In Definitely Not Mr. Darcy, Chicago-area author Karen Doornebos imagines the unlikely meeting between the worlds of Jane Austen and reality TV. Does it work? Reader, I found myself wishing I could take part in the voting.
Although I raced through the book to discover who was in it to win it, I found myself fascinated with historic facts that made acquiring Accomplishment Points so challenging for the contestants of a Survivor Regency-style show. Hand-made ink, archery, dancing, needlework, chaperones, weekly baths, corsets, dinners of venison soup and raised giblet pie–suddenly, I was cured of my Emma envy.
I heard Karen Doornebos read from her novel at the Chicago bookstore, Women and Children First, several weeks ago. She is a card-carrying member of the Jane Austen Society and knowledgeable about life in Regency times. She didn’t diminish my enthusiasm for Jane Austen’s novels, but she did open my eyes to the everyday hardships of the times and remind me of the difficulty of women’s social positions.
This light-hearted romance is a treat for Austenites, those of us who are fervent fans of Jane Austen novels, Jane Austen inspired novels and movies based on Jane Austen novels. We’ll take our Jane Austen in any form, but a new perspective, such as Definitely Not Mr. Darcy provides, is always refreshing.
(Disclosure: at my request, I received a review copy of Definitely Not Mr. Darcy.)
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