Despite the fact that I bought the book (the word “Jane Austen” was in the title, it’s inevitable), I approached it with some trepidation. I love Austen but I’m not sure how she fits into an advice column – and what if the author attempts to mimic Austen’s style?

Thankfully, the book doesn’t go so far as to pretend that it’s Jane Austen answering letters. Instead, Smith draws upon Austen’s letters and novels to imagine the type of advice that Austen would have given in answer to the various scenarios.

As the title suggests, Jane Austen’s Guide to Modern Life Dilemmas covers a wide range of topics, dividing the book into the following categories:

• Love & Relationships
• Friends and Family
• Work & Career
• Fashion and Style
• Home & Garden
• Leisure & Travel

Some questions (e.g. “Heels or Flats?” and “To tattoo or not to tattoo?”) seem to be a bit of a reach, but for the most part, the book manages to show how timeless Austen is. This is especially evident in the first two sections on relationships, which makes sense because Austen’s novels were all about relationships. I really enjoyed how the author weaved in parts of the novels with letters written by Austen to answer a relationship question.

That said, the questions were phrased kind of weirdly. As far as I know, most questions in advice columns are written in first person (i.e. “I have this problem and here are the details”) but the questions here are written in second person (i.e. “Your friend is doing XYZ and you feel ABC”), which just feels off. It’s not a big deal, however, and I learnt to get used to it.

Overall, this is an interesting little book. It’s a bit more serious than I expected, and less “trying to be funny” than I feared, and I ended up enjoying it. Fans of Austen are going to enjoy all the references to the books and her letters.