Joceline Bury - Jane Austen's Regency World Magazine
CARDS ON THE TABLE: I'm a sucker for time-travel fiction - from H. G. Wells to, well, to Jane Odiwe in this instance. Her latest Austen-inspired romance takes Ellie Bentley, a modern-day student, to Hampshire, where her best friend has arranged for them to take part in an archaeological dig. Not particularly interested in either digging or Jane Austen, Ellie does have a gift for 'seeing' things - and on the girls' first night at Ashe Rectory she encounters a very handsome ghost. So the scene is set for Ellie to be spirited back to Steventon during the winter of 1796 to witness just what happened when Jane Austen met Tom Lefroy and to - perhaps - unravel the real love story behind the romance at the heart of Pride and Prejudice. Odiwe writes with great charm and assurance: her contemporary characters are engaging, her historical protagonists convincing. In Project Darcy she takes a slice of literary history and turns it into a thoroughly entertaining, often very funny, and frequently touching piece of modern romantic fiction.
Laura Boyle - Jane Austen Centre Online Magazine
Jane Odiwe writes from the heart. This is evident to anyone who has ever read one of her novels, but particularly so in her newest work, Project Darcy. Published just in time for Christmas, it is surely her gift to Austen fans everywhere.
The story centers on a group of friends who join an archeological expedition at the site of Steventon Rectory. The five girls mirror the Bennet sisters in personality and even name choices, and just as in Pride and Prejudice, Ellie (our heroine) and Jess share a special bond.
The purpose of the dig is to discover the actual layout of the Austen’s home, and it is clear from the writing that Ms. Odiwe is intimately familiar with the Austen haunts mentioned throughout the book, from Steventon to Ashe and Deane, Bath and London. Relationships among the other workers and staff form the backdrop of a fairly straightforward retelling of Pride and Prejudice, cleverly repackaged though, in order to drop twists and turns throughout, and laugh out loud moments at just the right time.
This is, however, a time travel story, as well. Like her previous book, Searching for Captain Wentworth, Ellie has the ability to travel between the 21st century and Regency England. Unlike the other book, however, these time jumps are uncontrolled by temporal items, and are brought on by the proximity of so many Austen locations. In Ellie’s jumps, she literally becomes Jane Austen, creating a story within a story, as she relives many of the poignant memories of Austen’s past, and seeks to shed light on her oh-so-mysterious relationship with Tom Lefroy.
Although the archeological dig takes place in summer, Ellie’s jumps, for the most part, return her to the winter of 1795/96 when we know, from Jane Austen’s own letters, that she met Tom while he was visiting his aunt. The descriptions of Christmas at Steventon and the Manydown ball are delightful, and it is fun to fill in the gaps in what we do know, fleshing out a story of love won and lost. Traces of Austen’s “later” works are visible and it is clear that Ms. Odiwe let her imagination have full reign in giving Jane the romantic past that we all might wish for her. While many scenes are reminiscent of Jon Spence’s Becoming Jane, we are also treated to the history of Jane’s turquoise ring which came to public attention this past year.
I will not reveal the details of the story here, or how it all works out in the end, but reading it felt like a treasure hunt with fun “Easter Eggs” on every page. As always, she manages to insert clever homages to our favorite author in every corner. Clearly familiar with Jane Austen’s life, Ms. Odiwe has spent much time reimagining what Austen’s life might have been like “between the lines”—her artwork, and first book, Effusions of Fancy, no doubt laid the groundwork for this novel, which reads like both a modern take on Pride and Prejudice and a first person biography of Jane Austen. And while we may know how both of these stories wind down, the ending was not predictable, and kept me guessing until the very last page.
Ms. Odiwe has stayed true to the facts as we know them. All else is speculation and imagination, and as her readers delight to know firsthand, she has a vivid imagination.
For the first time, Ms. Odiwe has included a scene of more adult style material, which makes this novel unsuitable for the young adult audience, however even this is presented in such a light that it is impossible to determine if it “really happened”, or was simply the result of a feverish dream.
