Playing in Austenland
We missed this on our Upcoming Books roundup post a little while back, but Austenland by Shannon Hale is due to be released on May 29, 2007.
Jane Hayes is a seemingly normal young New Yorker, but she has a secret. Her obsession with Mr. Darcy, as played by Colin Firth in the BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, is ruining her love life: no real man can compare. But when a wealthy relative bequeaths her a trip to an English resort catering to Austen-crazed women, Jane’s fantasies of meeting the perfect Regency-era gentleman suddenly become realer than she ever could have imagined.
Decked out in empire-waist gowns, Jane struggles to master Regency etiquette and flirts with gardeners and gentlemen—or maybe even, she suspects, with the actors who are playing them. It’s all a game, Jane knows. And yet the longer she stays, the more her insecurities seem to fall away, and the more she wonders: Is she about to kick the Austen obsession for good, or could all her dreams actually culminate in a Mr. Darcy of her own?
Sounds like Jane needs a copy of The Jane Austen Handbook: A Sensible Yet Elegant Guide to Her World, doesn’t it? *runs off, giggling*
Actually we wish someone WOULD make an Austenland. Wouldn’t that be a blast? In the meantime, Rosalind wrote to let us know about a Pride and Prejudice RPG with many of the main characters still untaken. Rosalind wrote, “It’s very well done, I feel, with more attempt at authenticity of period and language etc. than most RPGs.” Give it a try, if you are so inclined.
December 17th, 2006 at 4:52 pm
Thank-you so much for mentioning it!
December 17th, 2006 at 5:45 pm
Oh, yeah! That would be great!
December 17th, 2006 at 7:03 pm
I’ve imagined going back in time and meeting a Mr. Darcy, actually I think I’d rather have a Mr. Knightley or Da Man. An trip to Austenland would certainly be at the top of my Christmas list.