Taking place after WWII, eight very different people join together to honor Jane Austen in Chawton where she lived for a time. It's a heartwarming story about love, grief and literature. It would be perfect for those who loved Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society as well as those who like Jennifer Ryan.

The Jane Austen Society is a fictionalized account of a group of people coming together to preserve the legacy of one of the world's greatest authors, Jane Austen. The story centers on the formation of a band of unlikely cohorts and their intertwined relationships. Old histories between the villagers is revealed and we watch and anticipate resolutions. One of the members has ties to old Hollywood and we see that cutthroat maneuvering took place then as now. Everyone struggles with life: grief, disappointment, rejection and fear. Their new joint mission provides opportunities for healing and rebirth. That is exactly what a good story gives us.
That being said, I felt a little let down by some of the storylines. The author does a fine job of drawing the characters and their conflicts, but seems to rush through the resolutions. The author also did an incredible job of research and she quotes liberally from Austen's books. However, I struggled to stay interested and was ready for the book to end. Perhaps someone more knowledgeable about Austen would feel differently, but I'm sad to say that while I was very excited to read this book, I ended up liking it, not loving it.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

My thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Fans of Jane Austen's books might well enjoy this story about a group of second world war townsfolk who unite to preserve the small home and monuments that drew many visitors to the small town of Chawton, Jane Austen's final resting place.

I could see elements of Austen's stories played out in this novel. Bits and pieces of the plots of Emma, Persuasion, Pride and Prejudice - all lent a hand in developing a few of the several characters' story lines. As I said at the outset, fans of Jane Austen's works might enjoy this decently written walk down memory lane. Many of the characters did not come across as real to me. I felt distanced from them because they were a bit one-dimensional. A fair amount of showing and not telling also was to blame for this, I think. For these reasons, I rate this a 3.5 out of 5.

Charming from the first sentence to the last! A captivating portrait of a town and a little cluster of wonderfully evoked characters enjoined in a mission to preserve something precious. No fan of Guernsey Potato Peel Society--or of Jane Austen--should miss this read.

A delightful book. Austin fans and anyone looking for a delicious read will adore Jenner's story. Other than the modern language, Austin could have written this herself.

*4.5 stars

If you adore Jane Austen, and quiet novels about life than this is perfect for you. This take place during WWII and shortly after, in one of the last places that Jane Austen lived, Chawton, England. You have a motley crew of characters: an American actress, a doctor, a lawyer, a teenage girl, a teacher, a shy field worker, and even a descendant of Jane's. They are all of different ages, wealth, some grieve, some are too shy, and some have big ideas, but they all have one thing in common: they love Jane Austen. They all want to keep her memory and works alive so they come together to forge The Jane Austen Society. You get conversations about Jane's stories, about the different ways of dealing with grief, about everyday conversations that happen in a small town, and maybe even some romance. I really enjoyed this story and the characters. All it does is feed into my love of Austen and desperately wanting to go England.

*Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Exquisitely written historical fiction novel. The Jane Austen Society is a fictionalized account of the formation of the society by the same name and the preservation of the legacy of Jane Austen in Chawton. The novel follows a series of deep and troubled characters through several decades in the early to mid 20th century as they navigate the trials and tribulations of their lives while living in collective awe of their town's most famous former resident, Jane Austen. The lives of these seemingly disparate characters are intertwined by a love of all things Austen and they come together as if drawn, like moths to a flame, to preserve her legacy. The novel has a satisfying ending and will delight Jane Austen fans with the many references to her work. I could see this novel being incorporated into courses on historical fiction and/or Jane Austen.

My thanks to St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read the book in exchange for my honest review.

What a totally enjoyable read! Captivating characters, likable characters, beautiful setting that you can envision while reading. The Jane Austin Society has motivated me to now reread Jane Austin’s books. The references, throughout the novel, are so interestingly and intricately woven, into the lives of the characters. A pleasure to read such a well written and absorbing novel. I just loved it! Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

Imagine 8 very different folks coming together in a small town all because of a shared love for an author. A town doctor, a lawyer, a widowed teacher, a quiet farmer, a servant girl, an actress, an auction expert, and a local recluse begin The Jane Austen Society in the town where Jane spent many of her final years. They seek to preserve her literary legacy and uncover many of her secrets along the way. Their own lives become entangled with each other and with Jane Austen in many surprising, endearing, and entertaining ways.

