The Jane Austen Society | Holly Furtick Book Club

In 2018, I had this great idea to start a book club, mostly because I love books. I particularly love audiobooks, and I love forcing them on other people and then talking about them. And so I started this book club and I just put it out there on Instagram. I said, hey, read this book, and then let's come together and chat about it. And I wanted to share those chats with you here on my YouTube channel. So I hope you enjoy this video. The Jane Austen Society. Did you love this book? Give me all the hearts if you loved it. This is a book by Natalie Jenner. And it's a book. This is what I love about this book. It's a book about how books brought a group of people together. And this sweet group of people, they're living in England post World War II. They've all got something that they're grieving, something that they're sad about, but they find this common bond that they have in Jane Austen, and they all come together and I. I just. They find healing through their love for Jane Austen and they find camaraderie with each other. And I just love this book. There's a little bit of love story in it. So if you haven't finished it, we may do we usually. We do. Spoiler on here. So sorry. But it's okay. I mean, you can know the end of the book and still read it, but there's some people who fall in love. There's some people who get redeemed, and it's just such a sweet story. So let's see.

I told you.

It said in post World War II in England. And I wrote down some of the themes of this book. Love, loss, friendship, and Jane Austen. Now, what I think was really amazing about this book, and you have to tell me if you guys agree, but I loved how this author was an obvious hardcore Jane Austen fan. Okay, somebody says, I feel stupid for asking this, but who is Jane Austen? Jane Austen, famous author. She wrote Pride and Prejudice. Emma, Sense and Sensibility. That's all that are coming to my Mansfield Park. I had never written. Written, ridden. Is that a word? I'd never read a Jane Austen book before. Stephanie Van Allman said she really enjoyed this one. Lovely. Love the strong characters and how they each made the story come together so well. I actually thought it was really impressive how the Natalie Jenner made you love nine. No, not nine. Eight different characters. And you really got to know them and cheer for them. That's something that is important to me in a book, and I feel like that's something that all of us share together is that we love when you can cheer for a character in a book. And you got that in this story. Emily and Christy are saying they love that there were men in the club too, right? There were men who were like closet Jane Austen fans. And then they came out of the closet and would always quote her and everything. And so anyway, what I was saying was I felt like Natalie Jenner really did a great job making you love Jane Austen. I felt like all of her. I actually felt like I wasn't giving the book justice because I had never. I mean, obviously I've seen and know the stories of Emma and Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice, but I felt like I. I wasn't worthy of reading this book because I didn't know that much of Jane Austen. And so I feel like if you were a hardcore Jane Austen fan, you would have loved this book even more because of the way that she just wove Jane's characters and Jane's quotes, facts about Jane's life all throughout the book. I just thought that was really well done. I don't know if you guys agree, so. But you're already on to talking about the characters that you love. You guys are really getting ahead of me, which is great because we're going to have plenty of time to talk to. Anne Christy said it made me want to read more Austen, especially Persuasion, but I haven't started that one. I totally agree. I have Sense and Sensibility on my audible that I'm going to read after I pick a Christmas book for us. And I think I bought Emma as well again. Okay, we're gonna get to Jane Austen in a second, but let's talk about the characters. There are eight different characters that you could almost consider main characters. I'm going to jog your memory, and I want to know who was your favorite one. I totally have a favorite, and I think it's your favorite too. But Here we go. Dr. Gray, the town doctor. And then we have Adeline, the former town teacher. And then we have Mimi, the Hollywood American super star. Andrew, I wrote down town lawyer. I don't know if he was the town lawyer, but he was the lawyer, you know, in the book. Then we have Francis, and she is the aristocrat on the hill that you don't know a lot about in the beginning of the book. And she's. But we know that she's a distant relative of Jane Austen. I love how. How the author brings in that character kind of after the halfway point and you really start to like her and cheer for her. Then we have Evie, Francis's housemaid, who goes through the extensive library. You're supposed to be telling me your favorite character. Yes, Caitlin, I always. I love audible. Can we talk about this library for a second? Can. Can you just picture it? And I was talking to my husband about how these book. This family would have all the books that would come out. They would have their own private covers made a leather. Leather bound books for their own family. And they had all these first editions that were bound with their family's cover and seal. It was just. She described it so well and it sounded like the most amazing thing ever. Sorry. Back to our characters. We have Evie, the housemaid, and she was the one that went through this extensive library and categorized every book. And then Adam, the farmer, who also works for Frances. And then Yardley, and he was the Sotheby's appraiser and he comes in to the story later on. You guys are all saying you pictured the library from Beauty and the Beast. Abbey. Totally. Me too. With the ladder that goes around. I was completely picturing that. I totally agree. All right, you guys, favorite characters are coming in. I've seen a lot of Evie. I've seen. Let's see. Somebody said. Who was that that said that? E.A. moore. You said Adeline and Adam and said, that library is my dream. She reads Truth. Hey, I would love to have a library like that in my house. Yes, me too. I was. Okay. Gonzalez says you were hoping for Adeline. You were hoping Adeline didn't marry the doctor. What? Okay. My favorite character was the doctor, Emily Jennings. My sister also agrees. I love the doctor. Dr. Gray. You just. He was just so kind and so. I don't know, you just wanted him to figure out that he loved Adeline and that it was okay even though his wife had died and how he went to deliver her baby. And the baby. Well, if you haven't read it. Sorry, guys. Charlotte's agreeing with me. I loved the doctor and I thought he was Christy. I agree. Fabulous. And I wanted him so bad to get together with Adeline. And I was kind of disappointed because I thought maybe they weren't going to get together when we started going off on the other little love story between Francis and Andrew, which was great. And so Emily says, kind and sad and caring and he wanted good change. I totally agree. Stephanie says, I love how it opened with Adam and then made him love Jane Austen and. And such a strong connection to the story and how it Played out. And also how the story opened with Adam and it ended with Adam. He was in the first scene and the last scene. I loved that. Okay, so two more questions to discuss. Very well. Actually, we're pretty much out of time if we want to talk about Pride and Prejudice, but did you like the ending? That's what I want to know. I think everybody's going to agree with me on this, because usually you guys do, but I really wanted Adam when the whole thing came together and we found out that Adam was the rightful heir to the whole property, which, if you haven't read the book, don't worry, you can catch up. Ashley says I do only have one hour. It's okay, guys. We won't get cut off. But Lisa says she thinks they want you extended. We'll find out. Anyway, the ending, I. I really wanted Adam to, like, claim his right to the property. Did anybody else agree with me about that? Did you want Adam to claim his property? I think it's just a different day and time that maybe we don't really understand. And I do understand that he didn't want, you know, to, you know, have that shame on him for the rest of his life. But I'm like, who cares? You're gonna be rich. You're gonna own everything, and it'll all be okay. But that's all right. I like when an author doesn't do what you want them to do. And I thought she pulled. At least our two couples got together. Actually, three couples got together at the end, and they saved Jane Austen's heritage. I just thought it was a sweet little story. And for the most part, I like the ending. And my favorite part was when Adam found out who his father was. So how do I join the book club? You're here, you're a part. Just read the book and come back. But if you want to get emails from me, go to Hollyfurtic.com and I'll send you an email every month to remind you what the book is. Hi.

