Book Review: Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict

By Sandy Amazeen May 18, 2008, 2:05 GMT

Self-confessed Jane Austen fan, Courtney Stone was nursing a broken heart after catching her fiancé making out with another woman and just as bad, her best friend Wes was covering up for him when her world suddenly spun out of sync. She awakes in a strange bedroom, surrounded by people she doesn’t know who insist upon calling her Miss Mansfield. So begins Courtney’s immersion in 1813 England complete with an appearance obsessed nasty mother, assorted suitors including the handsome Mr. Edgeworth, BO, chamber pots and a strict moral code. While attempting to make sense of her changed situation, Courtney has time to reflect on her life in modern day L.A. and her failed relationships while wondering how to change places with Jane Mansfield and return home. She eventually experiences an euphony of sorts, deciding what it is she wants from life, discovering true love along the way.

There have been several variations on the time travel theme that sees a contemporary woman thrown into Regency era England so this is hardly a novel idea. Courtney’s cutting wit puts a humorous slant on many of the odd situations in which she finds herself and her interactions with the downtrodden Mr. Mansfield, a talented painter offers the opportunity for the kind of father-daughter relationship she never had. For a die-hard Jane Austen fan, Courtney  presents a problematic inconsistency in that she has a surprisingly weak grasp of the social expectations of the time. As long as one doesn’t expect too much, this is a light, entertaining read.