Jane Austen Society of North America – Syracuse Region

Upstate News in Brief

2012-01-22T16:26:00.002-05:00

First--although mention of personal health is considered ill-bred in some quarters--Regional Coordinator A. Marie Sprayberry will be taking a few weeks off to recover from partial knee replacement. However, she and Co-RC Lisa Brown have endeavoured to put the "Events" listings at right for February and March in such a state as to prevent her being missed. Note particularly the upcoming Lady Day meeting (a joint meeting of JASNA Syracuse and the JABC-CNY at the Colgate Bookstore, although there is already considerable overlap between the two groups) on March 24 at 2:00 p.m., where the topic will be Regency fashions! More details about this meeting will follow in a future post.

Second, loud huzzahs for Miss Brown, who has just been appointed to the Co-RC position for JASNA Rochester as well as JASNA Syracuse! Although Miss Brown's employer transferred her to its Rochester office last year, she maintains a Syracuse mailing address, many relatives and friends in the Syracuse area, and a keen interest in the Syracuse Region, so she will continue to hold this post for both regions for at least the near future. Close cooperation already exists between the two Upstate Regions, and we trust that this new development will make it even closer.

Reminder: Combined Christmas/Candlemas Meeting in Liverpool, Sat., Jan. 14, 2 pm

2012-01-06T13:45:00.002-05:00

Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, the Official Spokescat of JASNA Syracuse, reminds us that our JASNA Syracuse meeting for both Christmas and Candlemas will be Saturday, January 14, at 2 pm, in the Sargent Room of the Liverpool Public Library. The topic will be "Food, Glorious Food!" We'll discuss mealtimes and meal preparation in Jane Austen's era (which were surprisingly different from our foodways today); look over Maggie Black and Deirdre Le Faye’s The Jane Austen Cookbook and some other recipe books; and talk a little about the role of food in JA’s work (feel free to bring favorite food-related quotes!). We'll also try some "rout cakes" (a type of cookie mentioned in Emma), prepared according to the recipe in The JA Cookbook. And we'll raise a belated toast to JA's 236th birthday in December.

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 you'll join us on the 14th for this "winter depression disperser"!

"Austenworld" News: Year-End Roundup

2011-12-30T09:03:00.007-05:00

It's been a busy year in "Austenworld" (the universe of JA-related happenings), and another busy year is coming up! Here's a general roundup of recent news:

First, JASNA's annual present to its members for JA's birthday--the new issue of the electronic journal Persuasions On-Line--is available here. It includes all three of the presentations from the panel "The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly of Sense and Sensibility" (see our Oct. 24 post on the Fort Worth AGM), as well as a short piece by Rochester's David Meisel titled "Seeing Stars for Jane's Birthday." Dave was our speaker at JASNA Rochester's birthday lunch on Dec. 3, and his description and photos of three stars whose light began traveling to Earth in JA's birth year are fascinating!

Enough other "new publications" have come out in the last few months to keep even Persuasion's Lady Russell happy. These include the anthology Jane Austen Made Me Do It, also mentioned in our Oct. 24 post on the Fort Worth AGM (and discussed at the JABC-CNY luncheon at the Colgate Inn on December 10); Lindsay Ashford's The Mysterious Death of Miss Austen, likewise mentioned in the Oct. 24 post, a murder mystery in which JA herself is the victim; P. D. James's Death Comes to Pemberley, a murder mystery thrust upon the Darcy family on the eve of a ball; and Second Impressions, a sequel to Pride and Prejudice by "Ava Farmer" (see the Chawton House Library website for details, and for more information about the Library's excellent work in general).

On her enjoyable blog Jane Austen in Vermont, fellow RC Deb Barnum of JASNA Vermont has recently posted a YouTube link to a segment from a BBC2 program titled "The Many Lovers of Miss Jane Austen," shown in the UK on Dec. 23. (And Jane Austen in Vermont is well worth your attention in general--which is why we're posting this indirect link instead of linking directly to YouTube.) This segment was shot at the Fort Worth AGM and gives some sense of the atmosphere there, although your RC personally wishes that the BBC had paid more attention to our love of JA and less to the commercialization of her!

As we look ahead to 2012, there's an upcoming JASNA event outside NY State but within a day's drive of Syracuse that may intrigue you: the Eastern Pennsylvania Region's "Jane Austen Day" on April 28, to be held at the Society Hill Sheraton in Philadelphia (setting of the 2009 AGM). The topic will be "Elizabeth Bennet: Delightful Creature," and more details are available here. Registration for this will open on Feb. 8, so make your plans now if you're interested.

Closer to home, don't miss our upcoming JASNA Syracuse meeting on Saturday, Jan. 14, in the Sargent Room of the Liverpool Public Library. The topic will be "Food, Glorious Food!" Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, the Official Spokescat of JASNA Syracuse, takes her responsibilities seriously and is already preparing for this meeting, as you can see. We'll give more details about this meeting in a post soon after New Year's.

And, finally, we're tremendously excited about this year's AGM, "Sex, Money and Power in JA's Fiction," to be held in New York City in October. (Details available to this point about this AGM in general can be accessed here.) Not only will Co-RC Lisa Brown be reprising her "Dressing the Miss Bennets" presentation (which was a great hit in the Big Apple in September when she presented it to JASNA New York Metro), but RC A. Marie Sprayberry will be giving a breakout session titled "Sex, Power, and Other People's Money: The Prince Regent and His Impact on JA's Life and Work." So we're excited both generally and personally!

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year!!

Happy Birthday, Jane Austen!

2011-12-16T14:13:00.003-05:00

As all good Janeites know and are celebrating today, JA was born on December 16, 1775. At age 236, she's going stronger than ever!

There has been considerable brouhaha in the British press lately about yet another recently discovered "lost portrait" of JA. (This article in The Guardian is representative.) Your Regional Coordinators, however, remain unconvinced that Dr. Paula Byrne's merely dating a portrait to 1815 and finding "Miss Jane Austin" written on the back of it constitute proof of its authenticity. They also wonder what St. Margaret's, Westminster, is doing in the background; why the lady in the portrait is wearing more jewelry than JA probably owned altogether; and so forth. Answers may or may not be forthcoming on Dr. Byrne's upcoming BBC2 special about the portrait--if we ever get to see it at all on this side of the pond, of course.

Your RCs would also agree with the sentiment several other Austen bloggers have expressed on this auspicious day--namely, that what JA looked like is a lot less important than what she wrote. Nevertheless, in casting about for an illustration for this post, we came across a very helpful collection of images on the Jane Austen Society of Australia website (www.jasa.net.au). These include Cassandra Austen's two portraits (the unfinished sketch of JA's face, and the portrait of JA seated with her back to the viewer) and almost all other images except for Dr. Byrne's recent discovery. Of these, the 2002 painting by Tom Clifford is actually quite pleasing and deserves to be better known, we think. It shows JA reading in the garden at her beloved Chawton home. Here it is:

And we leave you with the epigraph from Rudyard Kipling's story "The Janeites," which has become the traditional JA birthday toast in many JASNA regions:

Jane lies in Winchester--blessed be her shade!
Praise the Lord for making her, and her for all she made!
And while the stones of Winchester, or Milsom Street, remain,
Glory, love, and honour unto England's Jane!

