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Jane Austen's Formidables #1
Jane Austen Ruined My Life
English professor Emma Grant has always done everything just the way her minister father told her she should -- a respectable marriage, a teaching job at a good college, and plans for the requisite two children. Life was prodigiously good, as her favorite author Jane Austen might say, until the day Emma finds her husband in bed with another woman. Suddenly, all her romantic notions a la Austen are exposed for the foolish dreams they are. Denied tenure in the wake of the scandal and left penniless by the ensuing divorce, Emma packs up what few worldly possessions she has left and heads to England on a quest to find the missing letters of Jane Austen. Locating the elusive letters, however, isn't as straightforward as Emma hoped. The owner of the letters proves coy about her prize possessions, sending Emma on a series of Austen-related tasks that bring her closer and closer to the truth, but the sudden reappearance of Emma's first love makes everything more complicated. In the end, Emma learns that doing the right thing has very little to do with other people's expectations and everything to do with her own beliefs. Laced with fictional excerpts from the missing letters, Jane Austen Ruined My Life is the story of a woman betrayed who uncovers the deeper meaning of loyalty.
270 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,053 reviews
May 10, 2010
Before a proper review begins...I must rant about something that really bothered me about this book. It's a tiny flaw, but it really gets to me.
If one says "I love Jane Austen, I will write a book about her life and novels..." then one should ensure that every tiny detail is correct. At one point in the novel, the main character (Emma) is talking to Adam about a home in a park and they say it possibly inspired the great homes in Austen's novels. Emma then says that the family in Mansfield Park did not appreciate the beauty of homes because they were too self-involved. That's all fine...but she calls the family the Rushworths. "But I can't imagine a family like the Rushworths living in someplace this elegant." Really?! You love Jane Austen and her novels, but you say that the main family in Mansfield Park is called Rushworth? Seriously?! You write a book about an academic who has dedicated her life to studying Austen's works and you have her say that the family in Mansfield Park is called Rushworth?! AND NO ONE EVER CAUGHT THIS TO CORRECT IT?! What?! The family that LIVES at Mansfield Park is the BERTRAMS! Rushworth is the doofus that marries Maria Bertram!
Ok...beyond that:
The book is like a lightweight Da Vinci Code for Austen fans. I also find it very difficult to understand how this woman can keep blaming Jane Austen for her sad love life when Austen wrote everyone of her leading male characters with flaws. Darcy his pride (and his prejudice against those with lesser means), Wentworth his inability to forgive Anne, and Knightley his constant need to correct Emma and treat her like a child. Yes...they overcome these flaws, but they exist! And...by the end, I was just over the main characters blindness to what she has right in front of her. Ugh.
Cute story...but it could definitely use some work.
If one says "I love Jane Austen, I will write a book about her life and novels..." then one should ensure that every tiny detail is correct. At one point in the novel, the main character (Emma) is talking to Adam about a home in a park and they say it possibly inspired the great homes in Austen's novels. Emma then says that the family in Mansfield Park did not appreciate the beauty of homes because they were too self-involved. That's all fine...but she calls the family the Rushworths. "But I can't imagine a family like the Rushworths living in someplace this elegant." Really?! You love Jane Austen and her novels, but you say that the main family in Mansfield Park is called Rushworth? Seriously?! You write a book about an academic who has dedicated her life to studying Austen's works and you have her say that the family in Mansfield Park is called Rushworth?! AND NO ONE EVER CAUGHT THIS TO CORRECT IT?! What?! The family that LIVES at Mansfield Park is the BERTRAMS! Rushworth is the doofus that marries Maria Bertram!
Ok...beyond that:
The book is like a lightweight Da Vinci Code for Austen fans. I also find it very difficult to understand how this woman can keep blaming Jane Austen for her sad love life when Austen wrote everyone of her leading male characters with flaws. Darcy his pride (and his prejudice against those with lesser means), Wentworth his inability to forgive Anne, and Knightley his constant need to correct Emma and treat her like a child. Yes...they overcome these flaws, but they exist! And...by the end, I was just over the main characters blindness to what she has right in front of her. Ugh.
Cute story...but it could definitely use some work.
January 20, 2010
I have read dozens of Jane Austen spinoffs and this one is pretty good. There were a few things that were entirely unbelievable; namely:
1. I have never met an English professor who dressed in designer clothing. (I have a graduate degree from a British University. I have met many professiors nationally and internationally.)
2. No professor would be fired for plagiarism because of their ex-husband's testimony. The main reason is that every person has a distince voice when they write and those reading Emma's paper would recognize that it was her voice and not that of her teaching assistant (aka husband's mistress).
3. No male would put up with the her emotional rollercoaster and lack of honesty and still find her attractive and marriageable.
4. If you wore Chanel to a West End (London) theatre production you would be terribly overdressed. I've worn jeans.
If you can get over these inaccuracies, it's not a bad book and the end is a surprise.
1. I have never met an English professor who dressed in designer clothing. (I have a graduate degree from a British University. I have met many professiors nationally and internationally.)
2. No professor would be fired for plagiarism because of their ex-husband's testimony. The main reason is that every person has a distince voice when they write and those reading Emma's paper would recognize that it was her voice and not that of her teaching assistant (aka husband's mistress).
3. No male would put up with the her emotional rollercoaster and lack of honesty and still find her attractive and marriageable.
4. If you wore Chanel to a West End (London) theatre production you would be terribly overdressed. I've worn jeans.
If you can get over these inaccuracies, it's not a bad book and the end is a surprise.
February 20, 2015
Pre-judgements on books are always iffy. Without some kind of pre-judgement, without the weighing of cover art and blurb, opening a book cover would be like opening an unlabeled can: will it be beans, or cherry pie filling, or one of those gag snakes-on-springs things? But so often the data available on the outside of the book sets up the wrong expectations (or gives away too much of a mystery, but that's another rant)...
I thought, based on the cute title and the cover photograph of a swooning woman and not much else, that Jane Austen Ruined My Life was going to be sheerest chick lit. A fluffy, funny, maybe occasionally biting romance novel. (Something can be both fluffy and funny and bite - I have been chewed on by many's the puppy.)
It started out that way. It started out fulfilling my expectations as fluff. Here is Emma Grant (speaking of Wrong Cover Blurbs - she's named as Emma Douglas on the back cover, though that may or may not be Edward's name?) on her way to England, leaving the ruins of her life smoking behind her. She discovered her husband in flagrante delicto, and her career as a professor at a prestigious university has been destroyed by a baseless claim of plagiarism. Now, unemployed and financed only by judicious sellings-off, she is flying across the Atlantic on the basis of some mysterious correspondence to get her hands on the letters of Jane Austen - long supposed to have been, at Jane's request, destroyed. With these letters she can "get back at" Jane Austen - Jane, who valued her privacy above all and wanted her letters never to be public; Jane, whose every book ended in a Happily Ever After which Emma has found resembles real life not at all. Jane, whose effect on a girl named Emma was to make her look for and expect her Mr. Knightley. It's all her fault, and exposing her letters to the public will not only be vengeance, but it will also most satisfactorily restore (and launch into the stratosphere) Emma's career. Win-win, with Jane's laundry, hopefully dirty, hung out for all to see.
I knew a little about Jane Austen's life from whichever movie that was that I saw (not that one, the other one), and from general reading, but this did a lovely job of pointing up a few parallels (concrete and apocryphal) between her life and her work. Her situation when her father retired - and then when he died - is very like the Dashwoods' in the same position, except that Jane's brothers were kinder (not much more able to provide, but kinder). There is the fictional parallel between Jack Smith and Harriet Smith, and between Lt. Jack Smith and Captain Frederick Wentworth - how poignant to have Jane rewriting her life as it might have been, and for her sister Cassandra to take the place of Lady Russell. The sisters adored each other in reality, but it's a fascinating idea that Jane's portrayal of Lady Russell, that scheming pompous bitch, was a way to vent her emotions ... Of course, what I just said is the best argument against any such thing, as the family knew the books as well as Jane did, and Jane would not have written to hurt any of them. The only problem with the parallels drawn in the book is that I was saying "Anne" and "Persuasion" chapters and chapters before Emma - and she should have said it long before me.
A more valid parallel is "Jane Austen fainted when they told her they were moving" from their beloved home to Bath: this reminded me of Anne, when because of her father's insolvency they had to pack up and leave. Anne and Jane were both also at the beck and call of their siblings, though where Anne was cosseting her hypochondriac sister, Jane (and Cassandra) were in demand and happy to oblige assisting their beloved siblings with their large broods.
As I said, it started out as fluff, and in fact I was cynically prepared to take umbrage on Jane's behalf ... Somewhere along the line, though, as Emma made her way through a series of tasks set by the letters' guardian; as she - to her surprise, if no one else's - reconnected with her old best friend, long out of touch, who also happened to be a highly attractive English professor; as she became occupied by something other than her own misery ... Somewhere in there it stopped being fluff and became the story of a woman in pain, starting to recover and remember why she's always loved the things she's loved. Like Jane Austen. I admit it: I welled up at the end, for Jane, and for Emma. And for other reasons. The ending probably was not to a lot of readers' tastes - but I thought it was perfect. This is smart and funny and steeped in Austenism (if not entirely reliable as a reference, I believe), and really very human.
And there were some lovely quotes:
"Have some more tea, dear," Hester said, reaching for the pot and refilling my cup. "I always find that helps."
--- --- --- ---
I took my time, running my fingers along the spines of books, stopping to pull a title from the shelf and inspect it. A sense of well-being flowed through me as I circled the ground floor. It was better then meditation or a new pair of shoes- or even chocolate. My life was a disaster, but there were still books. Lots and lots of books. A refuge. A solace. Each one offering the possibility of a new beginning.
