I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own. Any quotes I use are from an unpublished copy and may not reflect the finished product.

I enjoyed The Jane Austen Society a lot more than I thought I would! I was hesitant when I started it, since I'm not a huge fan of classic literature in general (it's hard for me to feel immersed in a story when I don't understand half of the references and phrases, haha). They're just not for me! However, I was swept away by the story, the characters, and the love for Jane Austen. I really liked the little snippets from Austen's books, the detailed information about her history, as well as the character's reflections and perceptions.

If you're a fan of Jane Austen, this is definitely a book you need in your life. The author subtly weaves Austen's stories into her own, and shows readers how various people can all look at the same story and get something completely different out of it. Everyone has lived a unique life, and their individual situations played a role in how Austen's stories related to them (they do agree on some points, but debated many others). It was interesting to see how one author's stories impacted the lives of so many people, and how their love of Austen brought them all together. Her words helped them through some of the hardest moments in their lives, and they found solace in her characters and their circumstances.

The Jane Austen Society does take several chapters to get going. There are a lot of characters, and their lives are intricately connected (in ways they're not even aware of yet), and it takes some time to introduce all of the players. They each have a backstory, and details are slowly revealed over time. Additionally, the chapters skipped ahead by days, weeks, and years, so it often required several paragraphs for me to adjust to where they were in the story. Yes, the chapter headings provided dates, but I would have to flip back to a previous chapter to remind myself where I was in their timeline, and then do the math to determine how much time had passed. It was hard to stay fully immersed in the story when I kept having to backtrack (and mentally calculate dates).

This is also a book that needs to be savored and read with a sense of purpose. There are a lot of little details that shouldn't be missed, and it just felt like it needed to be read slowly. I don't know how else to explain it! Nothing ever felt rushed within the story; not the character's lives nor their conversations. Everything was discussed over tea, or on long walks, and the author's writing reflected that. Her words matched the pacing of her characters. It was truly exceptional! I felt like I was there with them, sitting by a fire, or bundled up against the winter wind.

Unfortunately for the characters, their lives are filled with turmoil and sadness. They're struggling with missed opportunities, the deaths of loved ones, feelings of inadequacy or failure. Some are afraid to be their truest selves, and some are just trying to survive until the next day. There are moments of happiness peppered in, and those seemed to revolve around their shared appreciation of Jane Austen, but for the most part we see real people struggling to live their lives. They continue to put one foot in front of the other, show kindness in the face of adversity, and give their all to preserve one woman's legacy in their small town.

The Jane Austen Society likely isn't a book I will read again, but I really enjoyed the experience. The characters and their lives, their love of Jane Austen (makes me want to try Pride & Prejudice again), and their resilience as people really resonated with me. If I hadn't known beforehand, there's no way I would've guessed this was Jenner's debut novel. The details and conflicts were so authentically portrayed, it felt as if the author had been telling stories for years.

My Interest

Everything about this book drew my attention! Throw in a decently-on-target comparison to the Gurnsey Literary and Potatoe Peel Pie Society and I knew I’d like it!
The Story

“Adam felt as if he could hardly save himself, let alone anyone else. Yet on his loneliest days, he sometimes felt as if he was being saved by Jane Austen.”

In Jane Austen’s hometown, Chawton, in Kent, a lonely farmer reads and rereads the novels of Jane Austen. A descendant of Jane’s lives a lonely spinster life with her demanding elderly father. The town doctor, a widower, is in love with Austen’s Emma. A lawyer, a teacher-turned-war-widow, her former student, and a Hollywood movie star all love Jane Austen’s books–all feel pretty much like Adam does in the quote above–that they are being “saved” by her. So, why not save HER? You get the story, don’t you?

“Reading, she now understood, had been her own choice of rebellion.”

These people are so wonderful! Their lives are pretty dreary with the war just over and rationing getting even worse, but Jane Austen sustains them. The war has given them the fortitude and courage to work together, to want to make change, and to want that change to be lasting and purposeful.

“Something about her favorite books gave her tremendous comfort, and even a strange feeling of control…”

“Reading is wonderful, but it does keep us in our heads. It’s why I can’t read certain authors when I am in low spirits.”

“They say that certain books can really help patients with trauma, and for some reason Jane Austen is one of the ones they recommend.”

(All quotes are from the Net Galley Kindle version of the book)
My Thoughts
I ADORED IT
BUT….

