Do you know who Pen Harrington is in Pride and Prejudice? How about Miss Smith—the one in Northanger Abbey? Or Lady Mary Grierson in Persuasion?
The Game
On January 24, thirty members of the North Carolina region gathered on Zoom for six rounds of Jane Austen BINGO, one for each book. Lisa Brown, regional coordinator of Central and Western New York and the creator of the game, joined us to call the games.
Instead of calling out a letter and number, as in traditional BINGO, our caller gave the name of a character in the novel. As with traditional BINGO, if you had that character on your card you could mark it, but we also took the time to see if anyone could identify the character. You might be shocked to learn how many characters Austen created and how many you might not know!
Interesting notes from the discussion:
- If you see a character with only one name, it could be a servant. Higher-up servants are called by just their last name; lower-level servants are called by just their first. So Baddeley (last name) in Mansfield Park we learned was the butler.
- In Sense and Sensibility, the name Bonomi appears. Apparently this was a real-life architect.
- Emma contains an enormous numbers of names, not because it is the longest book, but rather because Miss Bates names everyone she meets and Mrs. Elton is a namedropper. How’s that for some consistent and sophisticated characterization?
- Also in Emma, someone at a past AGM pointed out that all the shops in town are owned by women.
The Winners
Huzzah to the winners of each round!
- Persuasion – Virginia Claire Tharrington Nist
- Mansfield Park – Betty Parker Ellis
- Emma – Sara Tavela and Joye Cantrell
- Sense and Sensibility – Nikki Norris
- Northanger Abbey – Susan Brooks
- Pride and Prejudice – Cheryl Meehan
Our winners received a variety of surprise prizes in the mail—Austen-related books, notecards, and such.
Some of our standout players in terms knowing who the characters were (though alas, not getting them on their cards) were Arlene Bice, Mary Jane Curry, and Erin Handly. Well done!
As one participant said, the games were fun and at the same time they deepened the experience of the novels. Many of us agreed we would read with a fresh appreciation for names! Many thanks to Lisa!
(Answers: Pen Harrington was a friend of Lydia. Miss Smith was Henry Tilney’s dance partner. Lady Mary Grierson was a friend of the Crofts.)