A Change for JASSYL; CNY Janeite Holiday Plans

2011-11-13T14:59:00.006-05:00

First, here’s a piece of news about Jane Austen Singing School for Young Ladies (JASSYL) director Dr. Joanna Manring to warm any Janeite’s heart: She is following the call of romance! Unfortunately for her numerous Syracuse-area friends and admirers, however, she is following it all the way to Lexington, Kentucky, where her young man resides (he is an old schoolmate who recently reconnected with her via social networking). She assures us that this is not “goodbye forever” by any means; indeed, she hopes to return to Skaneateles for a “JASSYL summer camp” in the summer of 2012. We fervently hope so too--and we certainly wish Joanna all the best.

One short-term effect of Joanna’s departure, however, is that there will be no JASSYL Christmas concert in Skaneateles this year. Your RCs have done some mulling over this and several other facts:

(1) JASNA Rochester’s traditional Christmas/JA birthday lunch at the Chatterbox Club, 25 N. Goodman St., Rochester, will be Saturday, December 3, at 11:00 a.m. The speaker will be SUNY Geneseo Professor David Meisel, who will talk about science in the Regency era. As usual, there will be a fee for this luncheon, and advance registration is required. Your RCs are both planning to attend this and hope that as many JASNA Syracuse members as possible will do likewise. We’ll provide a link to the registration form as soon as we receive it ourselves. (P.S.: Click here for the link. We'll also put it in the "Events" listing at right. The cost is $25 per person.)

(2) JA Book Club-CNY coordinator Heather Elia is working on organizing an “each-pays-for-herself luncheon,” JA birthday toast, and discussion of the new anthology Jane Austen Made Me Do It (edited by Austenprose blogger Laurel Ann Nattress) in Hamilton, probably on Saturday, December 10, around noon (but now perhaps on Saturday, December 17, depending on what the membership decides). Again, we’ll provide more details about this event as soon as we receive them. (P.P.S.: The luncheon will be on Saturday, December 10, at noon, at the Colgate Inn, 1 Payne St., Hamilton. Again, see the "Events" listing at right for further details.)

(3) As (1) and (2) illustrate, the pre-Christmas social calendar can get complicated very quickly. In addition, we couldn’t book the Sargent Room at the Liverpool Public Library for December 10, and December 17 doesn’t work for a couple of regular Liverpool attendees.

So we’ve decided to combine the JASNA Syracuse Christmas meeting with the Candlemas (February 2) meeting, and hold one winter meeting on Saturday, January 14, at 2:00 p.m. at the Liverpool Public Library. The topic of this meeting will be “Food, Glorious Food!” We’ll talk about meal timing and planning during JA’s era in general; look over Maggie Black and Deirdre Le Faye’s The Jane Austen Cookbook, which includes several recipes compiled by JA’s lifelong friend and Chawton housemate Martha Lloyd; discuss the role of food in JA’s work (feel free to bring favorite food-related quotes); and say at least a few words about the Rev. James Woodforde, 18th-century country clergyman, diarist, and food lover.

In addition, the Liverpool Library folks have said that they have no objections to a few light refreshments in the Sargent Room, so we’ll lift a glass of something nonalcoholically pleasant for a late toast to JA’s birthday, and try a few “rout cakes” (a type of cookie) prepared according to The JA Cookbook’s recipe. We trust that this meeting will be an antidote to the post-holiday blues, and we hope you’ll join us for this “winter depression disperser”!

Reminder: All Hallows Meeting in Binghamton, Sat., Nov. 5, 2 pm

2011-10-29T12:02:00.004-04:00

Here’s a reminder about our upcoming All Hallows meeting next Saturday, November 5, at 2:00 pm, at RiverRead Books, 5 Court Street, Binghamton. The meeting will focus, in two different ways, on Sense and Sensibility. First, I’ll be describing the JASNA Annual General Meeting in Fort Worth, TX, where Sense and Sensibility was the topic. (See the October 24 post.) Then, JASNA member and Binghamton University professor Marilyn Gaddis-Rose has agreed to tell us something of her work on Isabelle de Montolieu's 1815 Raison et Sensibilite, the very first French translation of S&S--although, according to Marilyn, R&S may be not so much a translation as a re-imagining. Come prepared for some surprises!

And, speaking of surprises, I’ve got some freebies from the AGM to distribute (the traditional AGM “goodie bag” was extremely well filled this year). So do come and “have your share of the conversation”--and the fun!

To those of you who have just joined JASNA or have renewed your JASNA memberships for the coming year, many, many thanks. And for those of you who haven’t yet joined or renewed, please do--and take advantage of what’s still one of the best bargains in “Austenland”! (See "How to Join JASNA" in the top right corner for details.)

Finally, I know that most of you who live in the Binghamton area are regular shoppers at RiverRead already--but if you're planning to attend the meeting, please also plan on making a purchase from our kind hosts at RiverRead. They, and other owners of small businesses in downtown Binghamton, need our continuing support after the September flooding.

2011 AGM Report

2011-10-24T13:37:00.020-04:00

Your Regional Coordinator writes:

This year’s JASNA Annual General Meeting, “Jane Austen: 200 Years of Sense and Sensibility,” is now history--and it was a blast from start to finish. Texans know how to have a king-sized good time, and our JASNA North Texas Region hosts certainly showed us how it’s done!

The Sundance Square area of downtown Fort Worth, where the Renaissance Worthington Hotel (our headquarters) is located, is full of interestingly repurposed older buildings and astonishing new ones. Here’s the view from my hotel window. Note especially the former Knights of Pythias Hall (the one resembling a church) in the middle distance, and the new white limestone Bass Performance Hall with its enormous angels behind it. (As usual, you can enlarge any photo by clicking on it.)

I arrived in Fort Worth on Wednesday afternoon, October 12, and spent the rest of Wednesday and the first part of Thursday registering, greeting friends, doing justice to this year’s AGM quiz (which this year came as a two-parter, the “Fun Quiz” and the “Challenge Quiz”), shopping in the three-room Emporium, greeting more friends, and doing more shopping. Geez, it was an awful burden, but someone had to do it! The t-shirt depicted below was purchased from Jane Austen Books.

The special events started Thursday afternoon with two much-anticipated presentations. First, British crime writer Lindsay Ashford gave us an introduction to her new novel, The Mysterious Death of Miss Austen--told from JA’s friend Anne Sharp’s point of view, solidly grounded in research conducted at Chawton House Library, and offering a most unusual “take” on JA’s untimely demise.

Then Fort Worth’s one and only Baronda Bradley gave us her views on “Managing Muslins in the Modern Millennium.” Baronda’s Regency wardrobe is deservedly famous in JASNA, and her advice on doing your research, knowing your fabrics, taking the necessary classes, and reusing/restoring old materials should be invaluable for anyone with an interest in creating or wearing Regency-style fashions. She was ably assisted by her son Austen and her daughter Leah. Here, Austen shows off his waistcoat.

I must admit that I missed both of the Thursday evening presentations, because I went out to dinner with friends, and we never stopped talking till well after the end of the second presentation! However, I was on board for Friday morning’s tour of the Fort Worth Japanese Garden and Botanical Gardens, where “every disposition of the ground was good” (as Elizabeth notes of Pemberley in P&P), and where Kim Wilson, author of In the Garden with Jane Austen, gave us an enjoyable talk and several handouts on Regency gardening. Here’s a shot of the long cascade in the Botanical Gardens’ rose garden, which reminds me somewhat of a scene from the 1980 BBC version of P&P.

The AGM officially got under way Friday afternoon, with Joan Klingel Ray’s plenary address on “Sense and Sensibility as Austen’s Problem Novel.” Ray acknowledged the various reasons why many present-day readers are uncomfortable with S&S (mainly the facts that Colonel Brandon is “underwritten” and Edward Ferrars is unsatisfactory on several counts), and addressed these with her characteristic humor.

