AUSTEN-MANIA!
by Cindy Crosby

I'm sitting at my favorite coffee shop, shamelessly eavesdropping on two middle-aged women having an animated discussion about novelist Jane Austen. An author from more than two centuries ago? Yes, indeed. Even before PRIDE AND PREJUDICE's "Mr. Darcy" was immortalized in that unforgettable cinematic scene that saw actor Colin Firth dive into a pond and emerge, dripping wet and so hot he sizzled, Jane Austen's novels were magnets for female readers. Our great-grandmothers read Austen. My twenty-something daughter has Austen's novels on her college bookshelf --- and so do her roommates. Austen-mania knows no age constraints, and the author's popularity continues to ascend to astonishing heights.

Everything is coming up Austen recently, with the release of Austen-themed movies Becoming Jane and The Jane Austen Book Club, accompanied by a landslide of related books. Although Austen, a literary icon --- and arguably one of the greatest literary novelists in the English language --- wrote only six books in her lifetime (SENSE AND SENSIBILITY, PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, MANSFIELD PARK, EMMA, NORTHANGER ABBEY and PERSUASION), the number of spin-off titles continues to boggle the minds of book lovers. Jane-ites just can't get enough. With this in mind, Bookreporter.com decided that I should browse through 15 recently published books --- both fiction and nonfiction --- that celebrate all things Austen. If you can't decide what to try first, look for my picks at the end to discover which ones are don't-miss, hands-down favorites. Intrigued? Read on, Austenophiles….

101 THINGS YOU DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT JANE AUSTEN: The Truth About the World's Most Intriguing Romantic Literary Heroine, by Patrice Hannon, Ph.D. (Adams Media Guide)
Although the title may not apply if you are a big Jane Austen fan (plenty of information here is commonly known), this is a good, chunky little introductory book to the life of our literary maven. In it, Patrice Hannon serves up bite-sized bits of biographical information about Austen's world and her novels. Austen, Hannon assures us, was touched by bankruptcy, frequent deaths, broken engagements, imprisonment and crime, just to name a few tragedies. She was also a bad speller (no spell check!), had an aunt who was arrested for shoplifting, and accepted and then recanted a proposal of marriage. Some items ("For which novel do we have two endings?" "What killed Jane Austen?") are more interesting than others.

By understanding Austen's life more fully, Hannon believes that we will also understand her novels better, and I found this to be true after dipping into the book. This would be a good companion to the Austen novels, especially for those new to her.

AUSTENLAND by Shannon Hale (Bloomsbury)
When I saw that Shannon Hale was a Newbery Honor Medalist, I thought: Aha! A novelist who can write well! And I wasn't disappointed. AUSTENLAND is an engaging contemporary romp, featuring Jane Hayes, a single New Yorker who gets a chance to take an all-expenses-paid trip to an Austen-themed resort in England. Here, the rather snobbish guests are expected to dress in Regency costumes and behave as if they were part of that time period. This chick-lit is squeaky clean but never priggish; even if the characters are only lightly developed, it's purely good fun. An enjoyable story right up until the final page is turned.

BECOMING JANE: The Wit and Wisdom of Jane Austen, edited by Anne Newgarden (Miramax/Hyperion)
This slim, slightly-bigger-than-pocket-sized volume contains a pithy collection of quotes from Jane Austen as well as her fictional characters. It's organized by subjects that include courtship, money, family, friends, marriage and --- you guessed it --- love. One of my favorites, culled from EMMA: "It was a delightful visit --- perfect, in being much too short." I also appreciated this piece of wisdom from Mr. Weston to Emma: "There are secrets in all families…" This one has "inexpensive and gift-able" written all over it for that hard-to-buy-for girlfriend. Or, treat yourself.

CONFESSIONS OF A JANE AUSTEN ADDICT by Laurie Viera Rigler (Dutton)
Courtney Stone, a young, hip woman in L.A. grieving a broken engagement, finds herself in another single woman's body living in Regency England. Using wisdom she has culled from her addiction to Jane Austen novels, Courtney tries to navigate her way back to her own body and her real life in modern L.A. (which is starting to look better every day). Laurie Viera Rigler leaves no problematic stone unturned, from Courtney navigating her first period without tampons to romance, Regency-style. But 100 pages in, I started to tire of the narcissistic Courtney endlessly posing questions to herself (10 questions on one page alone!).

Austen fans will enjoy finding bits and pieces of familiar material scattered throughout (Courtney goes to Bath, for example - think NORTHANGER ABBEY). Slowly, Courtney is absorbed into her new persona. Will she ever go back to L.A.? One enjoyable scene has Courtney meeting Jane Austen and trying to explain her future success and her books becoming movies.

