Love Jane Austen?
I’ve read and enjoyed all of Katherine Reay’s books, some more than others (isn’t that always the case?). I am an Austen fan, so I was looking forward to reading The Austen Escape. But after meeting Isabel and the other characters I suspect I’m less an Austen fan than someone who has read all her books a few times. “Fan” is apparently short for “fanatic”, and these characters are fanatics. They know their Austen.
But The Austen Escape will be fun even for those readers like me who can’t find an appropriate Austen quote for every situation. (I’ve even refused to even watch the Keira Knightley version of Pride & Prejudice, because no one can top Colin Firth’s Darcy). Once the characters arrive at Braithwaite House, they not only dress in Regency costumes but take on the identities of Austen’s characters.
This has the potential to get confusing.
However, the novel starts with a useful summary of all the main Austen characters mentioned in the book—which I glossed over, and shouldn’t have. If I’d been reading a paper copy rather than a Kindle review copy, I’d probably have been flicking backwards and forwards to keep up. As it was, I also glossed over some of the identities the characters took on, and focused on Isabel and Mary.
Mary is an intelligent and competent woman, an engineer with a small start-up in Austin, Texas, designing I didn’t understand what (but it didn’t matter). I liked her passion for her work, and her quirks such as using electrical wire to tie her hair back. She’s facing conflict at work from a new boss who wants to professionalise and systematise her workplace. She doesn’t exactly jump at the offer of a two-week all-expenses-paid first-class trip to Bath, England, with her best friend, but she does agree to go.
The story lost impetus for me at this point.
I’d enjoyed seeing Mary in her home environment, even with the conflict from her boss, and the not-conflict from her avoiding the consultant she had a crush on. But when they got to England, there were a couple of things which made me lose interest.
Isabel lost her memory (really, that’s a spoiler. But it’s in the book description so blame them, not me), Mary receives a phone call, and the story picked up again … and kept going full tilt until the finish. I loved the end—so much I read those last few chapters three times. The end definitely made up for the middle, and it had all the aww! factor required for a romance.
I enjoyed visiting Bath through Mary’s eyes—she didn’t have the parking problems or the disinterested husband I had when I visited. Mary also didn’t have the jetlag most of us experience after trans-Atlantic flights.
One maybe-complaint is that The Austen Escape is published by Thomas Nelson, so some readers may pick it up expecting Christian fiction. It isn’t.
I didn’t notice as I was reading, but there was no faith aspect to the story—something which in hindsight seems odd, as Austen was a minister’s daughter and church played a major role in the lives of several of her characters. On the other hand, Austen was never overt about her faith in the way many readers expect of modern Christian authors. In this way, Reay reflects Austen, and I’m sure many readers will see that as a good thing.
Overall, recommended for Austen fans and Katherine Reay fans. That should pretty much cover most people.
Thanks to Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.
About Katherine Reay
Katherine Reay has enjoyed a life-long affair with the works of Jane Austen and her contemporaries—who provide constant inspiration both for writing and for life. She is the author of three previous novels, and her debut, Dear Mr. Knightley, was a 2014 Christy Award Finalist, winner of the 2014 INSPY Award for Best Debut, and winner of two Carol Awards for Best Debut and Best Contemporary.
Katherine holds a BA and MS from Northwestern University and is a wife, mother, runner, and tae kwon do black belt. After living all across the country and a few stops in Europe, Katherine and her family recently moved back to Chicago.
Find Katherine Reay online at:
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Would you enjoy an Austen escape to Bath, England?
