not all about time travel and it is not a modern adaption of a Jane Austen novel. It IS an enthralling journey of how a 21st century woman copes with being transplanted into Regency England where she discovers there is a deficiency of privacy and independence and an abundance of social proprieties. In addition to being transplanted to a different time period, Courtney is also in a body that is not hers and frequently experiences memories that are not hers.
I greatly enjoyed the concept of this book as I do believe that many fans of Jane Austen would love to be transplanted to and experience Regency England. In addition, I thought Laura Viera Rigler did an outstanding job of portraying how someone from our world would react to living in the another time period. Furthermore, I loved how the central theme of love and freedom were focused upon. Both Courtney and Jane (the woman whose body she's in) mistrust men in their lives and they have been shutting them out. In addition, Courtney faces the reality that being a woman in 1813 meant that a lot of the freedoms and rights she enjoyed in 2009 do not exist. Maybe Jane Austen's world isn't as ideal as she thought it was...
After reading "Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict" this book does not seem as unresolved as it did at first. Yes there are some questions left unanswered but mostly everything is explained in the second book. However, I still felt that the explanation of the body swap and the page time it took up was more complicated than it need to be.
This series is a lot of fun and Austen fans that enjoy chick-lit will find much to enjoy. However, people who are not fans of chick-lit or readers looking for a refined regency novel may be disappointed. As I said before, this series is a brilliant concept and the author got a lot of things right, I think it would make a spectacular movie!
No, this book is not all about time travel and it is not a modern adaption of a Jane Austen novel. It IS an enthralling journey of how a 21st century woman copes with being transplanted into Regency England where she discovers there is a deficiency of privacy and independence and an abundance of social proprieties. In addition to being transplanted to a different time period, Courtney is also in a body that is not hers and frequently experiences memories that are not hers.
I greatly enjoyed the concept of this book as I do believe that many fans of Jane Austen would love to be transplanted to and experience Regency England. In addition, I thought Laura Viera Rigler did an outstanding job of portraying how someone from our world would react to living in the another time period. Furthermore, I loved how the central theme of love and freedom were focused upon. Both Courtney and Jane (the woman whose body she's in) mistrust men in their lives and they have been shutting them out. In addition, Courtney faces the reality that being a woman in 1813 meant that a lot of the freedoms and rights she enjoyed in 2009 do not exist. Maybe Jane Austen's world isn't as ideal as she thought it was...
After reading "Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict" this book does not seem as unresolved as it did at first. Yes there are some questions left unanswered but mostly everything is explained in the second book. However, I still felt that the explanation of the body swap and the page time it took up was more complicated than it need to be.
This series is a lot of fun and Austen fans that enjoy chick-lit will find much to enjoy. However, people who are not fans of chick-lit or readers looking for a refined regency novel may be disappointed. As I said before, this series is a brilliant concept and the author got a lot of things right, I think it would make a spectacular movie!
March 3, 2020
Digital audiobook narrated by Orlagh Cassidy
From the book jacketAfter nursing a broken engagement with Jane Austen novels and Absolut, Courtney Stone wakes up and find herself not in her Los Angeles bedroom, or even in her own body, but inside the bedchamber of a woman in Regency England. Who but an Austen addict like herself could concoct such a fantasy? Not only is Courtney stuck in another woman’s life, she is forced to pretend she actually is that woman, and despite knowing nothing about her, she manages to fool even the most astute observer.
My reactions
I should have read the book jacket and put the book aside. This was just ridiculous on so many levels, and Courtney was a total idiot whom I wanted to slap on about every other page.
Okay, at least Rigler disabused fans of the Regency era of some of their more romantic notions with some in-your-face reality (outdoor privy, chamber pots, body odor, greasy hair, etc). The plot line was mildly entertaining, and played with time travel, identity and memory. The reader is asked to believe that Courtney has really become Jane Mansfield and that NO ONE in her circle realizes she is really a different person in Jane’s body.
Oh well, it was a fast read (or listen).
Orlagh Cassidy does a great job despite the poor material. I’ve listened to several of her narrations and come to appreciate her gift for narration. She really brings the characters to life.
From the book jacketAfter nursing a broken engagement with Jane Austen novels and Absolut, Courtney Stone wakes up and find herself not in her Los Angeles bedroom, or even in her own body, but inside the bedchamber of a woman in Regency England. Who but an Austen addict like herself could concoct such a fantasy? Not only is Courtney stuck in another woman’s life, she is forced to pretend she actually is that woman, and despite knowing nothing about her, she manages to fool even the most astute observer.
My reactions
I should have read the book jacket and put the book aside. This was just ridiculous on so many levels, and Courtney was a total idiot whom I wanted to slap on about every other page.
Okay, at least Rigler disabused fans of the Regency era of some of their more romantic notions with some in-your-face reality (outdoor privy, chamber pots, body odor, greasy hair, etc). The plot line was mildly entertaining, and played with time travel, identity and memory. The reader is asked to believe that Courtney has really become Jane Mansfield and that NO ONE in her circle realizes she is really a different person in Jane’s body.
Oh well, it was a fast read (or listen).
Orlagh Cassidy does a great job despite the poor material. I’ve listened to several of her narrations and come to appreciate her gift for narration. She really brings the characters to life.
August 11, 2017
Gonna be talking about this one soon for Austen in August, but very quick & super fun read.
March 25, 2020
1.5 stars
May 9, 2008
There are so many elements I expect from a book I read, but the most important aspect is being able to at least relate to the main character. In this I found Laurie Rigler's book a huge disappointment. I've read books like this before, where a woman from our time is stuck in another time period, but this is by far the worst rendition. The main character is not only unrealistic and unlikable, but she is also not even remotely a Jane Austen addict. A true Jane Austen addict would take time and effort to not only understand Jane, but the time period and setting in which her life and books take place. This character, Courtney, seems more attached to the "Hollywood" version of Jane Austen, than the true poetry of her books. And in one telling scene of the book, Jane Austen herself shows honest abhorrence for the main character. That is what I felt myself, during the reading of this book. The beginning was abrupt, the characters annoying, and the ending was so fumbled and hastily written that when I reached the end, I actually looked forward -thinking that the book could not possibly have ended yet.
