By Pamela Hale
Our member Pamela hosted a musical party in honor of Jane Austen’s birthday on December 13, 2025. Hear about the party and find the music played below.
The party on December 13th was so much fun. To begin, I read a short excerpt from the opening of Claire Tomalin’s book, Jane Austen: A Life. The 21 attendees, friends and family, are not Janeites at all – they just knew that she was a writer that I admire, and may have seen a movie or two.
Robert Buxton played his own beautiful arrangements of Austen-era composers – he’s amazingly talented, versatile, and personable, and he had done some research into Austen’s copybooks. When he played “Robin Adair,” I explained that it is the only named piece in her novels (in Emma), and had a tin of British tea to give to the person who could name the novel. (This could only be done after loads of hints and promptings.)
Robert’s fabulous performance was recorded; you can check it out below:
For a birthday cake (we did a rousing rendition of “Happy Birthday”), I made the Twelfth Night Cake from a recipe I found online (pictured at the start of the article). It was an absolute hit with everyone. The bean-finder was given a tea towel, featuring Austen characters, that I had brought from Chawton last spring.
I had expected the party to go from 2:00-4:00, but we were all having so much fun, and Robert’s playing of classical composers, Mahalia Jackson inspired gospel, and Christmas songs kept us all so happy that it lasted until 5:00!