I was fortunate in all three of my choices for the breakout sessions that followed. Sheryl Craig’s “Wealth Has Much to Do with It” was an excellent discussion of the economics of the mid-1790s (when JA wrote the first version of S&S), which in particular put the John Dashwoods’ “improvements” at Norland into damning perspective. Linda Slothouber’s “Decorating Your Own Barton Cottage” was an enjoyable guide not only to acquiring small Regency-era antiques (such as china, glass, silver, and wooden boxes), but to using them “to pursue questions we might not have pursued otherwise.” And William Phillips’s “Meaner than a Texas Polecat:...Austen’s Largest Cast of ‘Nasties’” was a highly entertaining and somewhat controversial examination of the various “skunky” characters in S&S. Here’s William’s ranking of the “nasties” from least to most odiferous: (7) Lady Middleton; (6) Robert Ferrars; (5) Willoughby (“only fifth?”, but William made a plausible case for this); (4) Fanny Dashwood; (3) Mrs. Ferrars; (2) John Dashwood; and (1) Lucy Steele. Would you agree?

[Skunk photo credit: Ervin C. Nielsen/Painet Inc., Illinois Department of Natural Resources.]

Some of us went by bus Friday evening to the Stolen Shakespeare Guild’s production of S&S in an adaptation by Jon Jory, while others watched an S&S movie marathon at the hotel. The SSG evidently decided to solve the problem of what to do with Edward Ferrars by playing him for laughs (the actor in this role wore an oversized pair of spectacles and a coat two sizes too large), and the actor playing Willoughby lacked the necessary passion--but the over-the-top Mrs. Jennings was excellent!

The Saturday sessions began with “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of S&S,” featuring the all-Canadian plenary panel of Elaine Bander, Peter Sabor, and Juliet McMaster. Below, Elaine (at left) and Juliet engage in a brisk pre-plenary warmup. (That blur in Juliet’s hand is her trusty smallsword, by the way; she needed a special letter from the AGM organizers to get it through U.S. customs!) Elaine discussed the “good” and the “bad” as ethical judgments versus the “ugly” as aesthetic judgments in S&S; Peter examined the “good, bad, and ugly” letters in the novel; and Juliet discussed the novel’s various duels (the actual duel fought by Willoughby and Colonel Brandon, of course, plus the “duels in words” fought by Elinor and Lucy).

My good fortune in breakout choices continued with Pat Michaelson’s “How to Talk like Mrs. Palmer (and Other Silly People)” and Juliette Wells’s “S&S Will Change Your Life.” Pat began by noting the major characteristics of “silly” speech in Austen (notably “a lot of words for not very much content,” and a reliance on “empty exaggerators” such as “vastly” and “amazingly”). She then put us into small groups to practice our silly talk, and by far the best job was done by Ellen Fuller (at left below) and Moorea Corrigan!

Juliette, for her part, examined several present-day Austen-based “conduct texts” (JA’s Guide to Dating, The Tarot of JA, A Walk with JA, etc.) for their interpretations of what S&S has to teach us, and then opened the floor for personal accounts of what audience members have learned from the novel.

Perhaps the most eagerly anticipated plenary of this AGM was screenwriter Andrew Davies’s “Mr. Darcy’s Wet Shirt and Other Embarrassments: Some Pleasures and Pitfalls in Austen Adaptations.” A video prepared by the organizers and titled “16 Reasons Why We Love Andrew Davies” began the session. Once the standing ovation that greeted him had died down, Davies pretended to quaver: “Be gentle with me. I’m only a little old man!” He then, of course, demonstrated in his account of writing the screenplays for the BBC P&P, Emma, Northanger Abbey, and S&S that he’s not exactly a geriatric case yet. (In the photo below, however, he does seem somewhat dismayed at the length of the line waiting to ask him questions after the presentation!)

Although some of us were beginning to droop by the sixth and final breakout session, Persuasions editor Susan Allen Ford was well worth hearing as always in “Mrs. Dashwood’s Insight: Reading Edward Ferrars in Columella.” Susan showed that, like Volume 1 of The Mirror in NA (see the 11/8/10 entry on this blog) and Fordyce’s Sermons in P&P (see the 5/24/11 entry), Richard Graves’s 1779 comic novel Columella, or The Distressed Anchoret isn’t just mentioned in S&S, but seems to have exerted a considerable influence on it as well. Edward’s fate may have been a little happier than that of either the title character of Columella or its author: Both Columella and Richard Graves himself actually married their “Lucy Steele” figures, and both paid a price for it.

None of us, however, were so tired that we couldn’t enjoy the banquet, the promenade around Sundance Square, and the ball! As usual, the JASNA members in attendance turned out in their finest threads (both Regency-style and modern), and as usual, an excellent time was had by all. (Personally, I have more fun on the Saturday night of the AGM than I do any other night of the year these days.) The photo below shows 60% of NY State’s Regional Coordinators. From left to right: your humble servant; Celia Easton of Rochester; and Meg Levin of New York Metro. (Meg’s New York Metro co-RC, Linda Dennery, was elsewhere in the hotel at the time, and Syracuse co-RC Lisa Brown unfortunately couldn’t make the trip to Texas. Next year in Brooklyn, however, Lisa will be reprising her “Dressing the Miss Bennets” presentation at the “Sex, Money and Power” New York City AGM!)

It's never too early to introduce the littlest Janeites to the pleasures of the AGM promenade. (That's an elegant "baby barouche" they're riding in, too!)

And dancemistress Beverly Francis and the "Ladies at Play" enabled dancers of all skill levels to enjoy themselves thoroughly at the ball.

Next morning, after we Regional Coordinators had shaken ourselves awake for an 8 a.m. business meeting, we all enjoyed the delights of brunch. First, the winners of the two quizzes and the J. David Grey Young Writers’ Workshop were announced. I must confess I was too rattled to get the other winners' names (I'll add these as soon as I can), since from the two of us tying for first place on the “Challenge Quiz,” your humble servant’s name was drawn as the winner. I received a bag containing several prizes, chief among which was a Sense and Sensibility bangle bracelet in a cloth carrying case.

An unusual feature of brunch was the presence of the “Wedding Party at Delaford,” including three of the four newly married couples at the end of S&S. Not only was Willoughby unaccountably present without the “smart, stilish, but not handsome” former Miss Sophia Grey, but an altercation broke out between Willoughby and Colonel Brandon, and the gentlemen had to withdraw from the banquet hall so as not to disrupt the brunch’s main event--a video presentation titled “The Green Apple,” by independent Austen scholar and living legend Deirdre Le Faye.

A self-described “rambling chat,” the Le Faye presentation centered on her view of S&S as an “unripe” effort (hence the video’s title), but it also extended to her views on the “afterlives” of S&S and the other novels. Most interestingly, she may be almost alone in seeing possible problems for Captain and Mrs. Wentworth after the end of Persuasion: The Captain “has never had a home life,” and Anne “may have been a spinster too long” and may not make as capable a sailor’s wife as Mrs. Croft. Even those of us who were inclined to dispute this prediction, however, were delighted with her ultimate solution for General Tilney in NA: marrying him off to the title character of Lady Susan!

For me, the afternoon tour to the Dallas Museum of Art and the Nasher Sculpture Center, followed by the group dinner at the famous Joe T. Garcia’s Mexican restaurant, concluded this AGM. And hearty thanks to the AGM organizers, Dr. Cheryl Kinney and Rosalie Sternberg, for everything they and their volunteers did to make this AGM Texas-sized fun!

