I read this book over the summer, and I have to say I haven’t laughed out loud at a book in a really long time. Laurie Vera Rigler’s Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict follows modern Austen lover Courtney Stone after she wakes up one morning in nineteenth-century England in the body of Jane Mansfield.
Naturally she thinks it’s an alcohol induced nightmare, until she starts to interact more with Jane’s friends and suitors, and as she begins remembering things that aren’t her memories. Throughout the whole novel she’s trying to prove to those around her that she’s a) not crazy, b) not Jane Mansfield, and c) not supposed to be there.
As she does more and more investigating into how she may have gotten there, she comes to realize that this may be where she was always supposed to end up.
The book reads like a movie, you can see this poor single Californian trying to cope with the strict social rules and customs; trying so hard not to get thrown into a loony bin, and more importantly trying to learn about herself and Jane.
All in all, this book was like a dream come true for any Austen fan; I especially liked the part where Courtney was practically drooling over the first edition volumes of Pride and Prejudice. It’s filled with quirks and social missteps that in our time wouldn’t matter, but back then could have destroyed any young girl, which show the progress that women have made and that society has made across the centuries.
If you happen to like this one, then you have to try The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Fowler.