Our February Virtual Book Club is an Austen contemporary, and Jane West’s A Gossip’s Story is an eighteenth-century bestseller that may have inspired Sense and Sensibility. Start reading now, and join us in February!
The Details
What: JASNA-NC Member Meeting, Virtual Book Club: A Gossip’s Story by Jane West, edited by Devoney Looser, Melinda O’Connell, and Caitlin Kelly (Valancourt Classics)
When: February 20, 2022
Where: In the comfort of your home via Zoom
RSVP: This is a member-only event; it is FREE but registration is required.
About the Book
One of the most popular and prolific authors of her time, Jane West (1758-1852) enjoyed her greatest success with A Gossip’s Story (1796), one of the best-selling novels of its era. Yet, in addition to its significance as a lost classic by a neglected woman writer, A Gossip’s Story has long been recognized by scholars as a likely influence on Jane Austen’s celebrated novel Sense and Sensibility (1811).
West’s wryly humorous cautionary tale—with its themes of courtship and love, money and romance, filial piety and financial ruin—centers on two very different sisters. Where Louisa proves herself to be rational and full of good sense, Marianne is driven by her emotions and romantic idealism, and their dispositions lead them to starkly different fates.
About the Virtual Book Club
The Virtual Book Club takes place quarterly with the following rotation:
- February – Contemporary of Austen
- May – Nonfiction work
- August – An Austen work
- November – Fan fiction
About Our Facilitators
We are delighted to welcome new facilitators for our Virtual Book Club in 2022: Mary Jane Curry, Nancy Martin-Young, Jessica Richard, and Sara Tavela will help coordinate book selections and rotate through facilitating meetings. Thank you, all, for volunteering!