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In the future, technology has been perfected that allows researchers to go back in time. One project puts together a team who will pose as brother and sister to visit England in 1815, with the goal of bringing back an unpublished novel called “The Watsons” by Jane Austen. Doctor Rachel Katzman and actor and author Liam Finucane are given extensive training and then sent back to visit London as wealthy former plantation owners from the West Indies. Their immediate plan is to befriend Jane Austen’s brother Henry, with the aim of being introduced to Jane herself and somehow eventually making it to her country home, where they hope to find and take the manuscript. And all this has to be done as circumspectly as possible, to minimize disruptions in time.
“Dr. William Ravenswood and Miss Mary Ravenswood” manage to successfully settle into a home in London near Henry Austen, hiring servants and projecting the appearance of wealth and good manners. They come to know not just Henry but Jane, becoming close friends. But complications arise, naturally: Henry becomes more attached to “Mary” than they expect, and Rachel finds herself attracted to Liam. They also face some scares as they try to complete their mission. Then there’s the question of Jane herself: They know she’s going to die just a year after their visit back in time, from an unknown illness — but what if Rachel could diagnose it? And even treat it? What kind of ramifications would the huge change of extending Jane’s life have years down the road, in their own time? But wouldn’t it be worth pretty much anything to help Jane Austen?
If you’re a fan of Jane Austen, this novel will likely entertain; it’s always fun to revisit her world in some way, and The Jane Austen Project takes known facts about the revered writer’s life and expands on them, speculating on what she and her close circle were like and throwing in the audacious idea of time travelers inserting themselves into that life. It allows for an exploration of women’s roles in that time period versus what they are now and how difficult it would be for modern people to have to adapt to those mores. It is mostly set in 1815, so it’s jarring when the characters from the future behave in ways that are definitely not appropriate for the Regency era, such as having sex outside of marriage or even talking about it, or being involved in advances that aren’t just holding hands. I found the ending particularly fascinating, with the repercussions of what happens in the past revealed in the future and the main characters having to decide how to handle those changes. It’s all a clever concept and one that’s well executed. It’s entertaining both for the return to Jane’s world and for the twists.
Rated: Moderate, for three uses of strong language and some sexual content, several scenes of which are moderately detailed but fairly brief.
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