Scan barcode
krystyne88's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone who likes a more plot driven novel. The writing was beautiful and I loved the discussions about my beloved Jane Austen characters. It made me long for people to share these discussions with. I almost want to start my own Jane Austen book club. However, the plot was just too slow and not exciting enough. The ending felt rushed and forced and almost cringey. I still did like it though
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault and Miscarriage
Moderate: Addiction
Minor: War
tracie_mcd's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This book was so charming and such a comfort read. Like a warm hug. It helps if you’ve read any Jane Austen but only as a point of reference because they do mention different Austen characters throughout the book. It’s not imperative though. Listened to it on audio and I found it soothing. Highly recommend… in either format.
Content Warnings
Minor: Miscarriage and Death
bethlee's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault
Minor: Miscarriage, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Grief, and Addiction
rosy_posy's review
emotional
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Rape, and Sexual assault
Minor: War and Suicide
sedonaschiek's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, and Drug use
fromjuliereads's review
I think historical fiction just isn't for me. Also this swapped between characters WAY too much for me and I didn't really care about them. I skim read the last chapter and it ended how I thought it would.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gaslighting, Grief, Death, Pregnancy, Misogyny, Addiction, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, and War
someryarns's review against another edition
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? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Addiction, Death, Emotional abuse, Drug abuse, and Grief
Minor: Suicide
tinkeringcheck's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
TLDR: Character-driven, multiple POVs, large cast with a lotta heart, slow pace, great audiobook narration, heartfelt exploration of grief, bit of an underwhelming ending.
To be upfront, I've... never actually read a Jane Austen book. However! I do have a lot of fondness for Austen screen adaptations. Was I a fool for diving into a book like this based solely off a recent rewatch of P&P 2005? Perhaps!
But despite all that, what I'd absorbed through cultural osmosis was enough to easily follow along. There were a few times when the characters got into discussions that made me feel like I'd shown up to an English Lit seminar without doing the reading, but these parts were still written in a pretty accessible way for newbies while digging deep into the themes of Austen's stories.
There are a lot of character storylines here and I admittedly had my favourites, but overall I found each brought something unique to the story and how we see the other characters. However, some POVs tended to slow down the story more than others. And because of the large cast and limited time with each, you don't get a completely deep exploration of any one character. This can be a relief if there are POVs you don't click with, but left me a little wanting for my faves (like Adeline and Dr. Grey).
At the heart of the story, though, is a very poignant and relatable exploration of many different kinds of grief. While the WW2 setting has been overdone to death, it truly makes sense for this story for the unfathomable amount of grief it inflicted on society. Even so, this story is rooted firmly on the home front so it feels less a typical WW2 historical and more a story that just happens to be set during WW2.
However, I do wish the ending had gone out on more of a bang plot-wise. It felt a bit underwhelming with some characters making regressive choices after seeing them grow so much over the course of the story.
Overall, I really loved this story and these characters, and it made me interested in reading more of Austen's works! It has a slow pace though (the audiobook even moreso than the print book despite the excellent narration) and the characters - not the Austen plot - are definitely the focus.
To be upfront, I've... never actually read a Jane Austen book. However! I do have a lot of fondness for Austen screen adaptations. Was I a fool for diving into a book like this based solely off a recent rewatch of P&P 2005? Perhaps!
But despite all that, what I'd absorbed through cultural osmosis was enough to easily follow along. There were a few times when the characters got into discussions that made me feel like I'd shown up to an English Lit seminar without doing the reading, but these parts were still written in a pretty accessible way for newbies while digging deep into the themes of Austen's stories.
There are a lot of character storylines here and I admittedly had my favourites, but overall I found each brought something unique to the story and how we see the other characters. However, some POVs tended to slow down the story more than others. And because of the large cast and limited time with each, you don't get a completely deep exploration of any one character. This can be a relief if there are POVs you don't click with, but left me a little wanting for my faves (like Adeline and Dr. Grey).
At the heart of the story, though, is a very poignant and relatable exploration of many different kinds of grief. While the WW2 setting has been overdone to death, it truly makes sense for this story for the unfathomable amount of grief it inflicted on society. Even so, this story is rooted firmly on the home front so it feels less a typical WW2 historical and more a story that just happens to be set during WW2.
However, I do wish the ending had gone out on more of a bang plot-wise. It felt a bit underwhelming with some characters making regressive choices after seeing them grow so much over the course of the story.
Overall, I really loved this story and these characters, and it made me interested in reading more of Austen's works! It has a slow pace though (the audiobook even moreso than the print book despite the excellent narration) and the characters - not the Austen plot - are definitely the focus.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Miscarriage, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Mental illness, War, and Addiction
Minor: Emotional abuse, Suicide, and Sexism
Graphic sexual assault: Happens inGrief: It's a major part of the story, so if background deaths of parents/children/siblings or miscarriage will affect you it's probably best to skip this one.
Addiction: One of the characters starts struggling with a prescription drug addiction about halfway through the story. It's only lightly touched on and briefly described. They eventually take steps to help curb it, but they don't really get help for it (especially in terms of modern support).
Mental illness: One of the characters struggles with symptoms very strongly like depression and agoraphobia, and heavily isolates themselves because of it.
Suicide: Very brief mention of a character's relative sadly committing suicide in the past.
Emotional abuse: Nothing explicit, more one of the characters having a shitty parent.
kelly_e's review
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: Miscarriage, Grief, and Child death
Moderate: Death, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Addiction, and Drug abuse
Minor: Death of parent, War, and Suicide
death of partnermisse3's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Miscarriage, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Rape, Drug abuse, Drug use, Misogyny, and Child death
Minor: Pregnancy, Homophobia, and Suicide