If you are hooked on Jane Austen and have imagined yourself as one of the Bennett sisters, or as Elinor Dashwood or Emma Woodhouse, this book will definitely be your cup of tea. Courtney Stone, a hip 21st century woman who has just broken off with Frank, her unfaithful fiance, awakens one morning to find herself very definitely NOT herself. Not only is she in a strange house in another country, but she has somehow been transported back to the era of her favorite author, Jane Austen, and she has literally become another person named Jane Mansfield, 30-year-old spinster daughter of a wealth British family. The problem is that everyone recognizes her as Jane and believes that she has suffered a memory loss as a result of a fall from a horse. Little by little, after numerous social mistakes, Jane/Courtney begins to appreciate her new life and discovers to her surprise that some of Jane's memories are coming back to her. Jane/Courtney's initial introduction to English society is comical. One especially enjoyable scene is when she spots Jane Austen (the REAL Jane Austen, who has been dead for almost 200 years!) in a shop and behaves in usual modern day fan fashion, gushing to an shocked Miss Austen about how wonderful her novels are (including some of the unwritten ones!) and even telling her about the films that will eventually be made from those novels.
The ending of this sweet novel will not disappoint Jane Austen fans, although it does come as sort of a surprise. This is great light reading for anyone who is tired of winter and looking for a distraction from real life.
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