Tag Archives: Midnight in Austenland

Giveaway Winners Announced for Midnight in Austenland

Posted in Austenesque, Contemporary Fiction, Giveaways by

Midnight in Austenland, by Shannon Hale (2012)60 of you left comments qualifying you for a chance to win a copy of Midnight in Austenland, by Shannon Hale.

The winners drawn at random are:

  • Bluestocking who left a comment on February 17, 2012
  • Jakki L. who left a comment on February 18, 2012
  • Courtney F. who left a comment on February 17, 2012

Congratulations ladies! To claim your prize, please contact me with your full name and address by March 07, 2012. Shipment to US addresses only.

Thanks to all who left comments and to author Shannon Hale for her great snswers to my probing questions. I am really looking forward to seeing the new movie adaptation of Austenland.

© 2007 – 2012 Laurel Ann Nattress, Austenprose

Q & A with Midnight in Austenland Author Shannon Hale, & a Giveaway!

Posted in Austenesque, Contemporary Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Fiction, Giveaways, Guest Blog by

Midnight in Austenland: A Novel, by Shannon Hale (2012)We have a special treat in store for you today. Please help us welcome New York Times best-selling author Shannon Hale. She has graciously fit us into her very busy promotional schedule and answered a few probing questions about her new Austen-inspired novel, Midnight in Austenland, and the new movie in production of her first novel in the series, Austenland.

LAN: Thanks Shannon for joining us today to chat about your new Austen-inspired novel, Midnight in Austenland. This is the second time you have taken readers to that special place, Pembrook Park, the Regency-era theme park in Kent, England designed for Janeites. What tempted you to return?

SH: I was writing a screenplay for Austenland with Jerusha Hess and really enjoying returning to the story and the characters. Then when I wrote up a character sheet for my co-writer, I stumbled upon a new story idea. That story became Midnight in Austenland. I was delighted! I’d never thought to return.

LAN: Do any of the original characters from Austenland make an appearance in Midnight in Austenland? If so, can you share who and why you chose them?

SH: Miss Charming, who was a guest in the first book, is still there. The idea made me laugh, so I had to do it. I love writing her dialog, and I felt like her character had more to explore. Mrs. Wattlesbrook, the proprietress, and her handsy husband are there, and Colonel Andrews, whose parlor mystery game created the story that I couldn’t wait to follow.

LAN: There are many interesting and entertaining new characters in Midnight in Austenland, but the standout for me was Mr. Mallery. Can you give us any insight into your inspiration for his character and a preview of your deliciously moody hero?

SH: Thank you! I was thinking about how Jane Austen was in many ways commenting on the gothic romances of her day in her stories, even with Mr. Darcy. I wanted Mallery to start at that place but mixed in a little more Rochester and Heathcliff–a dark hero with a bit more bite. He was fun. I want to say more, but I’m afraid I’d get spoilery!

LAN: Midnight in Austenland is not only a romantic comedy; it is a mystery, with spirited allusions to Jane Austen’s gothic parody, Northanger Abbey. Gothic fiction played an important part in Austen’s creation of Northanger Abbey. Were there any mystery novels or authors that inspired you? Continue reading →

Midnight in Austenland: A Novel, by Shannon Hale – A Review

Posted in Book Reviews, Jane Austen Contemporary Inspired Book Reviews by

Midnight in Austenland: A Novel, by Shannon Hale (2012)Guest review by Christina Boyd

Best-selling author of Austenland, and soon to be motion picture of same, Shannon Hale, takes us on another retreat to England in her latest offering, Midnight in Austenland.

When the nice American Charlotte Kinder married a nice man named James in a nice wedding, later giving birth to and raising two nice children, it surprised everyone when she started her own web-based company and was also discovered to be a clever, successful business woman. Her picture perfect world soon turns topsy-turvy when her husband divorces her for another. One particularly “thin and drab” weekend when the children are away with their father, she finds temporary solace, and even heart pounding sensations long forgotten, while reading Jane Austen’s masterpieces.  Seeking further escape from her non-fiction life, Charlotte flies to England in retreat to a country manor house catering to the total immersion of a Jane Austen experience, “Pembroke Park, Kent England.  Enter our doors as a houseguest come to stay two weeks, enjoying the country manners and hospitality—a visit, a dance or two, a turn in the park, an unexpected meeting with a certain gentleman, all culminating with a ball and perhaps something more…” p.12. No one would suspect that Charlotte Kinder was about to become the heroine of her own life.

