Austenland

Austenland is a novel by Shannon Hale, published on May 9, 2007 by Bloomsbury. It is first in her Austenland series. A film based on the novel was released in 2013.

Plot summary

Austenland tells the story of 30-something Jane Hayes, an average New York woman who secretly has an unhealthy obsession with Mr. Darcy from the BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. But after Jane accidentally reveals her secret to a great aunt, who shortly after dies, Jane gets the opportunity of a lifetime. In her great aunt's will, Jane's great aunt leaves Jane a trip to a Jane Austen–themed getaway destination where Jane hopes to meet her own real life Mr. Darcy.

While at "Austenland", Jane is plagued with self-doubt about pretending to be a woman from the Jane Austen era. However, along the journey Jane makes new friends and finds a new romantic interest.

Reception

Ella Taylor of the Los Angeles Times described the novel as "some lit lite to see you through a day at the beach". Another reviewer summed the work up as "an utterly enjoyable tribute" to the work of Jane Austen. Stephenie Meyer, the author of the Twilight series, declared that the novel was "Adorable! The best tribute to obsessed Austen freaks (like me) that I've ever read."

Austenland (film)

Austenland is a 2013 British-American romantic comedy film directed by Jerusha Hess. Based on Shannon Hale's 2007 novel of the same name and produced by author Stephenie Meyer, it stars Keri Russell as a single thirty-something obsessed with Jane Austen's 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice, who travels to a British resort called Austenland, in which the Austen era is recreated. JJ Feild, Jane Seymour, Bret McKenzie, and Jennifer Coolidge co-star.

Premise

Jane Hayes, a single 30-something who has always harbored a not-so-secret love of all things Austen, blows her life savings on a stay at Austenland, an immersive Jane Austen-themed resort.

Plot

Jane Hayes (Russell) is a single 30-something American woman obsessed with Colin Firth's portrayal of Mr. Darcy in the 1995 BBC version of Pride and Prejudice who wishes for a nice Englishman of her own. After yet another failed relationship, Jane decides to blow her savings on a once-in-a-lifetime trip to a Jane Austen–themed resort in England.