Midnight in Austenland by Shannon Hale

Midnight in Austenland by Shannon Hale

Updated edition with brand new content coming in June 2026!

New York Times bestselling author Shannon Hale offers up mystery, romance, and a lot of fun in this follow-up to Austenland.

When Charlotte Kinder treats herself to a two-week vacation at Austenland, she happily leaves behind her ex-husband and his delightful new wife, her ever-grateful children, and all the rest of her real life in America. She dons a bonnet and stays at a country manor house that provides an immersive Austen experience, complete with gentleman actors who cater to the guests' Austen fantasies.

Everyone at Pembrook Park is playing a role, but increasingly, Charlotte isn't sure where roles end and reality begins. And as the parlor games turn a little bit menacing, she finds she needs more than a good corset to keep herself safe. Is the brooding Mr. Mallery as sinister as he seems? What is Miss Gardenside's mysterious ailment? Was that an actual dead body in the secret attic room? And-perhaps of the most lasting importance-could the stirrings in Charlotte's heart be a sign of real-life love?

The follow-up to reader favorite Austenland provides the same perfectly plotted pleasures, with a feisty new heroine, plenty of fresh and frightening twists, and the possibility of a romance that might just go beyond the proper bounds of Austen's world.

SANDRA HALE is an Associate Professor and the Director of the University of Western Sydney's Interpreting and Translating Research Cluster. She's worked as an interpreter, educator, and researcher for a long time. She is the author of The Discourse of Court Interpretation and chaired the Critical Link 5 Conference in 2007.