I was gifted this word search years ago as a Christmas gift, I always meant to use it but had misplaced it in my last move. I found it and decided to crack it open and try it out.
The book is a collection of word searches, but not just word searches, with some pages having passages from Jane Austen texts, to having you solve anagrams to find the words to search for, answer trivia questions, fill in quotes, etc.
The word searches run from easy passages with an average collection of words to very difficult ones with large passages from Austen’s novels and with tiny printed word searches.
You might need one of these.
It is a fun diversion, and there are only two things I didn’t like. The last word search in the book was on Austen adaptions and has questions about actors, screenwriters, and directors. My complaint is that they got one of the names wrong, listing Jeremy Northam as Jeremy Thompson.
What??
Probably a printer’s error.
The other thing I disliked is that it is spiral bound and my kittens keep trying to bite the metal. I have to shelve it pages out to keep them from it.
But I otherwise found it a fun and diverting thing to do, especially with these past rainy days.
I have a google alert for Jane Austen so I always get any Jane Austen related news. I might not post on it right away-but I always get read press right away.
I read press surrounding this book when it was first published as you know I am interested in anything Jane Austen related.
When this book was added to my libraries collection, I was the first to check it out, but didn’t get a chance to read it in the time allotted. It happened several times with me checking the book out and returning it, while I saw people post about how much they enjoyed it on instagram.
I saw the audiobook on libby and decided to borrow it especially as I saw that Richard Armitage was narrating it.
I started listening to it and quickly became confused. There seemed to be a lot of time jumps and then some of the characters they introduce they don’t give a name to immediately? And time seemed to go so fast! The war just started and then it was ended? Was it because it I was listening to it?
Where is everyone?
I then checked out a physical copy but continued to dislike the book. I’m not sure why so many people enjoyed this book and promoted it.
On the dust jacket it describes the book as:
With the winds of change blowing through the country in the postwar days and the cottage’s future now in the hands of fate, a group of disparate individuals fight to preserve both Austen’s home and her legacy for the world. These people- a farmer, a young war widow, the village doctor, an employee of Sotheby’s, a Hollywood star, a local solicitor, the anticipated heiress to the estate, and a precocious house-girl could not be more different, and yet they are united in their love for the works and words of Austen. As each of them endures their own quiet struggle with the loss and trauma of war and other tragedies, they find solace, connection, and hope in rallying together to create the Jane Austen Society.
I thought this book was going to be about them becoming the society, but they don’t even begin the start of it, or even “thinking about it”, until 200 pages in, that’s 2/3 of the book! In fact for a book called The Jane Austen Society, there is very little Society and as a Society they do very little at all; meeting like only three times, publishing an ad in the paper, and buying books from the estate. I expected a lot more from this book.
The story is also a bit of a mess as it is a bunch of tangled tales of different people living in a postwar England (with one American) that the author seems to tentatively tie together within the last very few pages.
Hmm…
The Jane Austen Society plot which doesn’t enter the chat until page 200 is that Chawton House is supposed to stay in the Knight family but the father is a terrible jerk and misogynist who has written his only child out of his will as she is a girl and he decides to give everything to his next male relative, with Fanny, his daughter, having the cottage until she dies unless the whole estate is sold. While this is happening the society has just formed and was hoping to purchase the cottage for a new museum. The new heir is a wastrel that wants money for gambling and prepares to sell the whole estate to a hotel/golf chain, but unbeknownst to everyone one of the Society members is actually the real heir to the estate. Should he take his inheritance and save Jane Austen’s home; or just purchase the books and risk the loss of this famous estate being destroyed?
I’m going to go through the character threads one by one, working through them as they are introduced on the dust jacket.
Farmer
So each character kind of “follows” an Austen plot. Adam is a local farmer and groundskeeper of Chawton who has never been interested in Jane Austen until he helps an American find the path to Jane Austen’s house. The American later turns out to be a famous actress, but at the time she was just a symbol to Adam of hope beyond the war with her sweetness. After she encourages him to read Jane Austen, Adam does so and becomes a giant fan, with Pride and Prejudice being his favorite.
