Reviewed by Jeanne
Jane Austen fan Phaedra Brighton took the adage “Find what you love and then make a living with it” to heart and became an English professor so she could spend her time teaching her idol’s books to college students. She even dresses the part, wearing period costumes so that her students can get an idea of what life was really like. She’s either a dedicated teacher or an eccentric who uses gimmicks to hold her students’ attention, depending on whom you ask. At the moment she has her plate rather full, what with new professor Mark Selden to show around (an Oxford Shakespearean scholar, who gives every indication of being privileged and entitled) and serving as consultant on a new reality TV show, “Who Wants to Marry Mr. Darcy?” It’s basically “The Bachelor” in period costume with a Hollywood hunk as Mr. Darcy. The show is being filmed at the stately home of Phaedra’s newly married friend Charlene Lucas, which is a story in itself. Until the last few months, the house belonged to the Fortune family, but with the death of Mr. Fortune, the house and all his worldly wealth went to a nephew—specifically, Charlene’s husband—and Mrs. Fortune and her four daughters found themselves out in the cold. Well, living in a guest cottage, but to them that’s pretty much the same thing.
(If some of this is beginning to sound suspiciously like plot aspects borrowed from a Jane Austen novel, you’re not wrong.)
Ahem. Not long after Jane—er, Phaedra—arrives, so does Bill Collier, Charlene’s husband, CEO of Longbourn Pharmaceutical, and heir to the Fortune fortune. He is not a nice man. He berates his wife, makes a huge scene, and tosses out accusations.
At least then he has the good manners to get himself killed.
With her friend Charlene as chief suspect, Jane—I mean, Phaedra—sets out to prove her friend’s innocence, save the English Department, and deal with that infuriating Mark Selden, despite some prejudice against him.
With a cover model who bears more than a passing resemblance to Kiera Knightly, I found this homage to Austen to be a lot of fun. It could be read simply for the cozy mystery, but the real delight for me was recognizing characters’ names and winks at the books. For example, William Collier makes a good stand-in for Mr. Collins, the clergyman who marries Charlotte Lucas; to sweeten the pot, references are made to Collier’s past as a shady evangelist. References such as these abound, and more than once I was mentally kicking myself for not picking up on one sooner.
As for the rest of it, the plot is solid enough. There’s a cat, Wickham, who is handsome but not rather aloof and standoffish. (I did not care for the catty comment that felines are not lovable but given that Wickham does play an important role, I shall be magnanimous and try to overlook it.) I loved the literary references, from sly references from characters to quotations from Shakespeare.
I’ll certainly be on the lookout for the next in the series, A Murderous Persuasion.
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