Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict

I randomly picked up this fun twist on the historical romance novel by Laurie Viera Rigler, while waiting for the next books in two other series* I’m reading to become available. It has the words “Jane Austen” in the title. The cover shows a Regency lady holding an iPod. Sounds fun!

And it is a darling book… one that anybody who has seen the British miniseries LOST IN AUSTEN would enjoy immensely, as it turns out to be the polar opposite of that story. In this case we have a young Regency woman who suddenly finds herself inhabiting the body of a young single woman in 2009 Los Angeles. Good clean fun all around.

Since coming late to this party, I just discovered that this is actually a sequel to Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict. Oops! Well, this sort of concept won’t really be spoilt by reading it backwards. 🙂

In the next few days, look forward to the release of a real treat. Viera Rigler’s novel begins with a delightful little scene (though told in present tense, which usually annoys me) in which our Regency era heroine awakes in Los Angeles, circa 2009. Her initial experiences with an alarm clock and the TV are highly amusing, as is watching the various characters come to varying degrees of understanding about why this young woman thinks she is Jane Mansfield, whereas they “know” she is their friend, Courtney Stone, whom readers last saw in the other half of this soul/life swap. It’s a great idea (don’t you wish you came up with it?), and the story is quite pleasing.

At first, we are confused as well. Jane remembers a riding accident; her friends remember Courtney getting a concussion by hitting her head on the bottom of a pool. Okay . . . but why did this switch occur? The answer to that question takes the tale to answer, but it becomes clear fairly early that neither heroine was really happy in her own life. When Wes (the cute, concerned, citrus-scented guy taking care of “Courtney”) tells her that it is her life she is living, those words are refreshing to her, even if not quite true. Though she is often bewildered and occasionally terrified by what she learns in the modern world, Jane also grows excited by the prospects of commanding her own “car”riage, making her own living, having her own apartment, and making the multitude of decisions that come the way of every modern American woman.

Perhaps the most pleasing surprises for Jane center around her favorite writer: she discovers several “new” works that she immediately reads, and the BBC Pride and Prejudice. Enough for any heroine, certainly. My favorite line, in fact, appears just as Jane is trying to reconcile her fear and frustration with her excitement. She says she knows “that any place where there are six novels by the author of Pride and Prejudice must be a very special sort of heaven.” How could one say it better?

Viera Rigler uses common Austen knowledge to help the reader sort through what could be unclear information. There is some suspicion around Wes’ past behavior, but when he calls Courtney’s cell phone, Jane sees Colin Firth’s picture. Lesson: trust him. He’s the good guy. Frank, on the other hand, is described with the same turn of phrase Austen uses to describe Wickham. Check! We know how to interpret him as well. It’s like Lynn Batten always advises us: if we keep a list of Jane Austen characters as we travel through life, we will, at some point or other, meet everyone on the list in “real” form. That’s what happens to Jane, but even still, she needs some help sorting through the information. For that, she relies on her friends, some more than others.

The story made me laugh. The description of our world by someone who could easily have stepped from the pages of one of Austen’s novels sheds light on details we hardly notice anymore—the huge platters of food served to us in restaurants, the written request to be one’s friend (on Facebook—such a clever little insertion without directing naming the site!). Above all, the story makes us remember to value the modern world even as we bemoan the loss of Regency manners. We forget sometimes, when we watch the films or reread the novels, how few were the choices both men, but especially women, had. We forget that open expression of one’s feelings, let alone affections, was discouraged. And we forget to live in the present, and to make every moment right now count. Thus, Rude Awakenings is more than a sheer pleasure to read; it also offers us a valuable lesson, if only we would listen to it over the sounds of “Mr. Beveridge’s Maggot” in the background.

June 25, 2009

Jane Austen Addict books by Laurie Viera Rigler

For Film vs. Book’s review of Confessions of a Jane Austen, click here.

Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict

Book 2 by Rigler is the story in reverse – as Jane Mansfield, a gentleman’s daughter from 1812 wakes up in modern day LA in all its terrifying glory. Unlike Courtney, Jane knows nothing of the world she is now in and must learn to speak like her friends and not to jump out of her skin every time she sees light without candles, tiny people acting out plays in the box in her apartment and giant machines fly over her head. Oh and how on earth will she ever figure out how a car works?

This book is just as funny as the first but for very different reasons. The dialogue is brilliant and seeing modern day living through the eyes of Jane is absolute class – especially when she encounters cocktails and hamburgers for the first time. She must learn to adapt to the new morals of this society where divorce can be a good thing and having sex doesn’t make you a ruined woman. It’s lovely to see her make the most of her new life as she tries to balance work, bills, friends and love – all while continuing to read the new Jane Austen books she hasn’t seen written yet.

Enjoy!

LE xx

Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict

by Laurie Viera Rigler

5 stars

Jane Mansfield, a Regency era gentleman’s daughter, falls from her horse while riding. To her immense bewilderment, she wakes up in the year 2009 in the body of someone named Courtney with the only familiar items a collection of Jane Austen novels. She sets out to discover new and wondrous inventions, learn strange new customs and to try to figure out just how she got there (and if she can get back). Or does she want to go back?

Though it is a scenario I’ve thought of frequently while reading historical fiction, I cannot imagine writing in the perspective of a 19th century character visiting the 21st century. Laurie Viera Rigler does so seemingly effortlessly as she includes much detail to Jane’s discoveries. Every time I thought something wasn’t touched upon – that Jane would obviously have to question or marvel at – it is explained in the very next paragraph or on the next page. Plus there are surprising instances where I was not expecting certain feelings or revelations from Jane, but her 19th century mind worked perfectly into the situation.

If you’ve read Rigler’s other novel, Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict, which tells the story of Courtney stuck in Jane’s body in Regency England, you will find that the stories mirror each other and there are hints as to what may be going on in the other’s life. There is a mystical character that appears to each of the women to offer advice and help each see a new perspective.

I really enjoyed this novel for its humor as much as the writing style and characterization. It’s a fun read and a must for all Jane Austen enthusiasts.

Review : Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict
Posted on July 16, 2009 by kay

Genre : Austen Fiction, Chick Lit
My Rating : 4 1/2 stars

Rude Awakenings was like a candy bag : you wish it would last longer, and yet you can’t stop yourself from going through it as quickly as possible. It was that good! It was fun! While Confessions had been completely unsatisfying in the end, Rude Awakenings answered most of my questions – and even some more.

Having re-read Confessions a little over a week ago, the story was still fresh in my memory. One thing I really enjoyed was the difference between the two books’ narration styles. They were similar, but through the language you really had a feel that the two women didn’t come from the same place and time. The author made a fantastic job on the two characters, who have similarities in their personnalities without feeling “the same”.

I also preferred Jane as a narrator; while Courtney seemed a little whiny at times (many times I wanted to give her a good “shoulder shake”), Jane was an adorable and curious narrator. Of course, she was at first scared and cautious, but she quickly learns to appreciate her new life. Her puzzlement, and amazement for all things modern was adorable but believable. Her look on modern life was hilarious, but also very true! She made observations on today’s women lives that were right on point, without being contradictions to her own character.

Most of all, this book was fun. I laughed many times, and out loud I should add. You have to love a book that brightens your day like that!

I also appreciated the part the love story plays in the book. Oh, it’s there, and you hear some word about Wes or Frank or even Edgeworth mostly every page. But fortunately, Jane has other concerns : re-organizing Courtney’s life means putting back in place many things, from her work situation to her precarious financial status, without forgetting the annoying neighbor. Her happiness doesn’t depend exlusively on her love relationship, and that’s a good thing to read!

Although this book has a parallel story line to the one in Confessions, I would recommend reading them in the order they came in. There are many explanations, allusions and references to Confessions in Rude Awakenings, and you will certainly enjoy reading the second book the last. Plus, isn’t it better to keep the best for the end?

Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler: Review of a Time Travel Novel

July 12, 2009 by Vic

Rude Awakening of a Jane Austen AddictI became hooked on time travel stories watching Somewhere in Time with Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour. Then I read Jude Devereux’s Knight in Shining Armor and fell so in love with the characters and improbable plot that I began to actively seek out time travel novels. I discovered from reading Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander and watching the recent television presentation of Lost in Austen that I prefer stories that take a character back in history over those in which a person is transported to our time. This is simply a matter of taste. So I beg of you, gentle reader, to keep my little bias in mind as you read this review of Laurie Viera Rigler’s latest book, whose cover of Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict appropriately depicts a Regency woman wearing an ipod.

Having traveled back to the Regency era in Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict, Courtney Stone is now living Jane Mansfield’s life. It happened like this: One evening, the very American, extremely modern Courtney is grieving over the end of her engagement to a cad and the betrayal of her best male friend, Wes. The next morning she wakes up in Regency England in the body of a tall, elegant woman whose relationship with her mother can best be described as rotten. Confessions ended with Courtney falling in love with Jane’s beau, Mr. Edgeworth, and overcoming the inconvenience of living without indoor plumbing or electricity. But if Courtney has taken over Jane Mansfield’s body and life, what became of her regency counterpart?

In Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict the reader discovers that poor Jane Mansfield has been transported into Courtney’s shorter, curvier body after a fall from a horse and has landed smack dab in a modern apartment in Los Angeles. Horror of horrors, nothing that Jane has ever known is recognizable in this strange environment, nothing except for Pride and Prejudice. The 1995 A&E version is playing on television as Jane examines her strange surroundings. Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth are mere illusions but Jane confuses their ethereal transmissions for the real thing. She is rapturous when she comes across Jane Austen’s novels on Courtney’s bookshelves, happily discovering that more were published than the two she’d known about. The books provide her with her first emotional security blanket, for up to that moment everything Jane has seen, heard, and touched in this new world has been surreal and mind-boggling. As Jane says to a fortune teller who helps her sort out her confusion, “If I am not asleep, how can I be anything but awake?”

One imagines that Courtney had a much easier time adjusting to the past, for she’d been a Jane Austen addict, and had had the opportunity to study the regency era in history books and novels. Poor Jane Mansfield had no such knowledge about 2009, for who in 1813 could have forecast the invention of microwave ovens, cars, cell phones, planes, elevators, high rise buildings, computers, refrigerators, and – wonder of wonders – efficient showers and toilets? And then there were the clothes. How was a self-respecting Regency Miss supposed to wear those indecently skimpy outfits and hoydenish makeup that her new friends put on without blushing?

Thankfully, Courtney’s body has retained a visceral 21st-century memory of dressing, driving and using appliances, giving Jane some time to recover her equilibrium and sort out her bewildering surroundings. When life becomes too crushing for her, she happily hunkers down to read Emma or Mansfield Park, or watch the marvelous movie adaptations of Jane’s novels. Despite those few moments of bliss, there are still many modern customs that Jane must learn. She is both intrigued and appalled that women must work for a living, for isn’t this an activity reserved for working class women? And yet the working women she meets enjoy riches and freedoms that she could only dream about in her constricted regency world. Then there is the situation with her rotten ex-fiance and ex-best friend, Wes, whose gentle presence is at odds with the antipathy Jane’s new friends feel toward him. Wes is just the sort of Mark II hero that this reviewer loves – sweet, warm, cuddly, and handsome – and I rooted for him to win Jane’s hand despite the evidence of his betrayal.