I thought, based on the cute title and the cover photograph of a swooning woman and not much else, that Jane Austen Ruined My Life was going to be sheerest chick lit. A fluffy, funny, maybe occasionally biting romance novel. (Something can be both fluffy and funny and bite - I have been chewed on by many's the puppy.)
It started out that way. It started out fulfilling my expectations as fluff. Here is Emma Grant (speaking of Wrong Cover Blurbs - she's named as Emma Douglas on the back cover, though that may or may not be Edward's name?) on her way to England, leaving the ruins of her life smoking behind her. She discovered her husband in flagrante delicto, and her career as a professor at a prestigious university has been destroyed by a baseless claim of plagiarism. Now, unemployed and financed only by judicious sellings-off, she is flying across the Atlantic on the basis of some mysterious correspondence to get her hands on the letters of Jane Austen - long supposed to have been, at Jane's request, destroyed. With these letters she can "get back at" Jane Austen - Jane, who valued her privacy above all and wanted her letters never to be public; Jane, whose every book ended in a Happily Ever After which Emma has found resembles real life not at all. Jane, whose effect on a girl named Emma was to make her look for and expect her Mr. Knightley. It's all her fault, and exposing her letters to the public will not only be vengeance, but it will also most satisfactorily restore (and launch into the stratosphere) Emma's career. Win-win, with Jane's laundry, hopefully dirty, hung out for all to see.
I knew a little about Jane Austen's life from whichever movie that was that I saw (not that one, the other one), and from general reading, but this did a lovely job of pointing up a few parallels (concrete and apocryphal) between her life and her work. Her situation when her father retired - and then when he died - is very like the Dashwoods' in the same position, except that Jane's brothers were kinder (not much more able to provide, but kinder). There is the fictional parallel between Jack Smith and Harriet Smith, and between Lt. Jack Smith and Captain Frederick Wentworth - how poignant to have Jane rewriting her life as it might have been, and for her sister Cassandra to take the place of Lady Russell. The sisters adored each other in reality, but it's a fascinating idea that Jane's portrayal of Lady Russell, that scheming pompous bitch, was a way to vent her emotions ... Of course, what I just said is the best argument against any such thing, as the family knew the books as well as Jane did, and Jane would not have written to hurt any of them. The only problem with the parallels drawn in the book is that I was saying "Anne" and "Persuasion" chapters and chapters before Emma - and she should have said it long before me.
A more valid parallel is "Jane Austen fainted when they told her they were moving" from their beloved home to Bath: this reminded me of Anne, when because of her father's insolvency they had to pack up and leave. Anne and Jane were both also at the beck and call of their siblings, though where Anne was cosseting her hypochondriac sister, Jane (and Cassandra) were in demand and happy to oblige assisting their beloved siblings with their large broods.
As I said, it started out as fluff, and in fact I was cynically prepared to take umbrage on Jane's behalf ... Somewhere along the line, though, as Emma made her way through a series of tasks set by the letters' guardian; as she - to her surprise, if no one else's - reconnected with her old best friend, long out of touch, who also happened to be a highly attractive English professor; as she became occupied by something other than her own misery ... Somewhere in there it stopped being fluff and became the story of a woman in pain, starting to recover and remember why she's always loved the things she's loved. Like Jane Austen. I admit it: I welled up at the end, for Jane, and for Emma. And for other reasons. The ending probably was not to a lot of readers' tastes - but I thought it was perfect. This is smart and funny and steeped in Austenism (if not entirely reliable as a reference, I believe), and really very human.
And there were some lovely quotes:
"Have some more tea, dear," Hester said, reaching for the pot and refilling my cup. "I always find that helps."
--- --- --- ---
I took my time, running my fingers along the spines of books, stopping to pull a title from the shelf and inspect it. A sense of well-being flowed through me as I circled the ground floor. It was better then meditation or a new pair of shoes- or even chocolate. My life was a disaster, but there were still books. Lots and lots of books. A refuge. A solace. Each one offering the possibility of a new beginning.
September 11, 2012
Just finished this book and I can't even say what it was about. I can't even say if there was a moral to the story or what the purpose of the telling was. There was a bit of a 'treasure' hunt involving unknown Jane Austen letters, in which the character, Emma, was sent to various places, perform a task, then open an envelope and read a copy of the letter.
I think the point of this hunt was to show Emma something. But, I can't figure out what it was! She came off a divorce to a snake of a guy who cost her her university position. I guess these tasks were to show her to stand on her own two feet, make her own choices and make her own happiness? But reading the book I got the message that in order for her to live happily ever after she couldn't do it with a man in her life. No wait, it was that she would live happily ever after if she gave another man in her life a second chance. No wait, she blames Jane Austen for creating the ultimate romantic guy and now realizes there is no such thing. No wait, there is no such thing as living happily ever after!
WTF?
Emma decides in order to be happy she has to cut off all men in her life and be more independent. I guess she figures that then she will get a good job and be successful. However, upon this decision, she tells me that she will be going home to live with her parents and her father will get her a teaching job! So, not only doesn't she still get it, she hurts the man who has loved her for years, still blames Jane Austen, and she is still not independent.
WTF?
I think this is a train wreck of a story. I am so disappointed. I will try another of this author's books but if it goes the way of this story, I'm done.
I think the point of this hunt was to show Emma something. But, I can't figure out what it was! She came off a divorce to a snake of a guy who cost her her university position. I guess these tasks were to show her to stand on her own two feet, make her own choices and make her own happiness? But reading the book I got the message that in order for her to live happily ever after she couldn't do it with a man in her life. No wait, it was that she would live happily ever after if she gave another man in her life a second chance. No wait, she blames Jane Austen for creating the ultimate romantic guy and now realizes there is no such thing. No wait, there is no such thing as living happily ever after!
WTF?
Emma decides in order to be happy she has to cut off all men in her life and be more independent. I guess she figures that then she will get a good job and be successful. However, upon this decision, she tells me that she will be going home to live with her parents and her father will get her a teaching job! So, not only doesn't she still get it, she hurts the man who has loved her for years, still blames Jane Austen, and she is still not independent.
WTF?
I think this is a train wreck of a story. I am so disappointed. I will try another of this author's books but if it goes the way of this story, I'm done.
February 12, 2012
Throughout the whole book I kept saying to myself, "at least this story will end well...the end will make up for everything." And then I finally got to the end and was...even more disappointed.
The two major things that I think turned me off was ONE, the main character. I never connected with her. She came off as self-centered and hard hearted and remained that way to the very end. Everything was about her. She was on this journey to discover secrets about Jane Austen and I kept thinking that at some point she would have this breakthrough that would change her whole perspective on life and love but it never happened!! Even Adam, poor Adam, who loved her said that their whole "relationship" had been about her and what she wanted but she never acknowledged that he was right or changed her ways. It was sorta like, "I'm sorry, but that's just the way I am so lets move on"
And then the ending! It just didn't work for me.
The two major things that I think turned me off was ONE, the main character. I never connected with her. She came off as self-centered and hard hearted and remained that way to the very end. Everything was about her. She was on this journey to discover secrets about Jane Austen and I kept thinking that at some point she would have this breakthrough that would change her whole perspective on life and love but it never happened!! Even Adam, poor Adam, who loved her said that their whole "relationship" had been about her and what she wanted but she never acknowledged that he was right or changed her ways. It was sorta like, "I'm sorry, but that's just the way I am so lets move on"
And then the ending! It just didn't work for me.
November 22, 2015
I stayed up late into the night to finish this and I like my sleep so that just shows I was pretty gripped. I have to confess that I’m not a die hard Jane Austen fan; I’ve only read P&P thus far, so I wouldn’t know how real fans of Austen would feel about this book.
Emma (figures her name would be Emma or something like that) decides to go to England for a change of scenery. After divorcing her husband and losing her job as a professor she could use it, but that is not the only reason why she goes to England. Emma is looking for Jane Austen's missing letters to salvage her career. She finds unexpectedly a long lost friend and there are tasks that Emma has to undergo in order to read the letters.
There are some funny moments and it is an overall light read. Emma gets pretty emotional sometimes-does a lot of crying. There is a romance going on too of course. Overall it's a recipe for a perfect chick-lit.
Emma herself didn't really convince me that she was a professor, much less an English professor (Jane Austen her specialty of course). I know this is nit-picking but she says "ditto" once. It's not that I hate it when people use ditto, I just think you couldn't think of anything else? But for an English professor I was annoyed. I thought, Come on this guy (love interest) is pouring his heart out to you and all you have to say is ditto!
Anyways, other than that it was a fun book. The ending kind of surprised me because it's not what I expected but I could deal with it.
Emma (figures her name would be Emma or something like that) decides to go to England for a change of scenery. After divorcing her husband and losing her job as a professor she could use it, but that is not the only reason why she goes to England. Emma is looking for Jane Austen's missing letters to salvage her career. She finds unexpectedly a long lost friend and there are tasks that Emma has to undergo in order to read the letters.
There are some funny moments and it is an overall light read. Emma gets pretty emotional sometimes-does a lot of crying. There is a romance going on too of course. Overall it's a recipe for a perfect chick-lit.
Emma herself didn't really convince me that she was a professor, much less an English professor (Jane Austen her specialty of course). I know this is nit-picking but she says "ditto" once. It's not that I hate it when people use ditto, I just think you couldn't think of anything else? But for an English professor I was annoyed. I thought, Come on this guy (love interest) is pouring his heart out to you and all you have to say is ditto!
Anyways, other than that it was a fun book. The ending kind of surprised me because it's not what I expected but I could deal with it.
