Submitted by Gerti
While it is not as popular among Jane Austen fans as "Pride and Prejudice," I happen to be a big fan of her novel "Mansfield Park," which is one reason why this book appeals to me. Main character Lily Berry also loves "Mansfield Park" and its guileless heroine, Fanny Price. So it's no surprise that Berry mirrors Price at the beginning of the book, as Berry is a girl without a home of her own. Her mother has died of cancer, and her father has summarily ejected her from his life in order to remarry, and to add insult to injury, he may have been having an affair with the other woman long BEFORE Berry's mother died of cancer.
From this timeless and universally relatable crisis, Berry can't seem to avoid going from one catastrophe to another. Berry has also broken up her boyfriend and is "stalking: him by frequently driving past his house. Mirroring the situation with her parents, Lily discovers that the boyfriend too has moved on to another, more compatible female. Double heartbreak! To add icing to the cake, Berry has gotten herself fired from her human relations job after her boss finds her reading Austen novels at work. Can things get any worse for her?
Instead of trying to retool her life at home in Texas, Berry decides to chuck it all and go to England to act in a Jane Austen literary festival. Just like her home life, however, the "Literature Live" event goes astray. Berry starts three (or four) misfired romances, and several incomplete business plans to save the endangered festival, all while dealing with a terrible dysfunctional but filthy rich roommate, and a crazed boss lady who is not only having an affair with a married man (shades of what is going on at home!) but is an Austen nut who thinks the beloved 1800s author was making statements in her books on all kinds of modern issues like lesbianism and slavery. When Berry finally finds someone who is willing to play Edmund Bertram (the hero of "Mansfield Park) to her Fanny Price, I thought this book found its hero, but it was not to be. Or was it? The surprise ending leaves room for a sequel, because the pair DO NOT end up together in this book.
I will look for Cindy Jones to write a sequel to this book because I love the subject mater (Jane Austen), even if details of the literary festival are confusing and the weakest part of the book. But for a freshman effort, "My Jane Austen Summer" is a win for Jones, and I long to read more about this entirely entertaining and erudite group of characters. Not a classic, but never dull, this is a great summertime read. The only downside for me is the ease with which the heroine falls into bed (or worse! Yuck!) with the various male characters, but this author is truly talented and her writing is bright and contains many clever turns of phrase which outweigh even my old-school literary prudery.
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