Austenland is a 2007 novel by Shannon Hale.
Jane Austen fangirl Jane Hayes is given the trip of a lifetime when her wealthy great-aunt wills her an all-expenses-paid trip to the Austen-themed resort Austenland, where the guests are assigned the roles and plotlines of a regency romance. Jane hopes to meet her own Mr. Darcy, but complications ensue.
Tropes present in the books Austenland and Midnight in Austenland include:
- The Alcoholic: Mr. Wattlesbrook is one. Sets a cottage on fire while drunk, which is the final straw for Mr. Mallery, who kills him and hides the body.
- Betty and Veronica:
- Nobley and Martin for Jane. Nobley is an actor playing Darcy, and Martin is just the gardener. At first she chooses Martin, up until learning that he is a phony. Shannon in an earlier draft had the two of them ending up together.
- Eddie and Mr. Mallery for Charlotte, though ironically Eddie is portrayed as her wayward "brother" and Mr. Mallery is her Tall, Dark, and Snarky gentleman. She initially chooses Mr. Mallery, since Mrs. Wattlesbrook wouldn't let her date her own fictional brother, but then he tries to murder her after she finds the keys to Mr. Wattlesbrook's Bentley.
- Earn Your Happy Ending:
- Jane after a string of bad boyfriends finally finds Henry, who risks his heart and finances to fly with her to New York.
- Charlotte after a bad divorce and surviving a murder attempt finally finds love in her Austenland "brother" Eddie as well as an excuse to stay with him in England.
- Mrs. Wattlesbrook when introduced to Miss Charming as a business partner; Miss Charming has the finances and the math skills to buy back the other Austenland estates and have it turn a profit.
- Genre Shift: Austenland is a romantic comedy, while Midnight in Austenland is a Gothic mystery.
- Hidden Depths: Think Mrs. Wattlesbrook is just an uptight hostess that frowns on improper behavior? Think again: she is married to an abusive husband and somehow keeps Austenland afloat despite his escapades, and manages to grieve when learning that he died.
- "Not So Different" Remark: Charlotte, like Mrs. Wattlesbrook, had a terrible husband. Mrs. Wattlesbrook smiles when Charlotte as part of her Austenland character claims she's a widower, and that her husband died painfully. When Mrs. Wattlesbrook finds out that Mr. Mallery killed her husband, she obviously has complicated feelings. Charlotte sits her down and says that it's okay to mourn the good as well as the bad bits of her marriage.
- The Mistress:
- A woman named Justice, for Charlotte's husband. She's apparently obnoxious on the phone, rubbing it in about how Charlotte's husband left his wife for her.
- Miss Charming bitterly reveals that her own romantic partner went for a "toothpick" named Heather. She said she didn't know he was cheating on her for a while.
- Yandere: Mary in Midnight in Austenland. She fancies Mr. Mallery a little TOO much.
