Time travel to Austen’s England in The Austen Affair by Madeline Bell

The Austen Affair by Madeline Bell was a fun romp through Austen’s England with a nicely developed romance and a well-handled journey through and out of grief.

When The Austen Affair starts, we are on a movie set for an Austen adaptation but quickly end up in the early 1800s English countryside through a bit of time travel. I really enjoyed that this book literally zapped right into this with only a minimal setup — it helped set the pace early.

Meet the Plot of The Austen Affair

Tess Bright and Hugh Balfour are the main actors/characters in both the adaptation and the book, and they travel together into the past on the heels of a major blowup on the movie set. Time travel necessitates that they trust and open up to each other a bit more as they navigate finding a way home.

Get more The Austen Affair plot background here

Tess Bright just scored her dream role starring in an adaptation of Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey. It’s not just the role of a lifetime, but it’s also her last chance to prove herself as a serious actress (no easy feat after being fired from her last TV gig) and more importantly, it’s her opportunity to honor her mom, who was the biggest fan of Jane Austen ever. But one thing is standing in Tess’s way―well, one very tall, annoyingly handsome person, actually: Hugh Balfour.

A serious British method actor, Hugh wants nothing to do with Tess (whose Teen Choice Awards somehow don’t quite compare to his BAFTA nominations). Hugh is a type-A, no-nonsense, Royal Academy prodigy, whereas Tess is big-hearted, a little reckless, and admittedly, kind of a mess. But the film needs chemistry―and Tess’s career depends on it.

Sparks fly, but not in the way Tess hoped, when an electrical accident sends the two feuding co-stars back in time to Jane Austen’s era. 200 years in the past with only each other to rely on, Tess and Hugh need to ad-lib their way through the Regency period in order to make it back home, and hopefully not screw up history along the way. But if a certain someone looks particularly dashing in those 19th century breeches…well, Tess won’t be complaining.

A wickedly funny, delightfully charming story, The Austen Affair is a tribute to Jane Austen, second chances, and love across the space-time continuum.

What starts as a necessity becomes a bit more fun and then a bit more spicy. Along the way, there are some common speed bumps (jealousy, misunderstandings, anger). I think both main characters do a good job of working over their hangups and also communicating clearly about them (as time goes by). Something wonderful about this book was the amount of dialogue articulating feelings instead of so many things being personal revelations barely spoken on the page on the way to a bed, wall, or chaise.

Regarding my mention of grief, the book quickly establishes Tess has lost her mother, a top Jane Austen fan. When we first meet her, she is still figuring out how her life moves on without her mom. Through her journey back in time, she feels connected to her mom, and this can be very touching without weighing down the lighter aspects of the book. This side plot gives the book a little something extra.

I don’t want to spoil anything, but I think the author does a really good job of nodding to common time-traveling tropes without living there. There are also many homages to classic Austen scenes, and they avoid being too tongue-in-cheek or reverential…more of a wink and a nod serving The Austen Affair’s plot.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book in the very beginning, but it had me flipping the pages quickly after Chapter 4 or so! A definite recommend for Austen fans, Regency romance fans, or anyone who loves a good journey through time.

Tropes in The Austen Affair

• Time travel
• Enemies to lover
• A bit of grumpy/sunshine

Review based on a NetGalley advanced copy. This post contains affiliate links.