A Weekend with Mr. Darcy

June 6, 2011
Connellyâs meta-Austenian romance has little substance of its own. Katherine Roberts, an Oxford professor presenting at a conference, meets Warwick Lawton, but is unaware that he is also Lorna Warwick, a popular author of gothic romances and Katherineâs pen pal. Warwick knows who Katherine is, though, and he sets out to make her fall in love with him between sessions where conference attendees quote snippets of Austenâs novels. Meanwhile, Katherineâs friend Robyn Love is torn between a longtime boyfriend who finds Austen boring and a new love interest whoâs willing to read Pride and Prejudice. Connellyâs characters gush endlessly and tiresomely over Austen but have no substance of their own; Katherine and Warwickâs romance would be far more believable if they talked less about Lizzy and Darcy and more about themselves.