All in all, it is an enjoyable read, perfect for curling up with during the dead of winter, transporting you to Regency England's Christmas, and reminding us that the warmth of English summer will return again.
Alexa Adams-
A new Jane Odiwe novel is always a cause for celebration. I have loved everything she has done. Her books combine a deep affection and respect for Jane Austen with a unique vision of what her world looked like, a perspective born of Ms. Odiwe's experience of the physical location associated with Austen and her work as an artist. The result is vivid:
I ran through the glittering garden, past the sundial and the rose beds, where rosy blooms were crumpled like crushed paper in the heat. Along with the pink bricks of the walled garden scented with apricots, I ran my fingers along the roughened surface, not stopping to pick the sweet strawberries lying below in their straw bed nests, and as last I saw him. I could see his white head as he sat at his desk by the window. There were piles of dusty books and yellowed papers on every side of him, and I knew his fingers would be stained black with ink as he corrected his accounts or marked his scholars' work. I knew before I reached the house that the room he occupied would be wreathed in sweet-scented pipe smoke, just one ingredient in the magical elixir that conjured up his special smell. Gilt-edged books, paper and ink all had their own aroma as dear to me as any exotic perfume from India, and were as much a part of him as the glass of Madeira that he took in the evening, and his own cologne of bergamot, neroli and lavender. I could not reach him quickly enough, and at that moment he seemed to sense my presence and looked up to wave and smile. I waved back, my heart filled with love.
I ran into the house, dark and cool after the sunny day outside to find him still busy with his books. I brought the smell of outdoors with me and knew I loked like a wild child with leaves in my hair.
"Little Jenny, you have had a very busy afternoon, I think. Those grass stains tell a certain tale."
I hung my head waiting for him to scold me, but I should have known better. He simply laughed and held out his arms to me.
"Tell me a story, Papa."
The place is Steventon Rectory, and the girl is Jane Austen. Like Ms. Odiwe's previous book, Searching for Captain Wentworth, Project Darcy is a tale of time travel. This time, instead of the heroine inhabiting the body of someone who knew Jane, she becomes the author herself.
Five modern college students sign up as volunteers for an archeological dig (code named Project Darcy) at the site of Steventon Rectory. They are female roommates, and their personalities are modeled on the Bennet sisters. Our heroine, Ellie, has had intuitive experiences of the other worldly before, but as soon as she arrives at Ashe Rectory, where the girls are housed during the dig, she sees a young man dressed in Regency garb. The ghost proves to be Tom Lefroy, and Ellie begins to have episodes where she travels back to the time when he and Jane fell in love.
Much has been made of Austen's romance with Lefroy, most of it conjecture, but Ms. Odiwe's rendition coincides nicely with the facts. Her research into Austen's letters and the locations depicted endow the entire novel with a believability usually lacking in such attempts. Yes, images from Becoming Jane were, at times, hard to repress, but the depiction of Jane is far more realistic. It was wonderful to indulge in her perspective, so beautifully constructed!
The parts of the book that take place in the past are so good as to outshine the modern story a bit. I enjoyed watching Ellie cope with her experience and explore her own loves, but it is when she is Jane that I completely lost myself in the tale. I admit to being somewhat surprise at how the story ended for Ellie, and even a little disappointed, if only because Ms. Odiwe intentionally toys with our expectations, playing on the Pride & Prejudice parallels. One the other hand, Jane's romance is remarkably satisfying, even with the inevitable end it must come to. Austen, as Ms. Odiwe portrays her, is strong and inspiring when she says goodbye to Tom, not tragic in the least. The reader is left feeling no heartbreak, only gratitude.
I must wonder if Ms. Odiwe has more time travel tales in store for us. It has never been a favorite genre of mine, but in Ms. Odiwe's hands, perhaps because she doesn't get bogged down in mechanism and explanation, I find myself entranced. Project Darcy brings to life the personal experiences Austen endured that may have inspired her most beloved novel, just as Searching of Captain Wentworth did for Persuasion. I do so hope the rest of Austen's novels will be tackled in their turn.