It was clear that no matter how truly wonderful her writing is, (and it is wonderful) that the author was very young. I’m guessing her editor–if she truly was assigned to a real editor in the traditional sense of guiding, and forming the book, and not merely spell-checking it, was as young or younger.

Later this week I’m doing a post on a book with problems that I still loved and one I did not love. This book could be added to that post–admittedly as one I truly loved.

The Problems From Not Researching the Period Well Enough or Ignoring What The Author Learned in Her Research

How the heck did they get all the stuff to do all that baking?? Minced pies and sugar buns and….for a whole VILLAGE? Every part of that was so severely rationed! Even if every village had donated their butter, margarine, bacon fat, egg (1 per week unless they raised their own) it wouldn’t have been enough! And where did the get the dried fruit for those pies? The war ended, but rationing only got worse.
It was war-time. How did they not have people billeted with them? Kent is very close to bombed-out London.
I really do not think Miss Knight, who was 50-something, the child of the “big house,” her father the town aristocrat, would have ever gone to the local school except possibly for a prize-giving in which she was the honored guest giving the prizes.
#metoo didn’t exist in 1945. It was called “business as usual” then. Many women truly and sadly believed they “earned” this behavior while others were just as furious as modern women but knew they’d be blamed in court if they pressed charges. Why? Women’s liberation was way into the future yet. Empowerment hadn’t yet been thought up.
“Extremely old” pictures from the Edwardian era. I snorted tea here. Most of the characters were ALIVE then since the Edwardian Era was 1901 to 1910–or even up to WWI starting in 1914.

It is fiction–the author can write whatever she wants, but a REAL EDITOR would have caught this stuff. This happens so often in historical fiction today–they ignore essential details. I see that the author has degrees in literature and law from one of Canada’s finest universities, but neither she nor her editor spotted these problems.

Then there is the other problem of historical fiction today: Modernizing attitudes, speech, and behavior.

No, she was not a “house girl” (whatever THAT is?). Evie Stone was a MAID. This is not profane, it’s a job title. That was silly.
I don’t think anyone, anywhere looked at literature or anything else “through the lens of X”.
It was POSSIBLE to fly from the U.S.A. to the U.K. in September 1945 and a Hollywood studio likely had the pull to get tickets, but it would have been nearly impossible for a woman to just buy one at that moment.
Like with “lens” I don’t think in 1945 people outside of the few psychologists spoke of “projecting” on to others.
“It’s all good,” I can promise you, MIGHT, have been uttered somewhere, but it was not common usage back then. Way too slangish, and way too American for a British story.
No one was “informed by” anything back then except the radio and the newspaper. Their choices were not “informed” by things in their past or whatever.
I can’t believe anyone would say “This God-awful war” even in October 1945 to anyone outside the immediate family. Why? They’ve just gone through a war in which uttering things like that could be heard and reported as “defeatist” though reporting in England wasn’t that big. Still.
I truly laughed out loud at the idea of someone sending “holiday” cards then!
Please! NO ONE in the Western world of 1945 had a “mantra.”

Sadly, this is just from the earliest part of the book. I won’t list them all. This is becoming such a problem in historical fiction that I want to scream.
My Rating
Nevertheless, I LOVED IT!

The characters were wonderful, the town had the right stuff going for it, and Jane Austen would be smiling. I can’t wait for the author’s next book and for the movie of this one.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Laurel Ann Natress for providing me with an audiobook to review in exchange for an honest review!
Full review will be up on the blog on June 7th!

4.5/5
I adored this book. As someone who is usually rereading one Austen novel or another, I love getting lost in the world of Janeites, and Jenner has done a wonderful job of creating that world at Chawton. There is a rich cast of characters- they aren't directly comparable to Austen's characters but rather composites of sorts. There was real growth with the main characters- you can see that they are real people, and they grow and change throughout the novel.

What really grabbed me though was Chawton itself. I was lucky enough to spend time in Bath but I haven't had a chance to visit Chawton yet. However, I felt like I was actually there and present, which doesn't often happen for me. The house and the village really filled out the novel, and made it a lovely and rich reading experience.

This book is just as lovely inside as it is out- the story about a few villagers coming together from different walks to preserve the legacy of Jane Austen. There was some melancholy heartbreak in the story- none of the characters lives have been free from sorrow- but they all find joy in Austen's books. This was a really satisfying read that reminds me of my feelings reading The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (though if memory serves this one is overall lighter in tone).I think all book lovers will really relate to this story of connection over a shared author passion!

