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A Walk with Jane Austen: A Journey into Adventure, Love, and Faith
Step into a Life of Grace
At thirty-three, dealing with a difficult job and a creeping depression, Lori Smith embarked on a life-changing journey following the life and lore of Jane Austen through England.
With humor and spirit, Lori leads readers through landscapes Jane knew and loved–from Bath and Lyme, to London and the Hampshire countryside–and through emotional landscapes in which grace and hope take the place of stagnation and despair. Along the way, Lori explores the small things, both meanness and goodness in relationships, to discover what Austen herself the worth of an ordinary life.
At thirty-three, dealing with a difficult job and a creeping depression, Lori Smith embarked on a life-changing journey following the life and lore of Jane Austen through England.
With humor and spirit, Lori leads readers through landscapes Jane knew and loved–from Bath and Lyme, to London and the Hampshire countryside–and through emotional landscapes in which grace and hope take the place of stagnation and despair. Along the way, Lori explores the small things, both meanness and goodness in relationships, to discover what Austen herself the worth of an ordinary life.
256 pages, Paperback
First published October 16, 2007
38 people are currently reading
707 people want to read
About the author
Lori Smith
3 books24 followersLori Smith is the author of The Jane Austen Guide to Life, A Walk with Jane Austen, and The Single Truth. She is an adorer of Jane Austen and a member of the Jane Austen Society of North America. She feels connections to Austen on many levels—as a writer, a single woman, an Anglican, and as someone struggling with a mysterious chronic illness. She spent a month in England tracing Austen’s life before writing A Walk with Jane Austen, which received a starred review from Publishers Weekly and the Jane Austen Regency World Award for best nonfiction.
Smith’s writing has also appeared in Washington Post Book World, Publishers Weekly, Beliefnet.com, Skirt! and Today’s Christian Woman.
Lori lives in Northern Virginia with her sweet but stubborn English lab, Bess. Visit her online at www.writerlorismith.com or at the Jane Austen Quotes blog, www.austenquotes.com.
Smith’s writing has also appeared in Washington Post Book World, Publishers Weekly, Beliefnet.com, Skirt! and Today’s Christian Woman.
Lori lives in Northern Virginia with her sweet but stubborn English lab, Bess. Visit her online at www.writerlorismith.com or at the Jane Austen Quotes blog, www.austenquotes.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 144 reviews
May 24, 2024
It can be kinda annoying when you start reading a book thinking it is about one thing, only to discover it is about something else all together. This is especially true when what it turns out to be about is not something you are interested in reading. I thought the book, A Walk with Jane Austen by Lori Smith, was about her travels in England, following in the footsteps of Jane Austen. Imagine my disappointment when it turned out to be a book about Lori Smith's search for the perfect Christian husband. It turns out she did not go to England so much to visit the places Jane Austen lived in and wrote about as to find a husband and evaluate her faith in God. Jane Austen really seemed to be an afterthought in this book. The first section of the book is all about a guy she meets in Oxford and falls in madly in love with even though she has only known him a few days. (She then later writes about how characters in Austen's novels fall in love and get married way to quickly.)
Besides being all about finding God and the perfect husband this book was depressing. The England that Smith wrote about is not appealing at all. Nowhere she went was pretty enough or charming enough. It all seemed to take too much effort and so she just didn't do it. "Sydney Place seems luxurious, as does most of Bath to me, but I was too tired to do more than venture into the edge of the park." (164) She never seems really that interested in actually doing anything, except maybe complaining that it is too cold to wear her fashionable or cute clothes. "Derbyshire sounds terribly romantic I think. If only I felt like going anywhere. I'm staying at a pub and it will probably smell." (177)
Smith's writing was not very coherent. I found myself asking who, what or where are we on several occasions. She just starts talking about people and I have to stop and figure out if I am supposed to know who she is talking about. "I met the dashing stranger from the stairs today." (41) What dashing stranger from what stairs? She starts one chapter talking about Exeter, then goes off on something about God for a few paragraphs and all the sudden she is sitting in Bath. Wait! I thought you were on a train going through Exeter? She goes back and forward in time over and over again in a most confusing manner.
By the end I was aggravated and frustrated by all the whining and complaining and a little concerned for this woman's sanity.
I was disappointed in this book and was pretty disappointed about being disappointed because I was really looking forward to this book. I was expecting a charming little book about England and Jane Austen. I found myself reading a rather depressing book about a single girl who wants a husband. And yes, I do get that Jane Austen's books were about women who were trying to get husbands too. Jane Austen managed to write in a much more charming, less depressing and more cohesive manner.
Besides being all about finding God and the perfect husband this book was depressing. The England that Smith wrote about is not appealing at all. Nowhere she went was pretty enough or charming enough. It all seemed to take too much effort and so she just didn't do it. "Sydney Place seems luxurious, as does most of Bath to me, but I was too tired to do more than venture into the edge of the park." (164) She never seems really that interested in actually doing anything, except maybe complaining that it is too cold to wear her fashionable or cute clothes. "Derbyshire sounds terribly romantic I think. If only I felt like going anywhere. I'm staying at a pub and it will probably smell." (177)
Smith's writing was not very coherent. I found myself asking who, what or where are we on several occasions. She just starts talking about people and I have to stop and figure out if I am supposed to know who she is talking about. "I met the dashing stranger from the stairs today." (41) What dashing stranger from what stairs? She starts one chapter talking about Exeter, then goes off on something about God for a few paragraphs and all the sudden she is sitting in Bath. Wait! I thought you were on a train going through Exeter? She goes back and forward in time over and over again in a most confusing manner.
By the end I was aggravated and frustrated by all the whining and complaining and a little concerned for this woman's sanity.
I was disappointed in this book and was pretty disappointed about being disappointed because I was really looking forward to this book. I was expecting a charming little book about England and Jane Austen. I found myself reading a rather depressing book about a single girl who wants a husband. And yes, I do get that Jane Austen's books were about women who were trying to get husbands too. Jane Austen managed to write in a much more charming, less depressing and more cohesive manner.
February 8, 2010
Reading some of the other reviews of this book, I feel bad for the author. I don't think the people who gave the book one or two stars really understood where the author was coming from or else they expected the book to be something it was not.
I will go on record and say that I really liked it. Even possibly loved it. True, at times the stream of consciousness writing that the author employs can get a little bit hard to follow and read along with, but instead of finding it annoying, I found it authentic. This is a woman who has expressed my own heart through a travel memoir through Jane Austen's England, and happens to be a Christian with a not so cheery disposition. At times the author's writing tends to be a bit "Austen-esque", which again, I found endearing rather than annoying.
I think what resonated the most with me was her willingness to go on this journey, traveling through the actual places of Jane Austen's England, by herself. Her honest musings on being single and a Christian woman were also poignant and spoke to me because I am at that same place in life, an older woman, wondering if I will ever get married and prone to over-analyzing every interaction I have with a person of the opposite sex. I also admire her willingness to go to the dark places of her mind and put them on paper - the "dark twistys" that get made fun of so much on Grey's Anatomy, but yet ring a note of truth at the same time. I loved the antecedents about Jane's life, as well as the quotes that the author chose to open each chapter with.
