Customer Reviews

The Man Who Loved Jane Austen

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I recently read The Man Who Loved Jane Austen by Sally Smith O'Rourke. (Do not confuse it with the novel of the same name by Ray Smith!) This is an interesting take on the imagined background of Pride and Prejudice.

The novel begins as the heroine, Eliza Knight, an artist, and her passionless accountant boyfriend, Jerry, peruse a used furniture store. Eliza finds an antique vanity table, falls in love with it, and purchases it (against the advice of the money-practical Jerry).

The next morning, while in conversation with her cat, Wickham, Eliza notices that the panel backing to the mirror is pulling away. When she investigates, two letters fall out. One is addressed to Jane Austen, and the other--an unopened one--is addressed to F. Darcy.

Shocked but wise enough not to open the unsealed letter and thereby ruin the value of the document, Eliza decides to research on the internet to see if Darcy was a real person. Of course, with over a million Austen cites on the net, she is daunted. She chooses one and posts a question, "Was Fitzwilliam Darcy real?"

Strangely enough, a man has been watching and waiting for such a question for the last three years, and he quickly replies. The kicker is that his name is Fitzwilliam Darcy, and he is a horse breeder at Pemberly Farms in Virgina. Eliza dismisses him as a lunatic and goes on with life.

The novel moves along--the letters are authenticated, she meets the current Mr. Darcy (who is just as Austen described him in the original book), and they mysteries of these letters and of Darcy's identity are revealed. Of course, in order to believe this mystery, you also have to believe in time travel, but anything is possible in fiction, right?

The novel was an entertaining read, by no means excellent. (Although the scene where she cleans the vanity table had me cringing--what would the Keano brothers of Antique Roadshow be saying! AHH!) There seemed to be some character confusion as the woman who wants to marry Darcy is described as a tall, beautiful blonde sometimes, and then she's described as looking like a vampire in her yellow dress. There isn't any major swearing that I recall. Alcohol is drunk, and some secondary characters do get drunk. There are no sex scenes, but Eliza's relationship with Jerry is clearly stated, and some other relations are mentioned in passing.

I liked the character of Darcy in this book, and Eliza was likeable as well. Some of the other characters seemed more like page filler than like full-blown characters. Even Jane Austen herself didn't strike me as amazing.

If you read this book expecting a lighthearted romance, then you won't be disappointed. If you expect high drama or Austen's characterization or writing style, you will be.

I do not usually read historical romances, but this intelligent novel combining a modern-day investigation of Jane Austen's correspondence with a contemporary romance is a fine read.

Sally Smith O'Rourke's creation is premised on a New York artist's discovery of a 200-year-old letter from Jane Austen to her fictional hero Fitzwilliam Darcy. In attempting to verify the authenticity of the letter, the artist heroine meets a modern-day Mr. Darcy sequestered on an estate in rural Virginia. Could there be any connection between Austen's Darcy and his 21st-century namesake?

Sally Smith O'Rourke provides a diverting tale of modern romance and historical inquiry that Austen fans and others will enjoy mightily. I give O'Rourke high marks for good writing, expert plotting, and an imaginative take on Jane Austen's life and work. And, as befits the Jane Austen theme, the author manages romance without sappiness.

A well-deserved four stars.

As far as romance novels go, this one is well worth the time and money. The time traveling set up may be a tad overused, but the twist in using Jane Austen as a character is interesting, especially to fans of Jane Austen. The end unfolds much like many romance novels, easily and neatly. If I were to judge this against authors who are continuing the stories of Austen or trying to write in her style, or even against just plain old 'fiction' (as this is labeled), I would have to give it three stars instead. It is cute, light, and has the added bonus of the historical Jane Austen.

As a new found Jane Austen fan, I have been reading about everything I can find having to do with her and her works. My sister made the mistake of lending this book to me and is now having problems getting it back. Although the plot is somewhat predictable and some of the background characters a bit shallow, the book on the whole is an enjoyable read. If you are looking for an accurate description of Jane Austen's life, you will be disappointed. If you want a hold your breath and day dream romance, this book will meet your expectations.

Thank you Sally Smith O'Rourke for your wonderfully romantic
book "The Man who loved Jane Austen". I read it all in one sitting and was totally absorbed into every page. Being a fan
of Pride and Prejudice and other Jane Austen books, I thoroughly
enjoyed how you weaved the past and present together. Bravo!!
I absolutely admired and ardently loved it!!! Hopefully another
book will follow to continue our journey with Eliza and Mr.Darcy!
gkz

I had hoped this book would be another Austen fan delight along the lines of 'The Jane Austen Book Club', but was disappointed to find bad writing, flat characters, and a contrived storyline. It was like any grocery store romance novel, without the graphic sex scenes. It tried too, too hard to create a 'Pride and Prejudice' parallel in Jane's life, and made the character of Jane Austen into a very unimpressive, flimsy, mousy woman. Nothing like the brilliantly witty, mysterious and deep person her fans know her as (although it makes cringeworthy attempts at wit, mystery, and depth, to the author's credit at least demonstrating her genuine admiration for Austen). The writing was just too reminiscent of high school 'boy meets girl' dime store novels. Even the battle over Darcy between the main character, Eliza, and her nemesis, Faith, was portrayed as very 'high school' for two grown women characters. Overall, I wanted to like the characters, but I just couldn't relate to them. I wanted to enjoy the story, but it was just too cliche. I wanted to enjoy the romance, but it was just too immature. Check out 'The Jane Austen Book Club' for a GREAT and very clever read in Austen's style.

I hate writing negative reviews because I know how much work went into publishing the work, but... This work is sub-par, and I believe the author could do better. I like the idea of a modern retelling of the original story, which is what I thought this would be, and I even liked the time-travel twist for the most part. Unfortunately, the writing itself was too simplistic for an Austen-inspired story. Better writing, more along the style of Austen herself, would have added to the integrity and credence of the story. However, if you're stuck in a car and looking for meager escapist literature, you may enjoy this book. Just get it from the library.

I don't have a problem with people using Jane Austen's writings as the basis of something new (slight digression... provided they stay true to their characters), so the idea of this book is pretty clever. This book was well written (I'm picky about that) and entertaining. Not a bad read, but disappointing.

**Spoiler Alert** Two reasons why it falls short: the Darcy created here would a) not have passed for a Regency-era gentleman or b) been someone who Jane Austen (Jane Austen, for crying out loud!!!) would have fallen for.

It's a great story, but in the end, I just couldn't buy it. This character falls way short of Austen and could never pass for the Mr. Darcy she created.

This is the kind of book to read if you were in the mood to watch a movie like The Love Letter or You've Got Mail but there was a big thunderstorm and the lights went out or you are getting over the flu and you can't process a complicated plot line but are getting bored of just watching TV. It is what it is and it was an enjoyable.

In New York antiques furniture collector Eliza Knight purchases a two century old vanity. However, as she looks over and gently cleans her treasure, she finds an incredible cache, if authenticated, behind the mirror. She has found two letters between Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy and Miss Jane Austen. The correspondence from Fitz to Jane is open and dated 1810, but the return note remains sealed. A Jane Austen expert not only verifies the find as authentic, she learns that a Darcy living in Virginia possesses a similar letter written by Jane to Fitz.

Eliza travels to the Shenandoah Valley to meet Fitz and show what she has and see what he possesses. He invites her to attend his family's annual Rose Ball honoring a nineteenth century ancestor, Rose Darcy. Though she enjoys the gala especially the costumes, she finally asks her host whether one of his ancestors was in deed Jane's lover and the model for her renowned lead male in Pride and Prejudice.

This novel combines the awe of whether Jane Austen's Fitz was real with a delightful modern day romantic mystery containing a fascinating twist that if revealed here would give away too much of the plot. The story line is character driven by Eliza, Fitz and Jane. Eliza seeks the truth which she believes Fitz has while Jane serves as the focus of her inquiry. Fans will appreciate this contemporary tale that looks closely at the life of Jane Austen while determining based on historical facts whether her Fitz truly lived.

Harriet Klausner