Book Review: The Jane Austen Society

By Jessica Oravec

On the surface, the characters in author Natalie Jenners The Jane Austin Society have nothing in common. But as you dive deeper into the story, there is one thing that binds them together: a love for Jane Austen. They live in Chawton, a small town in Hampshire, which is where Jane Austen wrote her last three books. Its where her brother was adopted into the Knight family and inherited the house. Its where tourists come to see anything they can about Jane Austen. Some of the townspeople welcome those tourists. But others, like Mr. Knight, simply want them to go away.

Each character in this story is broken in some way. All were affected by the two World Wars. Adam Berwick is a farmer without a farm; a quiet man who has experienced a lot of loss in his life. For Adam, reading Jane Austen is a way to escape his grief. So when he learns that others, too, have a love for Jane Austen, he proposes starting the Jane Austen Society, a group that can purchase the cottage where she lived and create a place for people to share their love for her books.

As the Jane Austen Society begins to meet, they discover pieces about themselves that they didnt know, and they begin to help each other heal. The Society is a lifeline for each of them, and it helps them all be braver than they ever thought possible. What follows is a story of love and betrayal, and how friendship is what sees us through.

In The Jane Austen Society, Jenner gives us a peek into post-war England. She shows us how everyone was affected by the war, but that people were resilient. Readers also discover how literature can bind us together. This book is a reminder of the pliability of the human spirit, the power of friendship, and how hope even when it is but a small thing can see us through.