The Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner

 

First Line: Chawton, Hampshire. June 1932. He lay back on the low stone wall, knees pulled up, and stretched his spine against the rock.

 

The small English village of Chawton was the final home of Jane Austen, one of the world's finest novelists. Just after World War II, Chawton is home to a few distant relatives and their steadily shrinking estate. When the last piece of Austen's legacy is threatened, a group of individuals comes together to preserve both the author's home and her legacy. 

 

These people couldn't be any more different: a farm laborer, a young widow, the local doctor, the local solicitor, a young maid-of-all-work, a movie star-- yet they are all united in their love for the works and words of Austen. Each person is enduring their own quiet struggle with loss and trauma, but they all rally together to create the Jane Austen Society.

~

Lately, I've been mapping out which books I'll read each month, and I was following my plan faithfully until just recently when The Jane Austen Society surfaced from the hundreds of books on my Kindle and demanded that I read it.

I'm glad I did.

Natalie Jenner's debut novel is a quiet little book, very like the novels of Jane Austen herself, yet it packs a punch (just like Jane's). Only a reader knows how universal the language of literature is and how powerful books can be in uniting and healing people. Many are the times when books and reading have saved me from the abyss, and the same holds true for the characters in Jenner's novel.

The library in the Knights' country house made my jaw drop and my mouth water and I easily put myself in young maid Evie Stone's place each evening as she sneaked inside to be with all those wonderful books. For me, that library was just as important a character as the members of the Jane Austen Society.

This little piece of historical fiction is a must-read for those who love to be drawn into the characters' lives. Although I have to admit that young Evie was my favorite, I felt a part of all their lives. I shared in their joys and their sorrows, and I definitely had my own opinion about what each of them should do.

If you like being drawn into a story and feeling a part of the characters' lives, by all means, you need to pick up a copy of The Jane Austen Society. It was the perfect way for me to spend a couple of summer afternoons.

The Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner

eISBN: 9781250248725

St. Martin's Griffin © 2020

eBook, 320 pages

 

Historical Fiction, Standalone

Rating: A-

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

Jane and the Twelve Days of Christmas by Stephanie Barron

First Line: "Jane," said my mother over the lolling head of the parson slumbering beside her, "be so good as to shift your bandbox and secure my reticule."

Having traveled in horrible weather and on abominable roads to Steventon in order to spend the Christmas holidays with her brother and his family, Jane Austen finds that everyone has been invited to The Vyne to celebrate. Since scarcely anyone was looking forward to being shut in the house with James' self-centered, complaining wife, the invitation is accepted with pleasure, and everyone bundles up for the trip to the old manor house.

The festivities are expected to be even more joyous this year since Napoleon has been exiled to Elba, and Jane's novel Mansfield Park is selling well. Unfortunately the high spirits are not long lived. One of the guests dies in an accident which Jane and another person quickly view as suspicious. The problem is, if the accident was murder, then the killer must be one of Jane's fellow snowbound guests, and Jane needs help in solving the crime before tragedy strikes again.

Author Stephanie Barron's setting places the reader firmly in Jane Austen's day. The language is evocative of the writer, including some of the common spellings of the day-- like "chuse" instead of "choose." This is used sparingly and in no way is it confusing. In reading this twelfth book in the series, readers will understand why people thought traveling seven miles was sometimes too much to ask, and the Christmas festivities are brought to life. Another thing that's made clear is how difficult it could be to perform any sort of investigation.

But perhaps the historical additions that touched me the most were the ones involving Jane's relationship with her family-- in particular her sister Cassandra who feared that Jane's increasing popularity as an author might mean future marriage and parting from her beloved sister. Another poignant addition was how the news concerning Bonaparte had consequences for the Austen brothers who were in the military. Barron makes the reader feel Jane's anxiety.

Unfortunately the mystery in this book doesn't quite live up to its setting. With a limited cast available, deducing a killer's identity isn't difficult, but that's not what bothered me the most because there is much more to a mystery than whodunnit. No, the one thing that bothered me was the book's pace, which felt glacially slow. In fact, those twelve days of Christmas felt about seven days too long.

If you're an Austen fan, you should enjoy this book-- as long as you're not expecting a fast-paced narrative.
 

Jane and the Twelve Days of Christmas by Stephanie Barron

ISBN: 9781616954239

Soho Crime © 2014

Hardcover, 336 pages

Historical Mystery, #12 Jane Austen mystery

Rating: B

Source: publisher 

First Impressions by Charlie Lovett

First Line: Fond as she was of solitary walks, Jane had been wandering rather longer than she had intended, her mind occupied not so much with the story she had lately been reading as with one she hoped soon to be writing. 

24-year-old Sophie Collingwood has a degree from Oxford and a deep and abiding love of books. After her beloved uncle's death, Sophie inherits his London flat and takes a job at an antiquarian bookshop where two different customers request a copy of the same obscure book. In searching for the book, Sophie is drawn into a mystery that will not only cast doubt on the true authorship of Pride and Prejudice but will also threaten her life.