All in all, I liked it and hope that others who pick up the book read it with an open mind.
I will go on record and say that I really liked it. Even possibly loved it. True, at times the stream of consciousness writing that the author employs can get a little bit hard to follow and read along with, but instead of finding it annoying, I found it authentic. This is a woman who has expressed my own heart through a travel memoir through Jane Austen's England, and happens to be a Christian with a not so cheery disposition. At times the author's writing tends to be a bit "Austen-esque", which again, I found endearing rather than annoying.
I think what resonated the most with me was her willingness to go on this journey, traveling through the actual places of Jane Austen's England, by herself. Her honest musings on being single and a Christian woman were also poignant and spoke to me because I am at that same place in life, an older woman, wondering if I will ever get married and prone to over-analyzing every interaction I have with a person of the opposite sex. I also admire her willingness to go to the dark places of her mind and put them on paper - the "dark twistys" that get made fun of so much on Grey's Anatomy, but yet ring a note of truth at the same time. I loved the antecedents about Jane's life, as well as the quotes that the author chose to open each chapter with.
All in all, I liked it and hope that others who pick up the book read it with an open mind.
June 8, 2008
I can't really say what I expected from this book, but it was terrifically disappointing. The premise is good: traveling through England and visiting all places Austen-related. When Lori Smith talks about Jane or her life, the book is interesting. What was most disappointing to me was that it was more a story of her search for a husband.
I really wanted to like her. I wanted to care. Mostly, I was annoyed at her whiny, martyr-like tone. The "poor-me, I'm-not-married-and-I-really-like-this-guy-I-met-in-Oxford, but-will he-like-me-when-he-sees-me-again" got very old, very fast.
I think that if I were still 29 and unmarried I would have enjoyed this book more. I could have related to the desires of marriage. I do know, however, that I never had the whole "feel sorry for myself" attitude, even though I was single. I think that's what turned me off of this book. It was less about Jane Austen and more about Lori Smith and I just didn't feel much empathy for Lori.
I had to force myself to finish it. The Austen passages are interesting. Just read those and skip over the rest.
I really wanted to like her. I wanted to care. Mostly, I was annoyed at her whiny, martyr-like tone. The "poor-me, I'm-not-married-and-I-really-like-this-guy-I-met-in-Oxford, but-will he-like-me-when-he-sees-me-again" got very old, very fast.
I think that if I were still 29 and unmarried I would have enjoyed this book more. I could have related to the desires of marriage. I do know, however, that I never had the whole "feel sorry for myself" attitude, even though I was single. I think that's what turned me off of this book. It was less about Jane Austen and more about Lori Smith and I just didn't feel much empathy for Lori.
I had to force myself to finish it. The Austen passages are interesting. Just read those and skip over the rest.
April 8, 2008
Just starting this book . . . thus far I like it, but the writing kind of reminds me of someone who knows they are being video-taped, trying not to act like they're being video-taped.
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I really really wanted to like this book. And the author, whose Jane Austen quotes blog I enjoy. And I did, at times.
When the author was JUST talking about Jane Austen and the pertinent Jane landmarks she was after, the book was great. But the author, bless her heart, is too self-indulgent, too poor pitiful me, too insecure and self-deprecating. And not even a funny self-deprecating -- more of a "I'm going to say some bad things about myself and you should tell me they're not true" kind of thing. (Just a bit of advice for reference, dear: complaining about being a "fat skinny girl" will get you sympathy with NO ONE.)
With a book title like "A Walk with Jane Austen," the book should be ABOUT Jane Austen, with a little Lori Smith thrown in. Instead, it was the Lori Smith show , with a little Jane Austen as an after thought.
Smith gets props for having the courage to be so honest about her doubts and problems, and her writing IS easy and conversational . . . but unless you enjoy reading the emotionally sentimental ramblings of an angsty single Christian woman, you might want to skip this one.
___________________________
I really really wanted to like this book. And the author, whose Jane Austen quotes blog I enjoy. And I did, at times.
When the author was JUST talking about Jane Austen and the pertinent Jane landmarks she was after, the book was great. But the author, bless her heart, is too self-indulgent, too poor pitiful me, too insecure and self-deprecating. And not even a funny self-deprecating -- more of a "I'm going to say some bad things about myself and you should tell me they're not true" kind of thing. (Just a bit of advice for reference, dear: complaining about being a "fat skinny girl" will get you sympathy with NO ONE.)
With a book title like "A Walk with Jane Austen," the book should be ABOUT Jane Austen, with a little Lori Smith thrown in. Instead, it was the Lori Smith show , with a little Jane Austen as an after thought.
Smith gets props for having the courage to be so honest about her doubts and problems, and her writing IS easy and conversational . . . but unless you enjoy reading the emotionally sentimental ramblings of an angsty single Christian woman, you might want to skip this one.
March 20, 2013
Since I am a Jane Austen fan, a friend loaned me her copy of A Walk with Jane Austen, which she carried while touring the U.K. After reading the back of the book synopsis, I was intrigued but didn't really know what to expect between the pages. I rarely read nonfiction but since Jane Austen was the main topic, I was drawn to it.
A Walk with Jane Austen not only follows the places Jane lived and visited, but also explores the characters and locations where her stories take place. During this journey Lori Smith tells her own personal tale of physical and emotional challenges that she experiences and her faith in God.
I found her honesty at revealing her own personal struggles to be comforting to those of us with similar conflicts. Many times throughout this book I could feel her pain and identified with the inner feelings she revealed. She articulately formed some of my own thoughts--thoughts I have never been able to put into words. One in particular stood out. I underlined the part that I feel applies to me.
When Jane wrote 'Emma,' she told her family that she was creating "a heroine whom no one but myself will much like." I think she was wrong. Fanny Price in 'Mansfield Park' is the one I have a hard time loving, with all her timidity and fear. She always seems to feel that she really shouldn't be in the room, that she is unworthy of notice, that she is not worth talking to. Perhaps I don't like Fanny because in some ways I share her weaknesses. I have more humor and strength, yet I manage so often to be queen of the socially awkward moment.
Lori Smith has many other thought provoking moments to share in this book. This travelogue of sorts is not about finding a husband--as another reviewer stated--it is about relationships, faith, and emotional and physical healing. Her descriptions about people and places are enchanting and enlightening. There is plenty of humor--from Jane's life--as well as in Lori's travel throughout England. She gives insight into Jane's life that had never occurred to me.
I found A Walk with Jane Austen to be a delightful and inspiring read. I highly recommend it.
July 5, 2017
I abandoned this a couple years ago as I couldn't stand her Feminist viewpoint and lackluster writing style, but decided to give it another try this week as I am preparing for a travelogue bookbox to come my way.
Ugh. If I hadn't already taken this same physical "walk" several times throughout England and weren't already aware of how much she completely butchered the experience, there is nothing in this book that would compel me to want to visit England at. all. She took everything that is wonderful and beautiful about the experience and made it sound like a living Hell.
I literally have pages of notes just on her self-centered, negative, totally downer attitude on almost every page, but the fact that this is a nonfiction about someone who was struggling with a serious, undiagnosed illness makes me want to go a little easier on her. Still, there is nothing uplifting in this book whatsoever and her attempts at praising God's grace and mercy are often overshadowed by immature thoughts and conversations about him. ("Anyway, Jack and I were talking with Spencer about how if heaven is this eternal hymn sing, then, please, just send me to hell.") In one breath she says she "loves God with all her heart" and in the next breath she's making fun of fellow Christians.
