The Jane Austen Society by Natalie JennerMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
This book is a comfortable read. Not necessarily "comforting," but comfortable, like your favorite jeans or sweater. It's the mark of a good historical piece if it makes me wonder, "Is that true?" or "How close is this to the real thing?", driving me to do some research after reading (or watching). I can save you the trouble, though, as Jenner mentions in her afterword that while the places are real, the characters are not. That's not a bad thing, and I think speaks well for Jenner's writing that I assumed these characters were based, at least a little, on real people.
When discussing Austen, the characters bring up a couple of points of view that I hadn't thought of before or hadn't been taught in academia when studying Austen, so it's always enjoyable to have a different light shown on something. Jenner also (via her characters' discussions) touches on why we re-read Austen (or any piece with which we are intimately familiar); and while I rarely reread books, her sentiment does apply to things I'll rewatch for their comfort. I might pick up and reread some more Austen, too, after reading Jenner's book.
Jenner's allusions to Austen's characters and plots in her own are subtle, not precious or too "on the nose." I like being surprised sometimes, so when I did make a connection, I had that "I should have seen that earlier!" moment, which doesn't happen too often.
Please don't think the entire book is literary analysis because it's not; I just appreciate and gravitate towards those aspects.
This is a comfortable read -- not too taxing, enough Austen for fans, not so light as to be saccharine, but also not something that leaves me needing to know more about these particular characters.
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