Reminder: Michaelmas Meeting in Liverpool, Sat., Sept. 24

Don't forget that this coming Saturday, Sept. 24, is the date for JASNA Syracuse's Michaelmas meeting in the Sargent Room of the Liverpool Public Library at 2 pm. The topic will be "Sense and Sensibility: Divided Loyalties." In this novel, whose side are we supposed to be on? Come and share your opinion!

Also, Co-Coordinator Lisa Brown may be prevailed upon to tell us more about her exciting adventures in the Big Apple on the weekend of Sept. 10 (see the posts for Sept. 12 and 16, below). And a door prize will be awarded!

The Liverpool Public Library is located at 310 Tulip St., Liverpool, NY 13088. The Sargent Room is the smaller of the library's two meeting rooms (the Carman Community Room is the other). The library is easily reached from both I-81 North (if you're coming from the south) and the NY State Thruway:

From I-81, travel north from the junction with I-690, follow the signs for the Liverpool exits (near Carousel Center), and select the exit for NY Rt. 370 (Onondaga Lake Parkway). Take 370 along Onondaga Lake into the village of Liverpool, and stay on it as it angles slightly to the left and also becomes 2nd St. in the village. The library is on the corner of Tulip St. and 2nd St./370.

From the Thruway (from either direction), take Exit 38 (Liverpool/County Rt. 57). Travel south on 57 into the village, and take a right on Tulip St. (57 curves left at just about this point). Come down Tulip to 2nd St./370.

There is a small underground parking garage (entrance on Tulip), and ample free on-street parking is also available on Tulip and elsewhere. So we trust that your coachmen will be agreeably accommodated--and we hope to see you on the 24th!

Behind the Scenes at Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, A Musical

Amanda the composer, Lindsay the librettist and

Tim the musical director

Colleen the Costume Designer

Jeff the Choreographer and Igor the Director

On her recent trip to New York, your co-coordinator, Lisa Brown, was invited to attend a rehearsal of "Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, A Musical." Lisa's costume company, "Regency Rentals," is providing some of the costumes for the show. She was able to take photos of the creative team behind the musical.

Lisa, an English Country Dancer, was delighted to watch the choreography and staging of the Netherfield Ball scene during her visit. After spending the afternoon in the rehearsal room, she was heard to say, "Mr Bingley is adorable."

The show was sold out but an extra performance has just been added. Grab the remaining seats while they are still available.

"Dressing the Miss Bennets" in NYC

We announce with pardonable pride that Co-Coordinator Lisa Brown's "Dressing the Miss Bennets" presentation to JASNA New York Metro on Saturday, September 10, was judged a great success by all. One attendee described it as "one of the most memorable events ever" for that region, in fact. JASNA-NYM Co-Coordinator Meg Levin has kindly provided us with a photo of the grand finale, showing Lisa (at far left) and all her models. A caption with all the models' names (plus identification of the ones who are such gifted needlewomen that they made their own gowns!) will be provided shortly. Clicking on the photo will provide a closeup, as usual.

Update: Here are the models, starting from the left after Lisa: Lynn Marie Macy, Mary Jenkins, Marilynn Doore, Kimberly Costa (wearing a gown she made herself), Karen Crane, Jean Hellering, Selena Hughes, Elizabeth Freedman, Linda Pedro, and Leia Lima (also wearing a self-made gown).

A Tale of Two Floods: Binghamton 2011, Steventon 1820

When we heard about last week's disastrous flooding in the Binghamton area, our thoughts here in Syracuse turned immediately to our JASNA Syracuse Region members and other friends of Jane in that area--particularly our kind hosts at RiverRead Books, where we hold our Binghamton meetings. (As the store's name indicates, it is very close to the Susquehanna--next to the Court St. bridge, in fact.) We are very happy to report this morning that we've heard good news from both Pat Day and Connie Barnes at RiverRead. The store did get a good deal of water in the basement, but no books on the first floor were damaged, many friends have helped, and they expect to reopen the store shortly. Three hearty huzzahs! (See the "Flood Update" they've just posted on the store website. As they note there, the best help we can all give them at present is to patronize the store and the other flood-damaged small businesses in the area.)

Believe it or not, Jane Austen herself may have gone through a flood or two in her early home at Steventon, Hampshire. And certainly her sister-in-law and niece, Mary and Caroline Austen, did. Caroline recorded in her "Reminiscences" that as she and her mother were packing up to vacate the Steventon rectory in January 1820, after the death of her father (James Austen, Jane's oldest brother) in December 1819, a sudden thaw inundated the cellar and first floor: "Next morning the cellar looked like the scene of a shipwreck." Pat and Connie report that they can relate to this description very well--they have "a big mess in the basement," according to Pat--but they add immediately that "We were luckier than most." We can only agree.