After completing a questionnaire declaring Pride and Prejudice her favorite novel, but also a particular enjoyment in Northanger Abbey and Mansfield Park, Charlotte’s total immersion Austen vacation seems tailored specific to her whims and desires, complete with an affectionate brother, a jovial Colonel and even her own brooding handsome gentleman of mystery. Although she is fully aware that everyone is playing a role, including herself, the lines between reality and fiction quickly become gossamer thin.  But when a spontaneous hide-n-seek like game called Bloody Murder is suggested, Pembroke Park’s promise of a possible flirtation is not what initiates Charlotte’s heart to pound.  “Lightning filled the window, piercing the room with an X-ray flash.  And she saw.  It seemed to be… it couldn’t be but it sure looked like… a hand.” p.91.  Obvious parallels to Northanger Abbey leave Charlotte questioning her own sanity as she attempts to accept the fantasy and play along.  Because what could be wrong with a little, harmless flirtation?  But is all of this intrigue and horror real or just part of the story line?

Shannon Hale does a capital job of weaving an intricate web of Charlotte’s past realities with her current situation (or is it imaginings?) at the Park.  Each new chapter begins with a memory or instance of her former self before stepping into this make-believe Regency England, endearing to Charlotte’s real life anxiety and disappointments from almost the beginning. Charlotte’s journey from sad, cuckolded creature to a strong, vibrant Incomparable is heart warming and enchanting. I was cheering as she finally opened her eyes to all she is and what she had not seen in her marriage.  So was the mystery and romance she experienced at Pembroke Park real?  I would not tell you for the world.  But let’s just say Midnight in Austenland left me with a happy heart and wondering where do I make a reservation?  Perfect escape for the blahs of winter, I totally accepted this blatantly contrived happy ending—because we all know, happy endings were one of Jane Austen’s specialties.

4.5 out of 5 Stars

Midnight in Austenland: A Novel, by Shannon Hale
Bloomsbury USA (2012)
Hardcover (288) pages
ISBN: 978-1608196258
NOOK: ISBN: 978-1608196401
Kindle: ASIN: B006WXUK3Q

Christina Boyd lives in the wilds of the Pacific Northwest with her dear Mr. B, two youngish children and a Chesapeake Bay Retriever named Bibi.  She studied Fine Art at Temple University’s Tyler School of Art and received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications from Salisbury University in Maryland. For the last nine years she has created and sold her own pottery line from her working studio. Albeit she read Jane Austen as a moody teenager, it wasn’t until Joe Wright’s 2005 movie of Pride & Prejudice that sparked her interest in all things Austen.  A life member of the Jane Austen Society of North America, visiting Jane Austen’s England remains on her bucket list.

© 2007 – 2012 Christina Boyd, Austenprose

Preview of Midnight in Austenland: A Novel, by Shannon Hale

Posted in Austenesque, Book Previews, Contemporary Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Fiction by

Midnight at Austenland: A Novel, by Shannon Hale (2012)In 2007 bestselling young adult novelist Shannon Hale ventured into adult fiction and brought us the enchanting Austenland – a trip to a fantasy vacation resort in England with a Regency theme. The heroine Jane Hayes gets a chance to live her “secret addiction to the 1995 A&E television adaptation of Pride and Prejudice and all things Darcy.” It was a Janeite favorite. Now she is offering readers a chance to return to Pembroke Park for a new Regency inspired adventure with deep Austen overtones and a Gothic infused mystery to solve. Wouldn’t Austen’s heroine Catherine Morland from Northanger Abbey be right at home in this novel? Here is the publisher’s description:

Beloved, bestselling author Shannon Hale returns to Austenland, where bonnets are in vogue and gentlemen can dance, where one might still find real love — and real murder!

In Midnight in Austenland, Shannon Hale takes us back to Pembrook Park, the lovely English resort where women can play out their Jane Austen fantasies. But this time things take a turn for the Gothic: a little Northanger Abbey infusing our Mansfield Park.

Charlotte Kinder of Ohio is consummately nice. Maybe too nice. Her teenage kids don’t appreciate her, and she lets her jerk ex-husband walk all over her. But she’s also clever. And when she treats herself to a two-week vacation in Austenland, it turns out that she’ll need her wits about her. With everyone at Pembrook Park playing a role, it can sometimes be difficult to discern what’s what. Is the brooding Mr. Mallery as sinister as he seems? What is the mysterious ailment from which Miss Gardenside suffers? Could the body Charlotte discovers during a parlor game be an actual corpse? And – perhaps of the most lasting import – could the stirrings in the heart of our crime-solving heroine be a sign of real-life love?

The sequel to reader favorite Austenland provides all the perfectly plotted pleasures of the first book, with a feisty new heroine and plenty of fresh twists. There’s romance, there’s humor, there’s intrigue, and at last – just as it always happens in Austen – everything turns out right in the end.

Continue reading →