The Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner

 I happened to find this on Libby and was excited to listen to it, when I found the paper copy at the Santa Clara Library. So, I mostly listened to this on audio, but then I took a little time to read in the book as well. The reader was British, and did such a good job that the paper seemed almost boring! It's a delightful, well-written book that feels like a movie or a play as you listen to it.

I was super impressed by the way the characters developed and the way Jenner describes their emotions and their interactions, especially GRIEF. There are lots of life lessons and wisdom here! This is set in the period just after the second world war, and England and America are recovering...and the characters reflect that reality. I especially liked steady Dr. Gray, and was shocked when his addiction was revealed. 

The characters were so likable, and you had the sense that everything was going to turn out all right, despite their challenges. This author is very like Austen in that way. And it was fun to be reminded of the many Austen characters as the characters in this novel discuss them! Very clever. In listening to the interview at the end of the audio book, the author mentions how much she admired The Jane Austen Project, and was interviewed by its author. So now I have another book to look forward to reading!

This was fun to listen to as I walked around our new neighborhood in Stonebridge and tried to recover from my hemi-lamenectomy surgery. I can walk further now, and it's fun to have such a good thing to listen to! It was also fun to learn about the earlier period of the same characters who appeared in Bloomsbury Girls, which I happened to read first, and really enjoyed.