The way she wrote about Jack made her sound more and more psycho as the chapters went on. I kept thinking I hoped Jack had actually read this so he could see the crazy God saved him from. Yikes. She knew this guy one week. One. He told her several times he wasn't interested. Yet, she went on and on about their "shared" feelings and even intimacy. WHAT?!! This guy was from the South. I'm from the South. When Southern guys are nice, they're usually not hitting on you. They're actually just afraid their Mamas are gonna beat 'em if they're not. Southern Mamas have eyes in the backs of their heads that can see what goes on everywhere...even 8,000 miles away in Oxford.
The attempts at humor are immature and insulting. It's not funny to joke about being "blown up" on a train in the midst of a series of terrorist attacks on London. It's not funny to reference 911 in such a flippant way.
I was pleasantly and rarely surprised by a couple glimpses of maturity. At one point she talks about liturgy and rote prayers and how they bind us with one another, with Christians throughout history, and with God. Very comforting. There was also a time when she stopped to remember Anne LeFroy at her gravesite. I would have liked to see a lot more of this kind of behaviour and much less...of the other.
If you are wondering why I've not mentioned Jane Austen much it's because Jane Austen isn't the subject of this book. Contrary to a possibly stoned marketing team's promises, this book is 100% about a desperate, depressed, slightly mentally-ill woman who had an opportunity that very few women will have and spent the entire time griping about accommodations and lusting after a stranger.
Ugh. If I hadn't already taken this same physical "walk" several times throughout England and weren't already aware of how much she completely butchered the experience, there is nothing in this book that would compel me to want to visit England at. all. She took everything that is wonderful and beautiful about the experience and made it sound like a living Hell.
I literally have pages of notes just on her self-centered, negative, totally downer attitude on almost every page, but the fact that this is a nonfiction about someone who was struggling with a serious, undiagnosed illness makes me want to go a little easier on her. Still, there is nothing uplifting in this book whatsoever and her attempts at praising God's grace and mercy are often overshadowed by immature thoughts and conversations about him. ("Anyway, Jack and I were talking with Spencer about how if heaven is this eternal hymn sing, then, please, just send me to hell.") In one breath she says she "loves God with all her heart" and in the next breath she's making fun of fellow Christians.
The way she wrote about Jack made her sound more and more psycho as the chapters went on. I kept thinking I hoped Jack had actually read this so he could see the crazy God saved him from. Yikes. She knew this guy one week. One. He told her several times he wasn't interested. Yet, she went on and on about their "shared" feelings and even intimacy. WHAT?!! This guy was from the South. I'm from the South. When Southern guys are nice, they're usually not hitting on you. They're actually just afraid their Mamas are gonna beat 'em if they're not. Southern Mamas have eyes in the backs of their heads that can see what goes on everywhere...even 8,000 miles away in Oxford.
The attempts at humor are immature and insulting. It's not funny to joke about being "blown up" on a train in the midst of a series of terrorist attacks on London. It's not funny to reference 911 in such a flippant way.
I was pleasantly and rarely surprised by a couple glimpses of maturity. At one point she talks about liturgy and rote prayers and how they bind us with one another, with Christians throughout history, and with God. Very comforting. There was also a time when she stopped to remember Anne LeFroy at her gravesite. I would have liked to see a lot more of this kind of behaviour and much less...of the other.
If you are wondering why I've not mentioned Jane Austen much it's because Jane Austen isn't the subject of this book. Contrary to a possibly stoned marketing team's promises, this book is 100% about a desperate, depressed, slightly mentally-ill woman who had an opportunity that very few women will have and spent the entire time griping about accommodations and lusting after a stranger.
October 6, 2015
So I did somewhat enjoy this book. I feel like I am simular to the author in some aspects of personality, feelings about being single, faith, and literature but not I can't completly relate to everything she's done or gone threw. I mean I'm still in my mid-20's, I haven't gone to England or have gone through some of her health issues. I believe she's intelligent and can write intelligently. Does that mean I like her book because she has the ability to write and I can relate to her on some level? Not exactly.
This book was pretty much what I expected from the title. She hit faith, she hit some love, adventure? Yeah going to a foreign country by yourself to "stalk" an author who's been dead almost 200 years is an adventure. What I couldn't really get into was her format. I felt (now if I read this again, this might change) like everything was clumped together. Give me a chapter on faith, then love and then Austen. I understand that how she wrote it could have been how she lived it and it was more like a journal and it was printed but I just couldn't get into it.
I did appreciate some of her ideas on love and faith and how she put them.
This book was pretty much what I expected from the title. She hit faith, she hit some love, adventure? Yeah going to a foreign country by yourself to "stalk" an author who's been dead almost 200 years is an adventure. What I couldn't really get into was her format. I felt (now if I read this again, this might change) like everything was clumped together. Give me a chapter on faith, then love and then Austen. I understand that how she wrote it could have been how she lived it and it was more like a journal and it was printed but I just couldn't get into it.
I did appreciate some of her ideas on love and faith and how she put them.
May 2, 2008
Sadly, this book did not live up to my expectations of a travelogue book to Jane Austen’s England. It turned out it was more about her trying to find a Christian husband and pining after one guy, whom she met and spent time with for one week of the trip. Perhaps I would have liked it more if I had not just finished
Eat, Pray, Love
. However, putting these books side-by-side there just wasn’t much of a comparison. The writing in A Walk with Jane Austen wasn’t nearly as captivating or interesting. During the first half of the book I felt like I was reading a 15 yr old’s personal diary, “Does he like me? Does he hate me? Should I wear the green skirt with my flip flops or the jeans?”
The book did have its good parts. I enjoyed the times she wrote about Jane Austen, her life, family and country. I loved learning more about Jane Austen, whom I know so little about. Having been to England myself, I was looking forward to getting back there through the pages of this book, but the author never really gave me a taste of England. I think the idea for this book was great, I just think it would have had a better in the hands of more mature author.
The book did have its good parts. I enjoyed the times she wrote about Jane Austen, her life, family and country. I loved learning more about Jane Austen, whom I know so little about. Having been to England myself, I was looking forward to getting back there through the pages of this book, but the author never really gave me a taste of England. I think the idea for this book was great, I just think it would have had a better in the hands of more mature author.
December 24, 2020
I purchased this book during a buying spree of travel books with "walk" in the title, in large part because I am a huge Jane Austen fan. I recall seeing the subtle where it mentions faith, but didn't really expect the level of theological discussion that awaited me.
I loved the travel aspects of this book, recalling my own brief time in Oxford. I enjoyed the pairings with the biography of Austen, whom I grew to love even more on a personal level. I cringed sympathetically over the discussion of Jack, the potential love interest and all of the associated existential angst. But I found myself most drawn to the discussion of the struggle between faith and feminism, between the religiously sanctioned future of being valued only as a wife and mother and the need for an independent identity. The author was raised evangelical Christian and I am LDS or Mormon, but her concerns and musings and frustrations are echoes of my own and thosr of my single friends in my church. In some ways that is comforting. In some ways it is sad. I don't know that I have the same faith commitment that she has, but I know that when I was her age I walked a similar emotional path. I hope she is able to make her peace with whatever hand life dea looks her. I am still struggling. torn between Austen's ideal of an ordinary life and the societal pressures towards something grander.
