If you are looking for a book that will do nothing but entertain you, The Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner will fill the bill. Attention needs to be paid to the first chapter preceding the body of the book, which takes place soon after WWII, by some eleven years. The setting is Chawton, the final home of Jane Austen and focuses on a variety of people who are besotted with her work. The young movie star and the farmer in the first chapter set up the desire to revisit Jane’s last home.
Initially, the town seems equally divided between those who cherish its status and are willing to share the historical place and those who don’t want outsiders disturbing their traditional lives that have not varied that much since Jane was a resident. But the group calling themselves the Jane Austen Society mushrooms as the movie star and farmer are joined by the town doctor and lawyer who were childhood friends; Miss Frances, the last direct descendant who broke an engagement long ago with the lawyer; a young widow; and a diehard Jane Austen fan serving as an employee of the estate who does documentation of rare volumes in the library after everybody else is asleep. The twists and turns as the characters experience romance, intrigue, and disappointment seems fitting for a small village with a historical treasure in its midst. The book is a novel but relies on research and an evident love for Austen’s work to get the atmosphere right for her fans.
It is helpful when reading but not absolutely necessary to be a Jane Austen enthusiast or to have at least read Pride and Prejudice or seen the movie, but it is not essential to remember enough to take an exam in English lit class.