March 8, 2009
I picked this up at the bookstore the other day because it looked entertaining. (What Austen fan could resist that title?) In the end, this book wasn't really what I expected. Yes, it was a bit fomulaic with all the elements you would expect from Chick Lit, but it also had some interesting insights. Maybe it's because of where I'm at in my life, but it hit me just a little bit deeper than the typical Chick Lit would and gave me some things to think about. All in all, an enjoyable way to spend an afternoon.
October 28, 2023
With such a provacative title, I couldn't resist. Because she has ruined my romantic sensibilities or at least my husband tells me so. This book is about an English professor who has recently divorced her husband after finding him on the kitchen table with her teaching asst. Circumstances lead her to merry old England where she is led through Jane Austen's world on a series of tasks to discover the keys to a plethora of "missing" Austen letters. What these letters say and and how they turn Emma's life around, is only part of the adventure... because you know, any Austen loving author worth her salt can't write a novel without throwing in a dashing hero, a rogue and a rake. I only wish this story were true -- then I could have some personal closure.
Patillo is a gifted writer. I was unsure where the facts and the fantasy began. After the resurgence of interest in all things Jane Austen, this book was a terrific and refreshing adventure.
On a side note: If this story had the clear, happy ending that Jane Austen has so thoroughly taught me to expect -- then I could have easily merited this work with a deserving 5 stars. But since it ends, well, a little too up to chance, I regret, 4stars is going to have to do. Sorry.
Patillo is a gifted writer. I was unsure where the facts and the fantasy began. After the resurgence of interest in all things Jane Austen, this book was a terrific and refreshing adventure.
On a side note: If this story had the clear, happy ending that Jane Austen has so thoroughly taught me to expect -- then I could have easily merited this work with a deserving 5 stars. But since it ends, well, a little too up to chance, I regret, 4stars is going to have to do. Sorry.
February 24, 2013
Oh my goodness. OOOOOOOOOHHHHHH!!! I can't even think of the proper typed word to truly express how angry the ending of this book made me. I seriously can't find the word. Do you believe in Happily Ever After? Do you like to read stories about Happily Ever Afters? Well, if so, please keep away from this book. I happen to believe in HEA. I believe that HEA is possible for all of us. What my HEA might look like might be a lot different than yours, but I do believe in it. Does HEA mean that life is all puppies and flowers? No. HEA takes work. The road can be bumpy. But HEA is possible. But you have to reach for it. Simply because there are jerks in the world doesn't mean that HEA is a silly pipe dream. It just means that there are jerks in the world. Okay. Enough of my rant. For now.
Jane Austen Ruined My Life is the story of Emma, a college lit professor whose marriage fell apart after she caught her husband in a compromising position with a grad student. Then, to make matters worse, this grad student somehow cooked up a scheme to accuse Emma of plagiarism. Her ex-husband, Edward, supports the grad student. Emma is fired in disgrace. Now Emma has traveled to the UK with her last dollar in order to check out a possible connection to several lost letters by Jane Austen in some sort of strange plan to prove Austen as a fraud for making Emma believe that such a thing as HEA actually exists. This involves top secret meetings with an old lady who is a member of the Formidables, a super top secret society of women who supposedly keep the secret of Jane Austen's lost letters. Throw in Adam, Emma's great friend from ten years earlier, who stopped hanging around after Emma chose to marry Edward. Now he's back, possibly working against Emma's plans involving the letters, but also causing Emma to have something happen to her that she doesn't like so much ... warm, fuzzy feelings. Then there is Barry, the surfer-dude college professor who shows up at convenient times to try and kiss Emma ... even though he just randomly met her days earlier. Emma's still dealing with her divorce and Edward's horrible betrayal. She is still trying to rebuild her academic reputation. And there's the story ... all taking place in the areas of the UK where Jane Austen worked and lived.
Let me start with the good. This story had lots of good potential. Lots. I love Jane Austen stories. I loved the idea of exploring her life and ideas of romance. The scenes that were set up in Austen's world as Emma imagined how Austen might have experienced the joys and heartache of the world around her was truly fascinating. It was interesting to imagine how her life might have played out romantically and how that would have shown through in her novels. So the premise for this book was wonderful. I even could see how some of Austen's life as portrayed in this book might have mirrored the experiences that Emma was having in the modern world. So many parallels could have been formed. ... but it didn't happen.
I liked Adam. A lot. Frankly I thought he was more patient than any person could actually be in real life. But it was okay. In fact, I really wish there had been even more of him throughout this book. It didn't need to be a full blown romance, but it would have been nice to get to know him a bit more and see this great friendship that was supposed to exist between Adam and Emma. There just wasn't enough interaction between the two of them to warrant the feelings that both of them express by the end of the book. I rooted for them, but I felt weird about it.
One small thing I didn't like ... Barry. As far as a character he was nice enough. I didn't really have any problem with who he was as a fictional human being. The problem I had with him was his role in this entire novel. Why did he exist at all? He seemed to pop up at weird times and behave in ways that people don't do in normal situations. Who begs a woman to "give him a chance" after only a few moments together? His emotions seemed to be stronger than the situations called for. And then when his true role in everything comes to the forefront, it seemed to just be thrown out there, a little tidbit for me to swallow, without any further exploration of that topic. I think the story would have improved if he was not part of it.
Ultimately, however, the reason I cannot give this book a higher rating is because of the protagonist of this story, Emma. I did not like her. Not at all. I recognize that she is in a wicked spot. Absolutely horrible. She is entitled to her time to grieve for the life that she has lost. But at a certain point as a reader I want to see this woman rise from the ashes of her life like a phoenix and be reborn. I want to see the triumph over the heartbreak. That's why I keep reading. I want the HEA. Here's the deal ... I don't think that a HEA needs to involve a romantic wedding at the end of the book. I don't even necessarily think that it needs to involve finding Mr. Right. But what happened in this book was so anti-climatic. It was just a giant pile of nothing. Maybe that flies in real life. Maybe. But after I spend a day or two immersed in a book, I don't like to end with a giant pile of nothing. I want resolution. I want hope. I want something. And in this book I don't feel like I got that. Emma has some serious trust issues. She doesn't particularly trust or like men in general. And after being burned as she has, it makes sense that she would feel this. I don't blame her for those feelings. But by the end of the book I wanted her to realize that she was allowing Edward to define all of humanity, and that was not fair. I wanted for her to see that it was okay for her to risk her heart again for love. I wanted for her to have something. When she remarks that she is the one to blame for her unhappiness I was thrilled. Finally she would be able to move on. But she didn't. Here's where I have to include a spoiler ... I understand Emma's need to get herself together and not rely on a man to get her there. But I don't agree. There is nothing wrong with going through life and facing life's challenges with a partner. That doesn't make us weak. I just felt like this book implies that relying on one another in a relationship is somehow undesirable. And that irritated me. I couldn't stand Emma because I felt like she treated Adam horribly. I felt like she treated Barry horribly. I felt like she treated Mrs. Parrot horribly. And I couldn't move past those feelings in order to enjoy the better parts of this book.
I actually was planning on giving this book three stars originally. It is a quick read that, for the most part, was enjoyable. Until the ending, I would have said that the biggest problem in this book was tht I wanted to see the relationships (not just the romantic ones, but ALL the relationships) developed more fully. But after that ending I can only give this book two stars. It just disappointed me too much. But if you are a big Austen fan and are interested in getting a little taste of what her world might have been like, you might find this one to your liking. Two stars.
Jane Austen Ruined My Life is the story of Emma, a college lit professor whose marriage fell apart after she caught her husband in a compromising position with a grad student. Then, to make matters worse, this grad student somehow cooked up a scheme to accuse Emma of plagiarism. Her ex-husband, Edward, supports the grad student. Emma is fired in disgrace. Now Emma has traveled to the UK with her last dollar in order to check out a possible connection to several lost letters by Jane Austen in some sort of strange plan to prove Austen as a fraud for making Emma believe that such a thing as HEA actually exists. This involves top secret meetings with an old lady who is a member of the Formidables, a super top secret society of women who supposedly keep the secret of Jane Austen's lost letters. Throw in Adam, Emma's great friend from ten years earlier, who stopped hanging around after Emma chose to marry Edward. Now he's back, possibly working against Emma's plans involving the letters, but also causing Emma to have something happen to her that she doesn't like so much ... warm, fuzzy feelings. Then there is Barry, the surfer-dude college professor who shows up at convenient times to try and kiss Emma ... even though he just randomly met her days earlier. Emma's still dealing with her divorce and Edward's horrible betrayal. She is still trying to rebuild her academic reputation. And there's the story ... all taking place in the areas of the UK where Jane Austen worked and lived.
Let me start with the good. This story had lots of good potential. Lots. I love Jane Austen stories. I loved the idea of exploring her life and ideas of romance. The scenes that were set up in Austen's world as Emma imagined how Austen might have experienced the joys and heartache of the world around her was truly fascinating. It was interesting to imagine how her life might have played out romantically and how that would have shown through in her novels. So the premise for this book was wonderful. I even could see how some of Austen's life as portrayed in this book might have mirrored the experiences that Emma was having in the modern world. So many parallels could have been formed. ... but it didn't happen.
I liked Adam. A lot. Frankly I thought he was more patient than any person could actually be in real life. But it was okay. In fact, I really wish there had been even more of him throughout this book. It didn't need to be a full blown romance, but it would have been nice to get to know him a bit more and see this great friendship that was supposed to exist between Adam and Emma. There just wasn't enough interaction between the two of them to warrant the feelings that both of them express by the end of the book. I rooted for them, but I felt weird about it.