Horrible. Jane Austen would never read or write such rubbish.
Horrible. Jane Austen would never read or write such rubbish.
October 19, 2013
I might have liked this more if the protagonist were not such a complete idiot.
I was perfectly happy to go along with the premise. (The attempts at justification later were kind of lame.) I was willing to accept that her first couple conversations with people being wildly inappropriate because she thought she was dreaming. But she soon decides she needs to play along. This woman claims to have read all of Austen's works hundreds of times and watched all the movies as well. So why is she so unable to fake speaking correctly? This isn't a matter of trying and failing. This is a matter of perpetually sounding like a slightly dimmer, American Bridget Jones. How can anyone who has read that much period fiction be surprised by being escorted into dinner, by chamberpots, by the concept that you don't complain to someone asking for your hand in marriage that you haven't even slept together yet? She drops completely ridiculous references, talks about movies as if people would know what she's saying, and goes off on feminist rants using anachronistic terminology. Given that she's been threatened with being sent to a madhouse, you'd think she'd make the tiniest effort. Given that she's supposed to be familiar with the language of the period, you'd think she'd have some inkling how.
The plot's also a bit of a scattered mess. It's not terrible, it's just kind of disjointed. The wishy-washy mumbo-jumbo of how she got there turns out to be rather important--the fact it was unconvincing undermines the ending as well. But the conflict wasn't all that compelling, so it's not a surprise.
It looks as if there might be a sequel, which is both necessary and problematic. There are a bunch of ideas left hanging (what happened to Courtney's life while Jane was mucking with it?) but there aren't actually any unresolved plot threads.
It's a brisk read that is entertaining when the protagonist is giving running commentary in her head--it's just when she opens her mouth that it becomes a bit painful. Meh.
I was perfectly happy to go along with the premise. (The attempts at justification later were kind of lame.) I was willing to accept that her first couple conversations with people being wildly inappropriate because she thought she was dreaming. But she soon decides she needs to play along. This woman claims to have read all of Austen's works hundreds of times and watched all the movies as well. So why is she so unable to fake speaking correctly? This isn't a matter of trying and failing. This is a matter of perpetually sounding like a slightly dimmer, American Bridget Jones. How can anyone who has read that much period fiction be surprised by being escorted into dinner, by chamberpots, by the concept that you don't complain to someone asking for your hand in marriage that you haven't even slept together yet? She drops completely ridiculous references, talks about movies as if people would know what she's saying, and goes off on feminist rants using anachronistic terminology. Given that she's been threatened with being sent to a madhouse, you'd think she'd make the tiniest effort. Given that she's supposed to be familiar with the language of the period, you'd think she'd have some inkling how.
The plot's also a bit of a scattered mess. It's not terrible, it's just kind of disjointed. The wishy-washy mumbo-jumbo of how she got there turns out to be rather important--the fact it was unconvincing undermines the ending as well. But the conflict wasn't all that compelling, so it's not a surprise.
It looks as if there might be a sequel, which is both necessary and problematic. There are a bunch of ideas left hanging (what happened to Courtney's life while Jane was mucking with it?) but there aren't actually any unresolved plot threads.
It's a brisk read that is entertaining when the protagonist is giving running commentary in her head--it's just when she opens her mouth that it becomes a bit painful. Meh.
August 25, 2008
Good heavens, I had such high hopes for this book. It sounds like a really cool premise, but it seems as though the author only thought about it as far as coming up with the basic idea. This is a lot coming from me because I so seldom dislike books to this extent. I'm usually very forgiving, but I just couldn't overcome the massive problems.
First, I don't like that the book just plunges in before we have a chance to know the person she used to be. How can we really have any empathy for someone in this incredible situation if we don't know anything about them?
I'm also not a huge fan of it's incredibly abrupt ending. It resolves very little and gives the impression that the author was suddenly just tired of her own story and quit.
My biggest problem runs all the way through. The main character is supposedly addicted to Jane Austin. How is it then, that she is so surprised at how women are treated during this time period? She's surprised that the word "okay" isn't understood! She accosts Jane Austen in the streets and acts like a crazy person for no apparent reason!
The way I describe it is that this book is very like a terrible movie. It's entertaining just because it is so bad. Honestly though, I cannot recommend this book to anybody.
First, I don't like that the book just plunges in before we have a chance to know the person she used to be. How can we really have any empathy for someone in this incredible situation if we don't know anything about them?
I'm also not a huge fan of it's incredibly abrupt ending. It resolves very little and gives the impression that the author was suddenly just tired of her own story and quit.
My biggest problem runs all the way through. The main character is supposedly addicted to Jane Austin. How is it then, that she is so surprised at how women are treated during this time period? She's surprised that the word "okay" isn't understood! She accosts Jane Austen in the streets and acts like a crazy person for no apparent reason!
The way I describe it is that this book is very like a terrible movie. It's entertaining just because it is so bad. Honestly though, I cannot recommend this book to anybody.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 2, 2015
The more I think about this book, the more I hate it.
I started out willing to give it the benefit of the doubt. I didn't expect a five star read, but I figured I would enjoy myself. After all, I was a Janeite at one point. I have read and re-read her famous six novels as well as her short fiction and juvenilia. I've written an academic paper on her. There is something comfortable about the old cliches that come out in a novel like this.
At the very least, I expected a nice, cheesy romance and a little bit of that elusive Potential even if the plot wasn't very good.
But this plot lacked even Potential.
Whatever my beef with either of them, Austenland and Prada & Prejudice are similar plot lines done immensely better.