I absolutely loved this book. It was a lovely story and so clever. The author manages to write a Jane Austen type story that centers around Jane Austen herself. The characters in this book are wonderful versions of some of Austen’s famous heroines and heroes. The author weaves in personal trauma to the characters’ stories which made these people feel so real and relatable. I looked forward to reading this every chance I could and I highly recommend for all Jane Austen enthusiasts and anyone who likes a good story.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy.

This was a very enjoyable book.

The book centers on a small town in England with big ties to Jane Austen. Centering on an American movie star, a doctor, a farmer, a housekeeper, and a teacher, the book weaves together the characters with a love of the author and a desire to better understand her.

The book is historical fiction, set right after World War II, and that makes this an interesting take on what is kind of becoming a literary trope: works inspired by a love of Austen.

The dialogue was entertaining and the plot was interesting. A fun book.

Thanks to NetGalley,com, the publisher and author for my ARC.

Enjoyable historical fiction! I will recommend to patrons looking for content like this - anglophiles, people looking for fiction about books, Jane Austen fans obviously.

The words that come to mind after finishing this book were heartwarming and gentle. In the small village of Chawton a group of people get together and form the Jane Austen Society to preserve Jane's memory and try to keep her memorabilia in the village and open a museum. The characters were wonderful, Dr. Gray who was still grieving his wife, Adeline who lost her husband in the war and then the child she was pregnant with when he was deployed. Adam Berwick was a farmer who wasn't able to go to college because he lost two brothers in the war and was required to work the farm. Evie is a servant girl working in the great house and secretly catalogs the library. Frances is a descendant of Jane's and isn't much interested in life. Throw in the mix a movie star who loves Jane Austen. As they navigate the law trying to save the estate they all face their pasts and try to figure out what the future would be. I took a break in the book to read Emma and once I did I understood more of the conversations and why they loved Jane so much. It was a joy to watch the characters grow into the people they were supposed to be. I would highly recommend this book.

A fun read with some quirky characters. Doesn't matter if you're an Austen fan, you will enjoy the village and the story. Their passion for their community will appeal to many readers.

This was a delightful story of a tiny village, Chawton. Linking the people is their love for the famous author, Jane Austen and preserving her memories. The story was set in the 1940's and full of compassion and the healing power of a tight-nit community. The relationships between various people were fun and sad at the same time.
If your a fan of Jane Austen, you will want to read!


Thank you publisher and NetGalley for the eARC.

“Do you ever stop and think how lucky we are, the way we get to live here every day, like Jane Austen did?”

I am not the biggest fan of historical fiction, but I was so incredibly pleased! I am also not the most passionate Jane Austen aficionado (I much rather simpatize with the character of Frances Knight in preferring the Brontës) but I didn’t drown in intertextuality and references as I thought I would – though though there are some cleverly subtle relations between Jenner’s characters and Austen’s.

As superficially as I know Jane Austen’s works, I do feel like this is the perfect homage to her storytelling and style. There was just something in the writing that will captivate Austen’s fans instantly – as well as the common reader.

“I should tell you I am reading Emma again. Every time I find a new clue, something I missed before. It’s like she’s still writing these stories, still giving them life.”

Natalie Jenner’s work is absolutely beautiful. The characters are livid and I found myself missing them when I was not reading (I love them so much I can hardly bring myself to pick favorites, but let’s go with a top 3 with Adeline, Evie and Adam).

This is a wonderful tale about how literature can bring people together, how powerful certain stories can be and how they can resonate with us.

My thanks to St. Martin’s Press for granting me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

It has been many years since I have read Jane Austen’s books so references to characters and events we not familiar . Saying that I did enjoy the book and the variety of characters with their quirks and problems. The small English village was the ideal setting for these characters to move forward with the challenges they had. This book dealt with complexities in relationships for domineering parents, lost loves, hidden secrets , and possessiveness . A quaint read that engulfs all emotions.

The Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner is a fictional version of the creation of the society of the title. This was a book that I was slow to like. I think it is partly because being about Jane Austen, set in Chawton, I expected to love the book. I think the other is the fact that the book is about a group of people, so it just takes a lot of time to get to know them, since the reader is being passed from one to another. And I didn’t think the writer did a great job at striking a good balance between telling and showing in such a way that made me feel close to the characters.

That said, I did grow to like the characters a lot and appreciate the theme and Jane Austen’s books can help people get through trauma. Showing how the books help people with trauma was part of the reason I was slow to like the book in the beginning, because we start by seeing or learning about each person’s own trauma. It just didn’t make me eager to pick up the book. But I did enjoy reading the book slowly, just a chapter at a time.

