It may not come as a surprise to you that I bought this book for the title (and also, the cover is cute). While I may not be a hardcore Janeite, I am a fan of Jane Austen and I find books about her so interesting.

Among the Janeites is an exploration of the Jane Austen fandom. It uses a quasi-memoir style, where the author mixes in her experience as a Janeite with more information about the fandom, tying all the chapters together with the tale of how she commissioned a regency dress for a JASNA (Jane Austen Society of North America) meeting. Along the way, the author talks to a multitude of people and learns about Jane Austen tours in England, how Sandy Lerner restored Chawton House and made it a place for study of early women’s writing, why people might write Jane Austen fanfiction, the history of Republic of Pemberly, and the founding of JASNA.

I think this book is at its best when Yaffe is interviewing people about why they love Jane Austen (and how it led to that particular niche in the fandom). It’s fascinating to see how and why people fall in love with Jane Austen, and it reminded me that there’s no ‘right’ way to be a fan.

That said, the book did feel a bit lacking in some parts. One main one is the fact that this is very America-centric. Even the chapter on the Jane Austen tour was done because of JASNA and it felt like most people interviewed were American. I think Jane Austen has a much wider appeal and I would have appreciated it if the book also talked to fans in other cultures – especially in non-Western cultures where it might not make intuitive sense as to why Austen is appealing.

Another thing to consider is that the book is a product of its time and therefore doesn’t contain the latest developments in the fandom. I was a bit confused as to why the use of social media like Instagram (and maybe Facebook?) didn’t appear in the chapter of being an Austen fan online, until I checked the copyright page and realised that it was published in 2013. I suppose Instagram was still in its infancy while the book was written but it would have been interesting to see if social media intensified what it means to be a fan or let people be much more casual about it.

Overall, I found this to be an interesting read. While the book isn’t very current or global, it did show me more about the Jane Austen fandom and I appreciated reading about the experiences of other fans.