Meditating Mummy Blog -
***** Author Jane Odiwe’s latest novel Project Darcy is a beautifully written story inspired by Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Exquisite imagery accompanied by an intriguing tale of a modern-day heroine and her travels into the past, embodying the life of Jane Austen in the Winter of 1796, gives the story its pulse.
I am always excited to find Austen sequels that hold the true essence of the great author. It is often difficult to do justice to her works, or even try to write a sequel with beloved characters that hold their sacred place in literature along with their creator. Jane Odiwe’s books are special in that way; they reflect her love for Austen, her travels to places Austen frequented and intricate details of the life Austen led. Each page takes you on a journey to acquaint you intimately with this sharp,witty, intuitive and glorious writer who makes you sigh with pleasure every time you pick up a copy of any one of her great novels.
In Project Darcy, Jane Odiwe offers us the most intimate look into the past, the one that brought Darcy and Elizabeth into our lives. Being an artist, she has painted her characters in settings of sumptuous colors, fabrics and seasons, weaving them into delicious words. I often found her descriptions of the simplest of food delectable.The scenery is simply breathtaking. If you stop for a second to take it all in, it surrounds you. I was moved by so many scenes, but since I can’t go into all of it, I will quote a few lines that I read many times over. It embraces that time in the past, lending itself to a backdrop of something inexplicable and mysterious.
“There was a picture of a Christmas card in front of her – snow covered the ground, lit up from the moon above and from the candlelight in the windows, which threw bars of gold against blue snow shadowed by tall trees.” ”Powdering every surface, snow crystals were piled in pillows up to the steps and weighed down lacy boughs on trees, bending them to smooth white blankets on the ground.”
Ellie ( Elizabeth) and Jess are best friends, as close as sisters. Along with their friends, Martha, Cara and Liberty, they join an archaeological dig to find the remnants of Jane Austen’s childhood home Steventon Rectory. When Jess’s godmother invites them to stay at Ashe while she’s in Tuscany, Ellie in particular is taken with the beautiful home that seems so inviting with its wisteria and roses climbing the walls. Ashe is also the home of Jane Austen’s good friend Madame Lefroy, where she encounters a young man, said to have had a huge impact on her life and writing – Tom Lefroy. Ellie who is able to see into the past, immediately senses and sees a beautiful young man, a faint figure, by the upstairs window. The visual moves her immediately, gives her a sense of familiarity, and then, just as suddenly as he appears, he disappears. As the girls settle into the house and become acquainted with Mrs Hill, the housekeeper, the attention to detail in their surroundings become the focal point and the pairings are stunning. From a fragrant arrangement of roses and lavender to a marble fireplace and pretty floral china. From a sofa covered in dove grey linen, to a French bed with button silk upholstery. From vintage to Regency, the colors dance out of the pages.
Ellie and Jess in their close relationship have some similarity to Jane and Elizabeth Bennet, but they are very much their own people. I was struck by Jess’s personal story and Ellie’s sense of independence, her forthright nature. I believe Martha has some similarity to Mary, although I liked Martha much more. Cara and Liberty, stood out loud and clear, in fact extremely loud, all of their personalities however, with their own twists and turns bind the story in all the right places. Some characters like Donald, who reminded me of Mr Collins, injected bursts of humor here and there, and I loved it when Jess in particular, met handsome young Charlie Harden, who reminded me of Mr Bingley. Jane Odiwe kept the story in the present as conflicted and interesting as the story in the past. Ellie’s encounter with Henry alone made me enjoy it that much more. I also love how the story touches on subjects that are current; without revealing too much the author is able to take liberties with the present and portray some very real crises. Things that touch the heart. Sadness and judgement. The contrast between being irresponsible and young and steady and level-headed. My very favorite mention of course, is of Colin Firth and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
When Ellie begins her travels into 1796, the story grows as we begin to see her transform into Jane Austen. Odiwe transitions in and out of the past so seamlessly, allowing me to feel all the intensity of Austen’s emotions through Ellie. I felt every heartbeat, every look, and every step. I was there when Austen danced her way through the Winter balls with her handsome young Irish friend. They certainly made quite the couple. As Ellie uncovers what truly occurred that Winter, the beginnings of Pride and Prejudice, a beautiful story of love, unfolds. Every scene in the past is so other worldly, it is almost too beautiful, I was transported so quickly, that these words – ” there was laughter and movement and flurries of white muslin as dashing young men spun their partners around, satin slippers kicking up the chalk” - made me stay longer than I wanted. In fact, I didn’t want Ellie to come back at all. I even inhaled hints of fresh limes and geranium and just as I thought she was about to learn more, feel more, she returns to the present, quite changed. What I found most intriguing, a lesson if you will – the mention of Elinor and Marianne Dashwood – the beginnings of Sense and Sensibility. Jane/Ellie writing in the past about choosing the head over the heart. It is not just a concept that stays in the past but one that is extremely relevant to the present as well. I truly enjoyed this book, I hope you will too.