I absolutely loved this beautiful book. It's to be savored and not gulped down. It will resonate with you long after you finish the last page. An absolute Winn of a book and a must read. Pick up a copy today and prepare to be dazzled. Happy reading!

Like many readers, I am a great fan of Jane Austen, which makes me predisposed to like most Austen-related books and movies; I think other Austen fans will feel the same about this book. "The Jane Austen Society" is a charming novel set in the small English village of Chawton just after World War II. Several of Chawton's inhabitants have an appreciation and connection to Austen, for various reasons, and the town itself is where she spent the final years of her life. This group creates a Jane Austen Society in their attempts to preserve her home and extensive library, members of which include two widowers, a precocious teenage girl, an American movie star, and a lonely farmer. There are many romantic entanglements, and it's fun to look for the parallels to Austen's works. Some of the dialogue and situations felt too modern, and while this story felt comparable to books like 'The Summer Before the War" and "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society," those books were better written. However, I think this will be well received by those who love Austen and historical fiction set in England.

I have to preface this with the fact that my Jane Austen knowledge is VERY limited! I did recently start reading Pride & Prejudice after working on a grad school project about Austen and her works. While I think some knowledge of Austen may be helpful in reading The Jane Austen Society, I would say it's definitely not a prerequisite. If you haven't taken a deep dive into Austen's six books, I think that this novel will inspire you to! I loved the storylines of all the characters. They all start out with their own individual stories that begin to overlap throughout the book through the formation of the Jane Austen Society. This novel is set in the 1930s and 1940s, I'm definitely a sucker for novels set during/after World War II. More than anything, I really enjoyed the strong female characters which I think do Jane Austen justice in working for what they want. Overall, a super enjoyable novel that has definitely encouraged me to read more Austen.

The Jane Austin Society by Natalie Jenner is an old fashioned book...not as old fashioned as Jane Austin, however. It is a small town in England, the one where Austin lived as she was writing, but it is a time more current. An add group people comes together to form a small group to try to put together an Austin museum. They all have back-stories; all have had previous contact. They are pretty much regular people except for one aging movie star and from this grow a variety of relationships, all intriguing and all meant to be.

What a happy story, although there is plenty in it that is not so happy. There is the middle-aged village doctor; the young, widowed ex-school teacher; the middle-aged lawyer; the auction house expert from London; the not-middle-aged, but aging, movie actress, owner of the local estate; and the middle-aged man-of-odd-jobs. All have had life treat them harshly and yet, mostly, they don't hold grudges. They see it as the way life is. All are alone, although many have not always been. All have seen love, and death. What, you say? Real life? Absolutely, except in a very special place. I loved this book. Read it. You will, too. I highly recommend it to romantics and non-romantics. It is a lovley read.

I received a free ARC of The Jane Austin Society from Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions and interpretations contained herein are solely my own. #netgalley #thejaneaustinsociety

When I first came across this title on Netgalley, I was of course drawn to it instantly. I adore Austen and even really enjoy adaptations/retellings/anything related to her work. This book sounded a bit like The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society but set in a town where Austen once lived. PERFECT!! This book was absolutely lovely. There was such a unique cast of characters, all with different backgrounds (both happy and sad). It took me a little while to get into this because you meet the characters one by one and it isn't immediately obvious why you are reading about their lives but around the halfway point the book really clicks and it is impossible not to root for these characters and their goal of preserving Jane Austen artifacts in a house that she once lived in.

There are little thoughts and nuances about all of Austen's works scattered throughout the book - of course some of the characters are big fans of P&P and others prefer Emma, which is entertaining. None of them seem to love Mansfield Park, which I could relate to myself. The characters grow together and support each other and the ending was absolutely perfect in many ways.

I highly recommend this if you are a fan of multiple perspective historical fiction (this book takes place around the end of WWII so it isn't the classic WWII type of story though there is a lot of talk of rationing and events of the war). If you are an Austenite, you can't miss this one.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!! When I finished this, I was delighted to find out that the author is Canadian! An excellent debut novel by her and hope there is more to come!

"The Jane Austen Society" was the first book that I read off my summer reading list and it was a wonderful way to start!

