ACCORDING TO JANE – Marilyn Brant
Kensington Trade Paperback
ISBN-13: 978-0-7582-3461-2
ISBN-10: 0-7582-3461-9
October 2009
Contemporary Romance

Chicago – The Present

At age thirty-four, librarian Ellie Barnett thinks she has finally found her one true love. It’s been a long journey from when she was fifteen in Mrs. Leverson's English class and Jane Austen joined her, mentally at least. Jane has been her invisible, but not silent, mentor ever since...one only Ellie can hear. She doesn't know why she is so blessed, but Jane has become her greatest friend, and supporter. In Ellie's hunt for her own Mr. Darcy, she has taken on amiable Jason and horrible, evil Sam (whom she can’t forget) in high school, and later, freeloading Dominic, rock musician Andrei, and emotionally immature Tim. She was sure she was destined to be alone, just like Jane, except even Jane holds a few unexpected revelations.

This first person account of Ellie's search for love is both quaint and modern, mixing an old-fashioned desire for that one life-long love with today’s turbulent, often self-deceiving, dating scene. Ellie has developed a list of common men types from those she has dated, many based on the qualities of Jane Austen's characters, such as Mr. Bingley and Mr. Wickham. Unfortunately, no Mr. Darcy is included. In the meantime, Ellie works to rehabilitate her relationship with her aggravating sister because Jane insists sisters are invaluable. This is a fun, quirky story, but I caught a little jet lag in all the time changes. However, as this is a memoir, diverging time lines have to be accepted, especially with so charming an end.

Robin Lee