In fact, the more I think about it the more I wonder if Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict has anything redeemable about it. (I suppose it does. Maybe one thing. Not enough for me to recommend it)
Plot
Courtney Stone lives in 21st century L.A. and (thinks she) is an Austen-addict. When she wakes up in Austen's Regency England in the body of a different woman, she assumes it is just an extremely realistic dream. Until she doesn't wake up. Trapped in a world where a matchmaking mama is trying to get her hitched and her own mind has turned against her with confusing memories that aren't her own, Courtney - now Jane Mansfield - must figure out what brought her to Regency England and how to get back to her own time.
Thoughts
Where do you start a rant when you hated everything about the book?
Maybe with the characters. Courtney/Jane is selfish, stupid, and stuck-up. She's no Austen-Addict! Why can't authors ever get Janeites right? Although I suppose this particular A-Addict wouldn't consider herself a Janeite. She may belong to JASNA but would never go to a ball! What if she were tempted to go in costume! You see, Courtney/Jane is a closet A-Addict who basically just re-reads Pride and Prejudice to nurse her feelings after broken relationships. And she has a lot of broken relationships. This self-absorbed woman hates that she is single. At one point she says she would rather have been divorced than never married. For all she criticizes marriage in Regency England and goes off on all these stupid third-wave feminist rants, her entire life is aimed at a wedding. Even though she is in Regency England, she spends the entire book:
1. Complaining about her life/appearance as Courtney (too clumsy, too oddly proportioned, too poor.)
2. Wanting her life/appearance as Courtney back (makeup! alcohol! cheating ex-fiances! What's not to miss?)
3. Complaining about Regency customs (unflattering dresses, no makeup, chaperonage to balls)
4. Whining about dirt and germs.
And, well, aside from getting butterflies when she thinks about or looks at a certain individual, that is the extent of C/J. Whenever she feels any stress, she throws herself at P&P and reads a few chapters. Of all things, this should have endeared me to her. I certainly have security-blanket books that instantly lift a bad mood when I read them. But I just couldn't believe P&P functioned that way for C/J. Although the text is interspersed with Austen quotes, it lacks a certain appreciation for Austen as a storyteller. C/J loves the writer of P&P from an academic standpoint. She points to Austen as a feminist, as a commentator on social norms, as an "oppressed" woman. Yet I never felt C/J loved P&P as a story. She likes Colin Firth Darcy and the sanitized, romanticized movies. She likes the novels as a social critique. Anything further seems to be beyond her understanding. I couldn't believe C/J used P&P as a security blanket because nothing in her character revealed to me that she understood the power of a well told tale. It fits too awkwardly.
Beyond her self-absorption and mindless liberal academic rants, C/J is an annoying character because she displays no sense of something greater. I mean the human instinct that longs for art or music or beauty, things that are not necessarily physically necessary for survival and yet fulfill us in a different way. Oh, in a sense she gets there is such a thing. She wears makeup to be more "beautiful" and admires her "Father's" post-modern artwork (an entirely random plot line, IMHO) but it sounds parroted. While not all characters need to display this sense of depth, it felt hollow and entirely empty in C/J. Especially in her relationships with others. Whether with the love interest (I'll rant about that later) or with her ex-fiance, it is never believable that C/J views them as other human beings. She wants a guy to fulfill her. Even after she has her great inner-peace/discovery moment about not needing to find happiness in a guy or whatever she supposedly seeks, she still has this idea of marriage as an epoch. The wedding basically, not the husband. Not the life afterwards. This part of her personality doesn't seem to change at all. Everything returns to her. Her desires, her wants, her needs, her personality. The closest she comes to thinking of someone else is when Courtney realizes she has almost screwed up Jane's life...but even there, the Courtney/Jane line is so blurred she's still focused on herself.
Basically, Courtney's life revolves around sex and alcohol and fulfilling any immediate desires. Even her friendships connect back to that. Her girlfriends commiserate when her relationships don't work out and they all drink together. There was no sense that they did anything else. What a horrid, hopeless life.
Jane at first seems a little better. Her life anyway, since its still Courtney inhabiting that life. Well, she embroiders and reads poetry at least. Yet it was hard to see if she had anything else through Courtney's mindset.
She was a character I went from pitying to basically hating.
The romance was equally painful. The hero was an any-man type. He is wish fulfillment and little else. Especially when no viable alternative love interest is presented, its obvious he is the troubled, misunderstood hero. His lack of personality helps C/J continue to focus entirely on herself. Even the great obstacle to their romance is removed with ease, and mainly because of C/J and her new understanding of her self.
That said the only, only, credit I will give this book is that the hero is not flawless. Well, I mean he is. Basically. But he seems to walk this line of chaste purity and dark, licentious past. It seems novels like this try and place their hero in one category or the other. Not that I think this guy was in the slightest bit more interesting for his slightly stained character. It was hard to grasp why he would like Jane because the entire courtship (or whatever it was) between him and Jane is skipped over with the whole Courtney thing. Also, how much could he have liked her if he can't tell she has an entirely different personality as C/J?
Weird. That's all I know.
Any other characters in this book are shadowed, unknowable, and flat.
The plot is poorly explained and full of holes. Important plot elements are swept under the rug with bippity boppity boo gobbledygook about destiny and fate and the stars aligning. Or something like that. I get the author is trying to mirror this novel with her companion/sequel following Jane in Courtney's life, but it made for a confusing read. This does not stand well alone.
The writing got on my nerves. It is a perfect example of telling not showing. Weeks pass with barely a flicker and the reader gets told what happened. Flashbacks of what happened. Angst over what might happen. Summaries of what is happening. It is just not interesting.
Truthfully, I might find Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict if only to try and figure out what the author is doing with these books. Its so poorly accomplished that I'm left needing to plug the holes somehow.
However, I don't know if I can put up with more crass, useless heroines.
AVOID!
I started out willing to give it the benefit of the doubt. I didn't expect a five star read, but I figured I would enjoy myself. After all, I was a Janeite at one point. I have read and re-read her famous six novels as well as her short fiction and juvenilia. I've written an academic paper on her. There is something comfortable about the old cliches that come out in a novel like this.
At the very least, I expected a nice, cheesy romance and a little bit of that elusive Potential even if the plot wasn't very good.
But this plot lacked even Potential.