P.S. I unaccountably forgot to mention that a launch party for the Jane Austen Made Me Do It anthology (edited by Laurel Ann Nattress of Austenprose) and two other Austenite books was held at the Sundance Square Barnes and Noble on Friday night. If I hadn't already been committed to the play, I would have been at the launch.

P.P.S. The winners of the Young Writers' Workshop prizes were Fort Worth-area high school students Allison Garcia, Amanda Miller, and Catherine Miller. I haven't yet been able to find out the name of the "Fun Quiz" winner (who was chosen from among 49 perfect scorers on that quiz).

Masquerade Ball

2011-10-20T23:59:00.005-04:00

English Country Dancing at Rochester's Third Annual Masquerade Ball

Saturday, October 29, 2011
Webster, NY
For more details go here.

Michaelmas Daisies

2011-10-02T13:56:00.007-04:00

This last Thursday was Michaelmas--the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels, and one of the "quarter days" in the Regency year, when important business was conducted. Followers of JASNA Syracuse already know or will have realized that we schedule our meetings for the Saturdays nearest several of the Regency "quarter days" and "cross-quarter days." The others are All Hallows or All Saints Day, November 1 (cross-quarter); Christmas, December 25 (quarter); Candlemas, February 2 (cross-quarter); Lady Day or the Feast of the Annunciation, March 25 (quarter); May Day, May 1 (cross-quarter); Midsummer, June 24 (quarter); and Lammas Day, August 1 (cross-quarter).

In honour of Michaelmas, and just for fun, here are some photos of asters from Syracuse gardens. Asters are better known as "Michaelmas daisies" in the United Kingdom, and, there as here, they bloom on or about Michaelmas. These fine purple New England asters, we think, are every bit the equal of their British cousins!

And these small white asters, though less showy, make a very attractive display against this brick wall.

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

2011-09-18T11:44:00.003-04:00

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

2011-09-16T23:53:00.010-04:00

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

2011-09-12T10:19:00.006-04:00

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

2011-09-12T09:25:00.005-04:00

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.

Autumn News #4: JASNA Syracuse Fall Meetings

2011-08-20T16:37:00.009-04:00

Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, the Official Spokescat of the JASNA Syracuse Region, wishes to announce that the topic of JASNA Syracuse's fall meetings will be Sense and Sensibility--the novel that's also the topic of this autumn's JASNA Annual General Meeting in Fort Worth.

First up will be "S&S: Divided Loyalties," at our Michaelmas meeting. This will take place in the Sargent Room of the Liverpool Public Library, 310 Tulip St., Liverpool, on Saturday, September 24, at 2 pm. Lady Mary, of course, has no trouble choosing a favorite character. She says (her remarks are freely translated from the Feline by her human, your RC): "No question about it, my favorite is Lucy Steele. We cats live by the rule 'Everything here is mine,' and so does Lucy. If I knew her, I'd ask her to come catch a few mice with me!" But whose side are we human readers supposed to be on? In Pride and Prejudice, our sympathies are of course with Elizabeth Bennet almost from the start. But deciding where our loyalties lie in S&S is not such an easy task, with two wildly different heroines, two not very heroic heroes, one dangerously attractive villain, one snarky narrator, and a supporting cast of nitwits and schemers. Come and share your opinion! It should be a lively discussion--and one that ties in very well with the "S&S (and Settlements)" topic of the September 10 meeting of the rechristened JABC (CNY) at the Colgate Bookstore.

The second S&S meeting will be our All Hallows meeting at RiverRead Books, 5 Court St., Binghamton, on Saturday, November 5, also at 2 pm. Your RC will begin this meeting with a brief description (or at least as brief as she can make it!) of the Fort Worth AGM. JASNA member and Binghamton University professor Marilyn Gaddis-Rose will then tell us something of her work on Isabelle de Montolieu's 1815 Raison et Sensibilite, the very first French translation of S&S--although, according to Marilyn, R&S may be not so much a translation as a re-imagining. Come prepared for some surprises!

Autumn News #3: JASSYL to Perform for JASNA Rochester

2011-08-20T15:43:00.004-04:00

On Saturday, September 17, at 1 pm, the Jane Austen Singing School for Young Ladies (JASSYL)--fresh from the triumph of the August 7 concert in Skaneateles--will perform for JASNA Rochester's first meeting of the 2011-12 season. The exact lineup for the Rochester concert has not yet been determined, but most if not all of the Young Ladies who sang at the August concert will be there. (Above, another photo of the concert from JASSYL's Facebook page: From left to right, Miss Julia Hearn, Miss Christina Marshall, director Dr. Joanna Manring, Miss Imogen Olson, and Miss Emily Short.)

For the dancing, the Young Ladies and Gentlemen will be joined by a few volunteers from the Country Dancers of Rochester. And your JASNA Syracuse RC and co-RC will be there--as, indeed, they are for almost all Rochester meetings! So, especially if you had to miss the August 7 concert for some reason, do plan to attend this one. It will be held in JASNA Rochester's usual meeting place: the Community Room of the Pittsford Barnes and Noble, Route 31, Pittsford.

A postscript for those at the far eastern end of our region, who might have more difficulty making it to Pittsford: On this same date at 8 pm, soprano Julianne Baird will be performing what she calls "The Jane Austen Songbook" at Hamilton College, Clinton (further details are available at this site). Although at JASNA Syracuse we must confess our partiality for our own Young Ladies, the "Songbook" sounds like an excellent show as well.

Autumn News #2: Lisa Brown to Present "Dressing the Miss Bennets" to JASNA-New York Metro

2011-08-20T15:32:00.006-04:00

On Saturday, September 10, our own Co-RC Lisa Brown will be giving the presentation at JASNA-New York Metro's first fall meeting: "Dressing the Miss Bennets," the feminine counterpart to her hugely successful "Dressing Mr. Darcy" presentation at the 2009 JASNA AGM in Philadelphia. (In the photo above, taken at the 2010 Jane Austen Ball in Rochester, Miss Brown demonstrates the use of the fan--an essential skill at the recent JASSYL concert in Skaneateles!) "Dressing the Miss Bennets" will be a "lecture with modeling," as "Dressing Mr. Darcy" was; this time, volunteer members of JASNA-NYM will serve as models. The event will be held at the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church, 7 West 55th St., between Fifth and Sixth Avenues in Manhattan. Reservations and tickets can be obtained at the JASNA-NYM website.

Autumn News #1: Changes and Fall Schedule for the (Former) Colgate JA Book Club

2011-08-20T14:35:00.011-04:00

Colgate JA Book Club moderator Heather Elia writes:

*******
Dear Janeites,

I wanted to let you know about a small change to the Colgate Bookstore's Jane Austen Book Club that has taken place over the summer. Hopefully, you will barely notice the difference.

Instead of being sponsored by the Colgate Bookstore, the group will become a private book club.

What will stay the same?

We may continue to meet at the Bookstore.
The chosen books will still be available at the Bookstore at a 10% discount.
Membership will be free and open to the public, with new members always welcome.
We will still be the same friendly group of Janeites meeting to discuss books by and about Jane Austen, her times, and her legacy.
We'll continue to hold several joint meetings each year with the The Jane Austen Society of North America--Syracuse Region.

What will change?