Laura's Reviews - Laura Gerold
I read Project Darcy right before Christmas and it was a perfect book to read at that time of year. Author Jane Odiwe is also a wonderful artist and I loved her illustration of an old-fashioned house in winter in a small circle on the cover. Looking at that picture whenever I picked up the book, I found it southing and put me in the mood for the novel. I wish I could actually get more copies of her artwork. I need to look into this!
Project Darcy is a time travels with Jane Austen novel. Ellie Bentley joins an archaeological dig at the childhood home (Steventon rectory) of Jane Austen for the summer while in college. This isn’t really how she wanted to spend the summer, but her good friend Jess has survived cancer and this dig is one of her dreams. Together with their other friends, Martha, Cara, and Liberty, they travel to Hampshire and stay in Jess’s Aunts house, which also happens to be the home of the Lefroy family, good friends of Jane Austen. While there, Cara and Liberty go silly over the boys, but Jess find herself more seriously infatuated with Charlie Harden, a rich and nice guy. Ellie is not so infatuated by Charlie’s snobby friend Henry Dorsey. This present day story roughly follows the lines of Pride and Prejudice set in modern times, but with a few new twists and surprises.
One twist is that Ellie has a special gift where she is able to slip back in time and experience Jane Austen’s romance with young Tom Lefroy. Jane finds Tom quite stuffy and arrogant when she first meets him, but upon further meetings, she finds herself in love. Tom and Jane both have no money and know their romance is improbable, but their love cannot be denied. Could this romance have helped to inspire Pride and Prejudice?
I enjoyed this novel. It was a relaxing read and quite entertaining. I felt both the contemporary as well as the time slip portion of the novels were equally as strong in the narration. I enjoyed both stories and felt in suspense waiting to see what was happening in the other time frame. I liked all of the characters and I especially enjoyed the twists to the stories that Odiwe added in just when you thought you knew what was going to happen. I also really enjoyed the setting of the modern day story – an archaeological dig on Steventon Rectory! That would be a dream to work on. I also love time slip/time travel stories so together with my love of all things Jane Austen, this was the perfect novel for me. I highly recommend it for anyone looking for a great book to read.
Project Darcy is a time travels with Jane Austen novel. Ellie Bentley joins an archaeological dig at the childhood home (Steventon rectory) of Jane Austen for the summer while in college. This isn’t really how she wanted to spend the summer, but her good friend Jess has survived cancer and this dig is one of her dreams. Together with their other friends, Martha, Cara, and Liberty, they travel to Hampshire and stay in Jess’s Aunts house, which also happens to be the home of the Lefroy family, good friends of Jane Austen. While there, Cara and Liberty go silly over the boys, but Jess find herself more seriously infatuated with Charlie Harden, a rich and nice guy. Ellie is not so infatuated by Charlie’s snobby friend Henry Dorsey. This present day story roughly follows the lines of Pride and Prejudice set in modern times, but with a few new twists and surprises.