Whatever my beef with either of them, Austenland and Prada & Prejudice are similar plot lines done immensely better.
In fact, the more I think about it the more I wonder if Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict has anything redeemable about it. (I suppose it does. Maybe one thing. Not enough for me to recommend it)
Plot
Courtney Stone lives in 21st century L.A. and (thinks she) is an Austen-addict. When she wakes up in Austen's Regency England in the body of a different woman, she assumes it is just an extremely realistic dream. Until she doesn't wake up. Trapped in a world where a matchmaking mama is trying to get her hitched and her own mind has turned against her with confusing memories that aren't her own, Courtney - now Jane Mansfield - must figure out what brought her to Regency England and how to get back to her own time.
Thoughts
Where do you start a rant when you hated everything about the book?
Maybe with the characters. Courtney/Jane is selfish, stupid, and stuck-up. She's no Austen-Addict! Why can't authors ever get Janeites right? Although I suppose this particular A-Addict wouldn't consider herself a Janeite. She may belong to JASNA but would never go to a ball! What if she were tempted to go in costume! You see, Courtney/Jane is a closet A-Addict who basically just re-reads Pride and Prejudice to nurse her feelings after broken relationships. And she has a lot of broken relationships. This self-absorbed woman hates that she is single. At one point she says she would rather have been divorced than never married. For all she criticizes marriage in Regency England and goes off on all these stupid third-wave feminist rants, her entire life is aimed at a wedding. Even though she is in Regency England, she spends the entire book:
1. Complaining about her life/appearance as Courtney (too clumsy, too oddly proportioned, too poor.)
2. Wanting her life/appearance as Courtney back (makeup! alcohol! cheating ex-fiances! What's not to miss?)
3. Complaining about Regency customs (unflattering dresses, no makeup, chaperonage to balls)
4. Whining about dirt and germs.
And, well, aside from getting butterflies when she thinks about or looks at a certain individual, that is the extent of C/J. Whenever she feels any stress, she throws herself at P&P and reads a few chapters. Of all things, this should have endeared me to her. I certainly have security-blanket books that instantly lift a bad mood when I read them. But I just couldn't believe P&P functioned that way for C/J. Although the text is interspersed with Austen quotes, it lacks a certain appreciation for Austen as a storyteller. C/J loves the writer of P&P from an academic standpoint. She points to Austen as a feminist, as a commentator on social norms, as an "oppressed" woman. Yet I never felt C/J loved P&P as a story. She likes Colin Firth Darcy and the sanitized, romanticized movies. She likes the novels as a social critique. Anything further seems to be beyond her understanding. I couldn't believe C/J used P&P as a security blanket because nothing in her character revealed to me that she understood the power of a well told tale. It fits too awkwardly.
Beyond her self-absorption and mindless liberal academic rants, C/J is an annoying character because she displays no sense of something greater. I mean the human instinct that longs for art or music or beauty, things that are not necessarily physically necessary for survival and yet fulfill us in a different way. Oh, in a sense she gets there is such a thing. She wears makeup to be more "beautiful" and admires her "Father's" post-modern artwork (an entirely random plot line, IMHO) but it sounds parroted. While not all characters need to display this sense of depth, it felt hollow and entirely empty in C/J. Especially in her relationships with others. Whether with the love interest (I'll rant about that later) or with her ex-fiance, it is never believable that C/J views them as other human beings. She wants a guy to fulfill her. Even after she has her great inner-peace/discovery moment about not needing to find happiness in a guy or whatever she supposedly seeks, she still has this idea of marriage as an epoch. The wedding basically, not the husband. Not the life afterwards. This part of her personality doesn't seem to change at all. Everything returns to her. Her desires, her wants, her needs, her personality. The closest she comes to thinking of someone else is when Courtney realizes she has almost screwed up Jane's life...but even there, the Courtney/Jane line is so blurred she's still focused on herself.
Basically, Courtney's life revolves around sex and alcohol and fulfilling any immediate desires. Even her friendships connect back to that. Her girlfriends commiserate when her relationships don't work out and they all drink together. There was no sense that they did anything else. What a horrid, hopeless life.
Jane at first seems a little better. Her life anyway, since its still Courtney inhabiting that life. Well, she embroiders and reads poetry at least. Yet it was hard to see if she had anything else through Courtney's mindset.
She was a character I went from pitying to basically hating.
The romance was equally painful. The hero was an any-man type. He is wish fulfillment and little else. Especially when no viable alternative love interest is presented, its obvious he is the troubled, misunderstood hero. His lack of personality helps C/J continue to focus entirely on herself. Even the great obstacle to their romance is removed with ease, and mainly because of C/J and her new understanding of her self.
That said the only, only, credit I will give this book is that the hero is not flawless. Well, I mean he is. Basically. But he seems to walk this line of chaste purity and dark, licentious past. It seems novels like this try and place their hero in one category or the other. Not that I think this guy was in the slightest bit more interesting for his slightly stained character. It was hard to grasp why he would like Jane because the entire courtship (or whatever it was) between him and Jane is skipped over with the whole Courtney thing. Also, how much could he have liked her if he can't tell she has an entirely different personality as C/J?
Weird. That's all I know.
Any other characters in this book are shadowed, unknowable, and flat.
The plot is poorly explained and full of holes. Important plot elements are swept under the rug with bippity boppity boo gobbledygook about destiny and fate and the stars aligning. Or something like that. I get the author is trying to mirror this novel with her companion/sequel following Jane in Courtney's life, but it made for a confusing read. This does not stand well alone.
The writing got on my nerves. It is a perfect example of telling not showing. Weeks pass with barely a flicker and the reader gets told what happened. Flashbacks of what happened. Angst over what might happen. Summaries of what is happening. It is just not interesting.
Truthfully, I might find Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict if only to try and figure out what the author is doing with these books. Its so poorly accomplished that I'm left needing to plug the holes somehow.
However, I don't know if I can put up with more crass, useless heroines.
AVOID!
January 5, 2010
Fresh and funny - Austen addicts will relate!