I loved the travel aspects of this book, recalling my own brief time in Oxford. I enjoyed the pairings with the biography of Austen, whom I grew to love even more on a personal level. I cringed sympathetically over the discussion of Jack, the potential love interest and all of the associated existential angst. But I found myself most drawn to the discussion of the struggle between faith and feminism, between the religiously sanctioned future of being valued only as a wife and mother and the need for an independent identity. The author was raised evangelical Christian and I am LDS or Mormon, but her concerns and musings and frustrations are echoes of my own and thosr of my single friends in my church. In some ways that is comforting. In some ways it is sad. I don't know that I have the same faith commitment that she has, but I know that when I was her age I walked a similar emotional path. I hope she is able to make her peace with whatever hand life dea looks her. I am still struggling. torn between Austen's ideal of an ordinary life and the societal pressures towards something grander.
October 14, 2020
I just finished JASNA 2020 conference and found this book at the library. I loved getting to know Lori and her motivation to do a vacation/college class in Britain and see as much as she could where Jane Austen lived or connected with her in some way. Enjoyed her discussion of her Christian life and the good and tough parts of it. Felt like many short devotions which I learned from. Going to buy book.
July 8, 2022
I enjoyed reading about the authors time in England, although it wasn’t quite what I expected from the book, and I am okay with that. I still got some inspiration from the writing. 🌸
August 24, 2018
Note: please read the post-script.
Original rating: 2 stars.
Like the other readers, I was expecting something different. I knew at the beginning that it was originally a blog, so naturally, the author is going to talk about herself. That doesn't make a person self-absorbed. This is her story. It's just that these ponderings outweigh a lot of the things readers want to read about, like Jane Austen and England, so it needs to be more balanced. I don't think this particular blog translated well to book form. I know the agonizing struggle of trying to put rambly thoughts in some kind of order that makes sense to a linear thinker and let me tell you, it's HARD. Cutting it down removes the flow and makes it choppy. So if the rambling couldn't have been avoided, then some things needed to be cut.
I sympathize with Lori, I really do. I'm a lot like her. I don't think it's fair the way the other readers have criticized her faults. She may never have called what she has a disorder, but some of what she said reminds me very much of my mom who has clinical depression and reminds me of my own anxiety. She's not immature or a crybaby, and it shows that people don't understand those who are dealing with mental health problems. OF COURSE she's going to agonize over the guy. Depressed and anxious people do that. Overthinking is a big part of it.
Nevertheless, I got 60 pages in before I realized this trip was just going too slowly. I wanted Jane and England. I probably would've finished it, but I just had too many other library books that needed reading to waste my time on something that didn't deliver.
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Postscript: I gave the book another chance. It got a lot better once she left Oxford (IMO, that took too much of the book), and once I accepted it for what it is, I appreciated it more. The description on the back is fine; it was my own high expectations of it, and reading too many negative reviews, that made me believe it should have been something different. I still believe there is too little of Jane in the beginning third, but the rest very easily makes up for it.
The reason I gave the book another chance is that I had read enough to see myself in the author. What they said of her (and I felt, by some extension, of me) wasn't fair and it made me want to defend her.
The first claim is that she is whiny. That is simply a misunderstanding of her depth of feeling. Miss Smith is probably an INFP in the MBTI typology. So am I. People often think that what is a big deal to me is a trivial matter. They can't see the principle of it or what it's really about, but I can. Basic psychology will tell you that if someone supposedly "overreacts" there's a lot more to it. In Miss Smith's case, she has plenty to be "whiny" about. Being exhausted and anxious all the time is a serious burden. I also have anxiety, too, so I know (and hers is not just a little anxiety, it really sounds like a disorder).
The second claim is that she agonized over the guy. That is blatantly false. What she did is not agonizing, not by any definition. She mentioned him only about six times after leaving Oxford. Others cannot honestly tell me they wouldn't have felt the same in her place. If they'd felt a connection to someone who was so vague about where they stood with them, they'd be trying to figure it out, too. I had this happen once in a totally different way, and that uncertainty is what drives overanalyzing. What we're seeing isn't even a fraction of how much that's happening. Yes, she agonized, but not much on the page, not really. Of course, if it's annoying, it will look like a lot more than it is.
The third claim is that she made it all about herself. I was annoyed by this, too, until I remembered reading in the intro that this was adapted from a blog. Well, a blog is about yourself, so...
The fourth claim is that she is rambly. Yes. I'll give you that one. Quite a few things could've been easily cut.
The fifth claim is that she is just on a quest for a husband. Well, in essence, sure. But it isn't overt at all and there's a lot more to the book than that.
The book cover says that it's her journey through England that moved her from despair to hope. That's not true. At least, what she wrote doesn't show that the trip is what caused her to come to the conclusion she did; It's actually what happened with her unexplained exhaustion. This is what she says:
"All my life I've been taught to rely on the Grace of God, and yet in practice I've tried to earn his love, and my own significance, by running and doing. So it has been a measure of grace to not be able to run any longer, to simply be forced to...be."
I find myself in the same situation in life. I'm not able to keep up with what is the typical way of life because of anxiety, which leads to a lot of fatigue. I, too, have learned the valued of just being.
Her writing has value in it if we'll give it a chance to be what it is, flaws and all. I'm glad I did.
Original rating: 2 stars.
Like the other readers, I was expecting something different. I knew at the beginning that it was originally a blog, so naturally, the author is going to talk about herself. That doesn't make a person self-absorbed. This is her story. It's just that these ponderings outweigh a lot of the things readers want to read about, like Jane Austen and England, so it needs to be more balanced. I don't think this particular blog translated well to book form. I know the agonizing struggle of trying to put rambly thoughts in some kind of order that makes sense to a linear thinker and let me tell you, it's HARD. Cutting it down removes the flow and makes it choppy. So if the rambling couldn't have been avoided, then some things needed to be cut.
I sympathize with Lori, I really do. I'm a lot like her. I don't think it's fair the way the other readers have criticized her faults. She may never have called what she has a disorder, but some of what she said reminds me very much of my mom who has clinical depression and reminds me of my own anxiety. She's not immature or a crybaby, and it shows that people don't understand those who are dealing with mental health problems. OF COURSE she's going to agonize over the guy. Depressed and anxious people do that. Overthinking is a big part of it.
Nevertheless, I got 60 pages in before I realized this trip was just going too slowly. I wanted Jane and England. I probably would've finished it, but I just had too many other library books that needed reading to waste my time on something that didn't deliver.
---
Postscript: I gave the book another chance. It got a lot better once she left Oxford (IMO, that took too much of the book), and once I accepted it for what it is, I appreciated it more. The description on the back is fine; it was my own high expectations of it, and reading too many negative reviews, that made me believe it should have been something different. I still believe there is too little of Jane in the beginning third, but the rest very easily makes up for it.