Hi. How are you?

I'm so good. It is so nice to finally meet you.

It's great to meet you, too. Thanks for having me.

We are excited to have you. For those of you who don't know, Ann. Ann puts out this amazing summer reading guide. Look, I printed mine off and I have little post its on here.

Pretty post its.

Well, it like, so I can find the books that I. The sections that I want. And so this book, I had seen it on a list, and then when I saw it on your list, I was like, oh, I'm totally reading that. And I actually read it, like, super quick so that I could. Because I really wanted to make it for a book club because I had.

This idea to read a classic.

And so I just thought. Felt like it all went together so well. So tell me, like, how many books did you read to put together this summer reading guide?

Okay. The entire book's like, 100 portions of.

250. Okay, so what made this book stand out to you above all of the other ones that it made your. I mean, it even made your short list.

Yeah, my short list of five. Well, okay, so my prejudices are out in the open. Right? My blog is called Modern Mrs. Darcy.

True.

The name comes from Elizabeth Bennett. All grown up, married to Mr. Darcy. So timely, timeless combination. I'm a sucker for Jane Austen retelling, but the dirty little secret that many Jane Austen fans know is that we like the idea, but the execution is not always that good.

And there's a lot of them out there.

Yeah. And I'll read, like, every one. Because even if it's not a great novel on its own, there's still that fun factor of figuring out, well, how do they update the hat plot point? And what did they do with that character? And I. It's like my version of a crossword puzzle.

Even the zombies.

I haven't actually read that one. Okay, you can talk me into that, too, have you?

No.

But this isn't really like a retelling or reinterpretation in that way, but it's a novel about people who come together and really find solace and friendship in through the works of Jane Austen. And the whole story reminds me of that C.S. lewis quote, which goes, friendship is born at that min. I'm probably botching it, but friendship is born in that moment where one person looks at another and says, what, you too? I thought I was the only one. And that's what happens to the people in this book. In the small town of Chawton, Post World War II, over the works of Jane. And I just really, this book, I mean, I read it in a rough time, as many of us are experiencing right now. A lot of the world is a crazy place, and it doesn't feel that great. And something they talk about in this book is how that Jane Austen has always been read by people seeking solace and reassurance and comfort and love. And I just really loved what I found in the pages of that book, how it was an homage to Jane Austen, though it wasn't trying to, like, be the next Pride and Prejudice or the next Persuasion, but it just. It ticked a lot of my boxes. I thought it was so much fun.

I totally agree. Thank you for joining us. I really enjoyed talking with you.

Thank you for having me.

It's been a pleasure. Have a great night. Bye, Holly.

Bye.

Love you guys. And I'll see you next time.