Meet Courtney Stone, a modern LA singleton who mysteriously wakes up from a booze induced stupor to be transported back in time into the body of Regency era Jane Mansfield.
No, that's not the actress Jayne Mansfield, but I love the play of words. We see plenty of that as author Laurie Viera Rigler places her modern thinking Jane Austen addicted heroine Courtney into the 1813 era life of Jane, an unmarried woman of thirty who is also facing a cross roads in her life after a riding accident knocks her unconscious and her threatening ma'ma is determined that she conform or be sent to the insane asylum. Even though Courtney has inhabited Jane's body, she has no recollection of her memories, only adding to her frustration and angst. Jane's world could not possibly be worse than her own shattered life back in the future after her fiancé Frank shagged their wedding cake designer, and her best friend Wes covered up for the cad. The engagement is off in her own life, but with her new personae Jane, it has yet to happen, much to the disapprobation of her mercenary ma'ma who is quite determined that she accept her latest suitor Charles Edgeworth. This dishy buck is even richer and more handsome than Mr. Darcy, so Courtney can not understand Jane's hesitation in accepting him. Not knowing their back story she trys to fake her way through, all the while reminding herself that it is all a dream and she will wake up or get back to her own life at any moment. Until then, she must negotiate her way through a time where repugnant body odor is ignored, blood letting common practice, and the social customs and mores for a women in her upper class station are so restrictive that her 21st-century sensibilities clash even after her years of reading Jane Austen novels. With stream of consciousness, pulse beating detail, we follow Courtney/Jane through her travails, cringe over her disgust, feel her anxiety, share in her laughter, and find hope after she meets a fortune teller in Bath who might have the answers to how this mysterious transformation took place, and how she can get home.
Courtney Stone is one of those characters that you just want to wrap up in a big hug. A cross between Bridget Jones and Catherine Morland, author Viera Rigler has crafted a young woman so fresh, funny and real she could be your best friend, workmate or YOU in the same situation! Her use of driving first person narrative places the reader within her heroine's mind adding intensity, candor and humorous insight. Her encounter with Jane Austen herself on a London street is so hilariously embarassing that it was the high point of the novel for me. Once you have begun on Courtney/Jane's journey, you will be hard pressed to put it down, hooked on living her Regency era life through the filter of her quirky Jane Austen sensibilities. What Courtney discovers about herself through her gradual transformation will pleasantly remind you of why we all become Austen addicts to begin with.
Laurel Ann, Austenprose
Meet Courtney Stone, a modern LA singleton who mysteriously wakes up from a booze induced stupor to be transported back in time into the body of Regency era Jane Mansfield.
No, that's not the actress Jayne Mansfield, but I love the play of words. We see plenty of that as author Laurie Viera Rigler places her modern thinking Jane Austen addicted heroine Courtney into the 1813 era life of Jane, an unmarried woman of thirty who is also facing a cross roads in her life after a riding accident knocks her unconscious and her threatening ma'ma is determined that she conform or be sent to the insane asylum. Even though Courtney has inhabited Jane's body, she has no recollection of her memories, only adding to her frustration and angst. Jane's world could not possibly be worse than her own shattered life back in the future after her fiancé Frank shagged their wedding cake designer, and her best friend Wes covered up for the cad. The engagement is off in her own life, but with her new personae Jane, it has yet to happen, much to the disapprobation of her mercenary ma'ma who is quite determined that she accept her latest suitor Charles Edgeworth. This dishy buck is even richer and more handsome than Mr. Darcy, so Courtney can not understand Jane's hesitation in accepting him. Not knowing their back story she trys to fake her way through, all the while reminding herself that it is all a dream and she will wake up or get back to her own life at any moment. Until then, she must negotiate her way through a time where repugnant body odor is ignored, blood letting common practice, and the social customs and mores for a women in her upper class station are so restrictive that her 21st-century sensibilities clash even after her years of reading Jane Austen novels. With stream of consciousness, pulse beating detail, we follow Courtney/Jane through her travails, cringe over her disgust, feel her anxiety, share in her laughter, and find hope after she meets a fortune teller in Bath who might have the answers to how this mysterious transformation took place, and how she can get home.
Courtney Stone is one of those characters that you just want to wrap up in a big hug. A cross between Bridget Jones and Catherine Morland, author Viera Rigler has crafted a young woman so fresh, funny and real she could be your best friend, workmate or YOU in the same situation! Her use of driving first person narrative places the reader within her heroine's mind adding intensity, candor and humorous insight. Her encounter with Jane Austen herself on a London street is so hilariously embarassing that it was the high point of the novel for me. Once you have begun on Courtney/Jane's journey, you will be hard pressed to put it down, hooked on living her Regency era life through the filter of her quirky Jane Austen sensibilities. What Courtney discovers about herself through her gradual transformation will pleasantly remind you of why we all become Austen addicts to begin with.
Laurel Ann, Austenprose
July 4, 2017
Es stellt sich die Frage, wieso ich immer wieder solche Jane Austen related Chick Lits lese, grösstensteils sind sie echt nur okay und ähneln sich sehr. Aber das Thema Jane Austen gefällt mir wohl einfach zu sehr, dass ich es immer wieder wage.. :) Mir hat hier etwas besonders gefallen, die Hauptcharakterin ist zwar Austen Fan und redet über und zitiert Austens Charaktere, aber KEINE Handelsstränge der Bücher wurde übernommen. Einfach erfrischend! Jedoch passiert leider nicht wirklich etwas, ständig missachtet sie soziale Regeln, fragt sich wie sie wieder nach Hause kommt, hat Flashbacks und muss ihre Vertrauenskomplexe gegenüber dem männlichen Geschlecht in zig Situation überwinden. Das machte es ein bisschen langweilig. Die Charaktere sonst fand ich nett und auch die Auflösung war okay. Aber natürlich war mir nicht bewusst, dass es eigentlich ein Zweiteiler ist (wenn mans weiss ist es dann schon logisch, Janes Erlebnisse in der modernen Welt müssen auch noch abgehandelt werden, um ein ganzes Bild zu erhalten, aber ehrlich gesagt interessiert mich diese Seite nicht wirklich. EInzig würde mich interessieren obs da wohl ein Epilog gibt. Mal schauen)
Read
December 23, 2013There should be an "in limbo" category.
