A Walk with Jane Austen: A Journey into Adventure, Love, and Faith

A Walk with Lori Smith

A Walk with Jane Austen is part memoir of author Lori Smith¿s trip to places where Austen lived or visited and places featured in screen adaptations of Austen¿s novels, and part Austen biography. But much of it is about Smith herself, her quest for true love, and how she is like or unlike Austen and Austen¿s fictional characters. Your opinion of the book will largely depend on how much reading about Smith interests you, because it¿s really A Walk with Lori Smith. Smith¿s trip to Austenland started with a one-week course at Oxford, where she met Jack, an American graduate student. In spite of the decidedly mixed signals that he gave her, within a few days she believed that she was in love. Reading her ruminations about their ¿relationship,¿ which thread through the book, I was simultaneously impressed by her openness and embarrassed for her. There is more than I cared to know about Smith¿s appearance and what she wore on a given day, and there are musings like, ¿I wonder, does anything bad happen if you wait to pee longer than you should?¿ I wonder, what would Jane think? Smith seemed surprised by the famous collection in the British Library, and some travel sections in the book lack depth, but her examination of Austen¿s faith and religious background is fascinating. So, semi-recommended.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Fabulous Read

Journals and memoirs destined for the popular market are among the hardest non-fiction books to write. How much should one put in or leave out without 'boring' one's audience? How much of the 'Self' does one want to reveal to strangers? In A Walk With Jane Austen Lori Smith strikes a delicate balance between her personal journey of love and faith in the modern world, and her decision to break free of her old life and embark on a new one while tracing Jane Austen's foot steps. She deftly weaves her personal narrative in with Jane's story. Lori's writing style is lovely and clear, and her combination of artlessness and worldly knowledge are endearing. I imagine these are qualities that Jane also possessed. I savored this book, which is not meant to be a history about Jane but a personal account of Lori's journey. In fact, Lori drops in gems of historical information about Jane, which flavors the book and enriches it with Jane lore. Compared to the truly empty Jane fiction that populates book store shelves these days - stories of Mr. Darcy before and after he meets Elizabeth, and of Jane sleuths, and the like - Lori's personal account rings as clear as a lovely glass bell. I will definitely read this book again.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

An Intriguing Glimpse of Two Similar Tales

Freelance writer Lori Smith guides readers throughout the rolling hills of England as she follows the path of esteemed writer Jane Austen. As she travels to and from the significant places of Jane's life, Smith not only gives the audience insight on Austen, but also paints the story of her life as well. Being as she is thirty-three and still single, Lori is desperate to find love; thus she believes walking the same road as her rold model will enhance her chances of this. A strong believer of Christianity, Lori looks to God for his grace and goodness as obstacles confront her throughout her journey, but also seems to base some of her morals off of Jane Austen and her glorious books. I enjoyed being informed about the marvels of Jane Austen; her family life, love life, and career as an author as well as getting to personally know Lori Smith. Despite this, I found it slightly depressing to learn of Lori's chronic sickness and struggle to find love, as much as I feel bad for her, it also somewhat put a damper on the story. Otherwise it is a wonderfully written nonfiction read I recommend especially for Jane Austen fans-it admittedly makes me want to pick up one of Austen's books myself-and those who struggle with finding love. All you singles out there, pick up this book and prepare to be satisfied.

Religious theme

I received this book as a gift but after glossing it found it had too heavy a religious theme, which makes little sense it one knows Jane Austen. My local B&N store would not even give me a store credit for something more suitable.

Walking with Lori and Jane

I love Jane Austen and so of course, I love anyone who also loves Jane Austen. I enjoyed the honesty with which Lori Smith recounted her struggles to find meaning in her relationships using Jane Austen's stories as a 'How to Find Love and Keep it' guide. As a Christian, I also empathized with Lori's struggle with her faith and the religious establishment. And as someone who fights low energy and depression I related to her 'down' days. In other words, I thought Lori Smith has written a great book that so many of us can relate to on several levels.

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