One twist is that Ellie has a special gift where she is able to slip back in time and experience Jane Austen’s romance with young Tom Lefroy. Jane finds Tom quite stuffy and arrogant when she first meets him, but upon further meetings, she finds herself in love. Tom and Jane both have no money and know their romance is improbable, but their love cannot be denied. Could this romance have helped to inspire Pride and Prejudice?
I enjoyed this novel. It was a relaxing read and quite entertaining. I felt both the contemporary as well as the time slip portion of the novels were equally as strong in the narration. I enjoyed both stories and felt in suspense waiting to see what was happening in the other time frame. I liked all of the characters and I especially enjoyed the twists to the stories that Odiwe added in just when you thought you knew what was going to happen. I also really enjoyed the setting of the modern day story – an archaeological dig on Steventon Rectory! That would be a dream to work on. I also love time slip/time travel stories so together with my love of all things Jane Austen, this was the perfect novel for me. I highly recommend it for anyone looking for a great book to read.
Candy Morton - So Little Time ... so much to Read!
Ellie has a gift for seeing ghosts and being able to slip back in time. It’s not something she has any control over. Ellie, Jess and a few other girls have volunteered to work on an archaeological dig at the site of Jane Austen’s childhood home in Steventon. As soon as Ellie arrived at Ashe Rectory, where she and the girls were going to be staying for the summer, she saw him. He was a handsome young man, and she had the distinct feeling that she knew him quite well. Then he was gone. This was just the beginning of seeing him. Soon she began to slip back in time as Jane Austen and the young man is Tom Lefroy. Sometimes Ellie would spend days as Jane, then return to the present to find only a moment had passed. It becomes hard for Ellie to separate her feelings from Jane’s as she falls deeply in love with Tom. Whenever Ellie would be back in the present, she would miss Tom badly. It was fun picking out the parallels to Pride and Prejudice in this story! Matching up the characters, like Ellie is Elizabeth, and Jess is Jane...you get the picture. And Jane and Tom’s story was excellent! I liked how you could see where Jane would get her ideas for her stories!
I was absorbed into both stories! Not only are we seeing Jane and Tom fall in love, but or course, there is romance in the present day story also. As Jess finds her Mr. Bingley, will Ellie find her Mr. Darcy? There is a twist at the end that I did not see coming! I confess, at first I wasn’t sure if I liked this twist, but in the end it worked out alright. My only complaint is that I thought it ended too soon! I would have liked to have gotten to know one of the characters better.
I really enjoyed Project Darcy! It's a fun read! I would recommend this story to both Jane Austen fans and time travel fans alike! It is the second book in Odiwe's Time Travels with Jane Austen series. I haven't read the first, but I'm going to have to read it soon!
NUT PRESS - Kathryn Eastman
After having enjoyed Jane Odiwe’s Searching for Captain Wentworth, I jumped at the chance to read Project Darcy even before knowing anything more about it other than the title and that the cover promised further Time Travels with Jane Austen.
Happily, Project Darcy isn’t about the search for a present-day Darcy or the transformation of a modern-day man into someone’s romantic ideal of Darcy. Instead, it’s the codename of an archaeological dig that aims to unearth the site of the old rectory at Steventon where Jane Austen lived the first twenty-five years of her life. This dig brings together an interesting mix of people and it’s fun matching up those resembling Jane Austen’s own circle or her characters. For example, there’s our heroine, Ellie, and her university friends, Jess, Martha, Liberty and Cara, five girls with initials matching those of the five Bennet sisters. You’ll have to read the book to discover if that’s all they share in common.
Jess has just come through a particularly bad year and is a huge fan of Jane Austen and her novels, so Ellie thinks it would be good for the girls to go on the dig to do something nice for their friend but also as a way of spending their last long summer together before they each go their separate ways after university. Thanks to Jess’ godmother, they’re fortunate enough to have an amazing place to stay in ‘Madam’ Lefroy’s former home at Ashe. (Anne Lefroy was not only a good friend of Jane Austen’s, even after she had left Steventon for Bath, but she was also aunt to Tom Lefroy with whom Jane is believed to have had a romance when he visited Ashe in the winter of 1795/6.)