I love Jane Austen's novels although I wouldn't call myself a diehard fan, and I do occasionally read one of the books that have proliferated like mushrooms since the BBC and Colin Firth propelled her back into the limelight in 1995. After finishing Charlie Lovett's book, I loved it. I loved Sophie's relationship with her Uncle Bertram and their mutual passion for books. I loved learning about rare books and printers and old documents long forgotten in library archives. I got caught up in Sophie's quest to find out if Jane Austen was a plagiarist. It was only after those first impressions faded that I really began to mull over what I'd read, and that's when my opinion began to change slightly.

Lovett's tale is told in alternating chapters, Sophie's in the present day and Jane's between the years 1796 and 1817. Due to the 200-year differences in the spoken language there is never any difficulty in knowing if you're reading about Sophie or Jane. First Impressions is alive while Sophie's uncle lives. Every bit of Lovett's passion for books glows on the page, and I read that section with a big smile on my face. 

Jane's chapters are strong throughout. The author uses quite a bit from the historical record that anyone even vaguely familiar with Austen will recognize. I enjoyed the friendship between Austen and the elderly clergyman Richard Mansfield-- a kindred spirit who (for the purposes of this book) was Jane's sounding board when she was uncertain about her writing. 

Although in my mind the outcome was never in doubt, I also enjoyed reading Sophie's quest to prove that Jane Austen was not a plagiarist. The problem I found that I did have was with Sophie herself. After Uncle Bertram's death (which happens very early in the book), Sophie soon has two handsome men after her, and her chapters begin to dip too far into chick lit for my taste. It was obvious to me which man she should fall for, so the similarities with Stephanie Plum's inability to choose between Moretti and Ranger were unwelcome. There was also the matter of Sophie's ethics. She has a sense of entitlement that does her no credit, and the first time she steals something, I was flabbergasted.

Fortunately Sophie isn't the only character in the book. Her sister Victoria, her Uncle Bertram, Jane and Richard Mansfield-- thankfully they all outweighed my opinion of Sophie, and they along with an intriguing story line are the reasons why I still found a great deal of enjoyment in reading this book. One questionable apple doesn't always spoil the barrel.

First Impressions: A Novel of Old Books, Unexpected Love, and Jane Austen 
by Charlie Lovett

eISBN: 9781925095494

Viking © 2014

eBook, 368 pages

Literary Mystery, Standalone

Rating: A-

Source: Net Galley 

Death Comes to Pemberley by P.D. James

Title: Death Comes to Pemberley
Author: P.D. James
ISBN: 9780307959850
Publisher: Knopf, 2011
Hardcover, 304 pages
Genre: Historical Mystery, Pride and Prejudice pastiche
Rating: C-
Source: Purchased at Barnes and Noble

First Line: It was generally agreed by the female residents of Meryton that Mr. and Mrs. Bennet of Longbourn had been fortunate in the disposal in marriage of four of their five daughters.

In her Author's Note, P.D. James apologizes to the shade of Jane Austen who, in her final chapter of Mansfield Park stated, "Let other pens dwell on guilt and misery...." Although Austen would have no truck with murder, I had the highest of hopes that this Grandmaster of Mystery would mine one of my all-time favorite books-- Pride and Prejudice-- and strike literary gold.

The book begins well with gossip of how everyone has fared since the end of Austen's classic, and James did provide a surprise or two. She also proved that her writing could sound like her predecessor's. However, the gossip went on too long, and I was beginning to wonder if anything was going to happen.

Finally Lydia arrives at Pemberley in a cloud of dust, the coach rocking wildly, the horses foaming at their bits-- and Lydia screaming and babbling. Captain Denny had the coachman stop in the woods! Denny got out of the carriage! Her dearest Wickham followed! There were shots fired! Her most wonderful Wickham is killed!

It is the eve of the ball at Pemberley. Colonel Fitzwilliam and the Bingleys are spending the night. Elizabeth and Jane gather the witless Lydia and take her into the house. Colonel Fitzwilliam gives orders, and he and Darcy have the coachman take them back into the woods. They find Denny dead and a bloodstained Wickham over the body. Wickham mumbles what could be a confession, but since he's three sheets to the wind, Darcy isn't certain. What he is certain of is that Wickham will be going on trial for his life.

I realize now that I really didn't know what I expected from this book. Whatever it was, I didn't get it. Austen's marvelous characters are curiously lifeless in Death Comes to Pemberley. Darcy, who thought nothing of taking charge in the matter of Lydia's elopement with Wickham, is quite content to be quiet and on the sidelines here. And Elizabeth? She of the sparkling wit and pithy comments? She practically blends into the wallpaper and scarcely says a thing.

After finishing the book, I did feel distinctly cheated, and I worked hard to deduce exactly why I did. I went down a list of "I wish___________."  I wish Colonel Fitzwilliam hadn't turned into such a snob. I wish Darcy had shown more backbone and taken a more active part in things. I wish Elizabeth and Jane had done more than play nursemaid to Lydia. Why was everyone so blasted passive?

Then it dawned on me. James had to be true not only to the period of time in which the book takes place but to the class of people the Darcys are. A Darcy doesn't turn sleuth and question everybody and look everywhere for clues. That's what those other classes are for. And why-- outside of preserving reputations and social standings-- would they want to help someone like Wickham anyway... a man who'd already tried to bring disgrace to their families?

In the end, I found that James stayed true to the era, but it was like wearing a heavy, tight pair of handcuffs. Only Jane Austen, a woman of those times, could have succeeded in writing the type of book I'd anticipated-- and she was wise enough not even to try.

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