We don’t get a lot of development with him other than his thoughts about Jane Austen and being thankful for Mimi, the actress, bringing Jane Austen to his notice. I thought he was going to turn out to be Elinor in Sense and Sensibility with the engaged Mimi being his Edward Ferrars. However, the author decides to throw in the last minute that he is actually the real heir to Chawton as his mother and James Knight, Fanny’s father, had an affair. Instead of claiming his inheritance and saving tbe house and cottage, making it a museum as he wanted; as he was the one who initially came up with the idea of the society. He decides to put the idea of claiming his inheritance to the society for a vote and for some convoluted reasoning they decide that it is better for him not to claim his inheritance as the the gossip will be too much for such a “shy” person and he will regret the story of his birth???
What? Yeah some people might talk, but a lot of a people would also kiss up to him being the new heir, new community leader, and not to mention he will be able to achieve his dream of the Jane Austen museum, and get to save the house from being knocked down to make a hotel and golf course. Like doesn’t that solve all their problems?
But no, he decides to do nothing and instead this “so shy guy” who can’t be the “center of attention” and doesn’t want to make a choice that will cause the “whole village to talk about him”; decides to instead be openly gay and buy a farm and live with a man. For someone who doesn’t want to be the talk of the village; how does choosing to be openly gay in a time when it was against the law, a less talked about option than claiming your Knight and Austen inheritance?
None of that makes any sense to me. I also thought Adam’s relationship with Mr. Yardley was kind of out of left field for me as he wasn’t with or seems interested in anyone; except he did think about Mimi and there were several references and callbacks to the scene that Adam helped Mimi. But that turned out to be a red herring. Instead he ended up being Julia Bertram, with Mr. Yardley his Mr. Yates; a union that you didn’t see coming.
War Widow & Village Doctor
The young war widow, Adeline, is tied up in the same storyline as the Chawton village doctor, Dr. Gray; our Emma and Mr. Knightley. Dr. Gray’s wife passed away years earlier when she fell down the stairs. The doctor has never remarried but has feelings for Adeline that are obvious to everyone but him and Adeline. Adeline was the local teacher, often butting heads with Dr. Gray who is on the school board, leaving her job when she married a local boy before he went off to war. Her husband passes away and she also ends up losing her baby; but we later find out she never really loved her husband that way, instead marrying him under the pressure of war and because he loved her.
She and Dr. Gray discuss books and are obviously in love; but have a weird fight where she gets angry and yells at him for no reason. I reread the chapter and listened to the audiobook and was like did I miss pages, did it accidentally skip? I have no clue why she is so upset and after I reread it, it still didn’t make any sense.
Where is everyone?
First Adeline is angry that he assumes she quit him as a doctor because “he lost her baby”; but what is he supposed to think when she suddenly drops him as a doctor after losing her baby? She doesn’t even give him a reason just says she prefers a new doctor over an hour away (it is really is because she has feelings for him). Then when he tries to admit his feelings for her she gets angry and accuses him of just trying to be with the first woman that is available. Like what? He’s been single for many years and serval women are after him, but if he was looking fnor the first available woman he wouldn’t pick you, there are plenty other he could get his kicks with. I don’t know what the author was doing here, nor did I enjoy it. It felt like contrived drama although they end up together, obviously.
I call them the Emma and Knightley as the doctor is older than Adeline and has known Adeline since she was young, he also took on that role of trying to help navigate her when he was on the school board. Unlike Emma, Adeline and been in love with the doctor for a long, long time.
An Employee of Sotheby’s
Mr. Yardley works at Sotheby’s and is the least developed character in the whole book. We know he loved Jane Austen, works at an auction house, is gay, and has a dream of being a “farmer”, i.e living on a farm while someone else takes care of the actual farming. That’s it that’s all we know of him, not what brought him to Austen, what he thinks of her works, how the war affected him, why does he dream of being a farmer, what about his family, etc. He and Mimi discuss his love life and how it’s hard for him to date as he could end up in jail so I had a momentary feeling they would pair him up with another guy in the society, but as both Forrestor and Gray were spoken for, that only left Adam who I thought was going to get with Mimi. I wish they had done more with Yardley; but instead he was just a piece of the scenery. Like I said before, the two make me think of Julia Bertram and Mr. Yates.