The story is set in the 1940's in a small English town called Chawton where Jane Austen spent the final years of her life and wrote her last three books. Here, post two World Wars, a group of very different Jane Austen lovers come together to try to preserve the author's legacy. The characters are vividly written and all use Austen's works to cope with the tragedies they've experienced and to bond with each other despite their disparate ages and stations in life.

I love books about people who love books and the joy and solace the characters take in the works of Jane Austen made me want to go back and read them again myself. If you're a fan of Jane Austen, you will adore this book, with its many references to her plots and characters, but even if you're not familiar with her books, you'll still be able to follow along. Jenner does a wonderful job of creating a world and circumstances of which I'm sure Austen herself would approve, with the kinds of misunderstandings, irony, and comedy that are so reminiscent of her own work. I can see this novel as a movie and hope that one gets made one day.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and the author for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my unbiased review.

Naturally, any book to do with Jane Austen catches my eye, so I was intrigued when I saw the synopsis for this one. There is so much to love about this story, friends. I mean, the fictionalization of how the Jane Austen Society began? And such a mix of characters! Ms. Jenner is quite talented at bringing all her different storylines together into one cohesive big tapestry.

Okay, so I admit that I didn’t love every character. Certainly I didn’t start out loving all of them! A few are easier to love, a few make choices that I didn’t like, still others made me smile every time their point of view appeared again. Yet it was their genuine love of Jane Austen which endeared even the unlikeable ones to me.

My absolute favorite bits of all? Were the moments when they began to come together and each discovered the genuine joy of discussing and analyzing books with likeminded friends!! I get that, I understand that, I LOVED that! Whether it’s Jane Austen or whatever other books we love or hate, discussing the whys and wherefores with someone else who loves to read….there’s just nothing like that feeling. It brings people of all kinds together. And these characters are all so very different! Which is why I loved it when they found they had so many more things in common through discussion of Jane Austen. Jane is so good at bringing people together, don’t you think?

The other thing about this story that kept me turning the pages is how each character, so very different from the others, interprets Austen. How each one reads her stories and sees different things. Which is true of all of us today, just as much as it would’ve been true in the 1940s when this takes place. We all read her books from our own perspective, with our own biases and backgrounds and history playing a part in how we interpret what we read. (This is true of any story we read.) Yet the focus of all these different perspectives coming together and how they learn from each other, how they fall in love, how they grow, how they make choices, both good and bad…it’s all intricately and beautifully woven together.

This isn’t a perfectly written story, as any book isn’t. There were parts that I skimmed over due to not particularly enjoying them, I cannot deny this. Yet watching these characters stumble their way through life and find joyous reason to keep going through Austen’s stories and each other, I could reread those bits without any problem! And will do so, let me tell you. Even just writing this review makes me want to go back and reread the book! I loved all the introspective analysis the characters did which caused me to do the same. They opened my eyes to new perspectives and made me want to reread Austen herself! So I would absolutely recommend this one to all Austen lovers out there. Perfect or not, it is a wonderful homage to the timelessness and beauty of her stories and how she brings so many of us onto common ground together.

**I received a complimentary copy via Netgalley. All opinions expressed are my own.

Title: The Jane Austen Society
Author: Natalie Jenner
Genre: Fiction
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Just after the Second World War, in the small English village of Chawton, an unusual but like-minded group of people band together to attempt something remarkable.

One hundred and fifty years ago, Chawton was the final home of Jane Austen, one of England's finest novelists. Now it's home to a few distant relatives and their diminishing estate. With the last bit of Austen's legacy threatened, a group of disparate individuals come together to preserve both Jane Austen's home and her legacy. These people—a laborer, a young widow, the local doctor, and a movie star, among others—could not be more different and yet they are united in their love for the works and words of Austen. As each of them endures their own quiet struggle with loss and trauma, some from the recent war, others from more distant tragedies, they rally together to create the Jane Austen Society.

This was such a lovely read! I enjoyed reading each of the characters and their thoughts, and I think Ms. Jenner did her love for Jane Austen credit with this novel. Honestly, this felt almost like an Austen novel, with its village charm and intriguing characters. It’s wonderful to see such a diverse cast of characters—a farmer, a doctor, a movie star, a domestic worker—all brought together by their love of Austen.
Go read this as soon as possible!

Natalie Jenner has been a lawyer, a career coach, and founded an independent bookstore. The Jane Austen Society is her debut novel.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)

Charming novel about loss and love

This is definitely a brilliant book, especially suited for Jane Austen fans. I, myself, appreciate Austen, but this book is especially for those who really love and know their Austen. I feel like I missed some of the inside jokes, nuances, etc!

