This bittersweet, funny slim little novel is first and foremost a love letter to Jane Austen, despite its well-deserved (and hilarious) dedication to Colin Firth. For those of us who, like the novel's heroine Jane Hayes, have happily reread all of Austen's novels over the years (except, as Hale points out, Northanger Abbey (Vintage Classics), which only got that one read), this story is a pleasant romp in Austenland. I was pleased with the way Jane questioned what in the world she was doing at what amounts to a Regency period fun park, with the way she alternately resists giving in to the fantasy and longs to dive in with reckless abandon. And I enjoyed the romantic comedy finish line ending.

Austenland is the story of Jane Hayes, "a thirty-something woman in possession of a satisfying career and a fabulous hairdo," who finds herself unmarried and harboring a dangerous obsession with the A&E production of Pride and Prejudice. Her aged great-aunt figures out Jane's little secret and leaves something special for Jane in her will: an all expense paid trip to Pembrook Park, Kent, England.

At Pembrook Park, Austen's world comes alive with everyone taking on a different "character" and every detail of Victorian life painstakingly reproduced (right down to the corsets!). It is quite funny to follow Jane's slow conversion to playing along with things, and read about her internal struggle between fantasy and reality. I laughed out loud several times, and found myself smiling through nearly the entire reading.

If this book hasn't been optioned as a film yet, it should be. PRONTO! That way I can eventually put the DVD right next to my own copy of the A&E masterpiece and have more outlets for my own Austen addiction!

I just love her other books, Book of a Thousand Days, The princess academy, The Goose Girl and Enna burning. My friends warned me it wasn't the same and they didn't like it. When I read it I figured out why. It lacks all of the depth and imagination of her children's books. It is basically one makeout session after another, NOT my type of book at all. It was very disapointing and I really couldn't believe the unreal ending either. In the fairy tale type books the fairy tale type endings work and she does it masterfully and usually with a twist. This ending was just bizarre and it leaves you wondering if the main character will ever ever grow up.

I love this author, however this book was a little strange. I made it through to the end, but it was bumpy. There wasn't a smooth flow and it was just a little difficult to follow the jumping around. Also, if one has not read the books by Austen mentioned in this one, some of it doesn't make sense.

I usually don't read any of the Jane Austen inspired books but this one caught my eye in my local library. Jane Hayes has been living with a secret for most of her life and through a gift from her great aunt gets the chance to live for several weeks the life of an Austen character. Getting used to wearing corsets and empire dresses takes some getting used to but she manages it well. The men, on the other hand, are a little more difficult to fathom and Jane finds herself divided between the pretend Austenland and the real world of today. As well as the two men claiming her affections. The ending is funny and so worth this written equalivent of a lazy afternoon spent in the warm sunlight of a time long ago.