From the author of the widely-acclaimed The Single Truth comes this poignant travel journal of a young woman searching for her own life's story and love — a tale that is every woman's eventually, everywhere. Tracing the steps of her literary hero Jane Austen, Lori Smith explores universal themes of love, heartache, community, independence, creativity, a woman's place in the world, and the rarely primed subject of Jane's faith — and Lori's own.

Readers of A Walk with Jane will discover little-known insights into the creator of Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility at a time when those works are more popular than ever with readers and film viewers of new versions of those stories for the silver screen. And they'll also delight in Jane's world of gracious living and how a contemporary woman is influenced by one of literature's master storytellers.

"In this engaging, deeply personal and well-researched travelogue, Smith (a PW contributor) journeys to England to soak in the places of Jane Austen's life and writings. The book is sure to ride the wave of Austen-philia that has recently swept through Hollywood and a new generation of Americans, but this is an unusual look at Jane Austen. Readers will learn plenty of biographical details — about Austen's small and intimate circle of family and friends, her candid letters to her sister, her possible loves and losses, her never-married status, her religious feelings, and her untimely death at the age of 41. But it is the author's passionate connection to 'Jane' — the affinity she feels and her imaginings of Austen's inner life — that bring Austen to life in ways no conventional biographer could. Smith's voice swings authentically between the raw, aching vulnerability of a single Christian woman battling a debilitating and mysterious chronic illness and the surges of faith she finds in the grace of a loving God. And yes, she even meets a potential Darcy at the start of her journey. This deliciously uncertain romantic tension holds the book together as Smith weaves her own thoughts, historical research, and fitting references to Austen's novels into a satisfying whole." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

"A young woman goes looking for Austen in all the places Austen once lived and many of the places she wrote about. The Austen she finds is a woman of family, and of quiet but sustaining faith. Austen shares these things and many others with author Lori Smith whose book gives the reader the great pleasure of time spent with both. A lovely, intimate read." Karen Joy Fowler, best-selling author of The Jane Austen Book Club

"Sensitively written and carefully paced this memoir takes the reader on a tour of the author's experiences while journeying around England in the footsteps of Jane Austen. Lori Smith moves seamlessly from romantic daydreams, through a close questioning of her relationship with God, to battles with her mental and physical health. The book reads as an intimate and honest memoir and has enough to satisfy the non-Christian (like myself) if they choose to look beyond the somewhat unexpected (in a mainstream book at least) pairing of Jane Austen and Christianity. Above all else, this is a book about searching–for love, meaning, peace with oneself, health, a good night's sleep, and a decent cup of coffee that wasn't made with that freeze-dried-instant-powder–and these are experiences that anyone of any faith can relate to....A welcoming read. Lyrical and questioning...perfectly pitched." Emma Campbell Webster, actress, author of Lost in Austen

"With wit, charm, and rare honesty — of which I have to believe Jane Austen would have thoroughly approved — Lori Smith weaves her personal life experiences throughout her journey into the life that was Jane's. Infused with faith, romance, loss, and a search for self, A Walk With Jane Austen makes for that rare book that keeps popping into one's thoughts and beckoning one back." Tamara Leigh, author of Perfecting Kate and Splitting Harriet

"With deep and sometimes heartwrenching honesty, Lori Smith weaves her story and Jane's together into a wholly unique narrative. In the midst of a craze for treating Austen's novels as little more than glorified bodice-rippers, Lori brings to bear her perspective as a single Christian woman who can identify in many ways with Austen's own beliefs and experiences, exploring truths and ideas that others gloss over. The resulting book stands out like a beacon." Gina R. Dalfonzo, editor of The Point weblog (http://thepoint.breakpoint.org) and writer for BreakPoint Radio

From the acclaimed author of "the Single Truth" comes this poignant travel journal of a young woman searching for her own lifes story and love--a tale that is every womans eventually, everywhere.

Lori Smith is a freelance writer whose work has appeared in Washington Post Book World, Publishers Weekly, Washingtonian and Today's Christian Woman. She is author of The Single Truth and creator of the popular literary blog Jane Austen Quote of the Day.