Virginia D. (vldbookworm) -
Although the book is set in an alternate reality and the protagonist is a time-traveler, this is not really a traditional science fiction book. It is more of interest to the avid reader of classics and has such clever names that there is a Wikipedia article explaining them. It is the first in a series, and you definitely want to read the series in order. The author has an extensive and amusing website, which includes "upgrades" for the books (corrections of typos, mostly).