The reason I gave the book another chance is that I had read enough to see myself in the author. What they said of her (and I felt, by some extension, of me) wasn't fair and it made me want to defend her.
The first claim is that she is whiny. That is simply a misunderstanding of her depth of feeling. Miss Smith is probably an INFP in the MBTI typology. So am I. People often think that what is a big deal to me is a trivial matter. They can't see the principle of it or what it's really about, but I can. Basic psychology will tell you that if someone supposedly "overreacts" there's a lot more to it. In Miss Smith's case, she has plenty to be "whiny" about. Being exhausted and anxious all the time is a serious burden. I also have anxiety, too, so I know (and hers is not just a little anxiety, it really sounds like a disorder).
The second claim is that she agonized over the guy. That is blatantly false. What she did is not agonizing, not by any definition. She mentioned him only about six times after leaving Oxford. Others cannot honestly tell me they wouldn't have felt the same in her place. If they'd felt a connection to someone who was so vague about where they stood with them, they'd be trying to figure it out, too. I had this happen once in a totally different way, and that uncertainty is what drives overanalyzing. What we're seeing isn't even a fraction of how much that's happening. Yes, she agonized, but not much on the page, not really. Of course, if it's annoying, it will look like a lot more than it is.
The third claim is that she made it all about herself. I was annoyed by this, too, until I remembered reading in the intro that this was adapted from a blog. Well, a blog is about yourself, so...
The fourth claim is that she is rambly. Yes. I'll give you that one. Quite a few things could've been easily cut.
The fifth claim is that she is just on a quest for a husband. Well, in essence, sure. But it isn't overt at all and there's a lot more to the book than that.
The book cover says that it's her journey through England that moved her from despair to hope. That's not true. At least, what she wrote doesn't show that the trip is what caused her to come to the conclusion she did; It's actually what happened with her unexplained exhaustion. This is what she says:
"All my life I've been taught to rely on the Grace of God, and yet in practice I've tried to earn his love, and my own significance, by running and doing. So it has been a measure of grace to not be able to run any longer, to simply be forced to...be."
I find myself in the same situation in life. I'm not able to keep up with what is the typical way of life because of anxiety, which leads to a lot of fatigue. I, too, have learned the valued of just being.
Her writing has value in it if we'll give it a chance to be what it is, flaws and all. I'm glad I did.
January 25, 2009
Not one "hook", but four, here: Jane Austen (literature); a travel narrative; a romantic angle; being "Christian" -- all contained in the full title. Here's how each worked for me ...
I read Austen's books (unabridged audio), except Sanditon years ago, and remember virtually nothing about any of them. Others may have found her treatment of Jane's life "superficial"; I didn't really care all that much, seeing it as basically something around which to frame her itinerary.
The travel angle worked well for me. Smith was actually pretty funny in describing her predicaments and challenges. I admired her for using public transport as much as possible so successfully.
Her thoughts on "love" spun off from a crush on (an American) guy she met the first week in Oxford, who mentions wanting to get together after they return from their separate journeys. Not being an older, single, evangelical female, I tuned out her complaints regarding the difficulty of finding a mate. Fortunately, this aspect surfaces primarily at the beginning and end of the book.
Finally, and most frustratingly, there's the "Christian" business - Smith seems to be almost disingenuously trying to "have it both ways"; she's from (what I would consider) a fundamentalist background, but mentions her disillusionment with strict fundamentalism, referring to herself as an evangelical; she was never a teetotaller (nor is her family), making regular reference to her wine consumption since a teenager. I just couldn't shake the feeling that she was trying to hook "Christian" readers, while at the same time trying to ummmm ... "reassure" secular ones that she had evolved past fundamentalism.
Bottom line: it depends which "parts" work for each person, as they don't come together (enough) for a whole.
I read Austen's books (unabridged audio), except Sanditon years ago, and remember virtually nothing about any of them. Others may have found her treatment of Jane's life "superficial"; I didn't really care all that much, seeing it as basically something around which to frame her itinerary.
The travel angle worked well for me. Smith was actually pretty funny in describing her predicaments and challenges. I admired her for using public transport as much as possible so successfully.
Her thoughts on "love" spun off from a crush on (an American) guy she met the first week in Oxford, who mentions wanting to get together after they return from their separate journeys. Not being an older, single, evangelical female, I tuned out her complaints regarding the difficulty of finding a mate. Fortunately, this aspect surfaces primarily at the beginning and end of the book.
Finally, and most frustratingly, there's the "Christian" business - Smith seems to be almost disingenuously trying to "have it both ways"; she's from (what I would consider) a fundamentalist background, but mentions her disillusionment with strict fundamentalism, referring to herself as an evangelical; she was never a teetotaller (nor is her family), making regular reference to her wine consumption since a teenager. I just couldn't shake the feeling that she was trying to hook "Christian" readers, while at the same time trying to ummmm ... "reassure" secular ones that she had evolved past fundamentalism.
Bottom line: it depends which "parts" work for each person, as they don't come together (enough) for a whole.
July 5, 2010
While the parts about Jane Austen were interesting, there weren't enough of them. There was, however, far too much about the author herself. That would have been fine if I had ever really cared about her (I probably should have, but I couldn't never bring myself to). I was sorry that she was depressed and exhausted, but I didn't want to pity her for the whole book. And if I heard anything more about the man she met briefly at Oxford I was going to scream. I really didn't care about her love life. The whole thing had a "pity me for my state of health and my state of singleness" tone to it that grated on me eventually.
Still, the parts that only talked about Jane Austen or the places that were being visited were kind of interesting. Smith's descriptive powers were not enough to really draw me into the places (especially when she spent so much of the time talking about what outfit she was wearing), but they were still interesting. Including some pictures in the book would have helped. The biographical parts about Austen might have been more interesting if I had not read a biography on her fairly recently, and if they were not often abruptly interupted by the author talking about herself again.
Maybe I'm just not all that into memoirs by random people who nothing really happened to (I like them when the person is involved in some historically significant, like Elie Wiesel.). Maybe I was just annoyed at the incorrect Austen reference on the very last page (Miss Steele and her fascination with the doctor was not in "Persuasion," it was in "Sense and Sensibility"). Incorrect references always make me question the validity of all that came before. Either way, I didn't enjoy much of this book.
Still, the parts that only talked about Jane Austen or the places that were being visited were kind of interesting. Smith's descriptive powers were not enough to really draw me into the places (especially when she spent so much of the time talking about what outfit she was wearing), but they were still interesting. Including some pictures in the book would have helped. The biographical parts about Austen might have been more interesting if I had not read a biography on her fairly recently, and if they were not often abruptly interupted by the author talking about herself again.
Maybe I'm just not all that into memoirs by random people who nothing really happened to (I like them when the person is involved in some historically significant, like Elie Wiesel.). Maybe I was just annoyed at the incorrect Austen reference on the very last page (Miss Steele and her fascination with the doctor was not in "Persuasion," it was in "Sense and Sensibility"). Incorrect references always make me question the validity of all that came before. Either way, I didn't enjoy much of this book.
