Jane Austen's Guide To Dating (From The Northern Echo)

Jane Austen's Guide To Dating

10:39pm Saturday 6th September 2008

• Print
• Email
• Comments(0)

Being a fan of Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility and Jane Austen's extensive list of romance novels, I looked at 'Jane Austen's Guide To Dating' as something fun to read on the beaches of Cornwall over the summer.

For years, women have dreamt of romantic encounters with charming, devillishly handsome men such as Mr Darcy or Captain Wentworth, involving breath-taking speeches and words like "nonsensical" and "ardently". So, Lauren Henderson's book 'Jane Austen's Guide To Dating' provides women with the ways of doing just that.

Henderson addresses the advice found in the hundreds of thousands of books filling the shelves and claiming to be the 'answer' to all of those questions women ask about how to find their very own Mr Darcy and secure that fairytale romance. With one book claiming that playing hard to get is the way forward (never making more than one date in a week, only ever answering his third phonecall and inventing weird and wonderful excuses to prove you're a powerful woman in demand) and another saying you need to make it insanely obvious that you're interested (laughing at his knock-knock jokes, twirling your hair like you've just entered the movie Clueless and pausing a mere second before accepting his date request), it is no wonder dating has become such a minefield.

'Jane Austen's Guide To Dating' is a refreshing, down-to-earth look at the way in which women should behave if they truly want to enjoy dating and falling in love, without the use of mixed signals and contrasting tactics. Using both extracts from Jane Austen's novels and examples of modern relationships, Henderson combines the 19th century principals and sentiments with the traditions of today's society; proving that romance can still be found in an ever-changing setting. Not only that, the clear format and concise chapter summaries leave you convinced and confident that the world of love may not leave you scarred and bewildered after-all.

So, if dating guides and self-help books have left you more dazed than optimistic, 'Jane Austen's Guide to Dating' is sure to give you that boost you need to begin your search again, as well as giving you an insight into which Jane Austen character you most resemble, and most need in your life through a fun quiz found at the back of the book...

Happy reading and get dating!

Jessica Jayne Grundy or should i say Jane Bennet ;)

• Print
• Email
• Comments(0)