The Man Who Loved Jane Austen by Sally Smith O’Rourke, Kensington Books (copyright 2006), ISBN 0-7582-1037-X

Front and Back Flaps: What if you found a 200-year-old love letter written from a fictional character to the writer who created him? And what if, next to that letter, was another addressed to this character…from the author herself? Truth may be stranger than fiction, but one woman is about to find out what happens when fiction becomes truth…

New York artist Eliza Knight certainly did not realize it at the time, but her life changed when she bought the old, beat-up vanity table one lazy Sunday afternoon. Tucked away behind the mirror she found two letters, one sealed, but one already opened:

“May 12th, 1810. Dearest Jane, the Captain has found me out. I am being forced to go into hiding immediately. But if I am able, I shall still be waiting at the same spot tonight. Then you will know everything you wish to know. F. Darcy.”

F. Darcy? Fitzwilliam Darcy, the fictional hero of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice? Even more mysterious was the other letter, sealed and never read – from Jane to Darcy. Could this man, possibly the most romantic character even written and the hero of Eliza’s favorite novel, have been a real person? Eliza’s initial guarded curiosity turns to astonishment as scientific testing confirms the sealed letter was indeed addressed by Jane Austen. But she is completely baffled by the revelation that the other letter, though proven to be from the same time period, was written by an American.

Caught between the routine of her present life and the intrigue of these incredible discoveries from the past, Eliza decides to look deeper. Her research leads to a majestic, 200-year-old estate where she meets the one man who may hold the answer. But he also has a secret, one he has kept hidden for years. Now, as the real story of Fitzwilliam Darcy unfolds, Eliza finds her life has become a modern-day romance, one that perhaps only Jane Austen herself could have so eloquently written.

O’Rourke’s novel alternates between the past and the present. Eliza meets a man named Fitzwilliam Darcy in Virginia. What she does not know is the current F. Darcy has had an unusual experience on a horse buying trip to England. He jumps his hunter over the barrier and travels back to Jane Austen’s time. The sealed letter can bring Eliza a fortune, but it might be difficult for Darcy to explain how he met Jane Austen and fell in love. He wants the letter as a symbol of requited love.

I found it clever to include Jane Austen as one of the book’s characters, and I enjoyed O’Rourke’s look at Austen’s life. (When the movie “Becoming Jane” came out, I thought of many of the scenes from this novel. There is a similar attitude.) One can find expert plotting, and this is an easy read that pays tribute to Jane Austen’s ideals of romantic love. (As in many modern adaptations, there is some sexual content.)

Ms. O’Rourke will be one of our guest bloggers on AustenAuthors.net in March. I hope everyone will join us then.

Again, this is one of my favorite Austen-inspried books. Although it is 5 years old, one might still find it on used books sites. It does have a new cover and can be found on Amazon and B&N.