Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict

A tale of manners, morals, and the search for the perfect man

by Laurie Viera Rigler,

author of the national best-seller Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict

When Jane Mansfield, a gentleman's daughter from Regency England, awakens one morning in twenty-first-century L.A -- in the body of someone named Courtney Stone -- culture shock and chaos ensue.

Jane must quickly find her way in a world in which everyone thinks she is Courtney: a dizzying world of horseless carriages, unrestricted clothing, and unheard-of liberties for womankind. And then there are all those people talking to the air while holding a small object against their ears.

The only thing that is familiar -- and the only thing Jane has in common with the woman in whose life she has landed -- is a love for the novels of Jane Austen. But will the wise words of her favorite novelist be enough to guide her through this bewildering new world? And what is she to make of Courtney's attentive friend Wes, who is as attractive and confusing as the man who broke her heart back home? As Courtney's romantic entanglements become her own, Jane wonders: Would she actually be better off back in Regency England -- and will she ever be able to return?

Laurie Viera Rigler's novels Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict and Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict (both published by Plume in North America, Bloomsbury in the UK, and Sperling & Kupfer in Italy) could have been considered semi-autobiographical had they not involved time travel and body switching.

Her short story, Intolerable Stupidity, in which Mr Darcy brings charges against all the writers of Pride and Prejudice sequels, spin-offs and retellings, appears in the anthology Jane Austen Made Me Do It (Ballantine, October 2011).

In addition to working on her third novel, Laurie is the creator of the web series Sex and the Austen Girl, which is inspired by her Austen Addict novels. All 23 episodes can be found at Laurie's online home, janeaustenaddict.com, and at babelgum.com/sexandtheaustengirl. Laurie can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.