It sure is from the Austen genre. :) It's actually Jane Austen's "Pride & Prejudice" from the narrative perspective of Darcy. I'm thoroughly enjoying it. :)

@Heather -- The only Ayn Rand I've read was Anthem, and it was preposterously naive.

I would recommend Atlas, though. I haven't read Anthem - maybe it was one of her first works? I don't agree with all of her ideas, but I can see some of them happening right now.... such as those who are incompetent being valued more than those who are able to do things well. It was a long and, at times, too wordy book, but interesting and relevant.

Anthem is a science fiction novel set in a dystopian future where collectivism rules. Our hero invents the lightbulb on his own time (using ideas and materials he finds in an abandoned tunnel left by the 'old ones', but the collectivists spurn his genius. He goes off into the wilderness to metaphorically eat worms but comes across an abandoned house with a flat roof and glass windows that abut in the corners (clearly homage to Frank Lloyd Wright) that has supposedly stood for hundred or thousands of years. He moves in and finds not only no leaks in the roof, but a fully intact library and a wardrobe full of pretty clothes for his girlfriend. (This is where I dissolved in helpless laughter, because I'm familiar with the durability of Wright-style houses. The roofs leak like sieves and the glass miters bow within a few decades.) Our hero then settles in to found a whole new society dedicated to the joys of self-sufficiency, ignoring the fact that he moved into what amounts to a fully furnished house built by someone else.

Not only is it preposterous, it's pretty much stolen from Yevgeny Zamatyin's 'We'.

Atlas Shrugged would have been a decent novel if you leave out all the speechifying and the sex scenes. That would have made it about 1/3 as long. Instead it drowned under the weight of Rand's propaganda. I also find it funny that Ron Johnson and Paul Ryan put such store in her writings. She would have despised both of them. What a lot of people don't seem to realize is that the heroes in her stories were engineers. She wanted them to be rewarded for their creativity. The bad guys were the ones trying to sponge off the inventions without appreciating them or supporting them.

I think Ayn Rand also fails to understand that John Galt can't build his engines with his own hands, nor can Howard Roarke build his own buildings single-handedly. They need machinists, carpenters, and, yes, funding. Everyone deserves a fair cut for their labors. Her books work well if you see yourself as the misunderstood genius.

I found it an interesting point of view, however, because I'm always hearing about the Little Guy and how he needs more help. And, you're wrong, she did show how Dagny could not possibly run her railroad without anyone who knew their job and was willing to work. When those engineers and railroad workers who had any brains started quitting, they were up the creek but good.