AustenlandReview posted August 31, 2026
Bloomsbury, 2026. 326 pages.
Review written August 29, 2026, from my own copy, ordered via Bloomsbury.com and signed by the Author at the National Book Festival
Starred Review
Review of original edition written in 2013.
2007 Sonderbooks Stand-out:
#2 Romance Fiction
Shannon Hale has revised Austenland and Midnight in Austenland! So of course I had to buy new copies. And rereading it fits in perfectly with my plan for #Sonderbooks25, celebrating 25 years of writing Sonderbooks, to reread selected Sonderbooks Stand-outs from previous years, as this was a Stand-out the year I first read it, 2007. The fabulous news is that she did the revisions in preparation for writing a third volume, Christmas in Austenland, coming out this Fall, which of course I already have preordered.
She says it started as just a little editing to update the technology, but ended up as a full-on revision. It's been long enough since I last read Austenland - 2013 - that I didn't really notice the differences, but I thoroughly enjoyed the story and still wish someone would make this place in real life. And yes, I read into the wee hours of the morning finishing it because it was too hard to stop. Even knowing what's going to happen.
The premise is that there's a country house in England where wealthy women can go and be immersed in the world of Jane Austen. They're promised a romantic experience and get to attend a ball at the end. Handsome actors all make up a house party in Regency England.
Our heroine in this first novel, Jane Hayes, isn't rich enough to pay her own way, but she is obsessed with the BBC's Pride and Prejudice miniseries starring Colin Firth. Her great-aunt Carolyn learns her secret - and in her will leaves Jane a trip to Austenland.
Once there, Jane's journey loosely parallels Pride and Prejudice, complete with some clever banter, interesting first impressions, and a Wickham-like character to distract her. Some fun moments include Jane being asked to play the pianoforte and launching into "Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater." And the house party decides to put on a theatrical production (as in Mansfield Park), which puts couples together.
Something I love about the new edition is that it includes 48 pages at the back telling of Shannon Hale's experience making the movie Austenland and getting to be present on the set in England. (The movie is great fun - of course I own that, too.) What a dream come true seeing her words come to life! She captures the magic of the experience beautifully.
When I was in line at the National Book Festival to get this signed, the person next to me was a Jane Austen fan and a Shannon Hale fan, but hadn't heard of these books. Anyone this describes needs to read Austenland! And now they're updated, with more volumes on the way!