BBC Documentary on Jane Austen, filmed at JASNA AGM 2011

At the 2011 AGM, the BBC was seen running around with reporter and camera men in tote. The result was a great documentary on Jane Austen and the longevity of her literature. The documentary really is wonderful. You may find it at this link:

http://www.videozer.com/video/R5mHMAS

Enjoy!

Ft. Worth AGM 2011 – Part I

This years AGM was delightful  for a variety of reasons. Chief among them for the Houston region, was the location. Being able to manage the short drive from Houston allowed many Houstonians to attend. To my knowledge, there were at least seventeen Houston area Janeites in attendance, which is quite a feat.

Hosted at the Renaissance Worthington Hotel in downtown Ft. Worth, the AGM showed all attendees true Texas hospitality. The conference got off to a roaring start on Thursday with a variety of workshops which included not only English Country Dancing, but Country Western Dancing as well. The first non workshop event of the day was the intriguing talk given by the author of “The Mysterious Death of Miss Austen”, Lindsay Ashford.

Attendees were also treated to a fun show with the talk “Managing Muslins in the Modern Millenium”, given by Baronda Bradley of the North Texas Region. During her presentation, Baronda had models who walked about in exquisite costumes. Audience members were also allowed to come up and touch the fabrics and feel what Regency clothes may have felt like.

I will confess that I am partial to the next bit, but I must say that the most fabulous event that day was the afternoon tea at the Women’s Club of Ft. Worth. Sure, you can have tea and treats anywhere, but what made this special was the company. This was the first time that old AGM friends really had a chance to get together with one another and have a good chat. Here is a picture of Houston Janeites with some of our Pennsylvania friends.

Afternoon Tea - Women's Club of Ft. Worth

 

After tea, AGM attendees were invited to learn about “Regency Cosmetics and Esthetics: A Look to Die For” and later on, they high tailed it to Billy Bob’s Honky Tonk for a true Texas treat.

 

By Friday morning, the conference was buzzing with new arrivals coming all the time. By this morning, all of the emporiums were fully staffed and constantly crowded with shoppers. Yes, you read correctly. ALL of the emporiums. This years AGM featured three wonderful emporiums which included two Regency Emporiums as well as a Texas Emporium. I would be willing to bet that most Janeites spent equal amounts of time in the conference sessions as well as the emporium.

 

Rest assured, we were not the only ones intrigued by the emporium.

 

 

 

BBC Film Crew at the Emporium

 

Friday continued with the start of the breakout sessions and a variety of plenary speakers. From a talk on whether or not Marianne sang Scott songs to a talk given by the curator of the Jane Austen House museum, Janeites were sure to have plenty fascinating options to pick from. A particular favorite breakout session amongst several members of JASNA was “Ports of the Period”, where audience members were invited to sample different ports. After the sessions for the day were over, Houston Janeites convened for a nice group dinner at a lovely little Mexican restaurant just accross the street from the hotel. And finally, the days wonderful events were rounded out by a Sense and Sensibility movie marathon, where modern interpretations of the classic tale were screened.

 

So…have we tempted you to NYC in 2012 yet? Check back in a few days for Part II and see if you can resist the temptation then

 

 

Calling All Dancers!

Hello all! I hope that the new year has been wonderful to you. Now that the holidays are over, one might be tempted get back to work, and put the parties behind them. I, however, have a better idea. You are invited to a ball! Indeed, the Clear Lake English Country Dance group is hosting a ball this month. The date of the ball is January 21.  The following details have been given to me from their leader.

“The location is in Pearland, at a LDS church, on the corner of County Road 90 and Southfork (also known as county rd 59).  It is just off 288 and the beltway.  It is Jan 21, a Saturday night.  We plan to arrive around 6pm, have a potluck dinner at 6:30 and dance from 7:30 to 10:30 or 11pm.  Dressy attire requested and period attire appreciated, please bring a food dish to share.  Kendall Rogers and Diehl Moran are the musicians and the cost is $10.00 at the door.

 We have a lot of new dancers in our Clear Lake group so most of the dances will be quite easy and lively with only a few more challenging ones in the mix.  We plan to review the challenging ones the Friday before, at our usual Clear Lake United Methodist location at El Camino Real and Seafoam at 7:30pm.”

I hope to see many JASNA Houston members in attendance. I will certainly be there, and plan to wear my Regency frock.