One small thing I didn't like ... Barry. As far as a character he was nice enough. I didn't really have any problem with who he was as a fictional human being. The problem I had with him was his role in this entire novel. Why did he exist at all? He seemed to pop up at weird times and behave in ways that people don't do in normal situations. Who begs a woman to "give him a chance" after only a few moments together? His emotions seemed to be stronger than the situations called for. And then when his true role in everything comes to the forefront, it seemed to just be thrown out there, a little tidbit for me to swallow, without any further exploration of that topic. I think the story would have improved if he was not part of it.
Ultimately, however, the reason I cannot give this book a higher rating is because of the protagonist of this story, Emma. I did not like her. Not at all. I recognize that she is in a wicked spot. Absolutely horrible. She is entitled to her time to grieve for the life that she has lost. But at a certain point as a reader I want to see this woman rise from the ashes of her life like a phoenix and be reborn. I want to see the triumph over the heartbreak. That's why I keep reading. I want the HEA. Here's the deal ... I don't think that a HEA needs to involve a romantic wedding at the end of the book. I don't even necessarily think that it needs to involve finding Mr. Right. But what happened in this book was so anti-climatic. It was just a giant pile of nothing. Maybe that flies in real life. Maybe. But after I spend a day or two immersed in a book, I don't like to end with a giant pile of nothing. I want resolution. I want hope. I want something. And in this book I don't feel like I got that. Emma has some serious trust issues. She doesn't particularly trust or like men in general. And after being burned as she has, it makes sense that she would feel this. I don't blame her for those feelings. But by the end of the book I wanted her to realize that she was allowing Edward to define all of humanity, and that was not fair. I wanted for her to see that it was okay for her to risk her heart again for love. I wanted for her to have something. When she remarks that she is the one to blame for her unhappiness I was thrilled. Finally she would be able to move on. But she didn't. Here's where I have to include a spoiler ... I understand Emma's need to get herself together and not rely on a man to get her there. But I don't agree. There is nothing wrong with going through life and facing life's challenges with a partner. That doesn't make us weak. I just felt like this book implies that relying on one another in a relationship is somehow undesirable. And that irritated me. I couldn't stand Emma because I felt like she treated Adam horribly. I felt like she treated Barry horribly. I felt like she treated Mrs. Parrot horribly. And I couldn't move past those feelings in order to enjoy the better parts of this book.
I actually was planning on giving this book three stars originally. It is a quick read that, for the most part, was enjoyable. Until the ending, I would have said that the biggest problem in this book was tht I wanted to see the relationships (not just the romantic ones, but ALL the relationships) developed more fully. But after that ending I can only give this book two stars. It just disappointed me too much. But if you are a big Austen fan and are interested in getting a little taste of what her world might have been like, you might find this one to your liking. Two stars.
June 15, 2010
A fun book for any Jane Austen lover!
Fresh off an ugly divorce from her cheating husband, who also ruined her career, Emma goes on a pilgrimage to England to find the lost letters of Jane Austen. Emma is an Austen professor, an Austen fanatic, an Austen "junkie", as she sets out on her quest in hopes of restoring her credibility and reputation. What she restores is her faith and hope in all things Jane Austen...and herself.
"It's hard for modern-day people to imagine how lives used to be changed by the receipt of a letter. Today, bad news comes over the phone, in an e-mail, or via a text message. But in Jane Austen's day, important information had to travel by post, and so many historical, life-changing moments still rest upon the pages for us to witness."
Jane Austen's life was recorded in her letters, but her sister, Cassandra, is believed to have destroyed Jane's letters before her death, leaving her fans without the knowledge of several years of her life. Thus, much of Austen's life remains a mystery, adding to the magic of her novels. This much is true. We also know from our literary texts that Jane Austen never married - but how could the woman who penned some of the greatest love stories ever told not have found her own true love?
Beth Pattillo takes us on a wonderful journey to help fill in some of the gaps in Austen's personal life with a fictional tale of a secret society known as The Formidables, who swore to secrecy and to protect the lost letters of Jane Austen. She takes us from Austen's humble birthplace, her family's retreat in Bath, several stops in between, and finally to her last home where she spent her final days. This is not the fan-lit that is so popular now, taking Jane Austen's books and retelling them or creating would-be sequels. This is a book all unto its own.
If you loved Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion, Emma and Sense and Sensibility as I did, you will thoroughly enjoy reading this lovely story of how these novels might have given us some clues into Jane Austen's true love life. Did she find her Mr. Darcy? Her Mr. Knightly?
I will say, if you have not read Austen's classics, you might miss a few key references, like the Cobb from the scene in Persuasion where Louisa Musgrove jumped from the higher level of the Cobb instead of the lower steps, expecting Captain Wentworth to catch her. Even though Pattillo reminds us of the scene, it may not resonate with readers who haven't read the novel and feel a connection to it. Jane Austen's novels move me to laughter and tears, and reading Jane Austen Ruined My Life was pure joy. I read it in one day, I couldn't put it down.
The only thing I would change about this book is the ending, which of course I won't give away. Still, I enjoyed this book so much that I have Beth Pattillo's Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart on my nightstand, and I can't wait to read that one!
If you are a lover of Austen's novels as I am, read this book. It's a wonderful, light, fun story, and one that I had to keep reminding myself was fiction. I so wanted it to be true.
Fresh off an ugly divorce from her cheating husband, who also ruined her career, Emma goes on a pilgrimage to England to find the lost letters of Jane Austen. Emma is an Austen professor, an Austen fanatic, an Austen "junkie", as she sets out on her quest in hopes of restoring her credibility and reputation. What she restores is her faith and hope in all things Jane Austen...and herself.
"It's hard for modern-day people to imagine how lives used to be changed by the receipt of a letter. Today, bad news comes over the phone, in an e-mail, or via a text message. But in Jane Austen's day, important information had to travel by post, and so many historical, life-changing moments still rest upon the pages for us to witness."
Jane Austen's life was recorded in her letters, but her sister, Cassandra, is believed to have destroyed Jane's letters before her death, leaving her fans without the knowledge of several years of her life. Thus, much of Austen's life remains a mystery, adding to the magic of her novels. This much is true. We also know from our literary texts that Jane Austen never married - but how could the woman who penned some of the greatest love stories ever told not have found her own true love?
Beth Pattillo takes us on a wonderful journey to help fill in some of the gaps in Austen's personal life with a fictional tale of a secret society known as The Formidables, who swore to secrecy and to protect the lost letters of Jane Austen. She takes us from Austen's humble birthplace, her family's retreat in Bath, several stops in between, and finally to her last home where she spent her final days. This is not the fan-lit that is so popular now, taking Jane Austen's books and retelling them or creating would-be sequels. This is a book all unto its own.
If you loved Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion, Emma and Sense and Sensibility as I did, you will thoroughly enjoy reading this lovely story of how these novels might have given us some clues into Jane Austen's true love life. Did she find her Mr. Darcy? Her Mr. Knightly?
I will say, if you have not read Austen's classics, you might miss a few key references, like the Cobb from the scene in Persuasion where Louisa Musgrove jumped from the higher level of the Cobb instead of the lower steps, expecting Captain Wentworth to catch her. Even though Pattillo reminds us of the scene, it may not resonate with readers who haven't read the novel and feel a connection to it. Jane Austen's novels move me to laughter and tears, and reading Jane Austen Ruined My Life was pure joy. I read it in one day, I couldn't put it down.
The only thing I would change about this book is the ending, which of course I won't give away. Still, I enjoyed this book so much that I have Beth Pattillo's Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart on my nightstand, and I can't wait to read that one!
If you are a lover of Austen's novels as I am, read this book. It's a wonderful, light, fun story, and one that I had to keep reminding myself was fiction. I so wanted it to be true.
August 13, 2016
I really wasn't sure what to expect when I started this book, but since I had enjoyed the author's Betsy books, I was reasonably certain I'd enjoy this one.
I didn't just enjoy this book, I absolutely loved it. It was partly due to the fact that I adore Jane Austen and reread her books at least once every year.
The parallels the storyline took with Austen's novel plots was both poignant and surprising. I'm sure I didn't describe that adequately, but there it is. There were several points at which I teared up with the poignancy of the story, and other times I was gasping in surprise and delight.
It's rather a big deal for me to like a book I cried over, because in general I hate books that make me cry. (Give me a suspense or a comedy any day over a women's fiction or literary book. Life has enough pain that I don't care to be slugged with it in the pages of a novel.) But I truly loved this book even though it also made me cry.
The heroine had a great backstory that made her very sympathetic. She was extremely flawed and believable. Her friend Adam was a bit bland, but since the book is all about her and it's in her POV, that didn't ruin the story for me.
The ending was unexpected but I thought entirely appropriate considering what the message of the story was.
Bottom line: A fantastic book and one of the best Christian fiction books I've read in a long time.
I didn't just enjoy this book, I absolutely loved it. It was partly due to the fact that I adore Jane Austen and reread her books at least once every year.
The parallels the storyline took with Austen's novel plots was both poignant and surprising. I'm sure I didn't describe that adequately, but there it is. There were several points at which I teared up with the poignancy of the story, and other times I was gasping in surprise and delight.
It's rather a big deal for me to like a book I cried over, because in general I hate books that make me cry. (Give me a suspense or a comedy any day over a women's fiction or literary book. Life has enough pain that I don't care to be slugged with it in the pages of a novel.) But I truly loved this book even though it also made me cry.
The heroine had a great backstory that made her very sympathetic. She was extremely flawed and believable. Her friend Adam was a bit bland, but since the book is all about her and it's in her POV, that didn't ruin the story for me.
