I would like to that natgalley for giving and ARC of this book.

This book takes place in England in the 1930's in the small town of Chawton,, Hampshire. It is a story about a group of villagers that love the writings of Jane Austin and seek to make people aware of her works and share a home accessible too many. It is part romance and part history. It makes me want to read books by Jane Austin all over again, so I do guess that is one of the purposes of this book.

The book was very well written and I did enjoy it. It was a light read so it would make a good “beach” read in my opinion.

I so wanted to love this book based upon the premise - a small group of Janeites tries to save a relic related to Jane's family. Anything Jane and I'm there. But this story just wasn't there for me. The writing was meh - lots of telling me exactly what people are doing/thinking/saying instead of showing me. There's a slight but great difference. The story started strong but I quickly lost interest as there was no connection with the characters, who all seemed pretty superficial. This book seems like it's trying too hard - felt contrived and fake. And for all that I love about Jane Austen, I honestly didn't want to hear people comparing their own lives to her characters' lives. It was too much. This novel was trying too hard to be like The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society...which at least the Jane Austen Society made me want to reread that book. Honestly, I skimmed over a good amount of the superfluous chatter in the middle of the story to see how the lives of the characters' ends. Sorry - this is just not for me.

Trigger Warning: This book contains a scene of the attempted rape of one of the female characters early in the story (before chapter 7).

I really enjoyed this slow-burning book about a group of people coming together in a small English village, united by their love of Jane Austen. Set in Chawton, England (Jane Austen's final place of residence) right after WWII, a motley group of individuals create the Jane Austen Society in an effort to preserve her residence and artifacts and honor their favorite author.

Although the main common thread to the group is Austen, of course, there is a secondary uniting factor -- grief. Each character experiences and muddles through grief. I, personally, have experienced deep grief in a similar way to Adeline and I appreciated how the author didn't gloss over the fact that grief is life changing and permanent.

You don't have to be a devoted Austen fan to enjoy this, but those who are will appreciate parallels between the characters' stories and Austen's characters.

Overall, a very enjoyable reading experience. The writing was very good. The book was slow starting -- the society didn't form until about 50% through; the first half was building the characters' stories up. The romances were sweet and I particularly liked that there were romances for characters over the age of 30.

I can't say enough amazing things about this book. I loved it so much. I'm a huge Jane Austen fan and even though the story was fictionalised it was so fun to read about. I loved all the characters, except for Jack. I felt like each of the characters was like an Austen character. Adeline reminded me of Elizabeth, Benjamin reminded me of Darcy and Adam, Bingley.
If you like Austen at all you will love and devour this book like I did.

This historical fiction novel is a must for any Janeite who has every visited Chawton and Jane Austen's House museum and Chawton House. It tells the story of the Jane Austen Society forming to secure and protect artifacts from her family. Its very genteel. Sweetly written characters. I enjoyed it very much.

A sweet, slow moving look into the (fictional) people who created the Jane Austen Society in Chawton, Hampshire, England. It focuses on how the lives of the villagers (and an outsider or two) intertwine and affect the creation of the society.

I enjoyed the setting and, as a fan of Austen myself, the plot. The characters I liked well enough, but did not end up loving. They all seemed to be frustratingly in purposeful ignorance of their feelings towards one another, refusing to get together due to misunderstandings and the like, which is my least favorite subplot.

Overall, it was a light, gentle read I would recommend for anyone who has an interest in historical fiction set in a small village, or is a voracious fan of Jane Austen.

I loved this book! The cast of characters were wonderful and the story flowed beautifully. I found the development of the main characters satisfying and the ending perfect..
Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this book for my honest opinion.

This book was an absolute DELIGHT to read! I loved every character and their storyline. I loved their love of Jane Austen and desire to keep her memory alive and to create a place for other Austenites to come visit. I loved the era in which the book was written. How the book was mostly written post WWII. I read a lot of WWII novels and while they are amazing, I appreciated that this novel took place after the war and as a reader, I could see how the war had impacted each of their lives. Each of the characters came from such a different point, but Austen brought them together. And that was so beautiful. My only complaint is that it took a long time for The Jane Austen Society to actually come together, and as that's the title of the book, I would have liked more time with the Society as a whole. But also, let's gush for a second about how GORGEOUS this cover is! It's positively stunning! Needless to say, if you love Austen or you just love Historical Fiction, this would be a book for you!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC!

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Jane Austen Society was such a fun book to dive into. Now I'm a huge fan of Pride and Prejudice because who doesn't love Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy? So, I wasn't at all hesitant about asking for this book. Long story short, I was super excited when I was accepted to read this.

Picture me completely fangirling before even diving into it.

Yes, it happened and it was gloriously funny.

Back to this book, it had some fun moments. Not going to lie, I was a bit bored during some parts but that tends to happen with books from time to time. Still enjoyed all the crazy characters that I met along the journey. Might even have a favorite or two - I just wont spoil it.

If I could change anything it would be the overall pacing. The up and down, fast and slow, were driving me a little nuts. I hate when parts in a book drag for so long that I feel like I might fall asleep mid sentence. Then you magically zoom through the next chapter or two to fall back into that awful slow rut.