A Hollywood Star
Mimi Harris is an American actress and the daughter of a judge. Her father was the one to introduce her to Jane Austen and the two loved to read through all the books. She ends up going to Chawton running into Adam and encouraging him to read Jane Austen, opening up a love of the author. Later she becomes a stage actress, eventually moving to Hollywood. In Hollywood, Mimi meets Jack, an American businessman and producer (who feels like the author copied Markam V. Reynolds from The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society). Jack is a narcissist who wants Mimi as she is not initially into him, and won’t sleep with him right away. He buys her all kinds of Jane Austen things and agrees to make a Sense and Sensibility film starring Mimi as Elinor. Jack is a terrible person who always puts himself and needs/desires first; a Willoughby through and through-always going to sacrifice anything for his bottom dollar. Mimi is assaulted by a studio head and Jack beats the guy up getting her out of her contract; but is later willing to sacrifice her dignity by using said studio head to finance the Sense and Sensibility movie; dumping Mimi as the lead actress because the studio head who assaulted Mimi won’t give him money for the film unless Mimi is out.
Clearly Wontagby
He also has the Wickham’s mercenary heart as he is a part of the group planning on taking down the Chawton home to create a hotel/golf course. With a few pages to spare Mimi finally realizes the terrible guy he is and dumps him, turning him into the feds.
Mimi’s feelings
I thought it was odd that the studio head would attack Mimi with her father being a judge, but then they drop that he committed suicide near the end of the book. And that was another issue I had with the novel, the author liked to do these bombshells of character history/development but moved so fast that as you try to wrap your mind around it, she’s already moved on. It’s like emotional whiplash.
Local Solicitor and the Anticipated Heiress to the Estate
Fanny Knight is our Eleanor Tilney/Anne Elliot. She has an abusive controlling father, has become gray from living under his thumb, loses everything with grace (not even trying to fight for her inheritance) and ends up with the man she her once loved and was secretly engaged to; solicitor Andrew Forrestor.
Andrew Forrestor has loved Fanny for a long, long time; but was unable to stand up to her father. He then turned himself to work and built up his practice, staying the solicitor to the Knight family so that he can still be connected to Fanny. When Mimi calls off her wedding, he proposes to Fanny and they walk down the aside getting their happily ever after.
precocious House-Girl
Evie is a village girl who’s dreams of more ended when her father was injured in a farm accident and she was sent into service to the Knight Family. She reads every night and begins cataloging the Chawton library. She is observant but has an overactive imagination, the “Catherine Morland” of the book. I wish we had more of her character but that’s mostly it.
That’s my biggest problem with the book, only half the characters are actually developed. It feels like these are just outlines instead of fully developed people/figures. It’s not a length issue as the book is 300 pages long, and I have read books of the same and shorter that had more development. I think Jenner had an idea, but just wasn’t able to fully complete it, maybe she should have just focused on one character or two instead?
Richard Armitage reads it well, but even he couldn’t save the book for me. I did not enjoy it but would be interested in why others liked it or disliked it. Please comment below and let me know your thoughts.
For more fictional books based on Jane Austen, go to Just Jane
Two years ago I decided to review the movie Austenland twice, one post being a standard film review and the second time with my niece. While I discussed a lot about it from acting, to costumes, to the script, etc…
The one thing I didn’t really write about was the soundtrack, and that’s because I wanted to do individual song posts. Everyone knows that music is extremely important when scoring a movie.
The soundtrack for Austenland was extremely well curated as it included original songs written for the film; along with classics everyone knows and would enjoy. I plan to only review the songs that were written specifically for the film.
So I started off with the first song we hear when we are introduced to the film and our main character: L.O.V.E. D.A.R.C.Y.byEmmy the Great
The next song that was written for the film was “What Up” by Emmy the Great. Emmy the Great AKA Emma Lee-Moss is a musician who first began recording in 2006. She has released multiple albums and collaborated with many artists.
How did she become involved with Austenland? Is she a Janiete? I couldn’t find anything saying she was, but I also couldn’t find anything saying she wasn’t.
According to an interview I found by Vice at the time, she decided to write the songs after seeing that Jerusha Hess, was directing (who directed one of Emmy’s favorite films),that it was being produced by Stephanie Meyer (yes Twilight Meyer), and seeing who was cast; along with reading the script. It’s a great script.
I think what makes a lot of the songs she wrote so powerful and wonderful is that Emmy really understood the character of Jane Hayes and it clearly shows in L.O.V.E. D.A.R.C.Y. and What Up.
