On Saturday, November 1, at 2 pm, at RiverRead Books (5 Court St., Binghamton), we’ll be discussing Jo Baker’s recent novel Longbourn at our All Hallows meeting. Longbourn is a fascinating retelling of events in Pride and Prejudice from the Bennets’ servants’ point of view. Most of us, in reading P&P, never gave a second thought to the question of who had to serve Mr. Bennet his after-dinner port, wait on Mrs. Bennet when she took to her bed with her "poor nerves," or wash Elizabeth’s muddy petticoat--but someone had to! We'll use the novel as a basis for discussing Regency-era servants, their duties, and their pay.
And on Saturday, December 6, at 2 pm, in the Community Room of the Hamilton Public Library (13 Broad St., Hamilton--note the change in venue from the Colgate Bookstore), we'll join the JABC-CNY of Hamilton for a joint Christmas/Jane Austen's Birthday meeting. Last year's cookie potluck in Hamilton was such a success that we'll be repeating it this year: Each guest is asked to bring a dozen or so cookies (which needn't necessarily be homemade; Martha Stewart won't be attending!) to share. We'll also lift a glass of something pleasant and nonalcoholic (beverages will be provided) in a traditional birthday toast to Our Author, who will be turning 239 on December 16. And, instead of a formal presentation, let's have an informal discussion of "Jane Austen in the News": Come and "have your share of the conversation" on any of the many news stories in which JA has figured in the last couple of years. (The 10-pound bank note? The turquoise ring? The various possible portraits of Our Author? The list could go on and on!)
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