The Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner
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.
In the early 1800s, Chawton was the final home of Jane Austen, one of England’s finest novelists. By the 1940s, little remains of her legacy but a few distant relatives and their diminishing estate, including the cottage where Austen wrote or revised her books. With the winds of change blowing through the country in the postwar days and the cottage’s future now in the hands of fate, a group of disparate individuals fight to preserve both Austen’s home and her legacy for the world. These people - a farmer, a young war window, the village doctor, an employee of Sotheby’s, a Hollywood star, a local solicitor, the anticipated heiress to the estate, and a precocious house girl - 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 the loss and trauma of war and other tragedies, they find solace, connection, and hope in rallying together to create the Jane Austen Society.
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This book was the absolute perfect blend of characters, drama, love, and heartbreak. I don’t know why (jk yes I do) but books about people being brought together because of their love of reading is my absolute weakness. There’s nothing like the friendships and relationships formed over the love of amazing writing and fantastic stories. I was worried that this book might just be a “knock-off” of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society but it was wholly it’s own story and it stands on it’s own so damn well! Yes there were similarities in both these books being based around a book club post WWII, however, with small elements reminiscent of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hardcastle as well as dashes of Jane Austen’s own plots from the novels these characters love so well, this book created the perfect little story. I don’t know if it’s because I had literally just finished a Jane Austen book before picking this up or if it was truly that amazing but now I NEED to reread every single one of her works… this book rekindled my passion for her classics.
This story hooks you in right from the start, and it’s not until I finished the book that I realized how important a lot of the beginning elements are. This author did a fantastic foreshadowing, I am extremely impressed. For a debut novel I didn’t have very high expectations per say but I’ve been blown out of the water at every turn, this book is definitely making my top ten reads of the year list I can tell you that right now! The plot had everything you could need, historical post WWII setting (my fav era to read in historical fiction), multiple POV’s, angst, romance, drama, bookish love, and of course, friendship.
We start off before WWII with Adam, a young farmer who lost everything in the first World War, and his meeting of Mary Anne and her obsession with Jane Austen sparking his interest in the author from in his little village. Years later he’s still reading Austen with a passion. Slowly throughout the war years and post war years we are introduced to new characters and members of the society and how they all become connected through their passion for Jane Austen’s humour, wit, and passionate words. I liked how the timeline progresses through the years, it made it a lot more realistic. We didn’t just have a week that built up all these everlasting relationships, these people knew each other for as little as a few months to as much as a lifetime and it gave time to grow and nourish the dynamics between each character. The character relationships were my favourite part of the book. Dr. Gray and Adeline being my personal favourites. They were the epitome of Jane Austen characters in my eyes. Adam was also a fantastic character, his growth and steadiness was one of the most moving parts. Mimi was probably my least favourite of the main cast mainly due to her naivety. We will save the most hated spot for mysterious cousin Colin (really why does every skeezy, witless male heir need to be named Colin?). Of the main group, there wasn't one character I actually disliked, and I'm extremely happy with how it all ended up... which is quite rare in a historical fiction for me.
I laughed, I cried, I gritted my teeth through anger and despair, this book had it all. But most of all, it left me with a feeling of camaraderie with the characters and a revived passion for well-loved stories. I highly recommend this read for anyone into historical fiction and Jane Austen. 5 stars for sure.