The characters are all well created, the plot is interesting and sometimes you just want to smack a few of the characters, you are so engrossed with their doings. A book to be savored!

Thank you to the publisher for lending me an e-arc via Netgalley. This review is optional and my own opinion.

This is a lovely story of eight people with different backgrounds coming together in Chawton, the final home of Jane Austen. In pursuit of a common goal, and through their individual knowledge of and love for Jane Austen’s books and life, they work through their own challenges. The setting makes it charming and helps the reader to feel connected to the characters as well as Austen. The book has enough references to satisfy fans of Austen, yet the story is unique, has endearing characaters, an ending that leaves you with a smile. I enjoyed it so much that I will re-read it when my book club discusses it in August.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest review.

As a thank, you to Netgalley and the publisher St Martin’s Press I shall review debut author Natalie Jenner’s “The Jane Austen Society” As a whole Jenner used Jane Austen’s novels as a foundation and utilized their nostalgic quality for those who have read or are familiar with them. The novel brings together an unlikely group of people whose differences are apparent ex. age, gender, socioeconomic status, etc except for their love of this author. The story is set at the end of the second world war in the village where Jane Austen once lived and wrote her final three novels. The novels plot centers around this estate and its future. With its ability to explore themes of grief, loss, identity, and love this novel does it all with thoughtfulness and grace. With a full range of characters bringing a voice to these events and more does this love letter to one of literature’s most memorable and impactful authors be told in such a moving way. I appreciated this story and give this novel five out of five stars on Goodreads.

Jenner channeled Austen so perfectly in this! While I found it slow at times I really did love the atmosphere she created and the characters in this charming novel!

Each character has their own story of growth and pieces of their history lend unexpected depth. Even Chawton, a small English village was a character!

Fans of character-driven fiction, small-town stories and of course Jane Austen should definitely give this one a read!

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for and Negalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of The Jane Austen Society.

This book was so much more than I was expecting. Natalie Jenner has crafted a remarkably thoughtful and heartwarming story about an eclectic group of people drawn together by their love of Jane Austen in post WWII England. The plot of this novel could have easily come from Austen’s own imagination.

The Jane Austen Society explores the relationships and secrets of the small town of Chawton, the charming village that was home to Jane Austen for the last eight years of her life and where she wrote three of her most famous books. A small group of villagers decide to embrace their passion for Jane Austen and create a literary society with the purpose of transforming a cottage on Austen’s brother’s family estate into a museum to honour the author’s legacy. This is no easy task as the estate is in the hands of an ailing Austen relative who is not a fan of the author and mean-spirited and curmudgeonly on the best of days.

The characters are deep, their relationships are fraught with misunderstandings and the narrative is witty and smart. This is a thoroughly enjoyable book for anyone who likes a good story whether you are an Austen fan or not!

I give this 3.5 stars.

Set in Chawton -- where Jane Austen lived while writing three of her famous books -- right after the second World War, a group of eight people come together to create the Jane Austen Society.

The first half of the book is slow. Perhaps if I was more in love with Austen generally, this part would have been more interesting, but it didn't propel me to keep going, even though I liked the characters (even when I questioned their life choices.) But about halfway through, it picked up and the plot got more interesting, and then I didn't put the book down again until I finished. I really wish the pace would have been consistent, but the second half made the first half worth it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the arc of this book. It has not influenced my opinion.

I really enjoyed this book. The characters are described so well that I felt as if I knew each one and could visualize what everyone looked like. All of the characters had some kind of sadness in their life but didn’t let that define the way they lived every day. It made me want to re read Jane Austen’s books!

The Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner is such a delightful surprise!

You certainly don't have to be a Jane Austen lover to understand or appreciate this lovely novel, but understanding the myriad literary references certainly helps connect you to the heart of the story!

I love the historical aspects of the novel - the setting of Chawton, where Jane Austen penned her last three books, as well as the time period after both World Wars. The two combined really set the atmosphere of a small town and an even smaller group of people uniting over their love of Austen, and searching for hope amidst so much loss and struggle. Delving deep into the personalities of each person in the group really brought to life the desire to want to preserve the history around Jane Austen's final years.

This novel is huge on heart, and full of the warmth of human connection. It's a story steeped in history, compassion, and hope. The Jane Austen Society is a must read!