Our JASNA chapter met for a delightful tea party on June 26th, to hear all about the recent Jane Austen Summer Program and to talk about all things Jane Austen among the best company: JASNA-NC. From delicate fine china with beguiling patterns to quotable Austen mugs, members brought their favorite beverages and settled in for a lovely time of chatting and catching up.
Members of our chapter that attended the Jane Austen Summer Program’s most recent conference “Austen & Shakespeare” filled everyone else in on highlights from the event and what they learned. Betty remarked on how wonderful it was to attend her first in-person JASP, and came dressed in all of her swag (t-shirt, button, and bag at the ready!). Highlights included Dr. Deborah Payne’s talk “What Jane Austen Saw: Shakespeare on the Georgian Stage,” which was lauded by all attendees. The idea that Jane experienced Shakespeare’s works mostly in bits and possibly bowdlerized or heavily edited was excellent food for thought.
Other highlights of the program included the plenary sessions on music (participants heard a world premiere of a piece inspired by Austen’s Persuasion) and on food (with delicious samples and a cooking demo). The mystery of the dog-napped Pugsley was also a fun time for all. Member Sue, a regular attendee of the Jane Austen Summer Program, offered encouragement for members to attend a JASP symposium in the future if they could and gave advice regarding the impact of a good discussion group on the experience overall (discussion groups that meet 4-5 times throughout the program are one of the most enriching aspects of the gathering, which all attendees affirmed). Members enjoyed a wonderful conversation filled with questions to and answers from JASP participants, and many were inspired to return to Austen with an eye towards Shakepeare.
The remainder of our time together was spent doing what we all love most: chatting with one another, catching up, and enjoying the good company of fellow Austen lovers! Members exchanged opinions about the upcoming Persuasion adaptation to be on Netflix in July based on the trailer. While many of us will view the film at some point, and a number will enjoy it for what it is, the prevailing opinion was that the trailer did not capture what we all know and love about Austen’s beautifully introspective and brooding novel. Also, we are aghast at screenwriters who think they can improve upon Austen’s writing…and be wittier than Jane (never say!). Several members then pointed to the recent second season of Sanditon, observing that it was a marked improvement on the first season and that they quite enjoyed it and look forward to the upcoming third season, prompting others who were on the fence about checking it out to add it to their watchlist (this writer included).
Our June meeting was such a pleasant way to spend an afternoon, armed with tea and Jane Austen tidbits to share (including a research find of a wonderful advertisement for Austen’s novels citing her characterization as matching Shakespeare’s!). JASNA-NC is always a pleasure to be with, filled with enthusiastic and knowledgeable members. Our next meeting will feature a game event in July (and likely some spoiler-free discussion of the Persuasion adaptation), with our Virtual Book Club convening in August with Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility.