Definitely My Kind of Darcy

Definitley Not Mr. Darcy by Karen Doornebos

Meet Chloe Parker. She is a 39 year-old, divorced mother of one running her own antique letterpress business in Chicago. She also eats, sleeps, and breaths anything Jane Austen related. She thinks she is going to be in a documentary/competition where everyone is dressed in regency style and answers questions about Austen.

Meet Mr. Wrightman. He is an elegible bachelor owning one of the largest estates in England. He loves history, science, and bird watching. Also, women constantly fall at his handsome feet wishing to be the object of his desire. A friend of his helps him sort through the cleavage by creating a dating show where all regency customs and attire are followed to the letter.

Chloe has no idea what she's in for until she lands on the set in the lavish English countryside. If it weren't for the prize money that would help save her business, Chloe would leave for home in a rush of disgust and disappointment. She decides to stay on the show filled with beautiful, talented 20-somethings with stubborn determination.

Chloe discovers that it is not so easy being a woman of leisure in the 1800's. She finds needlepoint, riding sidesaddle, and breathing in corsets to be much harder than she originally thought. What she wouldn't do for a hot shower!

And the men! The incredibly hot, Colin Firth-style Mr. Wrightman could sweep any girl off her feet. He's the tall, dark, and handsome man of every girl's dream. Then there's his younger nerdy brother Henry. This incredibly gentlemanly (and kinda cute) doctor gets ignored by most of the contestants, but to her frustration, Chloe ends up bumping into him constantly instead of his prize of a brother.

What starts out as a business venture ends up being so much more. Follow Chloe through the last heart-pounding episode. Will she be as cutthroat as the younger contestants? Or will she discover something more valuable than the prize money?

If you enjoyed Austenland by Shannon Hale, you'll love this book. It is a perfect mix of the modern and regency worlds. You get all the romance and atmosphere that you find in Jane Austen novels with a modern twist that you can relate to. Pick it up now!

How much Jane Austen can I cram in here?

My lab was a practice in everyday library life. I created a book list with a librarian, made it beautiful, got it approved, and created a display of books to compliment the list. Now for details.

I went to the adult fiction section of the library I work for. Honestly, I don't have much of a clue as to who does what in the adult areas of the library. Adult meaning not the kids section where I spend my days. I found out who the supervisor was for the fiction section and talked to her about my list. She thought it would be great if I could create a list--she added a book display to go along with the list. I could definitely tackle that.

Next I went to the librarian who the supervisor said would love to work with me on the project. The librarian was fantastically kind. When I asked her for suggestions on book list topics that the library could use, she said I could choose anything. Anything, really? Yes, anything. Huh. Alright. So I asked her if I could do a Jane Austen knock-off list. She thought that was an excellent idea. After she told me the display would be up in April, I ran off to start compiling my list.

To choose the right books for my list, I started with books that I know and love in the Jane Austen spin-off world. Then I looked up those books on LibraryThing. In the recommendation
section for each of these books, I found a listing of 10 similar books. My list kept getting larger and larger, which ended up being a good thing. Not all the books would be on the list, but I would need about 60 books to fill the display enough to look good. I took this huge list and started going through the library catalog to make sure we actually had them. The list wouldn't be of much use if you couldn't find those books at the library, now would it? I pulled in most of the books on the big list from other branches so I would be able to put them out on April 1st.

The making-things-pretty part is my favorite. Next I needed to compile the list in a visually pleasing, patron-friendly list that would invite them to read as many books on the list as possible. The librarians I talked to in the fiction section used software on their home computers that I didn't have access to. So I jumped on the internet and searched the freeware out there for making fliers and brochures. My Brochure Maker turned out to be just the right site for me. It was easy to use with already laid out designs to choose from. I just needed to pop in the words and pictures and I was set.

When I was researching books, three main themes emerged in book type--sequels, spin-offs, and modern versions. The sequels continued a story from where it left off. The spin-offs changed the story a bit or looked at it from a different character's perspective. The modern versions were a modern retelling of one of Jane Austen's books. I used these categories to organize the book titles in my brochure. I chose the more popular books and series (with higher circulation) for the list. When I gave my draft of the list to the librarian, she absolutely loved it and was floored by the quality in design and book choice. She had never heard of any online brochure makers, so I made sure to tell her where I made it online so she could use it, too.

The final touches to the display were signs to get patrons interested. I created two big signs with Jane Austen's name on it to grab the attention of all Janites who might pass by. I also knew of an author visit in April that we had been given posters for. The event poster went under the Austen sign to promote even further involvement in the world of Jane Austen.

After putting up the display, I went by it periodically to replace books that had been checked out and make sure it still looked good. I originally put out 25 brochures with my book list in it. When I took it down at the end of the month, only 9 were left. The fiction librarians said that sometimes less than 5 of their lists are taken. Sixteen seems like success to me!

