The Austen Affair, Madeline Bell's debut novel, brings readers along for the charming-yet-chaotic time-travel journey of Tess and Hugh, polar-opposite actors starring in a film adaptation of Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey. The two spar on set due to Tess's unreliability and Hugh's stiff Method acting--until a lightning strike sends them back in time to Hugh's ancestors' estate in Regency-era England. Although Hugh researched the period to prepare for his role, Tess is an Austen devotee dating back to her childhood with her now-deceased mother. The pair soon realize that the only way they'll survive 1815 England without ending up in the madhouse is by working together.
The plot unfolds primarily in the past, and The Austen Affair takes its 21st-century readers to a world where a mere hand on a shoulder leads to the altar. Told in the first person by Tess, this contemporary and historical romance crossover gives readers the true Austen experience of the absolute eroticism that can be found in the simplest gestures: brief brushes of the hand, a cravat adjusted, longing looks across the parlor.
Readers need not be as familiar with Austen's work as Tess is, though the author's fans will appreciate her cameos and many Easter eggs throughout. Bell derives much humor from Tess's anachronistic knowledge of Northanger Abbey--a novel published posthumously. The Austen Affair is a complete delight, perfect for any reader who wants to be teleported to another place and enjoy the ride. --Alyssa Parssinen, freelance reviewer and former bookseller