I started this book a few days ago. I read a few chapters and could not go on. The author takes several chapters to make a point - a simple point that would take any talented writer a page at the most. It just all seems belabored, and that just turned me off.
Maybe one day, I'll give it another go.
I started this book a few days ago. I read a few chapters and could not go on. The author takes several chapters to make a point - a simple point that would take any talented writer a page at the most. It just all seems belabored, and that just turned me off.
Maybe one day, I'll give it another go.
March 19, 2021
Inconsistent Courtney character. Not believable. Thought I would find the historical portions of Regency era living fascinating and interesting. And I’m sure the author, when she tried to be funny and cute with her humor, made THIS reader cringe. Thank God it was short
June 4, 2020
"As my bedside candles illuminate a page in the precious first edition I hold in my hands, I understand, as I have long understood through my own insatiable appetite for readings and rereadings of Jane Austen's six novels, why children want the same stories read to them a thousand times. There is comfort in the familiarity of it all, in the knowledge that all will turn out well, that Elizabeth and Darcy will end up together in Pemberley, that Anne Eliot will pierce Captain Wentworth's soul, and that Mr. Elton will be stuck eith his caro sposa for the rest of his life. It is so unlike the unpredictability and unfairness of real-life endings and the half-life stasis I inhabit."
If you can imagine Bridget Jones being sent back to Jane Austen's time, that sums up this book pretty well. To be honest, I was expecting it to be a lot cheesier and more cringey than it turned out to be. It's one of those that if you don't take it too seriously, it can be a fun little guilty pleasure read.
I did find the entire plot a little far-fetched - the whole scene with the fortune teller was weird - and to be honest, there wasn't much creativity to it at all; most of it seemed copied from Austen herself. The whole story felt overall pretty underdeveloped; it was more like Rigler took a concept and ran with it rather than sitting down to outline an actual series of events. The appeal of Edgeworth's character and Courtney's constant back-and-forth about him never made much sense to me, which was rather disappointing, as I think this could have been even more fun and raunchy with a gushier romance and a more dashing, sweet hero.
Overall, though, as I said, this is one of those books you just can't take too seriously. I think every true Janeite has probably at some point imagined herself in a similar situation, so it was fun to indulge in that fantasy for a bit. Courtney's character raised a lot of good points from a twenty-first century perspective about everything from regency hygiene to women's rights which added a much needed touch of the real, and while I at first expected to find her rather annoying, she proved to be funny and down-to-earth, albeit a little childish.
Admittedly, if I hadn't received this as a gift, I don't think I ever would have picked it up. But thank God there are writers in the world who understand the hunger the Austen reader has for more Austen content, even if it comes packaged in cheesy takes on her works like this one. Sometimes a little goofy Austen indulgence is needed, and I would say this book, for me, satisfied that craving.
December 17, 2015
If I had read the reviews on this book, I never would have downloaded the audiobook and would have missed out on a few hours of wonderful escape punctuated by moments of appreciation of the author's treatment of an impossibly difficult topic. Average young woman wakes in Regency England.
The more I think about it, the more I appreciate what an excellent job the author has done. The explanation of the "time travel" is there, woven into the story. More would have made it pedantic, placed the story in a science fiction realm, or raised more issues for objections than the explanation would have merited. First, the story is not about time travel. I think it is about living one's life, whatever that might be.
Courtney is decidedly an average young woman. She has emotional baggage and scars from having less than perfect parents, a less than stellar intellect, and a need for love and the security of being loved in a world where sex does not imply commitment, and where even the love of good friends is tinged with self-interest; such as that of her self-absorbed best friend. She routinely escapes into Jane Austen's books, but she is not a scholar of the times and limits her involvement with true aficionados because she is aware of her limited knowledge. Her multiple readings of Austen's books allow her to navigate Regency England as well as she does, and her lack of expertise is cause for many of the plot's funny and dramatic turns. A woman totally ignorant of the times would not have survived and a scholar of the times would have made for boring reading indeed. Courtney, the character, is very well crafted for the role she has to play.
The storyline is a very good blend of "what would happen if" with a Jane Austen type romance complete with blushing young men and young women who are warmed by a simple look that lingers. What else is one to expect of a period piece? Jane/Courtney has Jane's body with its autonomic memories and skills and Courtney's values and expectations. Jane/Courtney's oscillation between acceptance at her situation and her desire to return to her life are totally understandable. The ending is perfect.
So, if I liked the book so much, why four and not five stars? Well, in spite of being well crafted, it is a fun book with no earth shattering, life changing experience to be remembered 20 years hence. The plot includes a few times when Courtney/Jane forgets herself a bit too much, and the excellent reading of the audiobook might have turned a 3-star into a 4 for me.
Definitely worth a listen!
The more I think about it, the more I appreciate what an excellent job the author has done. The explanation of the "time travel" is there, woven into the story. More would have made it pedantic, placed the story in a science fiction realm, or raised more issues for objections than the explanation would have merited. First, the story is not about time travel. I think it is about living one's life, whatever that might be.
Courtney is decidedly an average young woman. She has emotional baggage and scars from having less than perfect parents, a less than stellar intellect, and a need for love and the security of being loved in a world where sex does not imply commitment, and where even the love of good friends is tinged with self-interest; such as that of her self-absorbed best friend. She routinely escapes into Jane Austen's books, but she is not a scholar of the times and limits her involvement with true aficionados because she is aware of her limited knowledge. Her multiple readings of Austen's books allow her to navigate Regency England as well as she does, and her lack of expertise is cause for many of the plot's funny and dramatic turns. A woman totally ignorant of the times would not have survived and a scholar of the times would have made for boring reading indeed. Courtney, the character, is very well crafted for the role she has to play.
