Back of the book blurb: Jane Mansfield has long wished to escape the confines of life in 19th-century England.  But awakening as 21st-century Los Angeleno Courtney Stone is not what she had in mind.  Nothing – not [...]]]>

• Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler
• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Dutton Adult (June 25, 2009)
• ISBN-13: 978-0525950769

Back of the book blurb: Jane Mansfield has long wished to escape the confines of life in 19th-century England.  But awakening as 21st-century Los Angeleno Courtney Stone is not what she had in mind.  Nothing – not even her face in the mirror – is the same.  The only thing familiar, the only thing she appears to have in common with the strange woman whose life she has landed, is a love of Jane Austen.

Not everything about the modern world is disagreeable.  Jane may not be rich, but she has her first taste of privacy, independence, even the chance to earn her own money … the freedom to say what she wants when she wants.

There are, however, complications. … confusing memories that are not her own.  And the friend named Wes, who is as attractive and bewildering as the man who broke her heart back home.  How is Jane to navigate a world in which kissing and flirting and even the sexual act itself raise no matrimonial expectations?  Jane cannot help but wonder if she would be better off in her own time, where at least the rules are clear – if returning is even an option.

She is Too Fond of Books’ review: With Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict, Laurie Viera Rigler offers a satisfying conclusion to the parallel storyline that engaged readers in Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict. Confessions, you may recall from my review, explores what happens when Courtney Stone, a devotee of Jane Austen’s writing, awakens in Regency England, inhabiting the body and circumstances of Jane Mansfield.

As much as I enjoyed Confessions, I found Rude Awakenings to be even more of a creative feat.  In Confessions, Courtney had the relative advantage of traveling back in time – she had at least a passing knowledge of what to expect in her new place in time.  Jane (as Courtney) faces hundreds of wildly fantastic new experiences that are beyond her imagination.

The author provides a sharp contrast between the two worlds by using first person present-tense point of view for the entire narrative.  Jane thinks and talks with the mannerisms and vocabulary of her well-to-do English upbringing; she quickly realizes that she must adapt a more contemporary tone.  Rigler also employs a lot of humor, as Jane tries to understand this strange new world:

One of the garments is bright pink with three large openings; the other consists of two bowl-shaped pieces of fabric in a pale yellow, connected with strips of fabric and decorated with lace and embroidery of the same color.  Anna hands me the yellow article; I turn it this way and that.  Ah.  I could fit one of the bowls inside the other and – yes, that must be it.  I place the bowl-like sections upon my head and attempt to tie the strips of fabric under my chin.

Yes, Jane is viewing contemporary women’s underwear for the first time, and has fashioned a hat of sorts from the bra!

Rude Awakenings has an intriguing love triangle to follow – actually more of a “love hexagon” if you consider two women and four men, with 200 years, the Atlantic Ocean, and all of North America between them.

The men are minor characters compared to Jane’s starring role.  She learns bits and pieces about Courtney’s history from Wes and Frank as well as a handful of female friends.  Ultimately, though, Rude Awakenings focuses on the choices Jane makes, guided mainly by her centuries-old ethos.

While Jane Mansfield walks in Courtney’s shoes, literally and figuratively, she realizes that her actions may affect Courtney’s future, if and when they are returned to their original settings.  She takes to heart the well-spoken advice of a curious friend who understands Jane’s unusual predicament:

… there is nothing nobler than to give up one’s self in service to another.

Rigler peppers the novel with such timeless wisdom, including Jane’s realization that

It is easier to be principled when one is sitting on a pretty little fortune than it is when one is necessitous and poor.

Whether or not Jane is able to keep to her principles, and what potentially life-altering decisions she makes for both herself and Courtney, are revealed in this delightful novel that reads like a modern-day fairy tale with a moral that holds true across the ages.

The many themes provide discussion fodder for book groups, and fans of Jane Austen’s novels may be especially amused by both the direct and more subtle references to the author and her work.  Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict stands strong on its own, but do read Confessions first for the two views of the story.

Take a look at this one-minute book trailer, a quick video journey from Jane’s world in 1813 to the Los Angeles that greets her in 2009:

Whether you’d like a blast from [...]]]> Earlier in the week I posted about time travel in books, and introduced it with a reference to the WABAC machine in Mr. Peabody’s Improbable History.  Several people commented that they enjoyed the reminder of innocent Saturday mornings spent watching cartoons; several others said that they weren’t familiar with Mr. Peabody and his friends.

