Undressing Mr. Darcy

Undressing Mr. Darcy
Karen Doornebos
Berkley
December, 2013

Idgie Says:
In the spirit of the overwhelming popularity of Downton Abbey and the lovers of Mr. Darcy,  this is a Rom Com of a book that's takes you on a delightful romp through the world of modern technology........and men in breeches!  Yum.  A fun way to avoid the harsh winter weather and escape into book romance instead.


Book Description:
Taking it off in the name of history…

Thirty-five-year-old American social media master Vanessa Roberts lives her thoroughly modern life with aplomb. So when her elderly Jane Austen–centric aunt needs her to take on the public relations for Julian Chancellor, a very private man from England who’s written a book called My Year as Mr. Darcy, Vanessa agrees. But she’s not “excessively diverted,” as Jane Austen would say.

Hardbound books, teacups, and quill pens fly in the face of her e-reader, coffee, and smartphone…

…Until she sees Julian take his tight breeches off for his Undressing Mr. Darcy show, an educational “striptease” down to his drawers to promote his book and help save his crumbling estate. The public relations expert suddenly realizes things have gotten…personal. But can this old-fashioned man claim her heart without so much as a GPS? It will take three festivals filled with Austen fans, a trip to England, an old frenemy, and a flirtatious pirate re-enactor to find out…

Go HERE for an Excerpt.

UNDRESSING MR. DARCY – The Blog Tour

Hello from The British Library!

As an ice-breaker to each leg of the Blog Tour, I’m taking you along for a ride to England, where I traveled during the summer of 2012 to do some research for UNDRESSING MR. DARCY. Where am I on this stop? I’m at the British Library in London, England, where Jane Austen’s portable writing desk is on display. Of course I had to set a scene from UNDRESSING MR. DARCY in the library…a place I could easily spend an entire week.

I thought Dew on the Kudzu readers would appreciate a photo of this book bench that sits in the lobby of The British Library and the sign from café outside of the library called The Last Word.  The café makes its way into UNDRESSING! I couldn’t take a picture of Austen’s desk, but imagine a mahogany box that opens into a slanted writing surface lined in leather, complete with glass inkstand and a drawer. Her father gave it to her for her nineteenth birthday. As I say in my book, it was the original laptop.

 

As you’ll read in UNDRESSING MR. DARCY, in 1798, Austen’s writing desk had been mistakenly put on a coach whose contents were bound for the West Indies. Within the desk were the pages of Northanger Abbey, her first novel. “In my writing box was all my worldly wealth,” Austen wrote. A messenger on horse was sent after the coach, and yes, the writing desk was retrieved…but only after much anxiety, I’m sure! If you enjoyed this snippet of Austen’s life, you’ll get more of that in UNDRESSING MR. DARCY.

Ready to talk…Undressing?!

First of all, I’d like to thank Dew on the Kudzu for hosting me today! Happy 2014 to all!

Taking it off in the name of history…

Thirty-five-year-old American social-media master Vanessa Robert lives her thoroughly modern life with aplomb. So when her elderly Jane Austen-centric aunt needs her to take on the public relations for Julian Chancellor, a very private man from England who’s written a book called My Year as Mr. Darcy, Vanessa agrees. But she’s not “excessively diverted” as Jane Austen would say.

Hardbound books, teacups and quill pens fly in the face of her e-reader, coffee and smartphone…

…until she sees Julian take his tight breeches off for his Undressing Mr. Darcy show, an educational “striptease” down to his drawers to promote his book and help save his crumbling estate. The public relations expert suddenly realizes things have gotten…personal. But can this old-fashioned man find his way into her heart without so much as a GPS? It will take three festivals filled with Austen fans, a trip to England, an old frenemy, and a flirtatious pirate reenactor to find out…

You can check out the first chapter of UNDRESSING MR. DARCY here!

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Karen Doornebos is the author of UNDRESSING MR. DARCY published by Berkley, Penguin and available here or at your favorite bookstore. Her first novel, DEFINITELY NOT MR. DARCY, has been published in three countries and was granted a starred review by Publisher’s Weekly. Karen lived and worked in London for a short time, but is now happy just being a lifelong member of the Jane Austen Society of North America and living in the Chicagoland area with her husband, two teenagers and various pets—including a bird. Speaking of birds, follow her on Twitter and Facebook! She hopes to see you there, on her website www.karendoornebos.com and her group blog Austen Authors.