Rude Awakenings ties up the plot threads left dangling in Confessions, and I was pleasantly surprised to have my many questions answered in a sensible way, especially about Jane’s terrible mother. Of the two books, I did prefer Confessions, but please do recall my bias towards those who travel backwards, not forwards. Having spent a satisfying couple of evenings reading this latest installment of Laurie’s series, I would like to see her write a third one in which the descendants of the Jane Austen Addict characters are united. In my imagined plot I see Courtney writing an extensive journal about her Regency experiences which languishes on the dusty shelves of an antique book seller for over 150 years. This document is discovered by Jane’s daughter, a confirmed Jane Austen addict and romance novelist. She visits England in 2034 in search of archived information about the Mansfield and Wentworth families after her mother confesses a few pertinent bits of information about her Regency past. During her quest, Jane’s daughter meets a haughty male descendant of Courtney’s, a handsome but priggish Jane Austen scholar, who discounts Courtney’s journal as the rantings of an insane relative. The two young descendants disagree, sparks fly, she suggests a DNA test, and they then …. well, use your imagination.

Meanwhile, I can think of no better way of spending a Sunday afternoon than to curl up in a hammock and read Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict. Just make sure to have enough ice tea and sun screen at hand, for you won’t be able to put this gently humorous book down until you are finished. Three out of three Regency fans.

4 of 5 stars

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to wake up in a different place and time? How would you react? How would you adapt?

Jane Mansfield hits her head when she falls off her horse in England in 1813, but when she awakens, it is 2009, and she is in the body of Courtney Stone…in L.A. There is a strange man in the other room, a glowing box contains tiny people acting out her favorite book, all of the clothes in the closet are inappropriate for a lady, and a horrible, deafening noise only stops when she accidentally knocks into the bumpy black box with the bright red numbers. How can this be? Why can she not wake from this strange dream? And how on earth is she supposed to fix Courtney’s messed-up life?

This is the companion to Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict, and I wish I had read them closer together because I had forgotten a few details about the first book. Nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoyed the story of a Regency-era lady experiencing for the first time the freedom to make her own choices. I love the idea of time travel and have often daydreamed about what it would be like to travel backward or forward in time. How would one avoid the insane asylum?

For readers’ advisors: character and story doorways, with character primary

Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler

by Laurel Ann Nattress

Is there always another chance at happiness? Are we bound to our past, or do “we all have the power to create heaven on earth, right here, right now?” Important questions heroine Jane Mansfield must come to acknowledge and understand in Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict, Laurie Viera Rigler’s parallel story to her best selling novel, Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict.

This time around, it is Jane Mansfield a gentleman’s daughter from 1813 who is transported into the body of twenty-first century Los Angelean Courtney Stone. Jane awakens with a headache, but it will take more than aromatic vinegar to solve her problems. Where is she? Her surroundings are wholly unfamiliar to the usual comforts of her parent’s palatial Manor house in Somerset. Is she dreaming? She remembers a tumble off her horse Belle, but nothing after that point. She looks in the mirror and the face reflected back is not her own. How can this be? A young man named Wes arrives who calls her Courtney. Is he a servant? Who is Courtney? Ladies arrive for a visit concerned by her odd behavior. Why is she acting like a character in a Jane Austen novel?

Jane is indeed a stranger in a strange land. As her friends, or Courtney’s friends Paula, Anna and Wes, help her navigate through the technology of cell phones, CD players, washing machines and other trappings of our modern life it becomes less taxing. She relishes her privacy and independence to do as she chooses, indulging in reading the four new (to her) novels by Jane Austen that she discovers on Courtney’s bookshelf – one passion/addiction that she shares in common with her over the centuries. Between Jane Austen’s keen insights and the fortune teller called “the lady”, she might be able to make sense of this nonsensical world she has been thrown into. Is this the same fortune teller she met in Bath in her own life? She had warned her not to ride her horse. Or did she? Are her memories and Courtney’s one in the same? The lady tells her she has work to do to put Courtney’s life in order. Jane only wants to return to her former life and Charles Edgeworth, the estranged beau she left behind.