The storyline is a very good blend of "what would happen if" with a Jane Austen type romance complete with blushing young men and young women who are warmed by a simple look that lingers. What else is one to expect of a period piece? Jane/Courtney has Jane's body with its autonomic memories and skills and Courtney's values and expectations. Jane/Courtney's oscillation between acceptance at her situation and her desire to return to her life are totally understandable. The ending is perfect.
So, if I liked the book so much, why four and not five stars? Well, in spite of being well crafted, it is a fun book with no earth shattering, life changing experience to be remembered 20 years hence. The plot includes a few times when Courtney/Jane forgets herself a bit too much, and the excellent reading of the audiobook might have turned a 3-star into a 4 for me.
Definitely worth a listen!
July 31, 2018
This book is really goofy and corny. I picked it up expecting to love this time warp of a contemporary take on a period piece, but I just found myself groaning so many times. This could easily be a fanfic from some story blog online, it’s not very well written. I like the idea behind it, I just can’t get with the long drawn out inner thoughts the main character has and how annoying she sounds.
January 23, 2008
I was highly disappointed in this book because I am a big fan of Jane Austen. It wasn't the "reality check" of the grime and filthiness of the times, but the stream of consciousness flow of the book.
The book opens with the heroine waking up as Jane Mansfield. She remembers her life in modern day LA and believes that what she is experiencing is an elaborate dream. She soon learns that she has somehow come to inhabit the body of Jane in this previous time period.
All along I was reading for an explanation of how this came to be or an update on what is happening in modern day (did her physical body disappear? Is Jane inhabiting it--and if so, how is she adjusting to life in the 21st century). And none of that was sufficiently answered for me.
But those questions distracted me from the plot, which I found rather uninteresting. At times, I almost stopped reading it all together as a waste of my time, but I did finish it.
And even the ending didn't satisfy me. Oh well. There's really only one Jane Austen.
The book opens with the heroine waking up as Jane Mansfield. She remembers her life in modern day LA and believes that what she is experiencing is an elaborate dream. She soon learns that she has somehow come to inhabit the body of Jane in this previous time period.
All along I was reading for an explanation of how this came to be or an update on what is happening in modern day (did her physical body disappear? Is Jane inhabiting it--and if so, how is she adjusting to life in the 21st century). And none of that was sufficiently answered for me.
But those questions distracted me from the plot, which I found rather uninteresting. At times, I almost stopped reading it all together as a waste of my time, but I did finish it.
And even the ending didn't satisfy me. Oh well. There's really only one Jane Austen.
December 3, 2007
Do you find yourself reading and re-reading all Austen's works? Do you read her early things, like Love and Freindship, letters, Sandition and others? Do you find yourself caught up in the other continuation books by other authors? Well then why wonder about reading this book? I think it is even something a woman interested in the 18th would enjoy. The author gives, I believe, a more accurate portrait of women during Austen's time; discussing smells, bathing habits, and the little details that were left out and often cause readers to become nostaligic about the time period. If you have ever read a book and said, "I would love to live during that time period!" Then take a step back, read this comical and intriguing book, and realize that it's fiction and romanticized for the readers enjoyment.
July 26, 2010
Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict is a thoroughly fun escape from the everyday to Jane Austenland. It chronicles the adventures of Courtney Stone, a thirtyish singleton living in 21st century Los Angeles, who wakes up in the body of Jane Mansfield, a thirtyish singleton living with her parents in England in 1813.
Ever since I first fell in love with the Diana Gabaldon Outlander series, I've speculated that one of the secrets to its success was the fact that Gabaldon could write a historical novel but have her heroine, through the marvels of time travel, react to everything she encounters in a thoroughly modern way--this setup neatly turns any anachronistic detail that might creep into the text into a function of the modern-day heroine not understanding the nuances of the world into which she has been flung. Laurie Viera Rigler uses the same setup in Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict and the result is a charming romp through Regency England with a thoroughly modern woman describing and commenting sarcastically on the food, furniture, transportation, bathing habits, rituals, social mores, and class distinctions. Courtney is funny and likeable in typical chick-lit fashion--she's unlucky in love, a bit hapless, but plucky and good at her core, and her new circumstances enable her to grow in confidence and self-awareness, emerging from her cocoon of self-doubt and taking her rightful place as strong, happy, fulfilled woman.
As with Remarkable Creatures, a novel I reviewed earlier this year and which happens to be one of my favorites books of 2010, the only part I didn't much care for was when Courtney/Jane actually encounters Jane Austen in the flesh. She chases after her, forces her to engage with her, and the whole episode made me blush both for Courtney/Jane and the author. I hate this kind of thing. It's okay for Courtney/Jane to fantasize about meeting Austen, but I have yet to appreciate a scene like this that isn't totally a spoof.
That quibble aside, I enjoyed the heroine's character and her story, and I thought Rigler did a good job in creating her own story with wonderful characters and not just plopping her time traveler down in an Austen novel. I particularly liked the father, Mr. M., and his Picasso-like paintings, and Charles Edgeworth and his sister were nicely drawn, three-dimensional characters. Mrs. M., Jane's mother, was a nice mixture of Mrs. Bennet and Mrs. Norris, and the descriptions of London and Bath were definitely entertaining.
I thought the underlying theme of living in the life you happen to have is a strong, positive one that worked well. There were a couple of loose ends story-wise (e.g., just what was the relationship between Jane and the serving man brother of her maid?), and I tend to like to know a bit more about the author's view regarding the mechanics of their version of time travel/body swapping than I was given.
I found the book overall to be fun, interesting, and diverting enough for me to go ahead and order the sequel, Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict, which recounts the adventures of Jane Mansfield waking up to find she is in Courtney Stone's body two hundred years after she fell off her horse and knocked herself unconscious.
