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A review by kelly_e
The Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Title: The Jane Austen Society
Author: Natalie Jenner
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: 4.25
Pub Date: May 26, 2020
T H R E E • W O R D S
Delightful • Uplifting • Bittersweet
📖 S Y N O P S I S
Set in post WWII Chawton, the final place famed author Jane Austen lived, The Jane Austen Society centers around Austen's former home, now occupied by a few distant relatives. With Austen's legacy threatened, an unlikely group of villagers, united by their love for her work, band together to preserve what is left by creating The Jane Austen Society. A story of love and loss, deep personal struggles, and the power of books.
💭 T H O U G H T S
I'll admit I have never read Jane Austen, and I may never read her work. However, I was instantly drawn to The Jane Austen Society for it's bookish basis - any book relating to the universal language of literature and the power of books is a book for me!
And sometimes the right books falls into your lap at the right time, which was the case for me with this one. My own grief was strong at the point I picked it up without knowing one of the main themes would be grief. I had absolutely no idea how much I would connect with the narrative (Adeline and her grief, in particular), and there are several quotes below that I have been thinking about ever since. The grief aspect was so appreciated.
The Jane Austen Society mixes historical fiction, personal tragedy, the English countryside, and Austen fandom beautifully. And while I could have done without all the legal details relating to charitable societies and estate management, on the whole the writing is great. Of course, there is also bookish aspect that I always adore. Turning to books for solace is something I have done time and time again, so it just felt validating. Additionally, I adored how a love of books brought this distinctly different cast of characters together. Each character had their place, and thought I personally connected with Adeline most, I had a soft spot for Adam.
I definitely think my appreciation of this book would have been enhanced if I'd have read some of Austen work, nonetheless Natalie Jenner's debut was such an enjoyable read and I look forward to more from her in the future.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• Austen devotees
• historical fiction lovers
• fans of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"The unnatural loss of youth not only hits us harder, it seems to insist on invading our days, as if the memory of the person lost too soon has a hidden, persistent source of energy."
"From all of his years of practice, Dr. Gray knew only one thing for sure: that some of us are given too much to bear, and this burden is made worse by the hidden nature of that toll, a toll that other cannot even begin to guess at."
"But the thing that no one warns you about, when the pain is too great - when the pain is so great that you'd rather die than face another day of it - is that the pain becomes bigger, and more real, than anything else. It's like the circle of grief which is not supposed to shrink, even with time, but also not to grow - it's as if it is still expanding with the pain, feeding on it, infecting everything else around you. A calculating, inextinguishable darkness that covers everything, even the few things that you were promised would remain outside the grief, by all those well-meaning people who simply had not yet experienced a grief as bad as yours."
"For the world that existed demanded the pain, and the living with it, and would never let you go even when everything else fell away."
"'All I know is that I really loved him. I really did, deeply. And now I have no one. And everyone wants me to just go on. It's been a year, they'll say, it's time to get out. Take walks. Long walks. Go to the movies. Just get out there again and live.'
Mimi shook her head sadly at the young widow. 'Adeline, my father killed himself when I was very young, and it impacts me even as we sit here. It is a part of me, that awful, irrevocable act. And I am never going to be quite whole again because of it. You are not the problem: the loss is.'
Adeline looked up at Mimi with tears streaming down her cheeks. It was the first time she had let herself cry since that awful night outside in the garden with Dr. Gray.
'And, yes, sadly, no one can ever understand your loss. It belongs to you. It impacts only you. And guess what? They don't need to understand.'
Author: Natalie Jenner
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: 4.25
Pub Date: May 26, 2020
T H R E E • W O R D S
Delightful • Uplifting • Bittersweet
📖 S Y N O P S I S
Set in post WWII Chawton, the final place famed author Jane Austen lived, The Jane Austen Society centers around Austen's former home, now occupied by a few distant relatives. With Austen's legacy threatened, an unlikely group of villagers, united by their love for her work, band together to preserve what is left by creating The Jane Austen Society. A story of love and loss, deep personal struggles, and the power of books.
💭 T H O U G H T S
I'll admit I have never read Jane Austen, and I may never read her work. However, I was instantly drawn to The Jane Austen Society for it's bookish basis - any book relating to the universal language of literature and the power of books is a book for me!
And sometimes the right books falls into your lap at the right time, which was the case for me with this one. My own grief was strong at the point I picked it up without knowing one of the main themes would be grief. I had absolutely no idea how much I would connect with the narrative (Adeline and her grief, in particular), and there are several quotes below that I have been thinking about ever since. The grief aspect was so appreciated.
The Jane Austen Society mixes historical fiction, personal tragedy, the English countryside, and Austen fandom beautifully. And while I could have done without all the legal details relating to charitable societies and estate management, on the whole the writing is great. Of course, there is also bookish aspect that I always adore. Turning to books for solace is something I have done time and time again, so it just felt validating. Additionally, I adored how a love of books brought this distinctly different cast of characters together. Each character had their place, and thought I personally connected with Adeline most, I had a soft spot for Adam.
I definitely think my appreciation of this book would have been enhanced if I'd have read some of Austen work, nonetheless Natalie Jenner's debut was such an enjoyable read and I look forward to more from her in the future.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• Austen devotees
• historical fiction lovers
• fans of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"The unnatural loss of youth not only hits us harder, it seems to insist on invading our days, as if the memory of the person lost too soon has a hidden, persistent source of energy."
"From all of his years of practice, Dr. Gray knew only one thing for sure: that some of us are given too much to bear, and this burden is made worse by the hidden nature of that toll, a toll that other cannot even begin to guess at."
"But the thing that no one warns you about, when the pain is too great - when the pain is so great that you'd rather die than face another day of it - is that the pain becomes bigger, and more real, than anything else. It's like the circle of grief which is not supposed to shrink, even with time, but also not to grow - it's as if it is still expanding with the pain, feeding on it, infecting everything else around you. A calculating, inextinguishable darkness that covers everything, even the few things that you were promised would remain outside the grief, by all those well-meaning people who simply had not yet experienced a grief as bad as yours."
"For the world that existed demanded the pain, and the living with it, and would never let you go even when everything else fell away."
"'All I know is that I really loved him. I really did, deeply. And now I have no one. And everyone wants me to just go on. It's been a year, they'll say, it's time to get out. Take walks. Long walks. Go to the movies. Just get out there again and live.'
Mimi shook her head sadly at the young widow. 'Adeline, my father killed himself when I was very young, and it impacts me even as we sit here. It is a part of me, that awful, irrevocable act. And I am never going to be quite whole again because of it. You are not the problem: the loss is.'
Adeline looked up at Mimi with tears streaming down her cheeks. It was the first time she had let herself cry since that awful night outside in the garden with Dr. Gray.
'And, yes, sadly, no one can ever understand your loss. It belongs to you. It impacts only you. And guess what? They don't need to understand.'
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Miscarriage, and Grief
Moderate: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Sexual assault, and Pregnancy
Minor: Suicide, Death of parent, and War
death of partner