Mostly, I (Heather) will be facilitating the book club on my free time, rather than as part of my job.
Emails about upcoming meetings (after this one) will no longer come from the Bookstore's email address, but from me personally.
IMPORTANT: if you would like to receive messages and reminders about future meetings, please email me at jabc.cny@gmail.com with your preferred contact information.
The name of the group will change to Jane Austen Book Club (CNY) rather than Colgate Bookstore Jane Austen Book Club.
And we'll have our own Facebook page.
We won't be limited to meeting during the Bookstore's normal hours of operation... although monthly Saturdays at 2pm still works best for me.
*******

Heather adds that the proposed schedule of meetings for the autumn is as follows: Saturday, September 10, Saturday, October 1, and Saturday, November 12, all at the Colgate Bookstore at 2 pm; and Saturday, December 10, place and time TBD. We'll provide details about these in the "Events" list at the right.

"He Is Rear Admiral of the White"

2011-08-18T17:03:00.006-04:00

It's full bloom time for your Regional Coordinator's buddleias, and these "butterfly bushes" are living up to their nickname by attracting many handsome lepidopteran ladies and gentlemen. Today, a White Admiral butterfly stopped by--and Anne Elliot's first description of Admiral Croft immediately came to mind: "He is rear admiral of the white." As JASNA Syracuse Co-RC and Royal Navy expert Lisa Brown would remind us, the Royal Navy of JA's day divided the admirals of various ranks into Red, White, and Blue squadrons (in that order), and so Admiral Croft would have been a rear admiral in the middle echelon. Like good Admiral Croft himself, this White Admiral wears his insignia proudly, but is otherwise a modest fellow.

Expect a major series of posts over the weekend, with autumn JA-related news from all over the region and Rochester as well. Anyone who thinks upstate NY is not a hotbed of Janeite activity should think again!

P.S. Lisa reminds us that England's greatest naval hero, Lord Nelson, was a Vice Admiral of the White. If any further proof were needed that White Admirals rock, this would be it!

JASSYL/JASNA Summer Concert Review

2011-08-15T19:34:00.009-04:00

Despite a complete lack of cooperation from the weather--temperature in the high 80s outside and not much less inside, plus humidity you could cut with a knife!--the Jane Austen Singing School for Young Ladies (JASSYL) and JASNA Syracuse presented a very successful summer entertainment on Sunday, August 7, at the First Presbyterian Church of Skaneateles. In the photo of the packed Fellowship Hall below, your Regional Coordinator can just be discerned at the podium, vigorously wielding her fan with one hand and clutching her drastically heat-shortened welcoming speech in the other! (All photos are courtesy of JASSYL's Facebook site. Click on any photo to enlarge.)

The vocal program, as always, featured the Young Ladies in various combinations of ensemble and solo work. In the words of JASSYL Director Dr. Joanna Manring, "Everybody's a star, and nobody's a star." Your RC can only add that all nine Young Ladies of the summer session--the Misses Phoebe Glowacki, Julia Hearn, Christina Marshall, Maria McLean, Abbie McMahon, Imogen Olson, Ellie Meyer, Emily Short, and Maddie VanRiper--performed excellently. Below, the Misses McLean and McMahon prepare for their roles in "Mary's Dream."

And Miss VanRiper awaits her solo in "The Little Gipsey."

The four Young Gentlemen who joined the Young Ladies for the dancing--Lt. Kyle Cherchio of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers, Lts. Shawn Cherchio and Jonathan Marshall of the 95th Rifles, and Mr. Christopher Hartnett--may deserve special commendation for their manful perseverance in the heat in heavy wool dress coats. And, as at last December's Christmas concert, the dancing (under the direction of JASNA Syracuse Co-RC Miss Lisa Brown, assisted by Mr. Thomas Grande of the Country Dancers of Rochester) drew special huzzahs. Below, Lt. K. Cherchio and Miss Short reenact the roles of Lt. George Wickham and Miss Elizabeth Bennet most convincingly!

Finally, as always, the musicians (here, Ms. Katherine Klein on flute and Mrs. Caroline Manring Dean on violin, plus Ms. Anna Egert on piano) gave their all.

More photos are available on JASSYL's Facebook site, and still more will undoubtedly be posted there in the near future.

"An Evening with the Writers" of P&P: A Musical

2011-08-15T18:53:00.008-04:00

For those who have followed the fortunes over the past several years of Pride and Prejudice: A Musical, by Lindsay Warren Baker and Amanda Jacobs, the following will be very welcome news! If not, a bit of background is in order. Rochester residents "Bake and Jake," as they call themselves, have been working on this project for the past dozen years. It received a staged reading in Rochester in October 2008, and two songs from the show were performed after Sunday brunch at that year's JASNA AGM in Chicago. Your Regional Coordinator was present at the latter performance, and all she can say is that it was a good thing most of us had already checked out of the hotel, or room cards would have been thrown en masse at Colin Donnell after his rendition of Mr. Darcy's big ballad, "Fine Eyes"! And the presence of JA as a character in the musical, debating her choices as she turns First Impressions into P&P, sets this production apart from (and, in your RC's partial opinion, well above) other theatrical adaptations.

The big news now is that P&P: A Musical has been chosen as a selection of the New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF), to be presented on Broadway for six performances in late September and early October. (Go here for the details.) A fundraiser called "An Evening with the Writers" will be held on Monday, August 22, at WXXI (280 State St., Rochester), from 7:00 to 9:00 pm. The authors will discuss their journey to the NYMF, and local musicians will perform selections from the work. A dessert reception will follow the performance, and raffle prizes (including an autographed script and tickets to the NYMF production) will be awarded! Full details about the evening are available here.

English Country Dance Events in Binghamton, Fall 2011

2011-08-10T13:06:00.006-04:00

The Binghamton Country Dance group has sent us the following information about English country dance events in Binghamton this fall, which we are passing along:

SEPTEMBER 10 – Saturday “GET TOGETHER ENGLISH DANCE FOR ALL”
2-5 p.m.
Christ Church, corner of Water and Henry Streets, downtown Binghamton.
No partner necessary; bring clean shoes
Callers - Terry Glasspool and Susanna Spiese
Music – Greenwood (Charlene Thomson, Susanna Spiese and Julian Shepherd) and also recordings
Snacks and/or donations welcome
Please come!

SEPTEMBER 28 -- Wednesday - SERIES OF ENGLISH COUNTRY DANCE CLASSES BEGINS
7 p.m. Beginners; 7:30 Regular class
All levels of experience, no partner necessary, bring clean shoes
Christ Church, corner of Water and Henry streets, downtown Binghamton.
Callers: Terry Glasspool and Susanna Spiese
Band – Greenwood (Charlene Thomson, Susanna Spiese and Julian Shepherd)
Registration Details - Fee $25
Pay at the first session.

8 consecutive Wednesdays through November 16.

OCTOBER 8 – Saturday -- “AUTUMN ENGLISH COUNTRY DANCE WITH AMARILLIS”
2-5 p.m.
Christ Church, corner of Water and Henry Streets, downtown Binghamton.
$7 Admission Fee.
Band - Amarillis from Pittsburgh
Callers – Terry Glasspool and Susanna Spiese

For information on any of the above, call Charlene Thomson at 785-1903 or Lee/Julian Shepherd at 722-9327.

Concert Article in the Syracuse Post-Standard

2011-08-04T16:20:00.004-04:00

Those of you who subscribe to the hard-copy version of the Syracuse Post-Standard will have noted that the JASSYL/JASNA summer concert (see the July 24 post) was the topic of today's main feature article in the CNY section. For those of you who don't, here's a link to the online version.