THE JANE AUSTEN BOOK CLUB: The Movie Tie-In Edition, by Karen Joy Fowler (Plume)
Here's the official JANE AUSTEN BOOK CLUB movie tie-in edition of the older novel, complete with a kicky new cover featuring the main actor and actresses. The theme is interesting, if deceptively thin: Five women and a guy form a book club that discusses Jane Austen's novels. However, Karen Joy Fowler, a PEN/Faulkner Award finalist, is an intriguing writer and offers subtleties just as Austen does about life, love and getting along. Book clubs embraced this when it first came out in the original edition; there is plenty to discuss here from the diverse characters, whether they be single, soon to be divorced, or gay.

Honestly, this story never completely grabbed me, but evidently it impressed Hollywood, so you may find it more to your taste than I did. A reader's guide at the end has 30 additional pages of quotes, Austen novel synopses and questions for discussion. Whew!

JUST JANE: A Novel of Jane Austen's Life, by Nancy Moser (Bethany House Publishers)
In this fictional autobiography from a Christian-based publishing house, Nancy Moser brings Jane Austen to life through first-person narration. She begins with Austen in her early 20s, experiencing her first serious romance and unfolds her life, incorporating the major events as known. Scattered throughout are direct quotes from Austen's letters incorporated into the text (I found myself wishing for endnotes that referenced these a little more thoroughly). Occasionally, I stumbled over the prose, which is supposed to be in keeping with the times (think "chuse" for choose and "happenstance.") Moser also incorporates more of Austen's perceived spirituality than some other Austen biographers, which sometimes feels forced. But this will be an enjoyable fictional introduction to the life of Jane Austen for many new readers, especially Christians.

LETTERS FROM PEMBERLEY: The First Year and MORE LETTERS FROM PEMBERLEY by Jane Dawkins (Sourcebooks Landmark)
If you thought PRIDE AND PREJUDICE ended too soon, then these two books (reissued recently with new jackets) will help you extend the story. Both are formatted as letters from Elizabeth Darcy née Bennet --- in the first, written to her sister, now Jane Bingley; and in the second, letters to Jane Austen's husband, friends, family members and even shopkeepers.

LETTERS FROM PEMBERLEY picks up where PRIDE AND PREJUDICE left off, with Elizabeth learning to be mistress of her mammoth new estate. The content is the stuff of ordinary Regency English life: who came to visit, how Elizabeth is handling her new role, family relationships and Darcy's latest landscaping hobby. Occasionally you'll run into characters from Austen's other novels that intersect with Elizabeth's life in some way. MORE LETTERS covers the next six years after their marriage: new babies, weddings, deaths and even a letter that discusses other Jane Austen novels that Elizabeth is presumably reading!

These are light, enjoyable forays into fiction that will entertain Austen aficionados without demanding too much of them, although MORE LETTERS contains a few deeper, poignant themes.

LOST IN AUSTEN: Create Your Own Jane Austen Adventure, by Emma Campbell Webster (Riverhead Trade)
Okay, I confess I was skeptical about the whole concept of this book --- that is, until my college-age daughter took it out of my hands and immersed herself in it with delight. Emma Campbell Webster is onto something. The idea here is that the reader assumes the persona of Elizabeth Bennet and controls how the story proceeds by making certain choices (i.e., a suitor proposes and "to accept his application…turn to page 118. To reject it…turn to page 96"). For those who are REALLY into game playing, you can keep track of your points accumulated in five areas, such as "Fortune" and "Intelligence." What does one do with these points at the end? I was never sure. After only 10 minutes into the book, I made decisions that led me to being disfigured by gypsies and single for life ("The End.") Nonetheless, this is a creative twist on the Austen books, and Austen fans should find it a welcome way to while away the hours.

ME AND MR. DARCY by Alexandra Potter (Ballantine)
Think light contemporary romance with a little fantasy sprinkled here and there --- while incorporating aspects of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE --- and you have this novel. Emily Albright, a young, independent bookseller from New York City, becomes cynical about dating and love, because, well, who can measure up to Mr. Darcy? She has set the bar high. When Emily joins a gray-haired tour group (plus one grouchy but cute single man, who is on a newspaper assignment) to visit the places of Jane Austen's literature, she finds that her tour guide looks vaguely familiar. (And guess who she might be?)

Emily journeys back in time, encountering Mr. Darcy of Austen's novel, and bouncing back and forth between reality and fantasy. Romance can't be far off, can it? Along the way, Emily drinks a little too much, smokes a joint and listens to her best friend's cell phone messages that detail her sexual adventures in Mexico. But Emily's love life isn't really going well, and it seems as if her vacation will end up with her going back home, still without a man.

Chick-lit lovers, suspend belief and curl up with an afghan; if you like your chick-lit spicier than AUSTENLAND, then this will be your cup of tea.

