By Elizabeth Jewell
The JASNA meeting for the holidays and, especially, Jane’s birthday celebration was a hybrid online/in person meeting, with the members who could gather in person braving the rain and meeting at Gisele’s lovely home in Cary (fully and delightfully decorated for the holidays). Much delicious food was in evidence (scones with jam and whipped cream, anyone?).
The online gathering was equally lovely, with conversation about tasty tea recommendations, including the Bee’s Knees tea from Harney & Sons (many teas from this company were generally recommended, including chai and apple spice). Kirk (Admiral Kirk, as he came festooned in his Admiral’s hat) shared the ingredients he used for a drink he calls “The Royal Navy”: cran-grape and raspberry juices, lime juice, cherry juice, and whipped cream. Tea talk dominated early conversation, and soon it was time to hear from our speaker.
Everything a Janeite Needs to Know Program
Karin introduced Sue Scott’s presentation on “Everything a Janeite Needs to Know.” A handy handout featured quotes from each book along with areas Sue offered information about (Why are peacocks associated with Pride and Prejudice despite not being featured in the book? Why is the pug in Mansfield Park identified as both “he” and “she”?). Additionally, there was a list of the two Austen biographies most praised by Janeites: Jane Austen: A Life by Claire Tomlinson and Jane Austen at Home by Lucy Worsley. Finally, there’s a list of “Approved Viewing” of movies and miniseries based on Austen’s books. Despite the list featuring five choices each for Pride and Prejudice and Emma, Mansfield Park has listed simply “None.” If you have seen a movie adaptation of this book, you know why! One person recommended the BBC Radio version of the novel, starring David Tennant, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Felicity Jones (available on Audible here).
Why do we call the annual meeting the AGM? It stands for the Annual General Meeting, a designation used by the British Jane Austen Society, which the US meeting also adopted. Sue also discussed the use by Jane of “two inches wide of ivory” to refer to her writing; this is a reference to the miniature paintings and portraits common at the time, which were usually painted on ivory.
Money Matters
Sue then talked about money in Austen’s novels. How do we translate, for example, Darcy’s 10,000 pounds a year? Estimates range from $300,000 a year to a million. Sue notes that to live as a lady or gentleman and not have to work required, at a minimum, 100 pounds a year. This is probably about what the Bates family in Emma has; you can rent a room and have a servant, one of the signs of gentility. It’s also useful to know that labor was cheap, goods were expensive. Male servants were more expensive than females, and some discussion ensued about what male servants did. They generally did heavy work and outside work, including, for example, gardening and maintenance. Looking after a horse or two and a carriage was much more expensive—one would need to have a stable/barn and feed the animal. The estimate was that the Bennets in Pride and Prejudice had eight or ten servants on Mr. Bennet’s income of 2,000 pounds a year.
How much did Jane Austen make from her writing? She left an estate of 600 to 700 pounds, most of which was left to Cassandra. This was much less than best-selling authors; Maria Edgeworth made 11,000 pounds. However, the last two books published, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, were published after her death and were the best-selling books of her works. Sue notes that Cassandra continued to inherit money from various relatives who died in later years, so she did much better as time went on.
Austen Miscellany
Sue also noted her relief that she could refer to a barouche, a chaise, a gig, a curricle, and various other means of transportation as carriages, one and all, without having to know the differences among them! (Note, however, if you’re curious, there’s a page by a Regency romance author with descriptions and pictures of the various kinds of carriages—kristenkoster.com/a-regency-era-carriage-primer/)
From chapters vs. volumes, the Georgian vs. Regency eras, and corsets vs. stays, Sue shared all the finer points that help orient Janeites to the period and its historical contexts. Of note was also matters of key names in the world of Jane Austen. Sue reviewed the pronunciation of various names: Benwick is “Bennick”; Cowper is “Cooper”; Maria is “Mah-rye-ah,” not “Mah-ree-ah” (the latter pronunciation wasn’t usual in England until after the Napoleonic Wars); Andrew Davies’ last name is pronounced “Davis”—it’s Welsh; and Devoney Looser is “Deh-von-ee (like Devon) Low-zer.”
Sue explains why, if you have not read Northanger Abbey, you’ll hear references to muslin. The hero, Henry Tilney, talks about muslin and shows great knowledge about it. There’s also a possible reference to losing one’s virginity if one’s muslin is torn! (As Lydia’s is in Pride and Prejudice. For more on this topic, see Jillian Heydt-Stevenson’s Unbecoming Conjunctions (Sara’s recommendation))
Sue demonstrated the answer to the question about peacocks and Pride and Prejudice most thoroughly, showing us first a copy of the book (a reproduction of one from 1894) with a splendid peacock cover, and then drawing attention to the top she was wearing (with a peacock pattern on it) and pulling out blank books and socks with peacocks (You can see and purchase the socks here).
The fascinating answer to why the pug belonging to Lady Bertram is sometimes referred to as “he” and sometimes as “she” is that people at the time didn’t distinguish between the two when speaking of dogs, even pets. The assumption, based on Lady Bertram offering Fanny a puppy should a litter be born, is that the pug is female, though we can’t be completely certain. Perhaps there was a family of pugs?
Sue finished by reading from the journal of a WWI soldier, William Boyd Anderson, who worked with caterpillars (tanks) and lorries (large trucks). He noted that, “Often and often, during the long wet march or a cold dirty job – a lorry or caterpillar, I’ve been kept in my spirits by the thoughts of the book in my kitbag waiting for me. With what eagerness I have opened it and been transported immediately from the world of sergeant majors, bayonet buying and trench digging, and lorry cleaning and caterpillar greasing, to a new world created for me by my adored Jane Austen.”
A Year in Review and Thanks
Karin wrapped up by noting that Sara has done most of the work as her co-coordinator in planning JASNA events for the past year; although Sara mentioned some of Karin’s very impressive contributions to our JASNA region, thanking her for her work as she transitions out of her current role. Sara also thanked the team, along with offering a review of the year:
- JASNA-NC has met monthly on Zoom, including our quarterly book club, four fabulous presentations (Kim Guyer, Kathleen James Cavan, John Mullan, and Damianne Scott), and other fun (We learned quilling, conquered Slido for P&P trivia, had tea and miscellany, enjoyed fun and games, and held our annual AGM debrief). We enjoyed an outing to dinner and Sense & Sensibility in Fuquay-Varina, and we had a record number of members attending the AGM, as well as having three of our members—Inger, Sue, and Carolyn—as breakout speakers at the AGM.
- JASNA-NC has also had the regular social media posts, monthly newsletters, and websites updates—with plenty of articles (Austen Adventures and Book Reviews) and write ups shared by our wonderful notetakers and members.
Giving kudos to members, Sara noted Inger Brodey and Mary Jane Curry both have books coming out in 2024. Carolyn Brown has an essay forthcoming in a collection in 2024 too. Also, Tara Rasinsky has written a Pride and Prejudice musical that will be a January 24 outing opportunity. Kudos and thanks were also given to JASNA-NC’s leadership (with incoming and outgoing leaders), as well as hearty kudos to our region for how active it is: all who volunteer, attend, and watch are incredible!
Giselle capped off our celebration by making her traditional toast to Jane using words from Kipling. Huzzah!