Jane Austen fans living in Chawton, Hampshire, after WWII band together to form a literary society in honor of the author and to preserve the books in the library of her brother’s estate.

This book made me want to go back and reread the Austen books I have read and read the ones I haven’t!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

A sweet story for Jane Austen fans. It seemed like the author's love letter to Austen--she used the characters' conversations about Austen's books to convey her own thoughts about them. The story itself was a little bit contrived and predictable, but reminiscent of Austen's plots and enjoyable for the diehard fan.

The members of The Jane Austen Society sound "like a band of misfits with negligible expertise and no head for business: a country doctor, an old maid, a schoolmarm, a bachelor farmer, a fey auctioneer, a conflict-adverse solicitor, a scullery maid, and one Hollywood movie star." What draws them all together is their love of Jane Austen and her works. Their expressed purpose is to acquire and preserve a cottage, said to have once been the site of her work on these novels.

Their stumbling and their successes and their interactions are the stuff of this most delightful novel.

I read this EARC courtesy of St. Martin's Press and NetGalley. pub date 05/26/20

This warm and luscious novel about a number of people who share the love of all things Jane Austen, and who have only this in common is woven around their own feelings their own lives problems. This is a wonderful story of devoted fans of Jane Austen who, after about 150 years of her death, through shared love, start The Jane Austen Society, because at that time everything wonderful is society driven. I loved this story and the stories of these devoted fans. Thank you #NetGalley#StMartinsPress#TheJaneAustenSociety

As a long time Jane Austen fan this book was a pleasure to read. I enjoyed the characters, but more than that I enjoyed the insights the characters had of Jane Austen’s characters. This book has made me want to reread all of Austen's novels.

I absolutely adored this book! I read it in one day! This book fills you with the warm comfort of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society with the ambiance of a quaint English cottage that was home to one of the most famous writers.

We follow neighbours in the town of Chawton before, during and after World War II. While they have all know each other in some capacity, there has never been a true and deep connection between the residents of Chawton.

Old Man knight is dying and he is a grumpy, sexist fellow who does not think his daughter, Frances Knight can keep the property, once home to Jane herself, managed. He also despises the tourists who come and would not want to to become a shrine to the late author.

Dr. Gray, Adeline Grover, Adam Berwick (a farm hand on the property), Andrew Forrester (the estate lawyer), Evie Stone (a servant in the house), Yardley Sinclair (an auctioneer), Mimi Harrison (an actress), and Miss Frances Knight are all inducted into The Jane Austen Society in an effort to save the property from becoming part of a golf course (could you imagine!).

All of the characters are unique and we get to learn their story and their connection to the authoress which I really liked. I love when an unlikely group of people are all connected in some way that they would have never been before. I was infatuated with the relationship of Dr. Gray and Adeline Grover and I was itching to see what would happen with those two.

This is a book I will be venturing back to from time to time, when I am in need of a wholesome, cherished read about one of my favourite authors. I've travelled to Chawton before and as I was reading this book I was taken back to the quiet roads and the brick manor. I knew exactly the courtyard they were describing and the different building on the property. I only wish I had this book back when I had visited so that I could go across the road to the tea shop and read it while looking at the house. I guess this means I will have to go back!

This book started out much better than I was expecting. I loved the setting and I found the characters varied and interesting. As a Jane Austen fan, I loved all the references to her work and her life, although the references did start to feel a little repetitive after awhile. My biggest complaint about this book, and the thing that dropped my rating from a 4- to a 3-star read is that the ending felt very rushed. Things that had been slowly building through the whole book came to abrupt and, ultimately, unsatisfying conclusions. The ending also felt more artificial and cheesy than the rest of the book. If you’re a Jane Austen fan, I think you’ll find plenty to enjoy in this novel, but if not, I don’t think it would be an enjoyable read for you.

I am a huge Jane Austen fan and when I saw this title I knew immediately I needed to read it! I am so glad I did. The novel is delightful, set primarily in the 1940's in the charming village where Austen lived, and centers on a diverse group of villagers who love her works and come together to form a "society" to preserve her memory. I particularly love how the author includes so many references to Austen's novels - so many quotes and character references - this is so endearing to an Austen fan! Highly recommend!!

A delightful read. Loved the sweet storyline, the charming characters and the lovely writing. I will definitely pick up this author's books again.

"The Jane Austen Society" was a surprisingly interesting novel. I enjoyed it quite a bit more than I thought I would. I loved the plot and the characters.

Exquisite!

"They" say that imitation is the deepest form of flattery. Yes, indeed it is, as you will observe when you read this lovely story. I am not a romance fan, so this is truly high praise. The interesting characters and their mutual love for both Jane Austen, as a person, and her body of work draws them together in a quest to create a memorial of some type in tribute to her work and her talent.

As they share their passion for the writings and characters set in Austen's time (late 1700's to early 1800's), they see themselves more clearly and one another. Love is in the air Austen style!

For those of you, who "don't do romance", I promise this isn't today's romance. It isn't trashy or full of sexually steamy flirtations and sex scenes. This is a story of wanting and needing to be loved and loving others to the point of wanting what is best for them, even if it isn't for you. It is about understanding what makes another person spark and appreciating their unique traits rather than their superfluous characteristics that others use to define them.