Seeing our modern world from Jane’s nineteenth century eyes was quite revealing. I do not think that I will ever look at a television screen again without remembering her first reaction to the glass box with tiny people inside talking and dancing like characters from Pride and Prejudice! These quirky insights are what Rigler excels at, and her Regency era research and knowledge of Jane Austen plays out beautifully. We truly understand Jane’s reactions and sympathize with her frustrations. Not only is Rude Awakenings a comedy of lifestyle comparisons across the centuries, it supplies a very interesting look at modern courtship and romance with a bit of genteel feminisms thrown in for good measure. Interestingly, what principals and standards that Jane learned in the nineteenth century, will straighten out Courtney’s mixed up twenty-first century life at home, work and in her budding romance with Wes.

Rude Awakenings is a cheeky comedy with a message. Like Jane Austen’s novel Persuasion, it helps us to look at mistakes in our past, and reminds us that “time is fleeting, and few of us are fortunate enough to notice that there is always another chance at happiness.” I enjoyed the humor, fondly remembering why I became a Jane Austen Addict in the first place.

List Price: $25.95
Publisher: Dutton Adult (June 25, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0525950761
ISBN-13: 978-0525950769

Awhile ago,Laurie Viera Rigler made her first splash in novel waters with Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict,which had modern day Courtney Stone trading places in time with Jane Mansfield,a young woman of the Regency period in England. Despite their very different ways of life,both ladies had romantic troubles that they soothed by rereading Pride and Prejudice.

We followed Courtney’s journey in Confessions and now in Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict,Jane Mansfield takes center stage to show us her side of the story.

After falling off her favorite horse(just after seeing her intended husband Edgeworth in a compromising position with another woman),Jane is given a real culture shock when she wakes up in Courtney’s bedroom in 21 century L.A.,surrounded by strange objects called “computers” and “cellphones” and clothes that would be considered very immodest in her day(except for a long white gown that turns out to be Courtney’s intended wedding dress).

She is pleased with the “television” that shows moving pictures of her favorite book,Pride and Prejudice,not to mention discovering more of Jane Austen’s work that she has not yet read. Jane tries to adjust to her new situation with the help of Courtney’s friends,who reluctantly accept her lack of memory from Courtney’s similar injury in a swimming pool.

The most eager to help of Courtney’s friends is Wes,who is also buddies with Frank,Courtney’s former fiance who truly did cheat on her. Jane wants to trust in his goodness but is hesitate for many reasons,one of which has to do with Wes’ role in hiding Frank’s affair from Courtney.

Jane manages to fit into her strange new world,reveling in the freedom and privacy that she never had back home. However,despite how many things have changed for the better in this exciting era, some problems still seem unsolvable,love being one of them:

Jane’s mind and manners may be old fashioned but some of those quaint traits turn out to be useful in fixing some of the messes in Courtney’s life and she begins to open up her mind about a lot of other things, including her quick judgments about Wes and Edgeworth as well.

As in her earlier Confessions,Rigler blends the fantasy and the folly of wishing to go back or forth to a supposed “better” world where all of your current worries can be easily mended. She also employs the same sharp social satire and high drama of romance that Miss Austen used to entertain and enlighten her readers that holds strong no matter when or where they are.

Even if you haven’t read Confessions, Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict is a delightful look at our modern day manners and rules of love,which are just as overcomplicated and confusing as they were in Austen’s day. It’s also a charming tale of discovering not only your true love but your true self as well.

Rude Awakenings is due out on June 25 and is definitely worth pre-ordering at either your local bookstore or library waiting list. It’s a celebration of life,love and Jane Austen,the perfect way to start your summer reading off right. It’s also a way to really appreciate the independence that many of us modern women take for granted and that Lizzy Bennet herself would adore.

An outstanding work of fiction, Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austin Addict is funny and intriguing and tells of one Courtney Stone, a modern girl caught in Jane Austin’s era. It offers the parallel story of Jane Mansfield, a gentleman’s daughter from Regency England who awakens in Courtney’s fast-paced modern LA life, and finds herself challenged by technology and romance alike. A fine and funny saga ensues, perfect for Jane Austin fans.