THE JANE AUSTEN PROJECT

A clever time-travel saga, a vivid portrait of England in 1815, a wrenching love story with a touch of screwball comedy—this is a book that works on many levels.

THE JANE AUSTEN PROJECT is the story of Dr. Rachel Katzman and Professor Liam Finucane, colleagues from a dystopian future on a risky mission, to travel back in time to find and befriend Jane Austen. Rachel is a doctor, who is being sent to help diagnose Austen's final illness, which has always been a mystery. Liam is a scholar who is being sent because of his expertise in Austen's work, whose hope is to copy and bring back Austen's letters—as well as a suspected unpublished novel. Posing as wealthy West Indies planters, they make contact with Jane's brother Henry in London, and quickly become part of the Austen circle, gradually befriending Jane herself.

They marvel at the sensations of London—the noisy streets, the taste of meat which in the future is an unknown foodstuff, the stench of manure and coal smoke—and learn the customs of Regency England as they set up a household with servants. We worry with them as they attempt to “pass,” using fake banknotes, wearing clothes that they aren't sure look entirely correct, speaking in accents they hope betray no foreign edges.

And just as their intimacy with the Austens starts to take surprising and dangerous turns, Rachel and Liam's own relationship starts to become complicated.

KATHLYN FLYNN is an editor at The New York Times, where she works at The Upshot. A graduate of Barnard College and the University of North Carolina, she has taught English in Hong Kong, washed dishes on Nantucket, and is a lifetime member of the Jane Austen Society of North America. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and their shy fox terrier, Olive.