Ever since I first fell in love with the Diana Gabaldon Outlander series, I've speculated that one of the secrets to its success was the fact that Gabaldon could write a historical novel but have her heroine, through the marvels of time travel, react to everything she encounters in a thoroughly modern way--this setup neatly turns any anachronistic detail that might creep into the text into a function of the modern-day heroine not understanding the nuances of the world into which she has been flung. Laurie Viera Rigler uses the same setup in Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict and the result is a charming romp through Regency England with a thoroughly modern woman describing and commenting sarcastically on the food, furniture, transportation, bathing habits, rituals, social mores, and class distinctions. Courtney is funny and likeable in typical chick-lit fashion--she's unlucky in love, a bit hapless, but plucky and good at her core, and her new circumstances enable her to grow in confidence and self-awareness, emerging from her cocoon of self-doubt and taking her rightful place as strong, happy, fulfilled woman.
As with Remarkable Creatures, a novel I reviewed earlier this year and which happens to be one of my favorites books of 2010, the only part I didn't much care for was when Courtney/Jane actually encounters Jane Austen in the flesh. She chases after her, forces her to engage with her, and the whole episode made me blush both for Courtney/Jane and the author. I hate this kind of thing. It's okay for Courtney/Jane to fantasize about meeting Austen, but I have yet to appreciate a scene like this that isn't totally a spoof.
That quibble aside, I enjoyed the heroine's character and her story, and I thought Rigler did a good job in creating her own story with wonderful characters and not just plopping her time traveler down in an Austen novel. I particularly liked the father, Mr. M., and his Picasso-like paintings, and Charles Edgeworth and his sister were nicely drawn, three-dimensional characters. Mrs. M., Jane's mother, was a nice mixture of Mrs. Bennet and Mrs. Norris, and the descriptions of London and Bath were definitely entertaining.
I thought the underlying theme of living in the life you happen to have is a strong, positive one that worked well. There were a couple of loose ends story-wise (e.g., just what was the relationship between Jane and the serving man brother of her maid?), and I tend to like to know a bit more about the author's view regarding the mechanics of their version of time travel/body swapping than I was given.
I found the book overall to be fun, interesting, and diverting enough for me to go ahead and order the sequel, Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict, which recounts the adventures of Jane Mansfield waking up to find she is in Courtney Stone's body two hundred years after she fell off her horse and knocked herself unconscious.
November 23, 2008
Purchasers of this book probably aren't novices when it comes to the ever-expanding field of published Jane Austen fanfic. Yes, such reading is indulgent, but sometimes a girl just needs a break from the piles of critical theory books that she has to wade through for her thesis. ...Okay, that last statement was probably a bit too specific, but I'm sure that many people follow the same principle. However, just because a book is supposed to be escapist does not mean that it must be poorly written.
Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict is poorly written and, perhaps even worse, dull. The story takes place in the mind of Courtney Stone, a 21st-century member of the Lonely Hearts Club who wakes up one day as Jane Mansfield, a beautiful Regency-era woman. But Jane, as Courtney soon discovers, has problems of her own, including a hostile mother and a befuddling relationship with the handsome Mr. Edgeworth. Courtney must attempt to figure out what is going on in Jane's life as well as how to get back to her own. The novel takes place in the first person, and so the reader must endure page after page of Courtney's insipid thought processes. Witness this actual paragraph from page 242: "Is the future so depressingly set in stone? Don't we have free will as well as destiny? Can't Jane Austen exercise her free will and still fulfill her destiny? Can't I go back to my own time and live in a world where she has still written all six novels or even more and died in her beloved husband's arms? Can't I use my own free will here to fulfill my destiny, and still get back to the place I'm supposed to be? Does that mean I'll alter my future in my own time? Will I go back to a reality where my entire life and personal history has changed? Will I even know it happened? My mind is becoming a contortionist again, and the chimes of the big clock down in the entrance hall remind me I have to stop ruminating on destiny and the future and get myself ready for a night out with my hosts."
Unfortunately, Courtney never does "stop ruminating on destiny," and, as you can see, the prose suffers for it. Likewise, she also seems to be, well, stupid. Although she spends so much time thinking, she can't manage to see the things that she relates to the reader. That's dramatic irony at its worst. Sure, oftentimes a beloved Austen character, such as Elizabeth Bennet or Emma, can't manage to see something that's right in front of them, but we forgive them, because Austen has made them delightful, intelligent, multifaceted people. If it's those type of characters that you can't get enough of, you're unlikely to find satisfaction with this book.
Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict is poorly written and, perhaps even worse, dull. The story takes place in the mind of Courtney Stone, a 21st-century member of the Lonely Hearts Club who wakes up one day as Jane Mansfield, a beautiful Regency-era woman. But Jane, as Courtney soon discovers, has problems of her own, including a hostile mother and a befuddling relationship with the handsome Mr. Edgeworth. Courtney must attempt to figure out what is going on in Jane's life as well as how to get back to her own. The novel takes place in the first person, and so the reader must endure page after page of Courtney's insipid thought processes. Witness this actual paragraph from page 242: "Is the future so depressingly set in stone? Don't we have free will as well as destiny? Can't Jane Austen exercise her free will and still fulfill her destiny? Can't I go back to my own time and live in a world where she has still written all six novels or even more and died in her beloved husband's arms? Can't I use my own free will here to fulfill my destiny, and still get back to the place I'm supposed to be? Does that mean I'll alter my future in my own time? Will I go back to a reality where my entire life and personal history has changed? Will I even know it happened? My mind is becoming a contortionist again, and the chimes of the big clock down in the entrance hall remind me I have to stop ruminating on destiny and the future and get myself ready for a night out with my hosts."
Unfortunately, Courtney never does "stop ruminating on destiny," and, as you can see, the prose suffers for it. Likewise, she also seems to be, well, stupid. Although she spends so much time thinking, she can't manage to see the things that she relates to the reader. That's dramatic irony at its worst. Sure, oftentimes a beloved Austen character, such as Elizabeth Bennet or Emma, can't manage to see something that's right in front of them, but we forgive them, because Austen has made them delightful, intelligent, multifaceted people. If it's those type of characters that you can't get enough of, you're unlikely to find satisfaction with this book.
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