Book Review – “The Mysterious Death of Miss Austen”

This past October, Janeites came from all over the world and descended upon Ft. Worth Texas. It was at this JASNA AGM that I came upon ”The Mysterious Death of Miss Austen”. The novel was being offered by the Chawton House Museum during the Regency Emporium. Fortunately for us, the author was on hand to sign the books as well.

To begin, I must stress that this novel is fictional. As one begins to read, however, it becomes more difficult to tell the real from the fiction. Ms. Ashford has an incredible talent for spinning a tale in such a way that the lines between fact and fiction are wonderfully blurred.

The premise of the novel is the theory that Jane Austen did not die from any of the diseases she is thought to have succumbed to. Lindsay Ashford introduces an idea quite sinister with the suggestion that Miss Austen was the victim of arsenic poisoning. The novel itself explores the methods that might have caused this poisoning, and whether it was an accidental or intentional poisoning.

Ms. Ashford herself told her audience at the AGM about the novels premise. So, as I began to read, I was not surprised to learn of the arsenic scenario. I was surprised though, to see how finely she was able to introduce all the various family members and acquaintances that are believed to have been known to the Austen family. The novel follows the timeline from Jane Austen’s mid twenties until her death, and beyond. There are chapters that include Godmersham, Bath, the seaside, and Chawton. To say that this work of fiction has been well researched would be an understatement. Ms. Ashford clearly mingled her vast knowledge of criminology with immense research to create this delightful read.

The story is told from the point of view of Anne Sharp, who is the governess to Fanny Knight, daughter of Elizabeth and Edward Knight as well as niece to Jane Austen. As the novel begins it tells of the unlikely friendship of Miss Sharp and Miss Austen. From the very onset of the novel, Ms. Ashford begins to weave her tale’s “who done it” theme. Very early on, the reader is indulged in the Austen’s outrageous family gossip, and I personally found myself suspecting nearly every member of the Austen family as the story progressed.

Because the novel spans several years, the reader is allowed to view the Austen family members as they grow, most noticeably in Jane’s nieces, Fanny and Anna. They go from innocent and immature thirteen year olds, to ladies out in their first seasons, and then to wives and mothers. So much is known about Jane’s extended family from old letters and family histories, and Ms. Ashford succeeds in placing a firm face on each of Miss Austen’s relations.

In fact, I was often amused by Ms. Ashford’s take on what Jane’s influence for certain characters and plots of her own works may have been. There are several instances when she identifies certain family members as being the inspiration for her rather famous characters. In addition to this fun insight, there were also bits and pieces of dialogue given to Jane that I recalled from Jane Austen’s own letters. It was a sort of “Where’s Waldo” of Jane Austen history….a sort of “See how many Austen facts you can spot” kind of thing.  

As a true Austen fan, I found it difficult to begin with because I always knew where the story would lead. Regardless of whether or not Jane died from Addison’s or arsenic poisoning, she still died a sad and all too soon death. As the novel progressed, however, I found myself so intrigued by the Jane that might have been to worry about the impending end of the book.

I whole heartedly recommend this book for the Austen enthusiast, as well as those who may not have met her through her own literature yet. I can easily imagine that any reader who has not known Jane Austen until this point, would run out and buy all her books after reading Ms. Ashford’s interesting take on the beloved author.

Happy Christmas to All!

As Mr. Elton would say, “This is quite the season indeed for friendly meetings. At Christmas every body invites their friends about them, and people think little of even the worst weather.” Though Mr. E is seldom right about anything, he is spot on in this issue. I hope that you and yours have gathered round this holiday season, and have managed to stay warm in this freezing weather. Not complaining about the weather, it is certainly more fitting to celebrate in gloves and scarves instead of shorts and flip flops.

The photo below is of an early Victorian Christmas dinner…not quite Regency, but close enough.

What a busy time of year!

Hello dear Janeites! This is such a busy time of year, and I am sure that most of you (like myself) are busy doing your holiday shopping and planning the menus for the holiday festivities. It is a busy time of year for JASNA as well, as this is when we work on the program schedule for the following year.

JASNA Houston is rolling right along and has already confirmed three speakers for the 2012 year. If you have heard a speaker speak on a Jane Austen related topic and would like to invite them to speak to JASNA Houston, please send me a note, and I would be happy to invite them.