The ending was unexpected but I thought entirely appropriate considering what the message of the story was.
Bottom line: A fantastic book and one of the best Christian fiction books I've read in a long time.
January 28, 2011
Pleasant little chick lit book. Let's face it, if one is a Jane Austen fan of any proportions, one will read any damned thing with her name in the title. I'm guilty. I started the book on Wednesday evening and finished it on Thursday afternoon -- which gives you some sense of the complexity or lack thereof.
Happily, the book doesn't foist a framework of an Austen novel (or multiple Austen novels) on the modern heroine's life. Rather, we have a charming travelogue of Austenesque locales while reviewing the somewhat intriguing life of our heroine, named Emma (natch). It's no spoiler (since it's on the back cover) to note that Emma's left for England in the shadow of both a divorce from her philandering husband and an (untrue) accusation of academic plagiarism by the husband's lover (and her own teaching assistant). It's enough to make any Austentite worth her dancing shoes and belief in a happy ending cross the pond.
Once in England, Emma faces puzzles of the academic, romantic and mysterious variety, and the reader goes along for the ride. It's a fizzy confection that goes flat upon reflection, but it was a nice enough read. I'd term this a perfect AIRPLANE READ, because you could finish off the whole thing on a cross-country flight, then give it to your hostess or send it to a new home via Bookcrossing http://www.bookcrossing.com without having to shlep it around with you.
Happily, the book doesn't foist a framework of an Austen novel (or multiple Austen novels) on the modern heroine's life. Rather, we have a charming travelogue of Austenesque locales while reviewing the somewhat intriguing life of our heroine, named Emma (natch). It's no spoiler (since it's on the back cover) to note that Emma's left for England in the shadow of both a divorce from her philandering husband and an (untrue) accusation of academic plagiarism by the husband's lover (and her own teaching assistant). It's enough to make any Austentite worth her dancing shoes and belief in a happy ending cross the pond.
Once in England, Emma faces puzzles of the academic, romantic and mysterious variety, and the reader goes along for the ride. It's a fizzy confection that goes flat upon reflection, but it was a nice enough read. I'd term this a perfect AIRPLANE READ, because you could finish off the whole thing on a cross-country flight, then give it to your hostess or send it to a new home via Bookcrossing http://www.bookcrossing.com without having to shlep it around with you.
January 8, 2010
Could Jane Austen ruin your life?
American college professor Emma Grant always does the right thing and expects the same from others. She acquired her expectations from her minister father and her favorite author Jane Austen, who both taught her to believe in the happily-ever-after. Life was turning out as planned until she unexpectedly discovers her husband’s affair with her teaching assistant who in turn falsely accuses her of plagiarizing another author’s work. An academic scandal ensues prompting an investigation and removal from her prestigious teaching position, denunciation by academia, and an ugly divorce leaving poor Emma at a turning point in her life. She had always believed in the possibility of finding her Mr. Darcy or Mr. Knightley and settling down to martial bliss. How could Jane Austen have ruined her life?
Without a job, husband, reputation or money, she packs up and off to London on the invitation of an elderly woman Mrs. Parrot who claims to have a stash of undocumented letters written by Jane Austen. If this woman’s claims are true, they might be the famous missing letters that Jane Austen’s sister Cassandra inherited after her death in 1817 and supposedly burned deeming them to personal for public view. If authenticated, they represented the ultimate Holy Grail of Austenalia and the ticket to Emma’s academic and personal happiness. The enigmatic Mrs. Parrot is not quite ready to just hand them over to anyone, even if they have been summoned to her house. Emma must prove her worthiness to Mrs. Parrot, one of the ‘Formindables’, a secret society of devoted Janeites named after Jane’s own moniker of herself and sister Cassandra in their later years. Mrs. Parrot sends Emma on a series of Austen related tasks/tests to prove she’s up to snuff visiting Steventon, Chawton, Bath and other Austen haunts. Along the way she encounters many coincidences including a reappearance after ten years of a previous boyfriend Adam and a new man Barry who just happens to pop up unexpectedly along her journey all adding to the mystery surrounding the letters and their importance.
Jane Austen Ruined My Life is an intriguing and quick read that succeeds on so many levels by blending accurate biographical and historical information about Jane Austen’s life and works (major kudos to Pattillo) with a contemporary adventure romance that at times is reminiscent of The Last Templar where the heroine is thrown into a quest to discover ancient information that will change our current perceptions. Austen enthusiast will appreciate discovering all the Jane Austen lore and references, and romance readers will identify with the modern heroine and her adventure. Anglophiles will enjoy the added benefit of Ms. Pattillo’s past residence and many trips to England as she describes familiar haunts in London and Jane Austen travel destinations with aplomb. My one quibble is that Emma’s romantic decision could have ended differently. Obliviously, I am not as evolved as the heroine yet, and expect my Jane Austen happily-ever-after!
Laurel Ann, Austenprose
American college professor Emma Grant always does the right thing and expects the same from others. She acquired her expectations from her minister father and her favorite author Jane Austen, who both taught her to believe in the happily-ever-after. Life was turning out as planned until she unexpectedly discovers her husband’s affair with her teaching assistant who in turn falsely accuses her of plagiarizing another author’s work. An academic scandal ensues prompting an investigation and removal from her prestigious teaching position, denunciation by academia, and an ugly divorce leaving poor Emma at a turning point in her life. She had always believed in the possibility of finding her Mr. Darcy or Mr. Knightley and settling down to martial bliss. How could Jane Austen have ruined her life?
Without a job, husband, reputation or money, she packs up and off to London on the invitation of an elderly woman Mrs. Parrot who claims to have a stash of undocumented letters written by Jane Austen. If this woman’s claims are true, they might be the famous missing letters that Jane Austen’s sister Cassandra inherited after her death in 1817 and supposedly burned deeming them to personal for public view. If authenticated, they represented the ultimate Holy Grail of Austenalia and the ticket to Emma’s academic and personal happiness. The enigmatic Mrs. Parrot is not quite ready to just hand them over to anyone, even if they have been summoned to her house. Emma must prove her worthiness to Mrs. Parrot, one of the ‘Formindables’, a secret society of devoted Janeites named after Jane’s own moniker of herself and sister Cassandra in their later years. Mrs. Parrot sends Emma on a series of Austen related tasks/tests to prove she’s up to snuff visiting Steventon, Chawton, Bath and other Austen haunts. Along the way she encounters many coincidences including a reappearance after ten years of a previous boyfriend Adam and a new man Barry who just happens to pop up unexpectedly along her journey all adding to the mystery surrounding the letters and their importance.
Jane Austen Ruined My Life is an intriguing and quick read that succeeds on so many levels by blending accurate biographical and historical information about Jane Austen’s life and works (major kudos to Pattillo) with a contemporary adventure romance that at times is reminiscent of The Last Templar where the heroine is thrown into a quest to discover ancient information that will change our current perceptions. Austen enthusiast will appreciate discovering all the Jane Austen lore and references, and romance readers will identify with the modern heroine and her adventure. Anglophiles will enjoy the added benefit of Ms. Pattillo’s past residence and many trips to England as she describes familiar haunts in London and Jane Austen travel destinations with aplomb. My one quibble is that Emma’s romantic decision could have ended differently. Obliviously, I am not as evolved as the heroine yet, and expect my Jane Austen happily-ever-after!
Laurel Ann, Austenprose
May 8, 2009
***Possible Spoilers***
With a title like that, one would think this book is just another Austen inspired piece of fluff, right?
Not exactly. JARML is predictable in that there is the heroine, the good guy, and the bad guy. Most of the similarities end there. In this story, the heroine, Emma (a JA scholar), already had her happily ever after. Or so she thought. Turned out the guy was a total jerk.
So in the aftermath of a ruined marriage as well as a ruined career, Emma heads off to London where she partakes in a Da Vinci Code-like quest to find Jane Austen's missing letters so she can hold her head up amongst her literary peers again.
In the midst of all that, she falls in love with 'good guy' and finds out the truth about 'bad guy,' but the ending is not what you think. Half of me commends the author for going against convention, but the other half of me wants to give Emma a good thorough shake.
This was a light, easy read. More mystery than romance, which is something I liked about it but more traditional chick-lit readers may not.
If I could I'd rate it 3 1/2 stars. The premise is good. The characters overall were blah.
With a title like that, one would think this book is just another Austen inspired piece of fluff, right?
Not exactly. JARML is predictable in that there is the heroine, the good guy, and the bad guy. Most of the similarities end there. In this story, the heroine, Emma (a JA scholar), already had her happily ever after. Or so she thought. Turned out the guy was a total jerk.
So in the aftermath of a ruined marriage as well as a ruined career, Emma heads off to London where she partakes in a Da Vinci Code-like quest to find Jane Austen's missing letters so she can hold her head up amongst her literary peers again.
In the midst of all that, she falls in love with 'good guy' and finds out the truth about 'bad guy,' but the ending is not what you think. Half of me commends the author for going against convention, but the other half of me wants to give Emma a good thorough shake.
This was a light, easy read. More mystery than romance, which is something I liked about it but more traditional chick-lit readers may not.
If I could I'd rate it 3 1/2 stars. The premise is good. The characters overall were blah.
February 13, 2010
What a provocative title! Are Jane Austen fans in danger of having unsuccessful marriages and relationships because they aspire to find their own Mr. Darcy? Has reading too many happy endings deluded women into a believing that their life can be as perfect and carefree as in a fairy tale? And, is Jane Austen to blame for this false sense of happily ever after?
