In Marilyn Brant's smart, wildly inventive fiction debut, one modern woman in search of herself receives advice from the ultimate expert in matters of the heart: Jane Austen. It begins one day in sophomore English class, just as Ellie Barnett's teacher is assigning Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. From nowhere comes a quiet "tsk" of displeasure. The target: Sam Blaine, the cute bad boy who's teasing Ellie mercilessly, just as he has since kindergarten. Entirely unbidden, as Jane might say, the author's ghost takes up residence in Ellie's mind, and seems determined to stay there. Over the...