The writing was glorious. We observed each key player in their environs with great interest as they spoke or acted out of their motivations. Ms. Jenner is supremely talented in creating a scene and people that you can see as if you were spying on them! As we observe the leaves falling, and a quiet walk along a path, we sense the inhibitions and the words not spoken by each unfulfilled heart. Be patient, dear reader for in Austen style, you will be rewarded.

Even if romance isn't your thing, perhaps this delightful story can bring a smile to your face.

If you like your Jane Austen fan fiction filled with references to quotes, characters, and storylines from the original works, them you are certain to love this book which goes far beyond fan fiction. However, if you know nothing about Jane Austen, you will still enjoy this story of village life, relationships, identity, and struggles. If you have ever strived to save something worth preserving, you will appreciate this book. Set in mid twentieth century Chawton, England eight unique Jane Austen devotees form the Jane Austen Society to try to preserve some of Austen's literary legacy.

I was delighted by this book and could not put it down. The mix of characters and plot were highly satisfying.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

A quiet little story about an assorted and unlikely group of people who become friends as they bond over Jane Austen. They work together to keep the memory and works of Miss Austen alive by preserving her home in Chawton.
I liked the simple story and getting to know the characters. I would most certainly read books by Ms. Jenner again.

**Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley in exchange of an honest review.**

I love Jane Austen and think her stories are fabulous. This book centers around a small village of Chawton, the home of Jane Austen. We follow many different characters as we see how their lives have been affected by her stories and her town. Many different people come together to create a Society where they can preserve her legacy, to include her books and keepsakes.

I wanted to love this story. I wanted this to have the same kind of charm as a Jane Austen novel. I did enjoy the quotes from her works, but overall it fell a little flat for me. I did enjoy the way the book ended, but unfortunately it wasn't amazing for me.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC for my honest opinion!

If you are a Jane Austen fan, you will love this book. It gives you a fictionalization of the preservation of her home for the last years of life as well as furniture, jewelry etc that belonged to her. The book goes into details around the characters of her books with analysis of what Jane may have meant the meaning of certain characters in the books and of the books.
#netgalley #nataliejenner #stmartinspress

There was a very Austinian (is that a word?) flavor to this tale. I enjoyed the cast of character with their various social standings and personality quirks. For fans of the Potato Peel Pie feel good genre.

Thank you to the author and publisher for providing me a digital ARC of this title via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

I am always drawn to anything Austen and a pretty cover, which has led to some great reads but also some utter disasters that are an insult to Jane Austen. How happy I was to find this title in the first category. The Jane Austen Society was delightful and sweet. I loved the mix of characters and how their lives wove together around Jane Austen and her books. I was so pleased to find that this title had its own story instead of being yet another remake of Austen's classics. I was transported to another time and to the quaint English town where Austen once lived as we followed the stories of a laborer, a young teacher recently widowed, the local doctor, a Hollywood movie star, distant descendants of Austen, and others. Definitely a title I would read again and love to pass on to friends.

Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for the chance to read and review this book. I enjoyed this book. Right after WWII, in the small English village of Chawton, an eccentric group of people come together to preserve author Jane Austen's home and legacy. The cast of characters all have their own problems, but the one thing they have in common is their love of Jane Austen. It was a delight to get to know these characters. A great debut novel!

The Jane Austen Society
Rating: 4 stars
Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an ARC through NetGalley for a review. All opinions are my own.

To start off, I am a big fan of Jane Austen and when I saw what this book was about I knew I had to read it. I am glad I did! This was a great read from start to finish. We meet a group of lovable characters whose lives are changed when they decide to create this society. They each have their reasons for being a big fan of Jane Austen. Each of it's members had love story to tell. As a reader I could see some of Austen's novels played out within the story. My favorite one was that of Frances and Andrew. Their second chance at romance was a little like Persuasion.

I highly recommend this story, especially of you are a Jane Austen fan.

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an ARC through NetGalley for a review. All opinions are my own.

So many of us love Jane Austen. Her books are classics and her stories have found their way to the movie screen so many times that her characters now feel like old friends. If you are a fan, there is so much to enjoy in The Jane Austen Society.

Set in Chawton, the Hampshire village where Austen lived out her short life, a group of lonely and sad people come together in 1945 to transform a cottage on Austen’s brother’s family estate into a museum as a tribute to the author’s legacy. The people who come together form the heart of this touching story. We meet a doctor who is grieving over the loss of his wife. He serves the entire village yet who is helping him? A Hollywood actress is a huge fan of Jane Austen. While a huge star, she knows that she is aging and younger actresses will soon replace her. The daughter of the owner of the estate has given up her life to care for her father, who cruelly sabotaged any hope for love and happiness. A farmer who had to give up his dreams of college when his brothers were killed in the war. An incredibly smart 16-year girl who works at the estate. A young English teacher who has faced a series of losses. A lawyer handling the estate’s affairs and a man from Sotheby’s who is entranced by all things Austen.

Throughout the book, many favorite Austen characters are referenced and parallels are drawn to the members of the group and their own lives. Author Natalie Jenner, in an impressive debut, paints a perfect picture of the setting. You can fully envision the surroundings of Chawton. Enjoy.

Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and the author for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this lovely book which will be published on May 26, 2020.

Review to be posted on my blog www.MicheleReader.com closer to publication.