Our heroine of this novel, Emma Grant, seems to think so! Poor Emma has suffered from some serious disappointments in her life. She married a man she thought was her older and wiser Mr. Knightley and recently caught him in that act of adultery with her teaching assistant. That same teaching assistant has accused Emma of plagiarism (a claim supported by Emma's ex-husband), which resulted in Emma's dismissal from her university position and irreversible damage to her reputation.
While devastated that her marriage did not have the happy ending she was expecting, Emma still hopes that her career may be salvaged by making a new discovery concerning Jane Austen. Like many Austen scholars, Emma has wondered: What were the unknown secrets of Jane Austen's life. What occurred in those years where there is no correspondence or recorded writing attempts? What was in those letters that Cassandra destroyed? And most importantly, what if those letters weren't destroyed after all...
Emma embarks upon a journey to London, England where she intends to find these lost letters of Jane Austen and publish them. However, there are a few surprises in store for Emma such as living under the same roof as her estranged former best friend and discovering the existence of a secret society devoted to the preservation of Jane Austen's lost letters, to name a few.
“Jane Austen Ruined My Life” is an enthralling novel that was engaging and light. I loved the idea of a secret society of select Austen scholars safely guarding a massive collection of lost letters belonging to Jane Austen. In addition, I greatly enjoyed the “unknown” love story Ms. Pattillo cultivated between Jane Austen and another man. I took pleasure in touring many famous Austen haunts with Emma in this novel including: Chawton Cottage, Stevenson Rectory, and the National Portrait Gallery where Cassandra Austen's pencil and watercolor portrait of her sister is on display. These scenes were so vividly depicted I felt I was there myself.
What I didn't like about this novel was the ending; this book was like one of those trips where you enjoy the ride more than the destination. Like any Austen heroine, Emma gains new understanding about herself and what she needs to do with her life by the end of the book. While Emma does make some good decisions about her life at the close of this novel, we unfortunately don't get to see them all pan out including the romance between her and her former best friend, Adam.
Although Emma originally vowed that it was Jane Austen that ruined her life, she learns a difficult and valuable lesson about being responsible for making your own happiness and successes in life. While many of the couples in Jane Austen's novels may be perfectly matched, I don't think Jane Austen intended for us to believe that their marriages were “pictures of perfection.”
I recommend this book for readers who enjoy Jane Austen chick-lit, however, if you are a hopeless romantic like I am, you may feel some disappointment with the novel's ending. Nonetheless, I greatly look forward to reading Beth Pattillo's new release, “Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart.”
Austenesque Reviews
Our heroine of this novel, Emma Grant, seems to think so! Poor Emma has suffered from some serious disappointments in her life. She married a man she thought was her older and wiser Mr. Knightley and recently caught him in that act of adultery with her teaching assistant. That same teaching assistant has accused Emma of plagiarism (a claim supported by Emma's ex-husband), which resulted in Emma's dismissal from her university position and irreversible damage to her reputation.
While devastated that her marriage did not have the happy ending she was expecting, Emma still hopes that her career may be salvaged by making a new discovery concerning Jane Austen. Like many Austen scholars, Emma has wondered: What were the unknown secrets of Jane Austen's life. What occurred in those years where there is no correspondence or recorded writing attempts? What was in those letters that Cassandra destroyed? And most importantly, what if those letters weren't destroyed after all...
Emma embarks upon a journey to London, England where she intends to find these lost letters of Jane Austen and publish them. However, there are a few surprises in store for Emma such as living under the same roof as her estranged former best friend and discovering the existence of a secret society devoted to the preservation of Jane Austen's lost letters, to name a few.
“Jane Austen Ruined My Life” is an enthralling novel that was engaging and light. I loved the idea of a secret society of select Austen scholars safely guarding a massive collection of lost letters belonging to Jane Austen. In addition, I greatly enjoyed the “unknown” love story Ms. Pattillo cultivated between Jane Austen and another man. I took pleasure in touring many famous Austen haunts with Emma in this novel including: Chawton Cottage, Stevenson Rectory, and the National Portrait Gallery where Cassandra Austen's pencil and watercolor portrait of her sister is on display. These scenes were so vividly depicted I felt I was there myself.
What I didn't like about this novel was the ending; this book was like one of those trips where you enjoy the ride more than the destination. Like any Austen heroine, Emma gains new understanding about herself and what she needs to do with her life by the end of the book. While Emma does make some good decisions about her life at the close of this novel, we unfortunately don't get to see them all pan out including the romance between her and her former best friend, Adam.
Although Emma originally vowed that it was Jane Austen that ruined her life, she learns a difficult and valuable lesson about being responsible for making your own happiness and successes in life. While many of the couples in Jane Austen's novels may be perfectly matched, I don't think Jane Austen intended for us to believe that their marriages were “pictures of perfection.”
I recommend this book for readers who enjoy Jane Austen chick-lit, however, if you are a hopeless romantic like I am, you may feel some disappointment with the novel's ending. Nonetheless, I greatly look forward to reading Beth Pattillo's new release, “Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart.”
Austenesque Reviews
April 24, 2010
I picked this up because the title caught my attention and I thought that it would be a quick, fun read. I read a lot of classics and I am trying to be less of a book snob, so I thought that a quick foray into chick-lit might be fun, especially since it references one of my favorite authors. This book made me want beat a hasty retreat to the safety of my classics.
There were times when I found the book interesting. The idea of a secret society that guards Jane Austen's letters was intriguing, though I was plagued by the question of why, if Austen's sister Cassandra had really wanted to keep her letters secret, they weren't destroyed in the first place. I liked the biographical parts about Jane Austen and the frequent references made to her works. And I will give it this, it was a quick, easy read.
Part of the problem for me was that I didn't really like the main character. Emma is self-absorbed and rather boring. There is a point to the self-absorbed part, but I don't think that she was meant to be boring. Her romantic interest (I finished it two days ago and I have already forgotten his name) is a cardboard cutout of the perfect man with no discernable flaws, other than the fact that he loves her for reasons that I can't fathom.
There is a point at which introspection becomes just plain annoying. Everything that happens, every little word that is said to Emma causes her to come to some revelation about herself and her marriage. This got really boring and repetitive after a while, and eventually I wanted to be thought intelligent enough to infer or remember what had previously been said about her marriage instead of being told over and over again. Halfway through I just wanted her mental voice to shut up and get on with the story.
The one thing that really sticks with me about this book is the fact that she made an incorrect Jane Austen reference. Emma is talking about the elegance of a house or something that she is looking at, so her companion mentions some houses from Austen's works. He mentions Mansfield Park, and she says that it wasn't really described in the novel, but it probably wouldn't have that kind of elegance because the Rushworths were too self-absorbed or something like that to live in someplace truly elegant. Now, Emma is supposed to be a professor who specializes in Jane Austen. She should know that the Bertrams live at Mansfield Park and that Sotherton is the Rushworth estate. I read this exchange three times before I realized that I hadn't misunderstood anything and that Emma was just plain wrong. I might be just nitpicking, but it really bothered me. Did nobody check things before they published it.
Overall, it was disappointing. I felt no real chemistry between the two main characters, and I spent a lot of time wondering why he would want her at all. The plot was interesting at times, but most of the time it was just plain silly. I wouldn't recommend it. This is one of those books that I am really glad I checked out from the library instead of buying. Too bad, because the title was clever and I liked the cover design.
There were times when I found the book interesting. The idea of a secret society that guards Jane Austen's letters was intriguing, though I was plagued by the question of why, if Austen's sister Cassandra had really wanted to keep her letters secret, they weren't destroyed in the first place. I liked the biographical parts about Jane Austen and the frequent references made to her works. And I will give it this, it was a quick, easy read.
Part of the problem for me was that I didn't really like the main character. Emma is self-absorbed and rather boring. There is a point to the self-absorbed part, but I don't think that she was meant to be boring. Her romantic interest (I finished it two days ago and I have already forgotten his name) is a cardboard cutout of the perfect man with no discernable flaws, other than the fact that he loves her for reasons that I can't fathom.
There is a point at which introspection becomes just plain annoying. Everything that happens, every little word that is said to Emma causes her to come to some revelation about herself and her marriage. This got really boring and repetitive after a while, and eventually I wanted to be thought intelligent enough to infer or remember what had previously been said about her marriage instead of being told over and over again. Halfway through I just wanted her mental voice to shut up and get on with the story.
The one thing that really sticks with me about this book is the fact that she made an incorrect Jane Austen reference. Emma is talking about the elegance of a house or something that she is looking at, so her companion mentions some houses from Austen's works. He mentions Mansfield Park, and she says that it wasn't really described in the novel, but it probably wouldn't have that kind of elegance because the Rushworths were too self-absorbed or something like that to live in someplace truly elegant. Now, Emma is supposed to be a professor who specializes in Jane Austen. She should know that the Bertrams live at Mansfield Park and that Sotherton is the Rushworth estate. I read this exchange three times before I realized that I hadn't misunderstood anything and that Emma was just plain wrong. I might be just nitpicking, but it really bothered me. Did nobody check things before they published it.
Overall, it was disappointing. I felt no real chemistry between the two main characters, and I spent a lot of time wondering why he would want her at all. The plot was interesting at times, but most of the time it was just plain silly. I wouldn't recommend it. This is one of those books that I am really glad I checked out from the library instead of buying. Too bad, because the title was clever and I liked the cover design.
