''The Jane Austen Book Club'' is a 2004 novel by American author

Karen Joy Fowler Karen Joy Fowler is an American author of science fiction, fantasy, and literary fiction. Her work often centers on the nineteenth century, the lives of women, and alienation. She is best known as the author of the best-selling novel ''The Ja ...

. The story, which takes place near

Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...

, centers around a book club consisting of five women and one man who meet once a month to discuss

Jane Austen Jane Austen (; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for her six major novels, which interpret, critique, and comment upon the British landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Austen's plots of ...

's six novels (''

Pride and Prejudice ''Pride and Prejudice'' is an 1813 novel of manners by Jane Austen. The novel follows the character development of Elizabeth Bennet, the dynamic protagonist of the book who learns about the repercussions of hasty judgments and comes to appreci ...

'', '' Sense and Sensibility'', ''Emma'', ''Persuasion'', '' Mansfield Park'', and ''

Northanger Abbey ''Northanger Abbey'' () is a coming-of-age novel and a satire of Gothic novels written by Jane Austen. Austen was also influenced by Charlotte Lennox's '' The Female Quixote'' (1752). ''Northanger Abbey'' was completed in 1803, the first of ...

''). The novel was a critical success and became a national bestseller. A

film adaptation A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dia ...

of the same name was released in autumn of 2007 starring Emily Blunt,

Kathy Baker } Katherine Whitton Baker (born June 8, 1950) is an American actress. Baker began her career in theater and made her screen debut in the 1983 drama film '' The Right Stuff''. She received the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Suppor ...

Amy Brenneman Amy Frederica Brenneman (born June 22, 1964) is an American actress and producer. She worked extensively in television, coming to prominence as Detective Janice Licalsi in the ABC police drama series ''NYPD Blue'' (1993–1994). Brenneman ne ...

, Jimmy Smits, Hugh Dancy,

Maggie Grace Margaret Grace Denig (born ) is an American actress and model. She is known for playing Shannon Rutherford on the ABC television series ''Lost'' (2004–2006; 2010), Kim Mills in the '' Taken'' trilogy (2008–2014), Irina in ''The Twilight Sa ...

, and Maria Bello.

Plot introduction

The novel takes place over the course of several months in

Davis, California Davis is the most populous city in Yolo County, California. Located in the Sacramento Valley region of Northern California, the city had a population of 66,850 in 2020, not including the on-campus population of the University of California, Davi ...

, a university town in California's Central Valley near Sacramento. Each of the six chapters is dedicated to one of the six book club members as well as one of Austen's six works. In turn, each of Austen's novels parallels the individual characters' experiences lives with their relationships, family, and love.

Characters and their corresponding novels

*Jocelyn ('' Emma''): a

Rhodesian Ridgeback The Rhodesian Ridgeback is a large dog breed bred in the Southern Africa region. Its forebears can be traced to the semi-domesticated ridged hunting and guardian dogs of the Khoikhoi. These were interbred with European dogs by the early colon ...

breeder and matchmaker who organized the Jane Austen Book Club. Jocelyn has been best friends with Sylvia since they were eleven and introduced her to her husband, Daniel, when they were in high school. Now in her fifties, she has never married and has no children. She originally invites Grigg to the book club for Sylvia's sake, but ends up attracted to him herself. *Allegra ('' Sense and Sensibility''): the young and impetuous 30-year-old daughter of Sylvia and her husband Daniel. Allegra is an artist and a thrillseeker who enjoys activities such as

rock climbing Rock climbing is a sport in which participants climb up, across, or down natural rock formations. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a usually pre-defined route without falling. Rock climbing is a physically a ...

and

skydiving Parachuting, including also skydiving, is a method of transiting from a high point in the Atmosphere of Earth, atmosphere to the surface of Earth with the aid of gravity, involving the control of speed during the descent using a parachut ...

. Allegra is separated from her partner, Corinne, and lives with Sylvia. *Prudie ('' Mansfield Park''): a 28-year-old French teacher at a local high school. She is married to Dean, whom she loves, but she becomes confused when witnessing everyday infatuations between her students, especially when one student in particular flirts with her. *Grigg (''

''): an offbeat 40-something, and the only male member of the book club. Grigg grew up the only boy among his three older sisters. He met Jocelyn outside a

science fiction convention Science fiction conventions are gatherings of fans of the speculative fiction genre, science fiction. Historically, science fiction conventions had focused primarily on literature, but the purview of many extends to such other avenues of expre ...

as she came to attend a nearby dog breeding convention. *Bernadette (''

''): a talkative, 67-year-old

yoga Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...

enthusiast. She has been married multiple times and is the most satisfied with her lifestyle. *Sylvia (''

Persuasion Persuasion or persuasion arts is an umbrella term for influence. Persuasion can influence a person's beliefs, attitudes, intentions, motivations, or behaviours. Persuasion is studied in many disciplines. Rhetoric studies modes of persua ...

''): Jocelyn's best friend. Sylvia is in her fifties and is separating from her husband.

Reception

The book was on ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list for thirteen weeks. The novel was also recommended as the sixth best book of 2005 on the television show ''

Richard & Judy ''Richard & Judy'' (also known as ''Richard & Judy's New Position'') is a British television chat show presented by the married couple Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan. The show originally aired on Channel 4 from 26 November 2001 to 22 Augus ...

.'' ''

Vulture A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including Condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and ...

'' positively reviewed the book in 2019, noting "what makes this novel worth reading now — especially in light of ever-changing ideas on gender — is how it addresses what men are and aren’t 'supposed' to read: Can real men read Jane?"

Film adaptation

A film adaptation of the book, written and directed by

Robin Swicord Robin Stender Swicord (born October 23, 1952) is an American screenwriter, film director, and playwright, best known for literary adaptations. Her notable screenplays include ''Little Women'' (1994), ''Matilda'' (1996), ''Practical Magic'' (1998 ...

, was released in the United States in the fall of 2007. While the character names and some minor details remained the same, the screenplay is for the most part a dramatic departure from the novel. The film stars Maria Bello as Jocelyn, Emily Blunt as Prudie,

as Bernadette,

as Sylvia,

as Allegra, and Hugh Dancy as Grigg.

References

External links

*Sama, A
This 'Book Club' stays true to Jane Austen.
''USA TODAY'' April 21, 2004. * O'Conner, P. T.br>Mr. Darcy Is a Boorish Snob. Please Discuss.
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' May 2, 2004. {{DEFAULTSORT:Jane Austen Book Club 2004 American novels American novels adapted into films Novels set in California Works based on literary characters Culture of Sacramento, California Davis, California Book clubs Works about Jane Austen