Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict: A Novel (Jane Austen Addict Series)

A tale of manners, morals, and the search for the perfect man by Laurie Viera Rigler, author of the national best-seller Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict When Jane Mansfield, a gentleman's daughter from Regency England, awakens one morning in twenty-first-century L.A -- in the body of someone named Courtney Stone -- culture shock and chaos ensue. Jane must quickly find her way in a world in which everyone thinks she is Courtney: a dizzying world of horseless carriages, unrestricted clothing, and unheard-of liberties for womankind. And then there are all those people talking to the air while holding a small object against their ears. The only thing that is familiar -- and the only thing Jane has in common with the woman in whose life she has landed -- is a love for the novels of Jane Austen. But will the wise words of her favorite novelist be enough to guide her through this bewildering new world? And what is she to make of Courtney's attentive friend Wes, who is as attractive and confusing as the man who broke her heart back home? As Courtney's romantic entanglements become her own, Jane wonders: Would she actually be better off back in Regency England -- and will she ever be able to return? From Publishers Weekly This delightful sequel to Rigler's Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict has 19th-century Jane Mansfield switching bodies and milieus with contemporary L.A. girl Courtney Stone. As Jane grasps the idea that she's a different person in an unimaginable world, and grapples with the radically liberal social mores, dress and language, she leans on Jane Austen's novels as touchstones to reality. Kate Reading performs the first-person narration with a cultured tones and accent befitting an upper-class Regency-era young lady. Her skill as a versatile voice performer becomes evident as dialogue introduces modern American characters, and she skillfully modulates her accent, dialect and tones to accommodate them. The romantically suspenseful story and the entertaining vocal interpretation will keep romance listeners enthralled and amused. A Dutton hardcover. (Aug.) Copyright В© Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Review "Delightful...romantically suspenseful"--Publishers Weekly "Absolutely uproariously funny"--Bookreporter.com "Illuminating and at times hilarious and touching."--Austenblog.com The eagerly anticipated sequel to Confessions of a Jane Austen AddictLaurie Viera Rigler’s debut novel, Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict, was a hit with fans and critics, and a BookSense and Los Angeles Times bestseller. Its open-to-interpretation ending left readers begging for more—and Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict delivers. While Confessions took twenty-first-century free spirit Courtney Stone into the social confines of Jane Austen’s era, Rude Awakenings tells the parallel story of Jane Mansfield, a gentleman’s daughter from Regency England who inexplicably awakens in Courtney’s overly wired and morally confused L.A. life.For Jane, the modern world is not wholly disagreeable. Her apartment may be smaller than a dressing closet, but it is fitted up with lights that burn without candles, machines that wash bodies and clothes, and a glossy rectangle in which tiny people perform scenes from her favorite book, Pride and Prejudice. Granted, if she wants to travel she may have to drive a formidable metal carriage, but she may do so without a chaperone. And oh, what places she goes! Public assemblies that pulsate with pounding music. Unbound hair and unrestricted clothing. The freedom to say what she wants when she wants—even to men without a proper introduction.Jane relishes the privacy, independence, even the power to earn her own money. But how is she to fathom her employer’s incomprehensible dictates about “syncing a BlackBerry” and “rolling a call”? How can she navigate a world in which entire publications are devoted to brides but flirting and kissing and even the sexual act itself raise no matrimonial expectations? Even more bewildering are the memories that are not her own. And the friend named Wes, who is as attractive and confusing to Jane as the man who broke her heart back home. It’s enough to make her wonder if she would be better off in her own time, where at least the rules are clear—that is, if returning is even an option. Read Laurie Viera Rigler's posts on the Penguin Blog. The time-bending parallel tale to the national bestseller Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict In Laurie Viera Rigler's first novel, Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict, twentyfirst-century Austen fan Courtney Stone found herself in Regency England occupying the body of one Jane Mansfield- with comic and romantic consequences. Now, in Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict, Jane Mansfield awakens in the urban madness of twenty-first-century L.A.-in Courtney's body. With no knowledge of Courtney's life, let alone her world-with its horseless carriages and shiny glass box in which tiny figures act out her favorite book, Pride and Prejudice-Jane is over her head. Especially when she falls for a handsome young gentleman. Can a girl from Regency England make sense of a world in which kissing and flirting and even the sexual act raise no matrimonial expectations' The time-bending parallel tale to the national bestseller Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict In Laurie Viera Rigler's first novel, Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict , twenty-­first-century Austen fan Courtney Stone found herself in Regency England occupying the body of one Jane Mansfield, with comic and romantic consequences. Now, in Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict , Jane Mansfield awakens in the urban madness of twenty-first-century L.A.—in Courtney's body. With no knowledge of Courtney's life, let alone her world—with its horseless carriages and shiny glass box in which tiny figures act out her favorite book, Pride and Prejudice— Jane is over her head. Especially when she falls for a handsome young gentleman. Can a girl from Regency England make sense of a world in which kissing and flirting and even the sexual act raise no matrimonial expectations? Jane Mansfield, a gentleman's daughter from Regency England, inexplicably awakens in an overly wired and morally confused L.A. with memories that are not her own and a friend named Wes--who is as attractive and confusing to Jane as the man who broke her heart back home