Vintage Jane Austen Blog Tour | Review + Giveaway!

Welcome to the Vintage Jane Austen Blog Event! I'm excited to share about this neat series with a clever premise and inspiration from an author we all know and love. ♥ (Especially following after our most recent Jane Austen read-along!)

In this post you'll learn all about the series, including the descriptions for each book. You'll also find an event schedule, a fun Amazon giveaway, and my review of Bellevere House. Let's open the door and stroll right in...

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What would it be like to see Elizabeth Bennet in 1930s clothes? What if Emma Woodhouse was the daughter of a car dealership owner? What if Marianne Dashwood was seeking to become a movie star in the golden age of film?

The Vintage Jane Austen series explores the world of Jane Austen, set in 1930s America. Five authors took on Jane Austen’s five most popular novels and retold them set in the Depression era, remaining faithful to the original plots. As an extra bonus to the series, there is a collection of short stories that were inspired by Jane Austen. Which of these books do you most want to read?

Emmeline by Sarah Holman (Emma): The talk of stock market crashes and depression isn’t going to keep Emmeline Wellington down. Born to wealth and privilege, Emmeline wants nothing more than to help her new friend, Catarina, find a husband. Emmeline sets her sights on one of the town’s most eligible bachelors, but nothing seems to go right. Even her friend and neighbor Fredrick Knight seems to question her at every turn.

Suit and Suitability by Kelsey Bryant (Sense and Sensibility): Canton, Ohio, 1935. Ellen and Marion Dashiell’s world crumbles when their father is sent to prison. Forced to relocate to a small town, what is left of their family faces a new reality where survival overshadows dreams. Sensible Ellen, struggling to hold the family together, is parted from the man she’s just learning to love, while headstrong Marion fears she will never be the actress she aspires to be. When a dashing hero enters the scene, things only grow more complicated. But could a third man hold the key to the restoration and happiness of the Dashiell family?

Bellevere House by Sarah Scheele (Mansfield Park): It's March 1937, and Faye Powell couldn't be happier. After moving to live with her uncle, a wealthy banker, she's fallen into the swing of life with his exuberant children—including Ed. The one she'll never admit she's in love with. But she hadn't reckoned on the swanky Carters getting mixed up in that vow. Ed seems to be falling for charming, sweet Helene Carter. And when Faye's cousin BeBe trusts her with a secret about Horace Carter, Faye is in over her head. Will she betray the confidence BeBe's given her? Will she lose Ed to Helene? The days at Bellevere House are crowded with surprises and only time will tell how God plans to unravel Faye and Ed's hearts.

Perception by Emily Benedict (Persuasion): Upstate New York, 1930. Thirteen years ago, Abbey Evans was persuaded to break off her engagement to a penniless soldier headed to the front lines of the Great War. A daughter of one of America’s wealthiest families could never be allowed to marry so far beneath herself. But Black Tuesday changed everything. With her family's prominence now little more than a facade, Abbey faces the loss of her childhood home. As if that weren’t enough, the only man she ever loved has returned after making his fortune—and he wants nothing to do with the young woman he courted before the war. With the past forever out of reach, the time has come for Abbey to decide her own fate, before it is too late…

Presumption and Partiality by Rebekah Jones (Pride and Prejudice): Coming soon… A retelling of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice set in 1930s Arizona.

Second Impressions: Jane Austen's stories have inspired writers for generations. In this collection, they inspire fiction across the genres! From the English Regency to the American 1950s, in Houston or a space freighter, fairy-tale land or a retirement center...Austen's timeless characters come to life again.

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Event Schedule

Visit these blogs to find interviews, book reviews, and much more! 