Whether you’d like a blast from the past, or you’re seeing the WABAC machine for the first time, you might enjoy this YouTube clip from the show itself.

One of the time travel books I mentioned is Laurie Viera Rigler’s Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict (my review).  This book really appealed to me, someone who doesn’t consider herself a fan of science fiction.  Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict focuses on the situation the protagonist is in (going to sleep in her studio apartment in present-day L.A. and waking up as part of the upper class in 1813 England), instead of the nuts and bolts of how she got there.  The result is a thoughtful novel about the main character, Courtney Stone, how she manages in her new surroundings, and what she learns about herself and the relationships she left back in Los Angeles.

Author Laurie Viera Rigler has generously offered personally inscribed paperback copies of Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict to two of my readers!

How can you get in on the fun?!?  Simply leave a comment mentioning what you would find most appealing and most challenging about living in Jane Austen’s world.  Here’s my answer:  most appealing (assuming I landed, like Courtney, in a well-to-do family) would be not having to do the mundane household chores – cooking, cleaning and laundry – that take up a good part of my day now.  Most challenging would be carrying myself at a formal party or ball; with my two left feet I’d be an embarrassment to myself and my partner!

Now it’s your turn!  Enter by midnight on Friday September 5; a random drawing will be held, and the winner announced on September 6.  I’ll look forward to reading your ideas!

Who is your favorite author?  Does he or she write about a particular time period that appeals to you…one that you could imagine living in?  Laurie Viera Rigler creates this kind of fantasy world in [...]]]>

Who is your favorite author?  Does he or she write about a particular time period that appeals to you…one that you could imagine living in?  Laurie Viera Rigler creates this kind of fantasy world in her novel Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict.   She, like the heroine of the novel, is an avowed Jane Austen fan. 

The novel opens as Courtney Stone, a 30-something contemporary woman, goes to sleep one night with a career and ex-fiance in Los Angeles.  She wakes up in the bed of one Jane Mansfield,  member of an upper-class family in 1813 England.  It takes Courtney several days to accept that this is not a dream, but rather a trip back in time to the Regency period she has so long admired in the novels of Jane Austen.  As intriguing as that premise might have seemed back in L.A. curled up on the couch with Pride and Prejudice, Courtney finds the thought of a never-ending visit to the 19^th century a bit intimidating.  Her dry wit and pithy self-talk follows her through peaks and valleys: “…what if it’s forever? – I will not allow myself to entertain that thought.  Yeah, right.  I’m not only entertaining that thought, I’m taking it out to dinner and a movie.”

It’s very easy to invoke the necessary suspension of disbelief and fall into the rhythms of the novel.  Rigler uses Courtney’s voice as a first-person narrator.  We are privy to not only her thoughts, but her raw emotions and reactions as she encounters obstacles and pleasant surprises.  This is a light-hearted and entertaining journey into an alternate existence.

Most of the story takes place in the summer of 1813, but there are a few longer flashbacks (flashforwards?) to the circumstances of Courtney’s broken engagement and her subsequent strained relationship with a man she formerly considered a good friend.  This gives the reader the backstory  to Courtney’s present situation; perhaps the key to solving her 21^st century “man trouble” lies in helping Jane to sort out her 19^th century relationships.  Aside from trying to figure out how and if she can get herself back to her own life, Courtney must make the best choices for Jane Mansfield, whose body and life she has temporary custody of.

The novel is as interesting and engaging to a Jane Austen novice as it is to a full-fledged fan.  Rigler keeps the storyline accessible to all by using general references to Regency period England as well as more pointed allusions to Austen characters such as the Bennet and Darcy families.  Again, the voice of Courtney Stones blends these mentions seamlessly into the novel; they don’t distract from Rigler’s story. 

Prior to publishing this first novel, Rigler co-authored two non-fiction books:  He Rents, She Rents, a gender-specific movie rental guide, and Popping the Question, a collection of marriage proposal anecdotes.  She is currently working on a sequel to Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict, which will explain how Jane Mansfield manages Courtney’s life in L.A.  This parallel story is yet-untitled; discussion about possible titles and more information about the author and her work can be found at the Jane Austen Addict website.   I read the book in preparation for a phone-in interview on Book Club Girl.  Jennifer Hart the hostess of BCG conducts author interviews about once a month, and encourages readers to call in with questions for the author.