The Jane Austen Society
Book Review - The Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner
Book Review - The Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner
Back in 2018 I read an article from Publishers Weekly titled Inside the Secret Society of Jane Austen Superfans and I was fascinated! Austenmania is serious and Austen fans don’t mess around. Just recently a friend of mine texted after I posted a review of The First Emma (COMPLETELY unrelated to Jane Austen’s Emma, to be clear) and said, “If it’s supposed to be pre-Austen Emma, I give it no stars.” And the number one answer from authors in my author interview series to the question about which book character you’d want do be best friends with? Elizabeth Bennet, from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. All this to say, kudos to Natalie Jenner for taking on such a hot topic!
Book Review - The Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner
The Jane Austen Society is set at the end of World War II. Jane Austen’s Chawton estate is at risk of being sold to a developer and turned into a golf course. A group of locals, each with their own fascinating story and personal challenges, bands together in an effort to preserve Chawton estate and ensure that Jane Austen’s legacy lives on. It is an inspiring story of Jane Austen fans (young, old, male, female, educated, uneducated) overlooking all of their differences to focus on the thing they. hold most dear, the thing they have in common, a love for Jane Austen.
Book Review - The Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner
I thought this was a lovely story. It is important to note that all of the characters in this book are from the imagination of the author, but the locations are real. I fear that some of the aforementioned Jane Austen Superfans may take issue if I don’t point out that this is indeed historical FICTION. But what I love most about historical fiction is that it inspires the reader to research more about the topic. Perhaps those who never heard of Chawton estate may look it up and want to learn more about the real story of Jane Austen.