August 16, 2010
A daft emancipation novel about a woman who is recovering from a disastrous series of events that ruined her life. She, through some deranged logic, feels that her devotion to Jane Austen's novels have caused her believe marriage was the final hurdle to life's happy ending. Determined to expose Austen's secreted private letters to her literary gain, the protagonist slowly learns the obvious, that she is wrong to blame a dead author for her choices, wrong to betray what has been protected, and decides to make the choice that Austen herself did despite what she wrote in her novels. Austen never married, even if her novels dwell on romantic joys, and she accomplished a great deal. The protagonist, offered a new romantic ideal package, refuses it on the grounds that either she doesn't deserve happiness or that happiness is not acceptable to her unless she's earned it on her terms or that she really wants to remain single because she's happier that way. Unclear, after all the fretting through the book about him and sensations and being unable to be in the same room, if she does understand what she is giving up and it seems almost selfish to give away something so precious offered when it seems mutual.
August 6, 2021
This is one of those stories I read before I retired and began reviewing every book I read. I do want to reread all those stories which I did not review but as time has slipped by and I haven't done so, I just want to mark all those stories as "read" so I have a record of the true number of books in the JAFF sub-genre I have read. I am using the average rating at this time as I do not remember how I rated this story back when I read it. If I ever get around to rereading it I will look at my rating to make sure it is true to my opinion. It was published in 2009 so that is most likely when I read it.
December 14, 2021
Jane Austen hakkında eleştirel biyografik bilgilerin ötesinde pek bir şey yok. Bunlar için de bir Jane Austen biyografisi okumak bence daha iyi.
Zamanımı harcadığıma yanıyorum.
Not: Çevirmenler Arapça çoğulları bilmiyorlar ise, Arapça kelimeleri kullanmaktan kaçınmaları gerekli.
Sayfa 214: " Öte yandan Anne-Elise'in ebeveynleri ....". "at" ve "eyn" sonekleri çoğuldur. Özellikle "eyn" soneki özel (iki adetlik) çoğulu gösterir. Örnek "kutr" = çap; "kutreyn" = iki çap yani iki köşegen; "kutra" = çaplar. Böylece "ebeveynler" ifadesinde biri Türkçe ikincisi arapça iki çoğul soneki art arda mevcut.
Zamanımı harcadığıma yanıyorum.
Not: Çevirmenler Arapça çoğulları bilmiyorlar ise, Arapça kelimeleri kullanmaktan kaçınmaları gerekli.
Sayfa 214: " Öte yandan Anne-Elise'in ebeveynleri ....". "at" ve "eyn" sonekleri çoğuldur. Özellikle "eyn" soneki özel (iki adetlik) çoğulu gösterir. Örnek "kutr" = çap; "kutreyn" = iki çap yani iki köşegen; "kutra" = çaplar. Böylece "ebeveynler" ifadesinde biri Türkçe ikincisi arapça iki çoğul soneki art arda mevcut.
January 9, 2010
Three stars may be a bit generous, but I really wanted to like this book. The story follows Emma Grant, a professor of English who blames Jane Austen when, after following Austen's dictates and finding her own "Mr Knightly" (an older, more established professor), her marriage falls apart when her husband takes up with her teaching assistant, and she loses her job when the TA accuses Emma of plagiarizing one of her (the TA's) papers. Emma apparently blames Austen for a faulty belief in happy endings, but I find that just a little unjust, since Austen has always seemed to me to be unusually clear-eyed about the potential risks of marriage. At any rate, her life in shambles, Emma decides to follow a rather bizarre clue in a letter that suggests that more of Jane Austen's letters exist than was previously believed (many of Austen's letters were burned after her death by her sister Cassandra), so she takes her remaining savings and flies to England.
In London, she becomes acquainted with a rather bizarre group (known as the Formidables) dedicated to preserving Austen's hidden letters and guarding the "secret" those letters would reveal. At the same time, she also runs across an old friend from graduate school (and would-be romantic interest), and complications inevitably ensue.
While the premise of the story was fine, the actual development was disappointing. Emma's motivations weren't always clear to me, nor was it clear to me that the author had a very clear sense of how academic life works. For one thing, she describes Emma's friend Adam as a "full" professor, a feat that would be hard to believe given his relative youth, and then later mentions that he has just received tenure . . . Also, I don't know of any professors who would use their TA's laptop to write a professional article (this is the apparent reason that Emma's TA could make the plagiarism claim in the first place)--why wouldn't they use their own laptop? My major issue with the story, however, was that the "secret" that the Formidables were sworn to protect, as it might irretrievably damage Austen's reputation, didn't seem to be that big of a deal to me--certainly not a big enough deal to justify all the subterfuge.
The book was an entertaining read on some levels (hence the 3 rating), but for readers looking for a serious academic/literary mystery, A.S. Byatt's _Possession_ is infinitely richer.
In London, she becomes acquainted with a rather bizarre group (known as the Formidables) dedicated to preserving Austen's hidden letters and guarding the "secret" those letters would reveal. At the same time, she also runs across an old friend from graduate school (and would-be romantic interest), and complications inevitably ensue.
While the premise of the story was fine, the actual development was disappointing. Emma's motivations weren't always clear to me, nor was it clear to me that the author had a very clear sense of how academic life works. For one thing, she describes Emma's friend Adam as a "full" professor, a feat that would be hard to believe given his relative youth, and then later mentions that he has just received tenure . . . Also, I don't know of any professors who would use their TA's laptop to write a professional article (this is the apparent reason that Emma's TA could make the plagiarism claim in the first place)--why wouldn't they use their own laptop? My major issue with the story, however, was that the "secret" that the Formidables were sworn to protect, as it might irretrievably damage Austen's reputation, didn't seem to be that big of a deal to me--certainly not a big enough deal to justify all the subterfuge.
The book was an entertaining read on some levels (hence the 3 rating), but for readers looking for a serious academic/literary mystery, A.S. Byatt's _Possession_ is infinitely richer.
December 22, 2011
Pros: A sweet, escapist story. Someone else on here said a "DaVinci Code-light, for Austin fans" which I agree with. Some Jane Austen tribute books would have you accept time travel, supernatural characters, or fan-fiction like "sequels." In this one, you must accept a Secret Society of Jane Austen enthusiasts protecting her legacy. Sure, why not. The love story is pretty sweet, if a bit predictable.
Cons: Not just the problem of mistaking the Bertrams for the Rushworths in Mansfield Park, that is pretty bad. However, I found actual typos in this book. The worst: "One upon a time..." on page 212. Also, and I suppose I can't blame the author about this, but every book in this particular genre of Jane Austen-obsessed heroines seems to have the protagonist as a recently divorced victim of a cheating dog of a man. These men are made out to be so vile, we start to doubt the protagonist's likability for falling in with them in the first place. This may be unfair to the author since I was reading "Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict" at the same time and I was getting just a little fed up with whining about cheating ex-husbands, but there you go.
Finally, I hate writers as protagonists. Stop it writers of the world. Too often a main character is made a writer and it answers all the answers to their problems (As though becoming a writer doesn't actually cause a slew of other problems) and/or they wax philosophical about the wonderful act of writing. This is "write what you know" taking to it's laziest extreme, and I would argue that, at times, it is used as a fan-fiction-like self-insertion tool.
With that rant though, I did like the ending where *SPOILERS* her happy ending is not made dependent on a man, but on herself. Unfortunately, it also hinges on her becoming a published author, which disappointed me in a different way.
If you want a light-hearted romance with some historical insight about Austen, give it a read. Like many of these Austen-inspired books, you might just have to turn your brain off for a bit.
Cons: Not just the problem of mistaking the Bertrams for the Rushworths in Mansfield Park, that is pretty bad. However, I found actual typos in this book. The worst: "One upon a time..." on page 212. Also, and I suppose I can't blame the author about this, but every book in this particular genre of Jane Austen-obsessed heroines seems to have the protagonist as a recently divorced victim of a cheating dog of a man. These men are made out to be so vile, we start to doubt the protagonist's likability for falling in with them in the first place. This may be unfair to the author since I was reading "Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict" at the same time and I was getting just a little fed up with whining about cheating ex-husbands, but there you go.
Finally, I hate writers as protagonists. Stop it writers of the world. Too often a main character is made a writer and it answers all the answers to their problems (As though becoming a writer doesn't actually cause a slew of other problems) and/or they wax philosophical about the wonderful act of writing. This is "write what you know" taking to it's laziest extreme, and I would argue that, at times, it is used as a fan-fiction-like self-insertion tool.
With that rant though, I did like the ending where *SPOILERS* her happy ending is not made dependent on a man, but on herself. Unfortunately, it also hinges on her becoming a published author, which disappointed me in a different way.
If you want a light-hearted romance with some historical insight about Austen, give it a read. Like many of these Austen-inspired books, you might just have to turn your brain off for a bit.
March 9, 2016
I was very happy at the beginning of this book: it's well written, with a dry humour that appealed to me.
All the facts about Jane Austen's live and work are nearly accurate (the Bertram misnamed!) and pleasantly detailed for a fan I am. The story in itself - the possibility of hidden letters of the author - is exciting and not totally improbable.
But I couldn't read on and had to stop at about half of the book. It was, for certain aspects, to much hollow. I don't mind slow stories, but only when the slowness gives way to substance. When the slowness is a way of padding the story, it disagrees with me.
Well, I'm probably much to severe, as the author hasn't wrote, I'm sure, this book this way. But the problem is that she hadn't, at all, concerned herself about her characters' psychology.
The heroin is okay, likeable and credible - at least in a kind of chicklit story's way.
But the rest is just... not there.
The naughty ex-husband is a useful caricature. The ex-friend is just charming and nice. Never ever any remembrance or reminiscence comes to the heroin's mind (yet, the story is wrote at the first person). It's just unbelievable! If I was crossing ways with an old best friend, I couldn't help thinking about the past, half of the time, at least. There, the ex-best friend is just presented like... the ex-best friend. Period.
