Austenland by Shannon Hale (2007, Compact Disc)

Colin Firth may have been responsible for making Jane Austen’s best known male protagonist into a contemporary international sex symbol, but generations of adolescent girls have always daydreamed of the aloof, wealthy and handsome Fitzwilliam Darcy. Jane Hayes is a 32 year-old New York City graphic artist whose emotions are in a state of arrested development. She blames Austen’s novels. Single and attractive, with an unbroken string of inadequate relationships beginning in grade school, she has given up hope of a marriage and family. Instead, she longs more and more for Darcy. Jane can laugh at her foolishness but cannot manage to change.

Suddenly, a great-aunt dies, bequeathing her a 3-week fantasy vacation in Pembrook Park, England, where everyone affects Regency Era attire and traditions and where Jane hopes to put her obsession to rest. The men are attractive and attentive, but are their lingering gazes real or part of the script? Kellgreen has just the right voice for a clever young woman torn between modern and bygone sensibilities. She differentiates characters well, handling a variety of British and American accents. A lighthearted romantic summer read for Darcy fans of all ages.