Almost as soon as they arrive at Ashe, Ellie starts ‘seeing into the past’, something she’s always been able to do and not something this reader ever questioned, I think in large part because Ellie and her best friend, Jess, never do. Both see it as quite normal. However, this time Ellie’s visions and slips back in time feel much more personal than they have in the past and she finds it increasingly hard not to get involved when she is drawn out of a hot summer dig to Jane Austen’s time at Steventon and then, more particularly, to the very winter of Tom Lefroy’s visit.
One of the highlights to me of Odiwe’s previous book was how she’d imagined Jane Austen to be, as well as her contemporaries and the characters from her books and their possible real-life inspiration. This holds every bit as true for Project Darcy and I had a great deal of fun reading not only Odiwe’s take on Jane Austen and her circle of acquaintances and their surroundings but seeing how she used fragments of well-known speeches and letters from Jane Austen’s books to show how and where Jane Austen’s inspiration might have come from. I liked the fact that having a twenty-first century heroine slip back in time allowed Odiwe to take a few more liberties than she might otherwise have done in scenes between Ellie and her eighteenth century beau. I also enjoyed figuring out who the modern-day counterparts to Jane Austen’s characters were and seeing how they behaved now that they were in a more contemporary setting and circumstances.
The slips between both Jane Austen’s time and Ellie’s own are managed well and Jane Odiwe gives equal attention to both periods. All too often, time slips can feel uneven, with the historical parts of a novel seeming more real or interesting than those set in more recent times. It doesn’t feel that way here and whichever period I was reading about, I was there, totally immersed in it. I really felt as if I got two great reads in one here, rather than one strong story padded out with a weaker one.
One of my few criticisms and it is fairly minor and one that I attributed to the ages of the girls and the fact that they might be more over-exuberant in their descriptions than someone older, is that sometimes the description of people, places, feelings and things seems altogether too perfect. However, it didn’t impact too much upon my enjoyment of the story and, like I said, I could put it down to how young the girls in the book are and that the story is told from Ellie’s viewpoint.
I thoroughly enjoyed getting to spend some more time with Jane Odiwe’s imagining of Jane Austen, and see what her life at Steventon might have been like. In particular, it was fun to have a closer look at the period when she met Tom Lefroy, to get to dance at the winter parties and enjoy how her romance might have played out, as well as to see what an impact it and Tom might have had on her as a young woman and how their burgeoning relationship might have informed her writing. Equally enjoyable though was the idea of spending a summer with the modern-day characters on the site of the old vicarage at Steventon and then later in London and in and around Bath.
I pretty much read Project Darcy in one sitting. Even though I knew at least how Jane Austen’s own story would end, I loved spending time with her again in that period, as well as being anxious to see where the modern-day characters would be at the end of the book – and who with! This was a highly enjoyable read for me because it had a bit of everything: sumptuous period detail – I can imagine that Jane Odiwe had fun imagining the interiors of Ashe, both in Jane Austen’s time and in its more contemporary setting; seeing who the candidates for Jane Austen’s characters were from her own circle of acquaintances and their modern-day counterparts; a good sprinkling of romance and pairings, including a glimpse into one of Jane Austen’s own rumoured romances and the delicious puzzle of piecing all the connections together madeProject Darcy for this reader.
Meredith Esparza - Austenesque ReviewsIn her first phenomenal timeslip novel, Searching for Captain Wentworth, Jane Odiwe takes readers to Bath, England in the year 1802 where the main character transports back in time to the body of Jane Austen's neighbor and friend. (ugh! Such a lucky girl!) In her second timeslip novel, readers travel to Steventon, Hampshire in the year 1796 where the main character transports back in time to the body of...Jane Austen! (so not fair, right!?!)