JASSYL/JASNA Summer Concert on Sunday, August 7

2011-07-24T11:18:00.005-04:00

The Jane Austen Singing School for Young Ladies (JASSYL) and the JASNA Syracuse Region will present a summer concert of music, readings, and dance in the Fellowship Hall of the First Presbyterian Church of Skaneateles, 97 E. Genesee St., Skaneateles, on Sunday, August 7, 2011, at 5:30 p.m. The concert is free and open to the public. Free will donations of any amount are greatly appreciated and go toward the continuing work of JASSYL.

As most of our members and many of our friends know by now, JASSYL was created in Fall 2009 by soprano Joanna Manring of Skaneateles as a historical performing experience for young women ages 12-18. Dr. Manring, a graduate of Peabody Conservatory, aims to help young women develop self-esteem and public presence by learning healthy vocal technique and musicianship in a supportive environment. More information about the Singing School is available at its website.

The Young Ladies appearing in the summer program will be Emily Short (home-schooled in Marcellus), Imogen Olson (home-schooled in Skaneateles), Abbie McMahon (Fayetteville-Manlius Central Schools), and Christina Marshall, Phoebe Glowacki, Maria McLean, Maddie VanRiper, and Ellie Meyer (all of Skaneateles Central Schools). They will be joined by these Young Gentlemen for the dancing: Kyle and Shawn Cherchio (Onondaga Community College), Jon Marshall and Christopher Hartnett (Skaneateles Central Schools), and Thomas Grande (Country Dancers of Rochester). The supporting musicians will include Anna Egert on piano and Caroline Manring on viola/violin.

As always, Dr. Manring has worked to select music that would have been familiar in Jane Austen’s world. The program also includes short readings from Austen’s letters and novels. And, as in last year's Christmas program, JASNA Syracuse Co-Coordinator Lisa Brown is teaching English country dancing to the Young Ladies and Gentlemen. JASNA Syracuse Regional Coordinator A. Marie Sprayberry will introduce the concert and give a reading.

So, now that “summer finery and summer engagements” (in Jane Austen’s own words) are upon us, we hope you’ll join us for a “summer engagement” in Skaneateles!       

Lorenzo Driving Competition

2011-07-20T02:47:00.004-04:00

Your intrepid Co-coordinator braved the tropical heat to attend the Lorenzo Driving Competition last Saturday. The photos can be found here.

News Flash: "The Watsons" Manuscript Sells for a Record Price!!

2011-07-14T08:19:00.007-04:00

Our reporter in London, JASNA-NYM Co-RC Meg Levin, tells us that the portion of JA's "The Watsons" manuscript on view at the New York Sotheby's last month (see the June 26 "A Belated Report from the Big Apple" post) has just sold for 850,000 pounds, or $1.3 million!! Believe us, we had this as breaking news: Meg attended the auction in person, and rushed to send a message to us on her iPod from the Apple store in Regent Street.

And now let's take a moment to imagine what JA, in her lifetime, could have done with 850,000 pounds. Sigh...

Update #1: The BBC website (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-14152092) reports the final price as 993,250 pounds, which presumably includes all the usual auction house fees. It also reports that the purchaser is an institution, not a private individual--which means that the rest of us may get to see the manuscript once in a while in the future.

Update #2: Mags Sullivan reports on AustenBlog that the Bodleian Library at Oxford is the purchaser (although several other groups, including Jane Austen's House Museum, chipped in). And the Bodleian will be featuring the ms. in an exhibition this autumn! Huzzah!

Now's a Great Time to Join JASNA!

2011-07-04T16:48:00.003-04:00

Just a reminder that now is a great time to join (or rejoin) the Jane Austen Society of North America at the national level. The JASNA membership year officially runs from September 1 to August 31--but if you join between July 1 and August 31, you'll receive an extra issue of JASNA News (the Society's thrice-annual newsletter) and otherwise be enrolled for the coming full membership year. To join, you can go to the JASNA national website and click on the "Membership" link on the home page. Remember that joining JASNA at the national level automatically makes you a member of the JASNA Syracuse Region--this is our one and only regional membership requirement at present.

Our next JASNA Syracuse Region meeting will be at the Liverpool Public Library on Saturday, Sept. 24, 2011, at 2 pm. In keeping with our custom of holding meetings on the Regency "quarter days" and "cross-quarter days," this will be our Michaelmas meeting. Details about this meeting, and times/dates of other Syracuse Region 2011-12 meetings, will be given in a future post. Don't forget to check the "Events" column for news of JASNA Rochester meetings and other Austen-related activities in Central NY, too.

(Special note: Details about the Jane Austen Singing School for Young Ladies summer concert we mentioned to some of you at the June 25 "Box Hill" event are still being worked out. At the moment, it looks as if the concert will be on Sunday, August 7. Stay tuned!)

JASNA Syracuse/Colgate JABC "Box Hill" in Cazenovia

2011-06-26T11:04:00.016-04:00

Despite a continuing lack of cooperation from New York State's weather (see the preceding post), JASNA Syracuse and the Colgate Jane Austen Book Club enjoyed a successful joint "Box Hill" event in Cazenovia on Saturday, June 25. In keeping with the "Plan B" for rain agreed upon earlier, JASNA and JABC members met and mingled at Circa restaurant in the village. Below, JABC leader Heather Elia and Sandra Stevens...

...Nadia Vedder and friend Jason...

...Lynette Lundy-Beck and Linda Robinson...

...Signe Weaver and her mother...

...and Pym Mumford and Sheila O'Connor.

After lunch, we enjoyed guided tours of the mansion and the visitors' center at the Lorenzo State Historic Site, just west of the village. Although the interior of the mansion is decorated in the style of 1900 (the year for which the best documentation is available), the exterior is neoclassical, as befits the 1807-1808 construction dates. And certainly the saga of five generations of largely collateral inheritance by successive Lincklaens, Ledyards, Fairchilds, and Remingtons (see the Friends of Lorenzo website for details) would have intrigued JA herself--and had some echoes of Downton Abbey as well, although entail wasn't involved to the same extent as in the TV series!

Once we completed the tours, some of us ventured on a brief, if damp, exploration of the beautiful grounds. The formal perennial garden, originally laid out by the renowned designer Ellen Biddle Shipman, is surrounded by a small copse that's reminiscent of the "wilderness" at Sotherton Court in Mansfield Park.

JASNA Syracuse Co-Coordinator Lisa Brown ponders the inheritance of Lorenzo...

...and your Regional Coordinator practices her "Lady Catherine de Bourgh"/"Dowager Countess of Grantham" imitation!

A Belated Report from the Big Apple

2011-06-26T09:58:00.011-04:00

Your Regional Coordinator writes:

I paid a visit to the Big Apple two weeks ago, and I'm only just now getting around to writing about it. My gracious hosts were good friends Meg and Michael Levin (below). Meg and I first met when we were paired as roommates on the 2009 JASNA tour of England; we started making each other laugh on the bus from London to Canterbury, and haven't stopped since!

Meg is also JASNA-New York Metro's new co-RC, and the main purpose of my visit was to attend JASNA-NYM's "Box Hill" picnic at the New York Botanical Garden on Saturday, June 11. Alas, the weather on the 11th forced a postponement to the rain date of the 12th--but the substitute activity Meg and I chose certainly made up for the disappointment in my case. Meg saw a notice in The New York Times that the portion of Jane Austen's unfinished manuscript The Watsons to be auctioned off soon at Sotheby's in London would be on exhibit very briefly at the New York Sotheby's, starting that day!! So we met two other JASNA-NYM members, Joyce Melito and Jane Axelrod, there that afternoon for a look at the priceless treasure. (Its auction estimate is 200,000-300,000 pounds--but to Janeites, at any rate, it's priceless. It also may never be on public view again if the purchaser is a private individual rather than an institution, so this may truly have been a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.) Meg will be in London at the time of the auction and will try to attend it as a spectator, if the crush of other spectators, the media, and bidders isn't too great!