For now, I look forward to announcing the program schedule later in January. I look forward to catching up with all of at the March 3rd meeting. See you then!

What is the JASNA AGM?

This is the question I found myself asking two years ago as I pondered attending the AGM in Philadelphia. From what I could tell there would be Janeites from all over the world descending upon Philadelphia…and then what? I honestly had no clue. I thought that I might enjoy the experience, what ever “the experience” entailed, but I was too terrified to embark on the journey on my own. It was not until our fellow region member Jane announced that she wanted to go that I jumped on the AGM bandwagon.

We arrived on the Wednesday night before the festivities began. Jane and I quickly made our way over to register and get our goody bags. Some say that I am easily amazed, but I was simply thrilled with my AGM canvass bag! It was filled with all sorts of goodies incluing magazine samples, Austen related event brochures, deodorant and a coffee cup with a beautfiful silhoutte of a Regency couple and the AGM’s theme written on it: Jane Austen’s Brothers and Sisters in the City of Brotherly Love. To this day, I use that cup on a daily basis. It is my favorite cup because it reminds me of the good times I had and the wonderful friends I met at the AGM. But, I am getting ahead of myself.

We made it through Thursday attending a few talks, including a talk on how to make the perfect cup of tea. We learned all sorts of history about tea, which I loved. As Friday came around, it brought the busiest portion of the AGM with it. We had the newbie social where Jane and I met our dear friends from PA, Emily and Carol. We also attended the first of the breakout sessions, a series of talks on different topics regarding Jane Austen’s brothers and sisters. There were breakout session speakers, plenary speakers, and scholars everywhere you turned. But, there were also plain old Janeites, just like us. For the first time, JASNA Greater Houston met with JASNA Central Texas and JASNA North Texas. Before we knew it, we had slowly molded into one solid group and there were people simply referring to us as TEXAS.

One of the best parts of the AGM: The Regency Emporium. By the end of the weekend, I found myself panicking at the idea of stuffing all of my new found treasures into my suitcase. At that moment, I was even more greatful for my AGM canvass bag because it was going to have to serve as the “carry on” full of treasures. The Emporium had everything from region sponsored goods such as Jane Austen lapel pins, calendars, stationary, hand crafted bracelets, candies and so much more. Other options from vendors included the fabulous Austentation which had everything needed to accesorize a Regency ensemble including fans, reticules, cameo necklaces and bracelets, gloves, bonnets and pretty much anything else you could ask for. There were also books everywhere. From Barnes & Noble to Austenbooks.net. I could go on and on about the Emporium, but I think you get the general idea:

Regency Emporium=Janeite Heaven

The night of the ball was completely magical. It kicked off with happy hour, was followed by the banquet, continued with the promenade, and finished with the the ball. From 6 pm on there were 600 people standing around in Regency apparell and I can truly and honestly say that it was absolutely impossible not to lose yourself in the era. It was nearly impossible to remember that I was actually a 21st century girl, when surrounded by the 19th century. We danced, we laughed, and we even drank a bit….

It was difficult to wake up for Sunday brunch, and Jane and I both had other things to see to prior to the brunch. But we arose, and were thrilled that we did not miss brunch because it turned out to be absolutely fabulous.  The speaker was an Englishman and he gave a marvelous talk that had the entire AGM audience completely in raptures. It was such a lovely way to end the weekend.

Spending the entire weekend with Janeites was wonderful in and of itself. But Jane and I also took the opportunity to do some Philadelphia sightseeing. We saw Independence Hall, The Liberty Bell, Trinity Church, Betsy Ross’ House, and the site of Benjamin Franklin’s home among other things.

So…what is the JASNA AGM? For me it was a chance to grow as a person. I had never planned to go to Philadelphia, and yet I jumped on that plane and was able to go and visit all the amazing historical American sites. I never expencted to have friends all over the country, but now that I do, I can’t imagine never having met them. And I certainly never imagined that I would know as much as I do about the wonderful Jane Austen. The AGM, in a way, was an education.

This year, I am excited that hundreds of Janeites will be descending upon us and I cannot wait to welcome them to the Great State of Texas. I am really excited that so many Houston Janeites will be joining me in Ft. Worth and I look forward to all of the old friends I will be seeing, as well as the new friends I will be making.

See you in Ft. Worth!

~Amanda