What Would You Give Up So She Could Live?

A review of Kathleen A. Flynn's novel The Jane Austen Project.

The world of Regency era England meets science fiction...what could go wrong?

Well, as it turns out, lots of things! When characters Rachael and Liam decide to embark on a dangerous mission to the past in order to recover Jane Austen's correspondence with her sister, as well as the manuscript for her unfinished novel The Watsons, they must adapt to a world very different from the one they came from, and navigate the dangerous social ladder of the Regency era.

Together they find that getting to know the Austen family well enough to be accepted into their intimate social circles is not without its dangers - not only of being found out, but also of altering the past in a way that may damage the world they come from.

I absolutely love Jane Austen, so this was a book that I was thrilled to read! While the beginning was somewhat slow, I found myself being drawn more into the story as Rachael and Liam crossed the borders between time and space and entered into Jane Austen's world. The book is very well researched, and it was easy to immerse myself into the world in which Jane Austen lived. It is clear that the author has a very vast knowledge and a deep love for Jane Austen, and the inside look she crafts into the way the famous authoress may have lived is fascinating. The plot twist at the end still has me reeling!

The only drawbacks of this book were the slow pieces, which seemed to drag on for pages and pages, as well as the somewhat confusing introduction of a future world that is very different from our own. I felt jumbled and confused every time Liam or Rachael would discuss the world which they came from, which was clearly meant to be a version of the world in which we live now, as it would be after a massive disaster and massive technological advancements.

That being said, the ending of the book was able to clear up a few elements of the future world that I found confusing, as well as leaving me wanting a sequel! This is the first mix of historical fiction and science fiction that I have ever read, and I was pleasantly surprised by the book as a whole. While there were a few little things that I didn't like, I was able to look past them and still enjoy reading this book immensely. I would recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys Jane Austen, as well as a good science fiction mission.

The Jane Austen Project by Kathleen A. Flynn - 4.5 out of 5 stars