I give the book 4 stars, because it was fun to spend time with people who really love and care for Jane Austen so much that they worked hard to make a memorial to her.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

It's impossible to fully describe this novel and how I feel about it. I loved the concept of the novel, the preservation of a beloved author's legacy in her hometown, the creation of the museum many of us have made our own pilgrimages to and the friendship and romances between the characters. I found the story compelling and kept turning the page to read what would happen next. Mostly I cared about whether the society would be able to save the Knight library and preserve the cottage. It took a really long time to get there and the end was maybe a bit rushed.

What I didn't like is how contrived this story is. Astute Austen readers will pick up on similarities between the characters of this novel, the "real" people of Chawton and the characters in Jane Austen's novels, yet only ONE character in the entire plot figures this out at the end. This story is permeated with the somberness of a generation caught up in two catastrophic world wars and is therefore, more tinged with sadness that I normally prefer. As Jane Austen once said, let other pens dwell on guilt and misery! The relationships between the characters are very predictable for the most part. One storyline surprised me at the end. The one plot that I really really didn't like was the Mimi plot. It reflects real life a little too much with a sexual assault scene and an actress who knowingly falls for a "bad boy" because of sexual attraction. The rest of the characters and plots I enjoyed, particularly Evie's catalog of the Knight library.

The characters in this novel are composites of Austen characters and yet they are also fully flesh and blood, much like Austen's own characters. We feel right along with them and grieve and ache as they do and experience joy and romance. Shy Adam Berwick may be a farmer but he once had dreams of attending University and studying literature. The only male left in his family after the Great War and the Spanish flu, he was forced to give up those dreams and stay with his mother who doesn't understand him. My heart broke for Adam more than any of the other characters. I empathize entirely with the rut he is stuck in and how much that lost dream meant to him. He's just so sad and lonely. I was hard pressed to put my finger on WHICH Austen character he could be but perhaps Captain Benwick?

Mary Anne/Mimi is a bit of an idealistic dreamer yet she enters into a relationship with Jack with eyes wide open. A lifelong lover of Austen, Mimi, like Elizabeth Bennet, has high standards for herself and won't allow herself to be with any man who doesn't respect her. She experiences a #MeToo/#TimesUp moment with a 1940s Harvey Weinstein that forces her to rethink her career. At 35, she's old for Hollywood and her time on the big screen may be coming to an end. Intelligent and resourceful, Mimi decides to retire part-time to Hampshire where she can indulge her Austen dreams. I like how she sets out to preserve Jane Austen's legacy from the beginning and how she sparked a rebirth in Adam. I REALLY disliked her relationship with Jack though. She knows he's Henry Crawford and likes that she can ostensibly reform him. I disagree but I know plenty of people on team Crawford. Mimi has some very frank conversations with people she's only just met. Aren't the British supposed to be more reserved than Americans? That was very awkward and unrealistic.

The most beautiful and heart-wrenching plotline is the Dr. Gray/Adeline plot. Austen lovers will figure out which characters they are pretty quickly. Dr. Gray is a tragic figure. He hasn't gotten over the death of his wife, feeling guilty because he couldn't save her. He can't let the past go yet he tries to stay in the present and not think too much about what happened. When tragedy hits Adeline, he worries about her in a very sweet way. She seems him as a bit paternalistic at times though and keeps pushing against him. He truly cares but can't see what's in front of his nose. I like Adeline's spark and her spunk. Like Elizabeth Bennet, her courage rises at every attempt to intimidate her. When the school board said no, she did it anyway. Adeline had a terrible shock and is grieving in an unhealthy way but who can blame her? I experienced all the emotions with these two. Jane Austen brings them together and sparks fly but both are broken and perhaps they can't be made whole again to experience life.

Miss Frances is clearly Anne Elliott with the personality of Fanny Price. She accepts what is and that's that. She never fights back or gets upset at the injustices her terrible father inflicted on her. Old Mr. Knight is a horrid tyrant of the Georgette Heyer type without any humor. For years he has bullied his daughter, ignored her and basically treated her like dirt. He blames her for not marrying and producing an heir. Evie, her housemaid, is devoted to Miss Frances. Evie, a lively girl of 16, would rather spend her nights reading in the library than going out or even sleeping. Evie still has a strong passion for learning and literature. Her plot engaged me the most and I was eager to sit there next to her looking at the books. One day I simply must go to Chawton House Library. Evie's plot hook kept me turning pages late into the night.