Editorial note: The ms. was open to the passage where Emma is whiling away the tedious hours before the assembly ball with the Edwardses, and Mr. Edwards is making tactless remarks about Emma's aunt's indiscreet remarriage. We saw plenty of evidence of scratching-out and other revisions by JA, but not quite such excessive use of dashes for punctuation as some have claimed.

Although the weather remained overcast on the 12th, the picnic went on at the NYBG's Clay Family Picnic Pavilion, and those who attended had a pleasantly cool day, an excellent potluck spread, and a fine time. Below, JASNA-NYM assistant RC Kerri Spennicchia relaxes with former co-RCs and present 2012 AGM coordinators Nili Olay and Jerry Vetowich.

New co-RC Linda Dennery, secretary Mary Ann Linahan, occasional quizmaster Marilyn Goldfried, Meg, and Kerri listen to Nili and Jerry.

After lunch and a stimulating round of "Jane Austen Botticelli" (a game directed by Jerry and best described as "Twenty Questions on steroids"!), we went our separate ways to enjoy the NYBG. Here, Meg pauses in the new Azalea Garden.

And the roses in the Rockefeller Rose Garden were at the height of their bloom and beauty!

Joint JASNA Syracuse/Colgate JABC "Box Hill" Event Saturday, June 25

2011-06-02T21:18:00.006-04:00

Our plans for the joint JASNA Syracuse/Colgate JA Book Club “Box Hill” event on Saturday, June 25, center on a visit to the Lorenzo State Historic Site. Lorenzo is a beautiful estate just west of the village of Cazenovia, with a neoclassical Regency-era mansion overlooking Cazenovia Lake. For more details about Lorenzo, please see its NYS Parks webpage or the Friends of Lorenzo website.

Our original plan was to meet at Lorenzo for a picnic lunch, to be followed by a tour of the house (which not only is interesting in itself, but contains collections and artifacts from its five generations of inhabitants) and a visit to its gift shop (which offers many items of interest to Janeites--tea things, costume-related literature and accessories, etc.). However, the lovely picnic area at Lorenzo is not sheltered, and the question of what we’d do in case of rain arose in this (to date) unusually rainy season. Therefore, we’ve developed a “Plan A” for fine weather and a “Plan B” for rain. We three organizers (A. Marie Sprayberry and Lisa Brown for JASNA Syracuse, and Heather Elia for the Colgate JABC) will decide on the morning of the 25th whether Plan A or B is in effect, and will notify those planning to attend. (Let us know whether you’d prefer to be emailed or phoned.)

Plan A: We will meet at one of the picnic tables nearest the Lorenzo gatehouse (you can’t really miss them) for an al fresco lunch at 12:30 pm on the 25th. To keep things simple, we ask that each attendee bring his or her own lunch and beverage--although if anyone wants to bring easily managed finger food to share (chips, cookies, cut vegetables, etc.), that’s great. Paper plates and utensils will be provided.

Plan B: We will meet for lunch at Circa restaurant in the village (76 Albany St. [U.S. 20], on the south side of 20 at the intersection with Mill St.) at 12:30.

Either lunch plan will be followed at 2:00 pm by a tour of the mansion and a visit to the gift shop. The cost of the house tour is $5 per person, but if there are 10 or more of us, we can get the group rate of $4 per person. In any case, we do need to give the Lorenzo staff advance notice of our visit. For this reason, we ask that if you plan to join us on the 25th, please contact either A. Marie Sprayberry (amsprayberry@gmail.com) or Heather Elia (heatherelia@frontiernet.net) no later than June 15. (No need to RSVP with regrets; just let us know if you’re coming.)

To reach Lorenzo, turn from U.S. 20 onto NY Rt. 13 south (just before the village if you’re coming from Syracuse/other points west, or just after it if you’re coming from Hamilton/other points east). The Lorenzo entrance is a signposted gravel drive on the right, about a quarter mile south of the intersection.

So, rain or shine, we hope you’ll join us on June 25 for a memorable Box Hill event!

Persuasions Editor Speaks in Rochester

2011-05-24T19:55:00.006-04:00

JASNA Rochester ended its 2010-11 season with a special event: Susan Allen Ford, Professor of English at Delta State University in Mississippi and the editor of Persuasions, gave a talk on Saturday, May 21, at the American Association of University Women (AAUW) House in Rochester.

Susan's topic was "Mr. Collins Interrupted: Reading Fordyce's Sermons with Pride and Prejudice." The reference in the title, of course, is to Mr. Collins's attempt to read Fordyce to the Bennets on his first evening at Longbourn--an attempt that Lydia impolitely, though understandably, interrupts. However, as Susan demonstrated for Northanger Abbey and Volume 1 of The Mirror in her breakout session at the 2010 Portland AGM, the connections between P&P and Fordyce's sermons for young women (he also wrote "addresses" to young men) are more extensive than the overt reference in the novel indicates. Many of these connections, of course, are ironic (the contrast between Fordyce's picture of the ideal family situation and the Bennets' less than ideal family life, for example), but some are not: Fordyce's allusions to the harm a badly brought up daughter could do her family are echoed in the danger to the Bennets' prospects caused by Lydia's elopement with Wickham. Susan's forthcoming book on what the characters in Austen's novels are reading will include material from both the Portland AGM presentation and this one, and we look forward to reading the book when it appears!

A delightful tea in the AAUW House's solarium, and informal conversation all over the house, followed the presentation. In the photo below, Edith Lank--co-founder of JASNA Rochester (which actually predates the national organization), charter member of JASNA, and all-around Eminent Janeite--chats with Susan Allen Ford and John Ford.

Finally, JASNA Syracuse will be ending its season less formally--but no less delightfully, we trust--with a "Box Hill" picnic at the Lorenzo State Historic Site in Cazenovia on Saturday, June 25. Details about the picnic will follow in the next post.

Persuasions #32 Has Arrived!

2011-05-17T18:32:00.005-04:00

Lady Mary Wortley Montagu wishes to announce that Persuasions #32--the latest edition of JASNA's annual scholarly journal--is now arriving in JASNA members' mailboxes, or should be. (Lady Mary is not, of course, the famous 18th-century traveler and woman of letters, but your Regional Coordinator's cat, named in her honour.) Any JASNA Syracuse Region members who haven't received their copies in a week or so should contact either Marie or Lisa (see "Contact Us" at right for info).

The Morning after the Assembly

2011-05-02T18:20:00.015-04:00

"That the Miss Lucases and the Miss Bennets should meet to talk over a ball was absolutely necessary; and the morning after the assembly brought the former to Longbourn to hear and to communicate."--Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice

(Well, OK, it's the evening after, but cut us some slack.) Herewith, some photos from yesterday's 2011 Rochester Jane Austen Ball, co-sponsored by the Country Dancers of Rochester and JASNA Rochester. The afternoon began with an energetic demonstration of Morris dancing; it was May Day, after all, so some use of bells and sticks to encourage Mother Earth was appropriate!

After the Morris demonstration, Lisa Hoffman and JASNA Rochester Regional Coordinator Celia Easton practiced their steps...

...while JASNA Syracuse Co-Coordinator Lisa Brown made sure that Ball registrar Richard Sauvain looked his very best.

But all worries were forgotten as the Grand March began.