“My songs had to be the voice of Keri Russell’s character Jane. They were supposed to underline the moments when she is thinking about the choices she’s made and how they might not work out. I was sure I was the right girl for the job because I’ve made a lot of bad decisions.”EMMY THE GREAT
Jane Hayes is supposed be an average woman who is also a Janeite/Austenite that has loved Pride and Prejudice with a passion from a young age. She is sweet, quirky, longs to be like Elizabeth, and doesn’t always seem to fit in our modern world. At this time of the film she has spent a lot of money on her trip to Austenland and has been treated as the Fanny Price of the ladies. She seems to always be kept out of the loop, left out of Whist games, walking alone; feeling forgotten. They have a shooting party and she does well, but then everyone has a great horse that takes them back while hers refuses to walk or canter. Martin, the groundsman, takes her horse and promises to return; but tired of waiting she’s decides to walk back and it rains.
Somewhere there’s a book of me Waiting for someone to read it And I really believe it I just wish that I could see it
And I keep losing track of where I’m meant to be If you know would you repeat it Cause I know that you’re a good man But you like to keep that secret
Would you like to go somewhere? Is this a secret I can share? Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh Ooh ooh
What up what up what up Tell me Someone to love I’ve been looking Help me out
Under your skin I know that there’s something Bigger than us Come here and I’ll shout it out
I always knew Something would concur Under your skin That’s my neighborhood
I keep losing track of where I’m meant to be If you know would you repeat it Cause I know that you are out there Just wish that I could feel it
Would you like to go somewhere? Is this a secret I can share? Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh
What up what up what up Tell me Someone to love I’ve been looking Help me out
Under your skin I know that there’s something Bigger than us Come here and I’ll shout it out
I always knew
What up what up what up Tell me Someone to love I’ve been looking Help me out
Under your skin
Under your skin I know that there’s something Bigger than us Come here and I’ll shout it out
If we look at that first part it perfectly captures how Jane is feeling at this point in the film.
“Somewhere there’s a book of me Waiting for someone to read it And I really believe it I just wish that I could see it”
Before coming she’s felt romantically alone and that no one is interested in the “Book of Jane” and that there are no good men out there. (Her ex was terrible!)
Those feelings have only been magnified as in the Austenland group she’s feels even more alone, unnoticed, and forgotten.
But then we get to the next part:
Cause I know that you’re a good man But you like to keep that secret
This part is scored right when Mr. Nobley enters the scene. Mr Nobely is the “Mr. Darcy” of the group and comes off a bit standoffish and above it all. But while he is keeping himself apart from them all and seemingly not interested, the whole film he’s become fascinated by Jane, watching her from across the room, coming back to help her when it rained as he was worried for her health and safety.
This song is a bit of foreshadowing, as this isn’t the only time Mr. Nobley helps Jane as he tries to keep her safe from the park’s rapscallion, helps her to not get kicked out, etc.
Then we have the repeated chorus:
What up what up what up Tell me Someone to love I’ve been looking Help me out
Under my skin
Jane has completely gotten under Nobely’s skin. We find out at in the middle of the film that he has had his heart broken and is closed off to romance; however, something about Jane has pushed past his defenses. He can’t stop looking at her and thinking about her.
And likewise-while Jane hasn’t fallen for him, like he has for her; at this point of the film something about him also intrigues her. Is it just that he’s the real life Mr. Darcy?
Or is she interested in who the real man under the “act” is?
I like how she doesn’t realize she’s falling for him, but to viewers it’s obvious as she draws a cartoon of Nobley and Martin duking it out over her and Nobley looks much better than Martin.
As you know I have been going through all the Jane Austen audiobooks available on Libby.
The next one on my to-read list was this version of Emma so I decided to give it a listen.
I throughly enjoyed this narrations as May was able to give it the right inflection, drama, comedy, etc. I like how she made Mr. Elton’s voice, he sounded like the social climber he is.
Undeceived: Pride & Prejudice in the Spy Game by Karen M. Cox
This year I started a challenge to try and read a Jane Austen related book or novella that starts with every letter of the alphabet. At first it was nothing serious, I just read and filled in the slots if any titles fit.
But then October came and I realized I only had a few letters not filled in. That caused my competitiveness to kick into overdrive and I was determined to accomplish this challenge. I have read the following books this year to fill in the alphabet:
All I had left was the letter U and I wasn’t stressed about it as I had a copy of Undeceived on my bookshelf waiting for me to read and review.