Andrew Forrester, a solicitor from Alton and Yardley Sinclair, an auctioneer from London, round out the Jane Austen Society. Andrew is scrupulous about rules and regulations even when it comes to his personal feelings. His feelings are obvious and he directly corresponds to one Austen hero. The situation is basically the same. I found him a bit too black and white and not a character I sympathize with. He needs to do something and take action. Yardley is funny. At first I thought he was just a money hungry businessman but soon his passion for Jane Austen becomes clear. Then the reader knows he has the very best of intentions. Yardley seems to be the only character who isn't broken. He's a little bit of light relief in a heavy story.

Minor characters that populate Chawton and make this English village so charming are Harriet Peckham, Dr. Gray's secretary. I can't stand her. She's a nosy gossip and presumes too much about her employer. His nurse, Liberty, is just as bad and for some reason is rivals with Adeline. Adeline's mother, Mrs. Lewis is sharp tongued and not very pleasant. It's no wonder Adeline can't move on with her battle-axe of a mother staying with her. Mrs. Berwick is nearly as bad but I believe Mrs. Lewis isn't selfish, just protective of her daughter. Mrs. Berwick is selfish and out to protect herself and keeps her son under her thumb. She has a secret that comes out of nowhere and seems rather far-fetched. Colin Knatchbull-Hugessen is a lazy, no-good fool. He's new to Chawton and I don't think he deserves to be there. I'm not a lawyer but I'm pretty sure I would be questioning his arrival in town if I were a certain someone.

I liked the author's writing style, for the most part. A few editorial things bothered me that I hope will be fixed in the final edition. The use of "alright" is my biggest pet peeve. Standard English usage is "all right" - two words. "Alright" one word seems more accepted now but it really doesn't make sense. The other problem I had with this uncorrected edition is the passage of time back and forth within a scene and between characters. I hope the publisher includes some kind of mark to indicate the scene is changing. I enjoyed some of the beautiful phrases and the insights into Jane Austen's novels. I never thought about some of the things discussed and now have more to think about next time I reread.

This book is recommended for true Janeites but probably not to those who only know the movies or GASP don't know Jane at all!

Content warning:
sexual assault - semi-graphic
pre-marital sex - not shown on page but discussed a lot in the inner dialogue
prescription drug abuse

A novel of strength surrounding a handful of locals, a famous movie star, and a curator for an auction house coming together in the (very) small village of Chawton in the 1940s - the only thing linking them is their love of the famous authoress Jane Austen. The reader is introduced to each character’s tragic story as the novel unfolds until they all ban together to form the Jane Austen Society.

Evie - a teenager forced out of school and into work, the aftermath of a tractor accident that left her father without the use of his legs

Dr. Gray - a drug addicted doctor mourning the tragic accident resulting in the loss of his wife and his self-perceived inadequacies in his career

Adeline - a young former teacher (forced to leave due to the boards constant come-downs regarding her focus in the classroom on female authors). Adeline marries her childhood sweetheart before he hurried off to war only to be killed and finds herself pregnant

Adam - a sad reclusive soul who lost two brothers in the war known around the village as the handy man who picks up odd jobs. A quiet man whose love of Jane Austen is a surprise to all who know him

Frances - the last Knight and descendant of Jane Austen in Chawton (pending her fathers demise). A woman with a lifetime of regrets of obeying her father, his disappointment in her not producing an heir (brought on by his refusal to allow her to wed the man she loves), and the final slap in the face when he writes her out of his will. Frances endures all with strength and courage - perhaps the most stoic character

Mr. Forrester - The lawyer in charge of handling Mr. Knights estate. Another widower still harbouring his love for Frances and all that could have been


Yardley - “out” to those who know him, a curator for Sotheby’s auction house. In love with all things antique and Jane Austen related.

Mimi Harrison - an aging famous movie star whose love for Jane Austen stems from her father, who read the novels to her as a little girl. Her fathers suicide is never far from her mind though she is much a wide-eyed naive woman, always seeing the best in people.

Throughout the novel we learn how Jane Austen’s writing is the catalyst of strength for these individuals and you can’t help but root for them and their cause despite the obstacles faced due to the changing economic landscape of post war.

The author cleverly mixed in romances between the characters that echo Austen’s works. Overall a somehow delightful story, despite the tragic events surrounding each character and a great testament to Jane Austen herself. I loved it!

A lovely novel of relationships and the healing power of community. Fans of Austen will relish in the references and quotations from this band of Austen devotees. However, even those not intimately familiar with Austen's body of work can still enjoy the story of people carrying on after hardships. I especially enjoyed the author's note at the end that explained that while the places are historical, the characters are completely fictional. I thoroughly enjoyed this blend of history and fiction based on one of my favorite authors! I received a free advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. #NetGalley #TheJaneAustenSociety