November 9, 2013
Exhausted and depressed from a debilitating mystery illness, Lori Smith had questions about her life and her faith and went searching for answers in Jane Austen's England. Starting her trip at a religious retreat at Oxford, Lori thought she found her Mr. Darcy, but he was kind of more like Willoughby, that is, non-committal or maybe just not that into her, Lori isn't sure. After Oxford she heads off alone to visit the places significant in Jane Austen's life and works, exploring Jane's ideas about faith and working out her own. She interrupts her travelogue to travel back in time to tell the reader about her childhood and then forward in time and then off on tangents about her family and her faith. In between, she tramps through fields, down deserted roads and in the footsteps of Jane Austen. She shares with the reader related quotes from Jane Austen's books, letters, biographies and other anecdotes about the author's life that are already well-known to the true Janeite. Lori muses about her lack of love life and her desire to marry and have a family. She sounds a lot like someone from the 19th century with her deep religious convictions and the idea that she's almost thirty and unmarried. All of the above combine to make extremely dull reading. Lori comes across as naive and whiny at times, though I understand she was feeling bad. I wanted more description of Jane Austen locations rather than tedious, pointless details of Lori's own life. I'm not a Christian and couldn't relate to Lori and mostly skimmed the parts where she talks about her family and faith. Don't read this book expecting a travelogue of Jane Austen sites. I recommend this one only to Christian women in their twenties and early thirties.
May 8, 2011
I began this book with a very different expectation. The book seemed to center less on a "walk with Jane Austen" and more on a depressive, whining singleton who gives the rest of us over thirty singletons a bad name. Smith's progress through her English travels was disjointed and seemingly unfocused. I understand that the book came from personal experience, a blog-type self-evaluation; however, if personal reflection is to become something for others to connect to, it has to be presented with fewer simplistic anecdotes and more universal examination of the topic (in this case Austen.)It was difficult to get any sense of growth on her part by the end of the book, which made it difficult to receive my own growth. One moment she rallies with confidence, another she contemplates suicide and over-examines a barely existent relationship. I only found myself more and more jealous and annoyed at this woman who visited some amazing locations and only seemed to find them rainy, smelly, and small, a woman who suggests that waiting for true love is this noble, empowering choice as a woman and yet simultaneously seems to suggest that her life will still not be complete until that love is found. Someone else needs to write what this book should have been.
December 26, 2017
This is not a book about a walk with Jane Austen, it is a Christian woman's search for a husband, and mostly a long moan about being single and not able to find the perfect, Christian, husband. Very disappointing, not that I'm anti-religious, I'm not, I'm a regular church-go-er.
The American author takes a month-long trip to England to attend a week-long religious course at an Oxford college one summer, and then a 3-week trip around a few Austen-linked sites (Bath, Chawton, Steventon, etc). The author is a Christian, wanting to find love, and wanting to fall in love in a way that she could call "Austenian".
Inevitably, she meets a man, spends 1 week in his company as he is attending the same religious course that she is, entirely mis-reads his interest, and spends the next 3 weeks in a teenage-style angst of "Will he call, does he like me, what did he mean when he looked at me the way he did?" Would probably have been funny if the author was 17, or trying to be funny, but the author is much older (should know better), and was serious in all her angst, and suffering from depression.
The book was resolved when she finally got a diagnosis for her lingering malaise (Lyme disease) and this seemed to signal a start to her recovery from her depression. Hopefully for her.
The American author takes a month-long trip to England to attend a week-long religious course at an Oxford college one summer, and then a 3-week trip around a few Austen-linked sites (Bath, Chawton, Steventon, etc). The author is a Christian, wanting to find love, and wanting to fall in love in a way that she could call "Austenian".
Inevitably, she meets a man, spends 1 week in his company as he is attending the same religious course that she is, entirely mis-reads his interest, and spends the next 3 weeks in a teenage-style angst of "Will he call, does he like me, what did he mean when he looked at me the way he did?" Would probably have been funny if the author was 17, or trying to be funny, but the author is much older (should know better), and was serious in all her angst, and suffering from depression.
The book was resolved when she finally got a diagnosis for her lingering malaise (Lyme disease) and this seemed to signal a start to her recovery from her depression. Hopefully for her.
July 16, 2024
Actually this was more of a 1 1/2 star book, 2 stars is too much. I really tried to keep an open mind about this woman who talks a lot about her evangelical conservative christian values, and who ended up being diagnosed with a very debilitating disease that went undiagnosed for many years so she had this inexplicable fatigue all the time making her extremely negative. If she talked one more time about how "weird" conservative christian men become in their 30's and 40's, I was going to have to stop reading. Of course they are weird, they haven't ever had sex (or masturbated!)and that is not exactly normal! It messes with your head to deny your body's normal functioning! I think she is not qualified to analyze Jane Austen and she certainly made no case for religion in Austin's work. But if you love Austen, she does visit many of the places she describes in her books, and if you can ignore some very adolescent thinking for a 34 year old, that part was interesting... She actually made my case for me about her religious beliefs when she was talking about some Roman rituals: "ridiculous, but satisfying to some."
May 27, 2009
My expectations for this book were high when I saw it posted on the Jane Austen Museum website. However, imagine my surprise when I searched for the book at Borders, locating it in the Christian Religious Studies section. That was my first cue that this book would be less focused on Jane and be more of a religious awakening while referencing Jane Austen's books.
This was one of my quickest reads. Entertaining. Enjoyable. It provided a good escape and reminded me how quickly we, at times, absorb into a book's characters (or in this case the real person). Then we decide for ourselves how we'd react in those situations.
Her search to figure out herself and what Jack really meant reminded me of my past choices. It was comforting to realize that I wasn't the only one who thought similarly about waiting for love rather than settling. How Jane's characters and the author herself connected to this choice was enlightening.
I would recommend this book to others - ONLY if they do not mind the "woe is me what did Jack mean" and the heavy Christian tones.
This was one of my quickest reads. Entertaining. Enjoyable. It provided a good escape and reminded me how quickly we, at times, absorb into a book's characters (or in this case the real person). Then we decide for ourselves how we'd react in those situations.
Her search to figure out herself and what Jack really meant reminded me of my past choices. It was comforting to realize that I wasn't the only one who thought similarly about waiting for love rather than settling. How Jane's characters and the author herself connected to this choice was enlightening.
I would recommend this book to others - ONLY if they do not mind the "woe is me what did Jack mean" and the heavy Christian tones.
July 2, 2009
Took way too long to finish this...I found myself easily distracted by other books, which is a sure sign that this one isn't very memorable. I thought a book about someone visiting all the Jane Austen-related properties would be interesting, but it was rather dull. I didn't learn anything new about Jane, and this nice-sounding (but perhaps neurotic?) young woman spent too much of the book obsessing about a young man she met in Oxford. Single female devotees of Jane Austen may find this book engaging, but I fear that its appeal is limited to that group.
August 4, 2016
Not a compelling read.
I think that the author is a very emotionally young, naive 33 yo. Her religious struggles seemed to be very out of place in juxtaposition to Jane Austen's life and novels. Her insights about relationships were weak and not interesting to me.
Perhaps the book makes more sense to readers who have grown up as part of an Evangelical community.
Not a book that I would recommend to readers who want to learn more about Jane through the experiences of a "modern" woman.
