The Jane Austen Project: I need more Jane!

Dear Jane Austen fans, have you read The Jane Austen Project by Kathleen A. Flynn? If you haven’t, I’m not considering you a “true” fan because who doesn’t pick up a book with their favorite author in the title? While I am not an Austen fanatic like some, I recently picked up this novel at my local library thinking that it would be a good beach read and that it was. So, let’s get into it.

The majority of the novel takes place in 1815 England and revolves around two time travelers - Rachel and Liam - whose mission is to befriend Jane Austen and to obtain an unpublished work (“The Watsons”) and bring it back to the future. Ultimately, the novel is a combination of biography, science fiction, and plain fiction. The novel is 373 pages in total and while that is not terribly long at times, it felt as if I would never get to that last page. That is not to say that the novel was a complete bore. Simply, the novel’s plot was slow moving. It wasn’t until almost half-way through that we met Jane and even after her official introduction her character was seldom the center of attention. While the novel is, of course, more about Liam and Rachel’s journey and them adjusting to life in 1815, I wanted more Jane. Not just her biography, for I could do that research myself, but more of her interactions, her daily life, and her personality even if it was fictionalized. On the contrary, however, I was infatuated with Henry, Jane’s brother, and was distraught that he did not get his happily ever after with Rachel. This conscious need for the story to go places it wasn’t, is likely the reason that it was difficult for me to finish.

While the sexual and romantic tension between Liam and Rachel propelled me to finish the novel, I remained unsatisfied with the ending. Although it strongly hinted at the reality that they eventually end up together nothing is officially concluded between the two of them, except for the fact that they want to be with each other. Evidently, I was not content with this ending because I wanted one of two things to happen. One, for them to stay in 1815. Or two, for Rachel to marry Henry. Hence, in my version, Rachel would fall deeply in love with Henry and opt to stay in 1815 instead of going back to the future with Liam. As a result, Jane would have been Rachel’s sister-in-law and their close-relationship would grow inseparable. But, this is, to my dismay, not what happens. Then again, there is a reason that I am not a writer but a mere critic.