Overall, it was entertaining and I'm glad that I got the chance to read it!

The Jane Austen Society is a heartwarming story. A group,of people, who otherwise had very little in common, convene to discuss their shared love of all things Jane. The story reveals each person's story and why the connections with each other were therapeutic. Set during WWII and after, the novel presents a works that had been ravaged and the characters who are trying to assume normalcy again.

I absolutely loved The Jane Austen Society, a historical novel set in a small English village just after World War II. The characters are beautifully drawn and the historical setting is perfection. Highly recommended!

I enjoyed this book. Eight hurting and disparate people come together by happenstance and form the Jane Austen Society. The purpose was to preserve everything Jane Austen in the village where she grew up. I loved the descriptions of the village and the way of life. I also liked learning about Jane Austen..

This book was very good but a little hard to get into. I enjoyed the characters and their ties to Jane Austen.

Loved it! I loved the characters, the setting and the storyline. It was a very welcoming novel that drew me in and kept my interested until the last page.

I think that it's quite impossible for me to completely describe how much I loved this book but I will try my best. Having a story with a large cast of characters can be difficult and confusing, yet Natalie Jenner introduced each unique character in a way that was clear, concise, and left you wanting to know more about them. Each character has such a special place in my heart, and I love how perfectly she connected them to each other by more than just their mutual love of Jane Austen. Natalie Jenner’s writing is simply gorgeous; she captures the love one can have for books as well as why and how books influence our lives and personalities. I’ve never felt more understood as a reader.
For me this story was perfectly paced, interesting the entire time, and had just the right amount of detail. I could picture every character, conversation, place, and scenario so clearly in my mind. At a certain point it even made me cry, but not out of sadness; out of pure joy. I have never had that happen before. I can’t pick a favourite character because I love them all so much, but I have to say that I really enjoyed the women of the group. They were smart, resilient, strong, supportive, and impossible not to like. Though I have an ARC e-edition I will absolutely be purchasing my own copy to have in my library, as I know that I will want to read this over and over again. If you love Jane Austen, Historical Fiction, or even just well written books, I highly recommend The Jane Austen Society.

This novel will be released next May 26th, I received a digital copy of this novel courtesy of Netgalley in exchange for an honest review, here it is (if the cat lets me finish, she thinks she deserves more attention than my keyboard !) :

First of all, let me tell you that, as the author says in the end, this story is completely fictional, it's in no way a description of what really happened, just what could have happened.

I requested this book because many people said first, that it was really good, second, that it reminded them of The Guernsey Literary and Potato peel pie society, which I read when it was published and still remember fondly, and third because, well, there's Jane Austen in the title and I'm a huge fan.

Fans like me will greatly appreciate all the references to the books of their beloved author, read the literary discussions as if we were ourselves among a group of Jane Austen lovers and talking about which book we prefer, which character, which quote we love and why. There are not many better ways to spend the time ! Those who have never read her novels will dearly want to correct that while enjoying the story.

The story takes place after the second world war, when so many people lost their loved ones, family members, friends, when the TV was beginning to appear but most people went to the cinema and everybody listened to the readio. In Chawton, that small village where Jane Austen lived for a few years, everybody knows everyone, the doctor has given birth to most children and accompanied the dying, all the people cope as best as they can with the past.

Several of these people, an ex teacher who lost her husband at war, a farmer who lost his father and brother, a doctor who lost his wife, a sollicitor who has been loving a woman from afar since she refused to marry him, a young girl who was forced to leave school but wants more out of life, a famous American actress with an uncertain love life and a woman who spent her life under the rule of her awful father, all join in The Jane Austen Society, wanting to create a place where Jane Austen fans from all over the world could come and see her cottage, the desk she wrote on, the books she read, the jewels she wore, etc., something that the village was sadly lacking until then.

I really loved reading how they managed it and at the same time, how they finally changed their lives for the better. One thing though : there are two characters in there who end up in happiness, but how they get together is not as much described as it is for the others. Anyway, I closed this heartwarming book with a happy smile upon my face and recommend it to you.

OK, cat, I'm all yours !

This book was such a great story. I was sucke din right from the beginning. I really enjoyed the plot, characters handwriting style!

I’m not an Austen fan, but I might have to go and give her another chance! I loved this book and how Austen’s works and life brought these characters together and impacted their lives. Well written, with characters that I really cared about. I’m a historical fiction fan and I could really imagine myself in England in the 1940’s while reading this book. I can’t wait for this author’s next book.

Working my way through this, and loving what I have read so far. I want to savor it, so I am reading slow for a change. Will be buying a copy for my local library when it comes out.

Much of this novel takes place shortly after WWII in the village where Jane Austen resided. Some of the villagers form a Jane Austen society to try and create a small museum. The heir presumptive to the erstwhile Austen estate is an evil old curmudgeon who largely cuts his only daughter out of his will, but maybe there is a way to get around this draconian decision? A parallel story is about Hollywood actress Mimi who is enamored of all things Austen, and who joins the Austen society with the villagers. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC.