The first two-thirds or so were perfect, but the ending felt very “off” to me, partly because (without mentioning spoilers) it was so historically unlikely. In Jane Austen’s world, I felt it should have stayed true to that social code.

The other problem was that sometimes I felt as if the writer was being a bit too obvious about borrowing from Austen’s characters and situations. I’d be reading through and thinking, “Oh, there’s Miss Darcy. And that’s Colonel Brandon.” In the novel, Jane is chided for looking too deeply at the mechanics of glamour–she is supposed to appreciate the illusion. And throughout the book, I found that the mechanics, however well-executed, really kept intruding.