November 5
Review of Emmeline - Once Upon the Ordinary
Review of Bellevere House - Kaylee's Kind of Writes
Series Spotlight - A Real Writer’s Life
Interview with Kelsey Bryant - Resting Life
Series Spotlight - Kelsey’s Notebook

November 6
Interview with Sarah Holman - J. Grace Pennington
Review of Emmeline - Kaylee's Kind of Writes
Mini Reviews and Interview with Sarah Scheele - Deborah O’Carroll
Interview with Rebekah Jones - Livy Lynn Blog
Review of Suit and Suitability - Resting Life

November 7
Interview with Kelsey Bryant - J. Grace Pennington
Review of Perception - Kaylee's Kind of Writes
Review and Interview of Perception - Purely by Faith Reviews
Review of Second Impressions - The Page Dreamer
Series Spotlight - Finding the True Fairy Tale

November 8
Interview and Review of Suit and Suitability - Once Upon the Ordinary
Review of Suit and Suitability - Kaylee's Kind of Writes
Review of Perception - A Brighter Destiny

November 9
Series Spotlight - God’s Peculiar Treasure
Review of Second Impressions and Suit and Suitability - Ordinary Girl, Extraordinary Father
Interview with Rebekah Jones - Kaylee's Kind of Writes
Series Spotlight – Christian Bookshelf Reviews

November 10
Review of Suit and Suitability - With a Joyful Noise
Series Spotlight - Liv K. Fisher
Review of Second Impressions - Kaylee's Kind of Writes
Review of Perception - She Hearts Fiction
Interview with Sarah Holman – Rebekah Ashleigh

November 11
Series Spotlight - Reveries Reviews
Review of Suit and Suitability - Faith Blum
Interview with Sarah Holman - Kaylee's Kind of Writes
Interview with Hannah Scheele - Peculiar on Purpose
Review of Bellevere House - Seasons of Humility You are here!

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Giveaway!

As part of this special blogging event, the authors are giving away a $25 Amazon gift card. Enter to win below:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

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My Review of Bellevere House

I confess this is a somewhat difficult review for me to write. There were some aspects of the story and characters I didn't like...but let me start with some positive points.

Bellevere House is interesting! There is a lot going on, and while the titled house serves as the main stage for the book's happenings, there's also a bit of travel woven through the plot. With such a large cast of characters, there are activities and shenanigans going on all over the place. You're not likely to get bored as you follow Faye and her cousins and acquaintances.

And while I don't entirely care for how faith is portrayed overall, I do feel a good intent is there. There are some lovely thoughts like this in these pages...

The silver light twinkled on the blue waves like thousands of diamonds set adrift by God's generous hand. Diamonds must be nothing to One who held all the riches of heaven. He could spread a few million on the seas.

The struggle to share one's faith, to make it feel "relevant" in an age when many see it as a fairy tale, is a real one, and it's a brave topic to address against this backdrop of a world between wars. I also admire that the story brings up the importance of love and grace.

I think where the book really faltered for me was in its transitions (or lack thereof). Perhaps if I was more familiar with Mansfield Park (it's a book I haven't read yet, but hope to soon!), I would have had an easier time following the plot. Even still, nothing felt fluid—from the conversations to the events, and even to the characters' growth and transformations. Between the large cast and the constant happenings, everything felt chaotic. And how things came together in the end didn't seem authentic to how the characters had been portrayed.

There isn't much to admire in the book's hero, at least from what we're told of him. The heroine speaks now and then of her faith, but it feels like something added on rather than something that influences her to be strong in all areas of her life. (But perhaps that is truly authentic, and a sober reminder of how easily we lose sight of what we claim is most important to us.) I do like Uncle Warren, though, and the way his presence provides order amid the chaos.

I was shocked by some of the things the other secondary characters did without any apparent reaction from anyone else. (That might have been for humor's sake in some instances, although I didn't find it humorous when one character slapped another, and no one seemed to care.) I also don't see how two characters' "happily ever after" is a path to be applauded or admired in how it's approached.

So...perhaps this book wasn't quite for me. But on the flip side, this story could provide a lot of discussion topics! And it makes me want to read Mansfield Park to understand the original plot and characters better.

This is certainly an interesting retelling, and I think the series is a really fun idea, especially with multiple authors coming together to tell these tales in their own unique ways. :)

*With thanks to the Vintage Jane Austen group for providing me with a free e-copy of this book.*