In Project Darcy, our main character, Ellie Bentley travels to Steventon with several of her friends to participate in an archaeological dig at the site of Jane Austen's former home. Although Ellie looks forward to capturing the beautiful countryside of Steventon on canvas and taking part in the dig, she ends up learning more about Jane Austen and her beloved childhood home than she ever intended! For some inexplicable and uncontrollable phenomena, Ellie is able to transport into Jane's body and experience her brief romance with Tom Lefroy - the witty banters, the exhilarating dances, the clandestine encounters...
What a delight it is to read another timeslip novel by Jane Odiwe! Thank you, Jane, for once again exploring the unknown secrets of Jane Austen life and for taking us back to Steventon! What a treat it was to visualize Jane Austen's beloved home and surroundings! Oh! And thank you for fleshing out her relationship with Tom Lefroy...*sigh* What an enchanting and plausible romance!
One of my favorite things about Jane Odiwe's writing, is her ability to paint lush, striking, and vibrant scenes using just her words. She truly does write with an artist's eye and describes the world of her novels with such incredible sensory detail! Another aspect I love about Ms. Odiwe's works is that she often writes novels with two main tumblr_static_once-upon-a-timeintertwining storylines (kind of like Once Upon a Time - one of my fave TV shows). Each storyline is captivating and complex, full of intrigue, romance, and drama, and just when you least expect it...torturously put on hold while she switches to the other storyline!
Similar to Searching for Captain Wentworth and its gentle nods and parallels to Persuasion, Project Darcy holds some strong connections and similarities with Pride and Prejudice. Of course, I loved spotting these clever parallels in Jane Austen's romance with Tom Lefroy, but sometimes the modern-day counterparts with Ellie felt little forced and stilted by comparison. In addition, there was a pretty surprising twist at the end that came about quite unexpectedly. While I do love a good surprise, I kind of felt the unexpectedness of this outcome made the story's beautiful conclusion feel just a little less satisfying and complete.
Despite my quibbles, Project Darcy is another brilliant and reverent work of fiction by the talented and always artistic Jane Odiwe! I do hope that she has some more timeslip novels in mind! I would love to explore more of Jane Austen's life and works with some lucky heroine who is transported back in time!
Janet B Taylor - More Agreeably Engaged
Project Darcy is a charming story about five modern day friends taking part in an archaeological dig at Steventon, the home of Jane Austen. Ellie Bentley is a talented artist and watercolorist. She also has another gift, the unique ability of seeing people and places of another time. This special gift allows Ellie to experience a time slip to two hundred years in the past and actually become Jane Austen. What a treat this is for the reader as Jane Odiwe so expertly weaves in the story of Jane Austen and her real-life romance with Tom Lefroy. It is a treasure by itself.
The book seamlessly moves between present and past. The modern day story about Ellie and her friends has close parallels to the original plot and cast of Pride and Prejudice. I had much fun picking out which present day character represented which original! The occasional quotes were sometimes given to someone other than the original counterpart but in such a way that it felt natural.
Each time Ellie slips to the past, the reader learns more about the life of Jane Austen and her growing feelings for Tom Lefroy. It all felt incredibly believable and was extremely gratifying. Even though I knew the fate of the two lovers, Jane Odiwe told their story in such a touching and poignant manner that I did not feel the sadness that I expected. It was beautifully done. I also loved the connection of the past meeting the present with Jane Austen’s reticule, the discovery of its contents and its significance to Ellie. Very neat!
The modern day ending came as a complete surprise. It was a twist that I did not see coming plus it was rather sudden. I wasn’t ready for it to end and wanted to know more. In spite of that wanting, I must add that the last few lines of the book were delightful!
I love the time travel aspect of this narrative and especially when Ellie goes back in time as Jane Austen. Both parts of the story are entertaining and enjoyable. The author’s knowledge of the area shines through in her lovely descriptions of the landscapes. I could see the pictures she was painting and felt like I was there. Project Darcy is a very good book and for anyone who loves Jane Austen, it is a book not to be missed!
4.5 out of 5 stars
Read Chapters One - Ten
Amazon UK Amazon US