I think that the author is a very emotionally young, naive 33 yo. Her religious struggles seemed to be very out of place in juxtaposition to Jane Austen's life and novels. Her insights about relationships were weak and not interesting to me.
Perhaps the book makes more sense to readers who have grown up as part of an Evangelical community.
Not a book that I would recommend to readers who want to learn more about Jane through the experiences of a "modern" woman.
January 12, 2009
I was hoping for a different kind of book. The word that kept coming to mind concerning the author as I was reading was "whiny." And, after reading other reviews, others had the same impression. I'm just glad that my relationship with Jesus Christ is nothing like this chick's. Some of the information and analysis regarding Austen and her writings was interesting (and the reason that I finished the book), but I would not recommend this book to anyone short of an Austen aficionado.
May 3, 2009
I started this book either 18 or 36 weeks ago and only got to page 84. It is due at the library and I'm not renewing. I couldn't find adventure, love or faith in the first 84 pages. Ms. Smith is unattractively and uninterestingly self-absorbed, imho. If anyone knows any reason why I should attempt to finish this book let them speak now or forever hold their peace.
July 8, 2019
Lori Smith nous raconte son voyage sur les traces de Jane Austen : Chawton, Steventon, Bath, Winchester, Londres...
Pour moi, dès le départ, la donne était faussée puisque je croyais qu’il s’agissait d’un roman. Qu’à cela ne tienne, je ne me laisse pas abattre et quand l’auteur nous explique que les aventures qui lui sont arrivées au cours de son voyage sont dignes d’une héroïne de Jane Austen, je me suis sentie ragaillardie. Même le côté "réflexions religieuses" de l’ouvrage ne me rebutait pas, étant moi-même croyante. Malheureusement, il ne tient finalement aucune de ses promesses.
D’abord, il s’agit avant tout d’un livre sur l’auteur, son voyage, sa vie, sa religion, agrémenté de quelques passages sur Jane Austen et non l’inverse. Ensuite, sans vouloir être désagréable, si l’auteur pense qu’avoir sympathisé avec un jeune homme et être tombée peu à peu amoureuse de lui alors qu’il lui avait bien signifié ne pas être célibataire suffirait à nous tenir en haleine et à faire d'elle une héroïne austenienne, j'ai bien peur qu'elle se soit lourdement trompée. Peut-être qu’en tournant les choses différemment, en racontant certaines anecdotes avec plus d’humour et de recule, ça aurait pu prendre mais ici ce n’est pas le cas. Enfin, l’auteur souffre d’une maladie depuis de nombreuses années, sans vraiment savoir laquelle au moment du récit. Si je compatis de tout mon cœur, je dois malgré tout avouer que ses plaintes répétées la rende peu sympathique.
Alors si vous vous attendiez à un roman genre Austenland ou Bridget Jones avec une héroïne sympathique, des rebondissements amusants et beaucoup de légèreté, laissez-moi vous dire qu’on est loin du compte. Je ne dis pas que les passages sur Jane Austen ne sont pas intéressants mais tout le reste prend le dessus malheureusement. Dommage, j’aimais beaucoup l’idée de départ.
http://janeausten.hautetfort.com/arch...
Pour moi, dès le départ, la donne était faussée puisque je croyais qu’il s’agissait d’un roman. Qu’à cela ne tienne, je ne me laisse pas abattre et quand l’auteur nous explique que les aventures qui lui sont arrivées au cours de son voyage sont dignes d’une héroïne de Jane Austen, je me suis sentie ragaillardie. Même le côté "réflexions religieuses" de l’ouvrage ne me rebutait pas, étant moi-même croyante. Malheureusement, il ne tient finalement aucune de ses promesses.
D’abord, il s’agit avant tout d’un livre sur l’auteur, son voyage, sa vie, sa religion, agrémenté de quelques passages sur Jane Austen et non l’inverse. Ensuite, sans vouloir être désagréable, si l’auteur pense qu’avoir sympathisé avec un jeune homme et être tombée peu à peu amoureuse de lui alors qu’il lui avait bien signifié ne pas être célibataire suffirait à nous tenir en haleine et à faire d'elle une héroïne austenienne, j'ai bien peur qu'elle se soit lourdement trompée. Peut-être qu’en tournant les choses différemment, en racontant certaines anecdotes avec plus d’humour et de recule, ça aurait pu prendre mais ici ce n’est pas le cas. Enfin, l’auteur souffre d’une maladie depuis de nombreuses années, sans vraiment savoir laquelle au moment du récit. Si je compatis de tout mon cœur, je dois malgré tout avouer que ses plaintes répétées la rende peu sympathique.
Alors si vous vous attendiez à un roman genre Austenland ou Bridget Jones avec une héroïne sympathique, des rebondissements amusants et beaucoup de légèreté, laissez-moi vous dire qu’on est loin du compte. Je ne dis pas que les passages sur Jane Austen ne sont pas intéressants mais tout le reste prend le dessus malheureusement. Dommage, j’aimais beaucoup l’idée de départ.
http://janeausten.hautetfort.com/arch...
May 2, 2021
"Step into a Life of Grace
"At thirty-three, dealing with a difficult job and a creeping depression, Lori Smith embarked on a life-changing journey following the life and lore of Jane Austen through England.
"With humor and spirit, Lori leads readers through landscapes Jane knew and loved -- from Bath and Lyme, to London and the Hampshire countryside -- and through emotional landscapes in which grace and hope take the place of stagnation and despair. Along the way, Lori explores the small things, both meanness and goodness in relationships, to discover what Austen herself knew: the worth of an ordinary life."
~~back cover
An very interesting book! The author certainly delved into parts of England that were very marginally connected to Jane, but the places she visited were all lovely, or educational, or grubby -- but all were very well limned.
What I wasn't prepared for was the author's very tangible Christianity. I often wrestle with some of the same problems: trusting the Universe to help me through difficult situations, questioning my honesty with myself, seeking grace. But I don't do these things through the lens of Christianity and I sometimes found it distracting, or hopeless. I suppose I'm referring to the author's "relation-ship" with a man taking the same course as she did -- a relationship that seemed to me to be doomed from the beginning, but which the author chose to follow through to the end.
So this book had me thinking, questioning -- which is always a good thing.
"At thirty-three, dealing with a difficult job and a creeping depression, Lori Smith embarked on a life-changing journey following the life and lore of Jane Austen through England.
"With humor and spirit, Lori leads readers through landscapes Jane knew and loved -- from Bath and Lyme, to London and the Hampshire countryside -- and through emotional landscapes in which grace and hope take the place of stagnation and despair. Along the way, Lori explores the small things, both meanness and goodness in relationships, to discover what Austen herself knew: the worth of an ordinary life."
~~back cover
An very interesting book! The author certainly delved into parts of England that were very marginally connected to Jane, but the places she visited were all lovely, or educational, or grubby -- but all were very well limned.
What I wasn't prepared for was the author's very tangible Christianity. I often wrestle with some of the same problems: trusting the Universe to help me through difficult situations, questioning my honesty with myself, seeking grace. But I don't do these things through the lens of Christianity and I sometimes found it distracting, or hopeless. I suppose I'm referring to the author's "relation-ship" with a man taking the same course as she did -- a relationship that seemed to me to be doomed from the beginning, but which the author chose to follow through to the end.
So this book had me thinking, questioning -- which is always a good thing.
January 30, 2024
Ehhhhh.....
I see why people are frustrated with this book. The stream-of-consciousness journaling style is annoying (she's in the airplane home; no, wait! She's in line at the airport in London; scratch that---she's grocery shopping back in Oxford the day before; now she's back in the plane getting ready to land) and confusing. It helps to remember she's writing as if she were journaling while still on the trip. But still.
There are SO many red flags about this obsession with Jack! She's needs a good girlfriend to shake her and tell her she's spiraling about this guy who may or may not be interested, which is ALSO annoying.
She's also incredibly negative about everything. Again, annoying.
On the other hand, I did relate to some of her reflections on being a still-single Christian. I share some of her struggles and frustrations with being single in the Christian church that values marriage above almost everything and really, REALLY doesn't know what to do with those of us who are still single. The tug-of-war between loving my independence and still craving companionship---she gets all that right.
I see why people are frustrated with this book. The stream-of-consciousness journaling style is annoying (she's in the airplane home; no, wait! She's in line at the airport in London; scratch that---she's grocery shopping back in Oxford the day before; now she's back in the plane getting ready to land) and confusing. It helps to remember she's writing as if she were journaling while still on the trip. But still.
There are SO many red flags about this obsession with Jack! She's needs a good girlfriend to shake her and tell her she's spiraling about this guy who may or may not be interested, which is ALSO annoying.
She's also incredibly negative about everything. Again, annoying.
On the other hand, I did relate to some of her reflections on being a still-single Christian. I share some of her struggles and frustrations with being single in the Christian church that values marriage above almost everything and really, REALLY doesn't know what to do with those of us who are still single. The tug-of-war between loving my independence and still craving companionship---she gets all that right.
December 25, 2024
A incredibly underrated, beautiful, honest, reflective, vulnerable set of writings detailing Lori's journey across England following in the steps of Jane Austen.
My Review: This book was such a special and rare find. My sister bought it for me from an Op Shop and I wonder how it got there.
If you read this book, show respect. This is the journey of the inner thoughts of the author; discoveries about herself, her identity and her faith. The way the author wove her faith, her walk with God, her life, and Jane Austen-y things together was seamless and I have never read a book that does this so perfectly. Love, love, love the JA references - the quotes, characters and book mentions.
I think it's the type of book I will reread in different seasons of my life as I will discover and relate to different things.
You are amazing Lori, and such an inspiration. I know you life has never been easy and challenges are always present, but you have given me encouragement, strength and it's beautiful to see someone hold onto Jesus and your faith as your highest call. Thanks for the writing you have done, and the person you are :)
My Review: This book was such a special and rare find. My sister bought it for me from an Op Shop and I wonder how it got there.
If you read this book, show respect. This is the journey of the inner thoughts of the author; discoveries about herself, her identity and her faith. The way the author wove her faith, her walk with God, her life, and Jane Austen-y things together was seamless and I have never read a book that does this so perfectly. Love, love, love the JA references - the quotes, characters and book mentions.
I think it's the type of book I will reread in different seasons of my life as I will discover and relate to different things.
You are amazing Lori, and such an inspiration. I know you life has never been easy and challenges are always present, but you have given me encouragement, strength and it's beautiful to see someone hold onto Jesus and your faith as your highest call. Thanks for the writing you have done, and the person you are :)
May 4, 2022
I really, reallyyyy wanted to like this book. There were several lines here and there that made me laugh out loud at Lori's charming relatability. However, much like the other reviewers here, I expected something different.
This author is 33 at the time of writing it, and yet she acts like a desperate schoolgirl in her "situationship" with Jack. I ground my teeth every time Jack came in to the picture (which was FAR too often), and she just allowed him to keep treating her like an option, all the while talking about him as if he hung the stars in the sky. ("Somehow Jack's goodness and God's goodness became all tied up together in my head in a way that I couldn't untangle." pg.76, "Nice stripes" he said, which made me want to curl up with him and be cozy" pg. 44) Bleeeegghh. You've known him for a WEEK, girl!
All of this love-sick rambling made me put this book down in the middle, probably when it was just about to get to the good part, (i.e. the part where she actually writes about her tour around England following Jane Austen's footsteps.)
DNF at 30%
This author is 33 at the time of writing it, and yet she acts like a desperate schoolgirl in her "situationship" with Jack. I ground my teeth every time Jack came in to the picture (which was FAR too often), and she just allowed him to keep treating her like an option, all the while talking about him as if he hung the stars in the sky. ("Somehow Jack's goodness and God's goodness became all tied up together in my head in a way that I couldn't untangle." pg.76, "Nice stripes" he said, which made me want to curl up with him and be cozy" pg. 44) Bleeeegghh. You've known him for a WEEK, girl!
All of this love-sick rambling made me put this book down in the middle, probably when it was just about to get to the good part, (i.e. the part where she actually writes about her tour around England following Jane Austen's footsteps.)
DNF at 30%
June 13, 2020
Bland cover, insipid title, a meandering plot with little past/present tense continuity and less sense of direction...
And yet I enjoyed it. The Austen historical trivia was knowledgeable, the insights into families and characters were... insightful..., and the actual landscape descriptions were passable. I identified with the author on many points, and rolled my eyes at her on others (srsly just phone the guy). By far the most interesting parts (for me) were the author's bluntly honest musings on Complex Christianity, encompassing everything from 'sins of personality rather than morality' to 'the urge for intimacy as a single thirty-something'.
Needed a stronger through-line, or at least more of an overall sense of where it was going. The Jack Thing got dropped unceremoniously, to be replaced by the Sickness Thing, which hadn't been built up to seem anything like an important thread. I think a revised edition of the book would do better to balance the two.
And yet I enjoyed it. The Austen historical trivia was knowledgeable, the insights into families and characters were... insightful..., and the actual landscape descriptions were passable. I identified with the author on many points, and rolled my eyes at her on others (srsly just phone the guy). By far the most interesting parts (for me) were the author's bluntly honest musings on Complex Christianity, encompassing everything from 'sins of personality rather than morality' to 'the urge for intimacy as a single thirty-something'.
Needed a stronger through-line, or at least more of an overall sense of where it was going. The Jack Thing got dropped unceremoniously, to be replaced by the Sickness Thing, which hadn't been built up to seem anything like an important thread. I think a revised edition of the book would do better to balance the two.
January 14, 2025
This book magically appeared in my mailbox - not sure who sent it to me, but a big thank you! I wasn't sure about this book in the beginning, as there was some awkwardness and self-consciousness. But it really grew on me, and I loved the concept of the author's reflections on her life, in alignment with Jane Austen's life and world. I am not a big Jane Austen fan as far as having read all of her books, but I do love the whole concept behind the books (and movies!), and a few years ago visited Jane's home in Chawton, and other Austen sites in that area. It was so beautiful, and I was very taken with it all. So, reading this book was such fun, and I enjoyed all the details, including the not so good days of travel with a suitcase being dragged behind. The author really shone in her pondering of Jane Austen and her world. The writing was also good. It was interesting to learn about Lori's diagnosis, as Lyme is a terrible disease that is prevalent in Maine, where I live.
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