The love interest (no spoiler there, it's the kind of story with a love story merging during the quest) is evident since the beginning and fall upon the heroin with any subtlety whatsoever. Suddenly, she realises that she's in love. And if the reader isn't surprised, as who and who was evident since the very beginning of the book, the manner of falling in love is simply non existent.
For a Jane Austen fan this flaw is alas crippling.
Even if the novel was quite likeable and easy to read I decided to stop there. The cruel fact is that there are too many good books to read around the world, and so many years to attempt to read them all! ^-^
All the facts about Jane Austen's live and work are nearly accurate (the Bertram misnamed!) and pleasantly detailed for a fan I am. The story in itself - the possibility of hidden letters of the author - is exciting and not totally improbable.
But I couldn't read on and had to stop at about half of the book. It was, for certain aspects, to much hollow. I don't mind slow stories, but only when the slowness gives way to substance. When the slowness is a way of padding the story, it disagrees with me.
Well, I'm probably much to severe, as the author hasn't wrote, I'm sure, this book this way. But the problem is that she hadn't, at all, concerned herself about her characters' psychology.
The heroin is okay, likeable and credible - at least in a kind of chicklit story's way.
But the rest is just... not there.
The naughty ex-husband is a useful caricature. The ex-friend is just charming and nice. Never ever any remembrance or reminiscence comes to the heroin's mind (yet, the story is wrote at the first person). It's just unbelievable! If I was crossing ways with an old best friend, I couldn't help thinking about the past, half of the time, at least. There, the ex-best friend is just presented like... the ex-best friend. Period.
The love interest (no spoiler there, it's the kind of story with a love story merging during the quest) is evident since the beginning and fall upon the heroin with any subtlety whatsoever. Suddenly, she realises that she's in love. And if the reader isn't surprised, as who and who was evident since the very beginning of the book, the manner of falling in love is simply non existent.
For a Jane Austen fan this flaw is alas crippling.
Even if the novel was quite likeable and easy to read I decided to stop there. The cruel fact is that there are too many good books to read around the world, and so many years to attempt to read them all! ^-^
March 1, 2009
This novel was recommended to me by a friend who knows how much I adore Jane Austen.
It’s about a woman who’s recently divorced (spectacularly, I might add). Her career as a literature professor has been ruined by her ex. So, she embarks on a wild goose chase in England to discover the unknown pieces of Jane Austen’s life (her means: obtaining letters supposedly destroyed by Jane’s sister, Cassandra).
I found the parallels this author drew to Austen’s novels whimsical; a nice touch. But, I spent the majority of the book disliking the narrator. She’s a complete narcissist stuck in her own head. I honestly faulted the author’s grasp on how dialogue should work in a book (ie, that it can’t only be one-sided to further the storyline). However, towards the end, the author clears this up. It was intentional.
But, I think the revelation came too late for me to find the character redeemable. Plus, the end “lesson” was a touch disappointing. And I would have liked to have seen more of Jane’s letters; I feel like the author wimped out on that front. It was a cute read, certainly. Quick. A nice pallet-cleanser after some heinously gag-reflex-inducing fiction (see “Last Night at the Lobster” review). All in all, it was a nice little slice of adventure/chick lit (no sex or mooning over a male, for which I was grateful!).
Would I recommend it? Maybe. I didn’t not enjoy it, that’s for certain. But, it may only have been my love of Austen that sustained me. I still believe in the happy ending Jane so valiantly campaigns for in her literature ;)
It’s about a woman who’s recently divorced (spectacularly, I might add). Her career as a literature professor has been ruined by her ex. So, she embarks on a wild goose chase in England to discover the unknown pieces of Jane Austen’s life (her means: obtaining letters supposedly destroyed by Jane’s sister, Cassandra).
I found the parallels this author drew to Austen’s novels whimsical; a nice touch. But, I spent the majority of the book disliking the narrator. She’s a complete narcissist stuck in her own head. I honestly faulted the author’s grasp on how dialogue should work in a book (ie, that it can’t only be one-sided to further the storyline). However, towards the end, the author clears this up. It was intentional.
But, I think the revelation came too late for me to find the character redeemable. Plus, the end “lesson” was a touch disappointing. And I would have liked to have seen more of Jane’s letters; I feel like the author wimped out on that front. It was a cute read, certainly. Quick. A nice pallet-cleanser after some heinously gag-reflex-inducing fiction (see “Last Night at the Lobster” review). All in all, it was a nice little slice of adventure/chick lit (no sex or mooning over a male, for which I was grateful!).
Would I recommend it? Maybe. I didn’t not enjoy it, that’s for certain. But, it may only have been my love of Austen that sustained me. I still believe in the happy ending Jane so valiantly campaigns for in her literature ;)
May 1, 2011
Emma Grant's life seems to be falling apart. She found her husband in a compromising situation(on their dining room table) with her Teacher's Assistant. She was asked to leave the University she was teaching at for being accused of plagiarizing a paper. She has sold everything she has in order to buy a ticket to London to pursue lost letters of Jane Austen that may or may not exist. When she arrives she finds that she is not alone in the flat she is borrowing from her cousin. Her former best friend Adam is also staying there. Adam had tried to tell Emma that the man she was going to marry was no good. Unfortunately they had a falling out and have not seen each other for years.
Emma goes to see Mrs. Parrot once she arrives in London. Mrs. Parrot is part of a secret group called the Formidables. They have been entrusted to keep Jane Austen's letters secret. She sends Emma on different "tasks" to prove her worthiness to view the real letters. Emma immediately decides that once she gets hold of these letters she will be able to reinstate her status as a professor.
While trying to keep secret what she is doing for Mrs. Parrot, Emma becomes suspicious of Adam. He seems to be turning up wherever she goes. Anyone who gets hold of these letters would become famous. Throughout the story Emma is fighting her attraction to Adam. After all she believes that life does not hold Happily Ever After endings for her.
This was such a fast, fun read. I want to read Beth Patillo's Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart as I am sure it will be just as fun.
Emma goes to see Mrs. Parrot once she arrives in London. Mrs. Parrot is part of a secret group called the Formidables. They have been entrusted to keep Jane Austen's letters secret. She sends Emma on different "tasks" to prove her worthiness to view the real letters. Emma immediately decides that once she gets hold of these letters she will be able to reinstate her status as a professor.
While trying to keep secret what she is doing for Mrs. Parrot, Emma becomes suspicious of Adam. He seems to be turning up wherever she goes. Anyone who gets hold of these letters would become famous. Throughout the story Emma is fighting her attraction to Adam. After all she believes that life does not hold Happily Ever After endings for her.
This was such a fast, fun read. I want to read Beth Patillo's Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart as I am sure it will be just as fun.
July 11, 2010
This is a 3.5 star book for me. It was a great little bit of summer escapism, yet I sometimes found parts of it too didactic, and at other times, I kept thinking Beth Pattillo hadn't REALLY given us a good look at what our heroine was like. Perhaps because Emma, the disgraced (due to a charge of academic plagiarism) and betrayed (by her unfaithful scoundrel of a husband) does not know herself and her true feelings well, we were supposed to buy that--but it still bothered me at times. On the other hand, I loved the characters of Adam and Mrs. Parrot, the latter of whom is attempting to entice her into a secret society dedicated to preserving otherwise unknown letters of Jane Austen, and the former of whom was the man who loved her (and who she unknowingly "jilted" when she married a decade earlier). For the sheer sake of escapism, and for the love of Jane Austen, I reveled in this book. Still, little editorial errors here and there, and some sloppy inconsistencies troubled me enough to rate it only a 3.5. Go ahead and enjoy it, though--it won't take you long!!!
March 6, 2009
Emma Grant was living a real life Jane Austen fantasy. She had a promising career. She was even married to the perfect gentleman. So she thought. That is, until Emma caught her husband Edward and his teaching assistant in a compromising situation on the kitchen table. This just happened to be the same woman who would later accuse Emma of academic plagiarism.
Angry that she actually believed Jane Austen’s nonsense about true love, Jane went a little crazy. She decided that she’d go to England and find Austen’s lost letters. Her intention, to prove that Jane Austen was a hypocrite who preached love but had never experienced it herself.
I’ve read quite a few romantic novels where the main character looks for Jane Austen’s lost letters. Jane Austen Ruined My Life is easily the best. From the very first page, the Emma resonates with that cynical part of us all. Maybe she goes further than we might do in her situation but that is part of her charm. The end is wonderfully appropriate.
Angry that she actually believed Jane Austen’s nonsense about true love, Jane went a little crazy. She decided that she’d go to England and find Austen’s lost letters. Her intention, to prove that Jane Austen was a hypocrite who preached love but had never experienced it herself.
I’ve read quite a few romantic novels where the main character looks for Jane Austen’s lost letters. Jane Austen Ruined My Life is easily the best. From the very first page, the Emma resonates with that cynical part of us all. Maybe she goes further than we might do in her situation but that is part of her charm. The end is wonderfully appropriate.
March 4, 2009
Hilarious, unexpected, and a bit unsettling in the end. I'm a happily-ever-after kind of girl and this book made me want to read an epilogue solving all of the romantic solutions. Being a Jane Austen junkie myself, I found this lighthearted and and sometimes deeply moving book a fresh commercial break for the romance genre fan as well as for a Jane Austen fan.
March 8, 2016
This book was marvelous. As a fan of Austen myself I greatly appreciated the research that had to have gone into the creation of this book. A perfect blend of fact and fiction. It was enchanting and the characters were real and raw. I look forward to the next two novels.
November 4, 2014
It was a pretty good and quick read. :)
August 24, 2011
Fun read, especially for fans of Jane Austen. For the record, I wanna be a Formidable.
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