Here are a couple of annotations to tide you over:

Vanity & Vexation by Kate Fenton
When a big time director uses a small town in Yorkshire for her TV adaptation of Pride & Prejudice, a local writer has a bit to say about it. While Candia Bingham, the star of the show, falls madly for a local named John, his writer neighbor, Nicholas Llewellyn Bevan has unwittingly caught the eye of the illustrious director, Mary Dance. Sparks fly in this modern retelling of the Jane Austen classic complete with sex, money, and romance.

Lost in Austen: Create Your Own Adventure by Emma Campbell Webster
Create Your Own Adventure books are not just for kids! Use this books to redefine the classics you love. Will you fall for the leading man or get caught up with the villain instead? Hours of fun can be had rereading this book for different endings.

Kirkus a Classic

Persuasion
by Jane Austen

A woman who is slightly past her prime (at least what prime was 200 years ago) gets a second chance at love and life.

Anne Elliot is the sensible middle daughter of a once very rich and always very vain Baron who has squandered the larger part of his fortune away since his wife's death over ten years past. His circumstances have become so drear that he is forced to let his large estate to another while he and his two eldest daughters relocate to the fashionable and much less expensive Bath. To Anne's distress, her father has rented the place to the sister of Captain Wentworth, a man who proposed to her 8 years ago when he was a nobody. Anne loved him, but was persuaded to refuse him by her godmother, Lady Russell. The oldest sister, Elizabeth, decided to take a friend with her to Bath while merrily sending Anne off to stay with their hypochondriac sister, Mary, who lived close to the estate. When the two lovers meet again, one is bitter and resentful while the other is anxious and regretful. Eventually an event occurs that restores Captain Wentworth's view of Anne, but he seems to have entangled himself unwittingly in the life of another who's family expects him to marry her. Before anything can be done to remedy the situation, Anne returns to Bath where she is pursued in marriage by another dashing young man with devilish designs of his own. Scoundrels are revealed and everyone with a kind heart is paired up with another who fits them best.

An unrealistic, yet hopeful read for the fan of classic love stories.

Do the Purists Have a Point?

I love Jane Austen novels. Not just the ones written by Jane, but also the sequels, the modern day versions, the novels from another character’s point of view. All of it. Don’t get me wrong; there are bad ones that probably should not have been written. But without the bad, we would never have the good.

Lately, I’ve been into the modern day tellings of her books. When you look for this kind of story, the ones I usually come up with are about Pride & Prejudice. I enjoy P&P immensely, but sometimes you’ve got to switch it up a bit. The most recent book I finished was Persuading Annie, a modern day version of Persuasion. I’m eagerly looking forward to the publication of Northanger Alibi by Jenni James. In it, James retells Northanger Abbey, but instead of the lead character being obsessed with gothic novels, she’s obsessed with the Twilight Saga. Priceless.

In my journey to read all the good Austen I can get my hands on, I have come across a few purists. One in particular, let's call her Liza, only reads Jane Austen's books. She doesn't touch the knock-offs and won't go near the movies. Every image of Sense & Sensibility Liza has in her head came purely from Jane Austen's words and her imagination. She's a bit extreme for my taste.

Do the rest of Jane Austen's fans lose something when they are exposed to new material? Will Colin Firth forever be Mr. Darcy to anyone who's seen the P&P movie? Is that a bad thing?

I think everyone has a right to their own opinion. I read Jane for entertainment. I love her stories and can't get enough of them. Hence, my desire to consume all the good stuff out there. Others read Austen for literary reasons. They can do whatever they like to keep the purest version of the story in their heads. Their discussions will be more accurate for it. As for me, I will continue reading whatever I like.

Persuading Annie

Persuading Annie

by Melissa Nathan

Women's Lives & Relationships/Chick Lit


I have read many, many modern versions of Pride & Prejudice, but this is my first modern version of Jane Austen's Persuasion. Melissa Nathan is a British author, so the book is filled with British phrases and culture. There's even a mild distaste of Americans (yet, somehow, a love of New York?)

As far as the plot goes, it follows Persuasion's really closely with modern situations. Annie is one of three daughters to a very wealthy, very handsome man, George. While she's in college, she thinks she's gotten pregnant by Jake, her boyfriend who she thinks might be the one. Confusion ensues and they break up. Both leave thinking they've been betrayed by the other.

The rest of the story happens seven years later. George's company is going under, so the CFO (and Annie's godmother), Susannah, hires a consulting firm to help save everything. Only Annie and her best friend, Cass, know that this company is owned by Jake.

Oh, do those two hate each other when they meet again. Jake flirts with Sophie (Annie's sister's sister-in-law) in front of Annie. Annie flirts with Edward (the company's CEO) in front of Jake. Eventually, an accident occurs with Sophie in a dark, dangerous alley and all the confusion starts to clear.

If you've read Persuasion, you know what'll happen in the end. If you haven't, what's stopping you? It's my favorite Jane Austen novel, so I'll recommend it to anyone who enjoys any of her works. Persuading Annie is a very quick, light read. You don't have to read Persuasion to enjoy it. If you like any kind of Chick Lit, this is a good choice for your next read.