The Austen Affair by Madeline Bell

The Austen Affair

A Novel

Madeline Bell

St. Martin's Press · Print & ebook · September 16, 2025

Two feuding co-stars in a Jane Austen film adaptation accidentally travel back in time to the Regency Era in this delightfully clever and riotously funny debut Tess Bright just scored her dream role starring in an adaptation of Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey.

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Who it’s for
A playful, polished romance with enough wit to keep the pages moving.
Genres
Time-Travel Romance, Regency Romance, Romantic Comedy
Published
St. Martin's Press, September 16, 2025

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About this book

Two feuding co-stars in a Jane Austen film adaptation accidentally travel back in time to the Regency Era in this delightfully clever and riotously funny debut Tess Bright just scored her dream role starring in an adaptation of Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey.

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It's not just the role of a lifetime, but it’s also her last chance to prove herself as a serious actress (no easy feat after being fired from her last TV gig) and more importantly, it’s her opportunity to honor her mom, who was the biggest fan of Jane Austen ever. But one thing is standing in Tess’s way—well, one very tall, annoyingly handsome person, actually: Hugh Balfour. A serious British method actor, Hugh wants nothing to do with Tess (whose Teen Choice Awards somehow don’t quite compare to his BAFTA nominations). Hugh is a type-A, no-nonsense, Royal Academy prodigy, whereas Tess is big-hearted, a little reckless, and admittedly, kind of a mess. But the film needs chemistry—and Tess’s career depends on it. Sparks fly, but not in the way Tess hoped, when an electrical accident sends the two feuding co-stars back in time to Jane Austen’s era. 200 years in the past with only each other to rely on, Tess and Hugh need to ad-lib their way through the Regency period in order to make it back home, and hopefully not screw up history along the way. But if a certain someone looks particularly dashing in those 19th century breeches…well, Tess won’t be complaining. A wickedly funny, delightfully charming story, The Austen Affair is a tribute to Jane Austen, second chances, and love across the space-time continuum.

Wit and Sweep

A playful, polished romance with enough wit to keep the pages moving.

Come here for

  • Regency-romance polish, with a rom-com wink
  • Austen-adjacent pleasures without the museum hush

Expect

  • Sustained narrative read
  • A light, staged-in-the-mind sheen

Where it sits

Time-Travel Romance76%
Regency Romance64%
Romantic Comedy57%

Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.

Publisher categories

  • Regency Romance
  • Time-Travel Romance
  • Women's Fiction
Authors
Madeline Bell
Publisher
St. Martin's Press
Published
September 16, 2025
Format
Print & ebook
Reading lane
Regency Romance