Michael Thomas Ford: Jane Bites Back

Review by Vicky London

Jane Bites Back is a cute and clever addition to the Jane Austen mania while neatly skewering it at the same time.

Two hundred years after her death, Jane Austen is still surrounded by the literature she loves—but now it’s because she’s the owner of Flyleaf Books in a sleepy college town in Upstate New York. Every day she watches her novels fly off the shelves—along with dozens of unauthorized sequels, spin-offs, and adaptations. Jane may be undead, but her books have taken on a life of their own.

To make matters worse, the manuscript she finished just before being turned into a vampire has been rejected by publishers–116 times. jane longs to let the world know who she is, but when a sudden twist of fate thrusts her back into the spotlight, she must hide her real identity–and fend off a dark man from her past while juggling two modern suitors. Will the world’s most beloved author be able to keep her cool in this comedy of manners, or will she show everyone what a woman with a sharp wit and an even sharper set of fangs can do?

I recently discovered the books of Georgette Heyer who essentially created the regency romance genre. So, I was definitely in the mood for a little Jane Austen. I was a bit worried that I wouldn’t understand some of the references without having read her books. The closest I’ve gotten is seeing the movie Sense and Sensibility (the Kate Winslet version). That’s probably blasphemy to some people and reveals a gaping hole in my literary education, but I digress. Ford humorously transforms Jane into a vampire bookseller who is appalled at all the people making a buck off of her name and no royalty check in sight. He also gently pokes fun at contemporary authors like Seth Grahme-Smith who wrote the hit Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and Jeaniene Frost who becomes “Poppy Frost” in the book, whom Jane dislikes because her heroine slays vampires with her corset stays. It gets a little wacky in parts but I hung on for the ride and was glad I did. Jane is an endearing character even as she is sparring with other famous authors of her day who also happen to be vampires. If you like humorous books and are even remotely familiar with Austen you will certainly enjoy this modern comedy of errors and characters.

If you’d like to hear more from the author about how he came up with the idea for the series, read his blog here: http://janebitesback.com/archives/207

Publisher: Ballantine Books; Original edition
Release Date: December 29, 2009
ISBN-10: 0345513657
ISBN-13: 978-0345513656

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