I had put off reading and reviewing it for the end as while I enjoy spy stories, I always have a hard time starting them as they don’t usually capture my interest until several chapters in. But 2023 was coming to an end and I was determined that my last review of the year was going to be Undeceived.
Elizabeth Bennet grew up idolizing her father having lost him during the botched CIA operation, the Bay of Pigs. She decides to follow his footsteps, much to the chagrin of her mother and stepfather who want her safe, and heads off to become a linguist for the CIA.
William Darcy’s father was a shipping magnate and a CIA agent (although he was “retired” after the Bay of Pigs). As a counterintelligence spy; Darcy has become adept at taking on identities, hardened at the things he must see and do; and unfortunately has also has become a pinpoint of suspicion. He has lost a coveted position in Russia, and sent instead to Budapest. A man who is known as the incredible “London Fog” master super spy; being sent to an area where has no contacts and can hardly speak the language; not to mention Hungary is not high risk area? He knows he is on someone’s bad side. Fortunately. they have finally sent him a translator, a beautiful translator known as “Fine Eyes”, Elizabeth Bennet.
Elizabeth Bennet has been tapped for CI (counter intelligence) due to her mastery of Hungarian. There is a group that suspects Darcy of being a mole and they want her to watch him and discover the truth. Her liaison is George Wickham, an expert on Darcy as he worked with him on several missions and knows he is a terribly cold man; willing to sacrifice anything by or anyone for himself. Elizabeth makes no arguments for Darcy’s character, having disliked him when the attractive man insulted her and her class years earlier when he was tasked to guest teach a class. Darcy has no memory of the event, and Elizabeth continues to dislike him as she finds his mentorship bossy and condescending (although she does learn a lot from him).
When a meeting with an asset goes south and they have to quickly come up with a plan to save all of them; Elizabeth starts to doubt whether Darcy is a double agent. Why go through so much trouble? Why risk his identity? However, after some convincing by Wickham-she has not settled on his guilt or innocence.
Hmmm…
Darcy enjoyed his time with Elizabeth, while a rookie she had a certain charm and toughness about her that he found appealing. With his Hungary identity burned, he never expects to see her again; pleasantly surprised when their paths cross again in Germany. Even though it is very dangerous, he can’t seem to keep away from her or keep her out of his mind. But while falling for her, he is ever the professional and continues to keep up his identity and focus on his mission. That is until they are compromised. Not willing to risk her life, Darcy breaks protocol to try and save Elizabeth, getting shot in the process. At death’s door he does all he can to try and protect her.
Elizabeth finds herself second guessing Wickham as his explanations could work, but her gut says that Darcy while constantly changing his personality, being extremely talented at lying, and probably is the scum Wickham says he is; he is not likely to be a double agent. She ends up saving his life in Germany but is punished (or rewarded depending on your view) with having to live with Darcy in a safe house. While the two do okay together, Elizabeth has a lot of prejudice and anger at Darcy, refusing him when he makes a play for her. The only good thing to come out of the debacle is that Elizabeth does clear Darcy’s name; although the smoke of suspicion still surrounds this “London Fog”.
The two are separated but in a Pride and Prejudice variation you know they will meet up again, despite the KGB, double agents, and communism doing their best to keep them apart.
Both parties continue searching for the mole. Could it be the person who outwardly hates Darcy? Or could there be a more shadowy person in control? Someone they would never suspect?
Hmm…
I did enjoy the story as it reminded me of Alias, something I was a fan of (the book series and the TV show). I liked how Cox was able to recreate the Austen characters in a different way, especially as the storyline provided some unusual constrictions. For example, as a spy unless they wanted to go the full Alias route and have a secret KGB sister, there wasn’t any opportunity to have much of an interaction between Elizabeth with her sisters. Instead the other Bennet girls found different reincarnations: an asset/informant, a fellow student, a German girl, etc. Same with Lady Catherine, Anne de Bourgh, etc. At first I wasn’t sure how it would turn out but Cox was able to weave it very well, the Anne de Bourgh incarnation was extremely clever.
Wow!
I did figure out who the mole was along with his handler. It’s nothing against the author, it’s just the way my mind works and I was rewarded with my suspicions being 100% on pointe.
There is more I could say but I don’t want to give away the mystery’s solution so I think it is better if I stop here and now.
I definitely recommend this if you are a fan of thrillers, spy stories, or Pride and Prejudice.
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