MR. DARCY'S DIARY by Amanda Grange (Sourcebooks Landmark)
If you're one of those Jane Austen fans who has read and re-read PRIDE AND PREJUDICE too many times to count, then this gentle, quiet re-telling of the story through Mr. Darcy's eyes --- and his diary --- is a nice escapist read. The plot is so familiar you won't have to think much, and since you know the way things will end (or pretty much so --- Amanda Grange does offer a few post-wedding glimpses), there's not much in the way of suspense. In short, if your friends are making snide remarks about your PRIDE AND PREJUDICE repeat reads ("Again????"), you can pretend you're reading something different while still following the basic plot of the original through Mr. Darcy's eyes.

OLD FRIENDS AND NEW FANCIES: The Imaginary Sequel to the Novels of Jane Austen, by Sybil J. Brinton (Sourcebooks Landmark)
This reprint of a 1913 novel brings together characters from all six of Jane Austen's novels and introduces a few new ones. The language is a bit old-fashioned…but wait a minute, I'm talking to Jane Austen fans here. For us, it feels as comfortable as a cozy afghan. Matchmaking is front and center. Will Colonel Fitzwilliam end up with Georgiana Darcy? Or Mary Crawford? What will happen to Elizabeth Darcy's younger sister Kitty Bennet when Emma Knightley takes her as her protégée and tries to fix her up with William Price? You might find yourself getting bogged down occasionally in all these characters and allusions to different Austen novels, but Sybil J. Brinton stirs them together into a story full of flavorful surprises.

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE: Insight Edition by Jane Austen, sidenotes by various authors (Bethany House Publishers)
I loved this, and I think you will too. The editors of Bethany House offer the complete PRIDE AND PREJUDICE with footnotes, or rather, sidenotes throughout. These highlight specific themes in Austen's books and also include some factoids and historical notes that amplify the novel. The notes are coded by symbol; a heart on the sidenote, for example, shows that it's a tip for love and romance, a cross denotes…well, you can figure that one out. It's a relaxed undertaking; there's even a smiley face for notes that "just make us smile." I found some of the historical notes, like an explanation of the game of whist, particularly helpful, and others, such as a comment on Wickham on page 192, fairly hilarious ("Now go back and reread Wickham's description of her [Georgiana] on page 85. Oooo, we hate him!").

Since the editors don't take themselves too seriously and are happy to give you their opinions on everything from their favorite Austen flicks to posing theoretical questions ("Are we better off with Austen having remained single?"), this is an intriguing way to reacquaint yourself with PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, or an entertaining first read-through. Book clubs of all stripes, take note.

A WALK WITH JANE AUSTEN: A Journey into Adventure Love, & Faith, by Lori Smith (WaterBrook Press)
Here is a likable and vulnerable true-life memoir of Lori Smith's sojourn to England to acquaint herself with the landscapes of Jane Austen's life and writings and, hopefully, find romance and rid herself of some personal demons at the same time. Smith's childhood memories, her frustration over her singleness and her struggles with her Christian faith and those who practice it are woven throughout the story. Plus, there is a satisfying amount of information about Austen's life and novels integrated throughout. As Smith recounts her own disappointments with love and her battle with chronic illness, she imagines the life of Austen, a single woman writer who had her own disappointments. It's a moving and well-written read.

WHAT JANE AUSTEN TAUGHT ME ABOUT LOVE & ROMANCE by Debra White Smith (Harvest House)
Here's a sometimes preachy, intentionally faith-oriented nonfiction look at the relationships between Jane Austen's fictional characters in a nifty portable-sized format. Each chapter is complete with a moral lesson about what we can learn from Austen's characters about (as the title says) love and romance. Debra White Smith liberally mixes snippets of Austen's writing and her own anecdotes with ethical pronouncements, such as this observation on EMMA: "…When we truly live the Golden Rule, it requires that we set aside our own interests and put ourselves in the place of others." If you like an author to draw a conclusion for you like this, then you'll enjoy the book. If you aren't into moral lessons, take note.

Drumroll, please…

Here are my totally nonobjective, completely biased favorites from the above list. If you haven't read anything by Jane Austen, I'd start with PRIDE AND PREJUDICE: Insight Edition. If you like contemporary chick-lit with an Austen twist, AUSTENLAND wins, hands down. Although it requires some concentration, the best Austen sequel with that old-fashioned flavor is OLD FRIENDS AND NEW FANCIES. If you don't mind a little spirituality, the most interesting nonfiction pick of the above would be the creative memoir, A WALK WITH JANE AUSTEN. No matter which books you choose, you'll discover a renewed appreciation for the genius of Jane Austen and the desire to read or reread the original novels. And reading Austen or about Austen is always an excuse to break out the six-hour "Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy" version of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE for another showing. If you fast-forward to the pond scene first, I won't tell.

    --- Cindy Crosby is the author of four books and a regular contributor to Bookreporter.com and FaithfulReader.com. She's happily married to Jeff, who gets big points for going to Jane Austen flicks with her and often is the only male in a theater full of women. (Hmmmm…maybe that's why he goes!) Contact Cindy at phrelanzer@aol.com.

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