Natalie Jenner
I am grateful to St. Martin's Press for sending me an Advance Readers' Edition of this book, that will become available for purchase on 5/26/20. It is always so exciting to get "book mail!" I only wish that at this point in my life, I had read any of Jane Austen's work. I know of them, but I need to read them. I feel that I would interpret this book on a much deeper level if I had more schema. That being said, I do not feel that reading Jane Austen is vital before reading this novel.
"Evie was indulging her always active imagination as she observed the five trustees before her. For months she had been watching the Knight family's lawyer not look at Miss Knight whenever he had the chance, and her do the same, and Josephine--as unromantic and tight lipped as she was--had let something slip once about old Mr. Knight wrecking Miss Frances's one chance at love with a smart village boy. On the other hand, Mimi and Yardley seemed to be chummy, but in a familiar, brother-sister kind of way. But years of reading Jane Austen had made Evie alert to characters who, for whatever reason, can't see things right in front of their noses, and right now she was most intrigued by Adeline Grover and Dr. Benjamin Gray."
4 out of 5 Stars
In the small village of Chawton, Hampshire, people show up for a chance to get a glimpse into the world of Jane Austen. Many years ago, Jane Austen lived here, and wrote here. Her remaining family still lives here. Some of the villagers, like Mr. Knight, are annoyed by the tourists and want nothing to do with them. However, there is a small eclectic group of villagers find that they all share a love of Austen so deep, that they form the Jane Austen Society, in an attempt to preserve her legacy.
I loved immersing myself in this quaint little village in the 1940s. I was rooting for each of the characters for different reasons. It's true, what Evie was observing in the quote above. It's as if the characters really can't see what's right in front of their noses, and you can't help but hope for them. I felt drawn to each character for different reasons. Dr. Gray, Adeline, Adam, Evie, Mimi, Frances, and Andrew. Listening to the characters describe the fearless Elizabeth Bennett, the lovestricken Mr. Darcy, and the inconsiderate Emma Woodhouse, I want to know more. I am excited to actually read some of Jane Austen's work. I feel that there were many references, and ways that the lives of the villagers perhaps mirrored characters in Jane Austen's writing, that I'm just not able to identify yet. Perhaps, after gaining some background knowledge, I can come back and revise my review. For now, I will say I appreciate that this book is one of those stories that just leaves you at peace with how things end.
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