#BookReview The Jane Austen Project by Kathleen A. Flynn (@AustenProject) @HarperPerennial

The Jane Austen Project by Kathleen A. Flynn
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

England, 1815: Two travelers—Rachel Katzman and Liam Finucane—arrive in a field, disheveled and weighed down with hidden money. They are not what they seem, but colleagues from a technologically advanced future, posing as a doctor and his spinster sister. While Rachel and Liam aren’t the first team of time travelers, their mission is the most audacious yet: meet, befriend, and steal from Jane Austen.

Carefully selected and rigorously trained by The Royal Institute for Special Topics in Physics, disaster-relief doctor Rachel and actor-turned-scholar Liam have little in common excerpt their extraordinary circumstances. Circumstances that call for Rachel to stifle her independent nature and let Liam take the lead as they infiltrate Austen’s circle via her favorite brother, Henry.

But diagnosing Jane’s fatal illness and obtaining an unpublished novel hinted at in her letters pose enough of a challenge without the convolutions of living a lie. While her friendship with Jane deepens and her relationship with Liam grows complicated, Rachel fights to reconcile her true self with the constrictions of 19th century society. As their portal to the future prepares to close, Rachel and Liam struggle with their directive to leave history as they found it…however heartbreaking that proves.

**********

There was a moment in the beginning of the book when a sentence made me stop reading and smile because I recognized a name and the sentence made me realize that the author has read my favorite book; Possession by A.S. Byatt. I will even quote the sentence: A statue of the poet Randolph Henry Ash, which had long stood in a traffic circle in Hampstead, had disappeared overnight, along with all records of its creation. The poet Randolph Henry Ash is one of the main characters in Possession and I thought this makes sense, someone has traveled back in time changed history so now we have no recollection of Randolph Henry Ash. The reason I thought so is that I think Randolph Henry Ash is one of the best poets ever, and he has never ever lived!

Anyway, I got a bit sidetracked by my love for Possession. Back to The Jane Austen Project. This book is fabulous, one thing that I truly loved with it was it really dealt with the consequences of traveling back in time, The changes it brings to the future. This is something that Rachel, the books narrator ponders over during the books progress. How their presence will change history. Even smalls thing can have big consequences as the ending will show.  

Rachel Katzman and Liam Finucane mission is to steal a manuscript from Jane Austen. But, befriending Jane has is consequences. Especially Rachel finds it hard to just play a role and try to find a moment to steal the manuscript. Rachel starts to like Jane, and as a doctor, she also starts to think about saving Janes life, but that would truly have consequences...

The Jane Austen Project is one of the best books I have read about time travel. I adore the beautiful cover and I found the story engrossing. 

I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a free copy through NetGalley for an honest review!