Wattlesbrook, is eager to preserve these rules at Pembrook Park and makes it clear that Jane–who didn't pay for the trip herself–is not their usual type of customer. Once Jane arrives at Pembrook Park in the English countryside, she is bombarded with the complex rules of Regency era society. She decides to go, planning to give up dating for good afterwards. In her will, Carolyn leaves Jane a trip to a Jane Austen–themed getaway destination. Jane accidentally reveals her secret to her great aunt Carolyn, who dies shortly after their conversation. Darcy from the BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. Plot summary Īustenland tells the story of 32-year-old Jane Hayes, an average New York woman who secretly has an unhealthy obsession with Mr. Hale even dedicated the novel to the series' leading man, Colin Firth. She has also cited the 1995 Pride and Prejudice mini-series as inspiration for Austenland. Protagonist Jane Hayes was inspired by a friend of the author's, as well as Hale herself. She drew upon her experience visiting the United Kingdom during college and trips touring Regency sites while writing Austenland.

Once she came up with the idea of a modern-day immersion program into the Regency era, it became 'a story wanted to tell' and one that took her seven years to write. Hale's favorite author as a teenager was Jane Austen. A film based on the first novel was released in 2013, starring Keri Russell and directed by Jerusha Hess. The novel is the first in Hale's Austenland series, followed by Midnight in Austenland. Her aunt dies and, in her will, leaves Jane a trip to an Austen theme park in the English countryside, where customers and actors role-play as characters in the Regency era. It follows protagonist Jane Hayes, a graphic designer living in New York City who is secretly obsessed with Jane Austen's 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice, specifically Colin Firth's portrayal of Mr. Austenland is a 2007 chick lit novel by Shannon Hale, published by Bloomsbury.

Austenland by Shannon Hale