What Would Jane Austen Do?

Do you have a favorite author, one whom you like to emulate in real life? This is the concept behind What Would Jane Austen Do? by Linda Corbett. It’s a charming novel of romance, community, and a bit of family mystery, and Jane Austen’s quotes consistently prove helpful no matter how trying the situation. This delightful read just came out earlier this summer and is worth picking up.

Special thanks to Austenprose PR, HarperCollinsUK, and NetGalley for the review copy of this book!

Summary

Maddy Shaw has just lost her job as an Austenesque advice columnist when she meets Cameron Massey, a pugnacious bestselling crime author. They have very different views on romance novels and are happy to go their separate ways, never to see each other again. But when Maddy inherits a large house in a country village, and Cameron (real name: Luke Hamilton) is not only her neighbor, but her new lodger, they’ll have a lot more opportunities to butt heads… or come to find common ground. During her year living in the inherited house, Maddy must also plan her late relative’s literary festival and work out the mystery surrounding his life.

Review

What Would Jane Austen Do? opens with a remarkable first chapter that avid readers—especially fans of romance—are sure to enjoy. Maddy Shaw, a just-fired agony aunt, is a guest on a radio show along with Cameron Massey, a cynical and famously combative crime writer. The two get into a heated argument about their preferred genres in fiction, with him dismissing romance as formulaic fluff. Don’t worry, dear reader: Maddy made some excellent points and soundly won that argument! 

From there, the novel follows Maddy’s next unexpected circumstance: She’s just inherited a house from her dad’s long-lost cousin Nigel. The catch is that she must live in the house for a full year before she’s allowed to sell it. So she does the logical thing and moves in. It’s in a small village called Cotlington, with a tight-knit community and—surprise!—an annual literary festival that Maddy must spearhead this year. In addition to planning a literary festival with only five months’ notice, Maddy also has a new lodger at her house: none other than Luke Hamilton, otherwise known as Cameron Massey, the grumpy crime author. Then there’s the mystery surrounding Cousin Nigel and the American band he was once somehow connected to back in the 1970s. 

What Would Jane Austen Do? follows a few main threads, with an eclectic cast of characters causing a bit of mayhem for Maddy. Especially the ghost hunting! I enjoyed the secondary characters, with their distinctive personalities, and was enthralled by both the literary festival and the mystery surrounding Nigel. Bonus points for the rock ’n’ roll connection with the latter. Maddy’s frequent references to Jane Austen, her books, and quotes from those book were also a lot of fun. I can see the similarities between this novel and those classics, even with the updated time setting. 

Of course, the romance between Maddy and Luke is also a treat. I do love when characters start off seemingly completely at odds with each other. How can someone as acerbic as Luke be redeemed? How can two such different people find common ground and affection? Will he have an arc similar to that of Mr. Darcy? I especially liked how Maddy put her agony aunt past to good use in helping Luke out of his writer’s block. And his dog Buster is a constant source of joy… and maybe a bit of a matchmaker himself!

Final Thoughts

What Would Jane Austen Do? is a delightful novel of a woman at a crossroads in her career and living situation. There’s neighborly community, literary references and a festival, a bit of mystery about an estranged relative, and an unlikely romance between total opposites. Kudos to the author for providing an HEA not reliant on marriage or kids. I’ll have to read Linda Corbett’s first novel, Love You From A-Z, as well as whatever she writes next. And until then, I’ll dream about following in Nigel’s footsteps and starting my own literary festival…

Get the Book

You can buy What Would Jane Austen Do? at the links below – it’s available as a paperback, ebook, and audiobook.

AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | HARPERCOLLINS | GOODREADS | BOOKBUB

What Would Jane Austen Do? by Linda Corbett
Audience	Adult
Genre	Contemporary Romance
Setting	England
Number of Pages	384
Format I Read	Ebook (NetGalley)
Original Publication Date	June 16, 2023

Official Summary

It’s a truth often acknowledged that when a journalist and Jane Austen fan girl ends up living next door to a cynical but handsome crime writer, romantic sparks will fly!

When Maddy Shaw is told her Dear Jane column has been cancelled she has no choice but to look outside of London’s rental market. That is until she’s left an idyllic country home by the black sheep of the family, long-not-so-lost Cousin Nigel.

But of course, there’s a stipulation… and not only is Maddy made chair of the committee for the annual village literary festival, she also has to put up with bestselling crime author –and romance sceptic – Cameron Massey as her new neighbor.

When Maddy challenges Cameron to write romantic fiction, which he claims is so easy to do, sparks fly both on and off the page…