The Man Who Loved Jane Austen

What if Fitzwilliam Darcy was a real man? Seriously. Think about it. What if Jane Austen had met and fallen in love with him only to lose him? Hmm...Think of the possibility that someone in the twenty first century finds letters from Jane Austen to F. Darcy.

Here's the blurb for The Man Who Loved Jane Austen by Sally Smith O'Rourke:

When New York artist Eliza Knight buys an old vanity table one lazy Sunday afternoon, she has no idea of its history. Tucked away behind the mirror are two letters. One is sealed; the other, dated May 1810, is addressed to 'Dearest Jane' from 'F. Darcy' - as in Fitzwilliam Darcy, the fictional hero of Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice". Could one of literature's most compelling characters been a real person? More intriguing still, scientific research testing proves that the second, sealed letter was written by Jane herself. Caught between the routine of her present life and these incredible discoveries from the past, Eliza decides to look deeper and is drawn to a majestic, 200-year-old estate in Virginia's breathtaking Shenandoah Valley. There she meets the man who may hold the answer to this extraordinary puzzle. Now, as the real story of Fitzwilliam Darcy unfolds, Eliza finds her life has become a modern-day romance, one that perhaps only Jane herself could have written.

I was walking through the shelves at the library and my peripheral caught sight of the title. Interesting title I just had to pick it up. I'm so glad that I did, too.

It's not an over the top book with an in-depth charactization of Darcy and time that he lived. It's a lovely romance, it's sweet and simple. It's a fun book to read. I found a few of the characters shallow, and they acted more like fillers and then really being part of the story. But I enjoyed Fitz and Eliza, and I even liked Jane.

The Man Who Loved Jane Austen by Sally Smith O'Rourke (4/5) Romance; Paranormal: Time Travel; Published: Kensington (2006); New Author; 2009 100 + Reading Challenge (46); 2009 Support Your Local Library (40);