Jane Austen Ruined My Life by Beth Pattillo

Jane Austen Ruined My Life by Beth Pattillo. Guideposts-New York-Publication. February 2009. ISBN #: 9780824947712

Emma Grant has lost everything she previously valued in life, her marriage and her career in one fell swoop of betrayal and conviction based on association. A Jane Austen scholar, her love for this famous author provokes her to escape America and travel to England to do some research that may or may not yield fruit with which to restore her professional career. Between 1800 and 1804, an empty, unexplained space lies in the prodigious correspondence of Jane Austen.

How will Emma's connection with Mrs. Parrot, a knowledgeable woman living in relative obscurity, guarantee Emma success in her carefully plotted, unorthodox plan? The mysterious Mrs. Parrot tells Emma she must carry out a number of tests to ensure she is worthy of reading Jane Austen's missing letters. While not particularly difficult to complete, the process of doing these tasks becomes very, very complicated by the presence of Adam, an old flame whom Emma rejected over her ex-husband, Edward's loving advances and Barry, a slick, super-handsome male Emma meets. Barry causes just about all women to swoon with lustful, passionate response wherever he appears, and Emma is no exception for sure to his debonair advances as well.

But there's more than meets the eye with every character in this humorous, fascinating and poignant tale! As Emma sets upon the quest to discover the reason for Jane's silence, Emma discovers that every person has secrets that forge a person's character, forcing one to choose honor over shame, true love over devious machinations, and integrity over deception based on self-aggrandisement.

Historical fiction lovers will relish the places Emma visits, the descriptions of churches, bookstores, seaside resort areas and other notable places where Jane Austen lived, visited and wrote her well-known, renowned novels.

Love conquers the heart and mind in many, many ways, but Beth Pattillo has delved wider and deeper in the landscape of past and present history to grace the reader with secretive, dynamic, complicated and fascinating characters who enrich the true meaning of honor and love! The legacy of Jane Austen is alive and well in Emma Grant's journey to a novelist's singular, fascinating process!

Well, done Ms. Pattillo! Keep writing so we may thoroughly enjoy your talent in the future as much as readers will enjoy Jane Austen Ruined My Life!

Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart: A Novel by Beth Pattillo

Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart: A Novel by Beth Pattillo. Guideposts-New York-Publication. January 2010. ISBN #: 9780824947934

Claire Prescott is helping out her sister again, something she's been doing ever since her parents died. Claire has recently lost her job as an officer manager for a pediatrician's office, and she is in a very fragile state, unsure of where she is heading in a career and questioning the non-relationship she has with her boyfriend, Neil, a sports fanatic whose life revolves more about sports than Claire. So imagine Claire's consternation when she agrees to give her sister's scholarly paper about Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen at Oxford University in England.

Imagine her consternation when she meets a swarthy, Mr. Darcy-type man, James, and she finds herself lying about her life, attempting to reinvent herself in the prospect of appearing more interesting. Lies and secrets abound not only in this electric meeting but also when she meets an elderly woman, Harriet, with rapidly approaching dementia but who seems to present an earlier version of Pride and Prejudice that doesn't quite match up with the version the world knows.

As she reads this earlier much more real account in snippets over the course of a week, several women and an Austen scholarly seem to want to spend a lot of time with Claire. A trashed room and several undisguised threats shake Claire to the core? To whom should she speak about the secret manuscript? Should she do anything with it? Or does she just read her paper, continue to engage in Austen discussions and leave for America, having experienced an adventure that has set her mind and heart afire with questions and doubts, as well as forced her to face some facts about her life she'd much rather ignore but now can't?

Add to the mixture the arrival of Neil and a series of confrontations that rock both their worlds!

Beth Pattillo mixes mystery, passion and intelligence with a professional touch few ever manage to master! This reviewer recommends this novel as one of the best books read this year! Wonderful, Ms. Pattillo! Keep writing! We want more!