矿泉水的日子

Alexandra Potter explores what happens when a 29-year-old bookstore manager and Jane Austen fan comes face to face with her Mr. Darcy.

If you’ve ever dreamed of what it would be like to meet Mr. Darcy, this book is for you. Emily Albright, a 29 year old single woman has been on a series of bad dates. So many, in fact, that she has sworn off men. But when she signs up for a trip to England for a Jane Austen retreat, she finds love in the most unexpected ways.

Emily leaves her apartment and book store management job in New York City behind for a one-week tour of the English countryside over the New Year’s holiday. She arrives in England on a blustery cold winter day, with a suitcase full of Jane Austen books and minimal clothing. “Some people pack too many clothes,” she says. “With me, it’s books.”

On the tour bus, she meets Spike Hargreaves, a man who couldn’t be more dissimilar to her ideal man, Mr. Darcy. Spike is writing an article on Mr. Darcy, of Pride and Prejudice fame, examining why he’s the object of so many women’s affection. Spike has a lot to learn. Emily is disgusted at the Brit’s lack of manners, fashion or tact – she overhears him telling a friend that she’s dull and average looking – and tells him so on several occasions.

So when she encounters a dark and brooding fellow during a tour of Jane Austen’s home, she can’t believe her eyes. She has come face to face with the real Mr. Darcy. Suddenly her fantasy is reality, as she gets to know the brooding and handsome Mr. Darcy and the charming world in which he lives, which consists of moonlight horseback rides, poetry, and flowers. Unfortunately, it also includes an old-fashioned view on women and their role in society and a formality that Emily struggles to understand.

At the heart of the book, Emily must decide whether her fantasy is one that she really does want to live, or if her idealized view of men by way of Mr. Darcy is indeed too good to be true.

The Jane Austen Society of North America (JASNA) sponsors tours of England that include visits to Jane Austen's residences, private homes she knew, and places she visited. Offered by a professional tour company, a tour for the summer of 2008 is in the works. Itinerary and registration information will be mailed to JASNA members prior to being posted on the web site, and tour participants must be JASNA members. For more information, visit The Jane Austen Society of North America.

Potter, Alexandra

Me and Mr. Darcy

New York, Random House-Ballantine Books, June 12, 2007

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