While the dancers disported themselves, the occupants of "Chaperones' Corner" also enjoyed themselves (from left: D. C. Bancroft, Carlotta Carson, and your Regional Coordinator). The recent Royal Wedding was of course discussed; although we agreed that the bride and groom looked wonderful, and wished the new Duke and Duchess of Cambridge well, the trend toward "space alien" hats among younger female guests was roundly deplored!

Ms. Bancroft also showed that no lady is proof against the blandishments of a gentleman in a particularly elegant waistcoat. (The two repaired to the dance floor for the dance called "The Bishop" shortly thereafter!)

In addition, we appeared to be favored with the presence of some actual characters from the novels. The "Misses Kitty and Lydia Bennet" were certainly enjoying themselves...

but "Miss Catherine Morland" seemed a little dubious about "the Rev. Henry Tilney's" repartee...

and "the Rev. Edmund Bertram" looked rather wistful as he searched for a "Miss Mary Crawford" in the whirling throng.

The dancing, viewed from the gallery above, was most elegant.

The "acorn and oak" setting for the Ball was decorated in a most Anglophilic manner.

And this gallant officer of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers certainly threw some "body English" into the dance just before the intermission, "The Sun Assembly"!

Reminder: May Day Meeting in Binghamton, Saturday, May 7

2011-04-22T18:57:00.003-04:00

“From this period, the intimacy between the Families of Fitzroy, Drummond, and Falknor, daily encreased till at length it grew to such a pitch, that they did not scruple to kick one another out of the window on the slightest provocation.” --Jane Austen, “Frederic and Elfrida”

What? Jane Austen wrote about kicking people out of windows?? Yes, she wrote in her younger years about this and a great many other highly improper events! Come and find out more at our May Day JASNA Syracuse Region meeting, to be held at RiverRead Books, 5 Court St., Binghamton, on Saturday, May 7, at 2 pm.

When those attending the Binghamton All Hallows meeting in November were offered a choice of topics for this meeting, they chose the Juvenilia--the delightful short comic sketches that Jane Austen wrote as a teenager. We have made arrangements with our friends at RiverRead to stock the Oxford University Press paperback Catharine and Other Writings, which includes all the Juvenilia--and we encourage those of you who don’t already own the Juvenilia in some form to benefit both yourselves and our kind hosts at RiverRead by purchasing a copy there. However, no prior acquaintance with these stories is required, as we’ll spend much of the meeting just reading aloud from them. A sense of fun is the only prerequisite!

After a brief introduction to the Juvenilia and the circumstances under which JA wrote them, we’ll cover the short tales “Frederic and Elfrida” and “The Beautifull Cassandra,”  as well as selections from the longer “The History of England” and one or two other works. If any of you have favorite Juvenilia that aren’t on this list, we heartily encourage you to mention them--and, in fact, to read them (or selections from them, if they’re longer pieces). In fact, to encourage audience participation, we’ll offer a couple of small door prizes to volunteer readers! So we hope to see and hear you at RiverRead on May 7.

The Fifth Annual Jane Austen Ball in Rochester

2011-04-17T11:10:00.007-04:00

On Sunday, May 1, the Country Dancers of Rochester and JASNA Rochester will co-host the Fifth Annual Jane Austen Ball at a country club in the Rochester area. (Although club regulations prohibit public advertisement of the venue, let's just say that it is famous for its acorn and oak decor.) Alas, it's too late by now for a novice to learn the
dances, but there are still some “spectator” tickets available. Your Regional Coordinator has attended as a spectator since the Balls began and has always enjoyed herself hugely--and, of course, your Co-Coordinator is always on the dance floor from start to finish! A lovely tea at intermission is included in the spectator ticket price, and lunch before the Ball can be obtained for an additional price. And this year for the first time, Morris dancing will be taking place outdoors before the Ball, weather permitting! Click here for more information about the Ball.

Can You Be in Three Places at Once on April 16?

2011-04-05T18:28:00.004-04:00

If so, we heartily envy you--because there are not one but three events of interest to CNY Janeites taking place on that date, in widely separated locations:

First, your Regional Coordinators will be reprising their JASNA Syracuse Lady Day 2010 presentation, "In the Garden with Jane Austen," at the JASNA Rochester meeting on the 16th at the Pittsford Barnes and Noble, 1 pm. In addition to recommending Kim Wilson's excellent book by that title, A. Marie Sprayberry will describe and show photos of Jane Austen's garden at Chawton Cottage, and will link her discussion to last month's "Jane Austen and Food" Rochester program. Lisa Brown will give a brief guide to landscape gardening of JA's era--with emphasis on the "ha-ha," the feature that plays such an important role in Mansfield Park.

Second, the Colgate JA Book Club will be discussing Claire Harman's book Jane's Fame at its April 16 meeting at the Colgate Bookstore, 3 Utica St., Hamilton. Newly available in paperback (at a 10% discount at the Bookstore), this book raised some controversy when it was first published in 2009, and we know the discussion will be lively!

The third April 16 event is taking place somewhat farther afield. The JASNA Ohio North Coast Region is sponsoring a special event titled "Remembering Jane Austen" on this date in Cleveland. The emphasis here will be on obituaries and memorial observances of the Regency era. And the event includes a walking tour of Cleveland's oldest and loveliest cemetery; a lunch at Nighttown in Cleveland Heights, with presentations by Tim Bullamore (the publisher/editor of the Jane Austen's Regency World magazine) and Juliette Wells (who spoke at the JASNA Rochester lunch this past December); and the winning efforts in an essay contest where the challenge was to write an obituary for one of JA's characters (imagine what you could do with Lady Catherine de Bourgh or Sir Walter Elliot!)--so things shouldn't be at all morbid. Click here for further details and registration information.

Finally, lest we give the impression that all the upcoming JA-related excitement will be taking place on April 16, save the dates for two events in May: the Rochester Jane Austen Ball on May 1, co-sponsored by the Country Dancers of Rochester and JASNA Rochester; and JASNA Syracuse's May Day meeting at RiverRead Books in Binghamton on May 7, where the topic will be the Juvenilia. Details about both these events will be provided soon.

Reminder: Lady Day Meeting in Liverpool, Saturday, March 26

2011-03-06T12:15:00.005-05:00

Here's a reminder of our Lady Day meeting--"iJane: Jane Austen in the Information Age, 2011"--to be held in the Sargent Room of the Liverpool Public Library on Saturday, March 26, at 2 pm.

As noted in earlier posts, this meeting will be a continuation and update of the "iJane" co-presentation by JASNA Rochester and JASNA Syracuse, held in Rochester in 2008. Margaret C. Sullivan ("editrix" of AustenBlog and one of the two speakers at the 2008 event) likes to say of JA that "She's everywhere!", and three years later, this seems truer than ever--especially on the Web. Regional Coordinator A. Marie Sprayberry's main emphasis will be on JA-related websites; although it's possible to cover only a small percentage of what's currently out there, she hopes to give you at least an idea of the different types of sites available. If you have favorite sites of your own, please bring their URLs (Web addresses) and brief descriptions.

Co-Coordinator Lisa Brown will talk a bit about e-readers/e-books and JA-related social networking--two topics on which your Coordinator's own education needs to be extended! Miss Brown may also be prevailed upon to give us a brief account of her "Dressing the Miss Bennets" presentation at the JASNA Pittsburgh Region's JA Festival on March 12, and of her attendance at the JASNA New York Metro Region's "Jane Austen and the Military" meeting at West Point the weekend of March 19. Finally, for those of you who may be attending your first JASNA Syracuse Region meeting, we'll start the meeting with a brief description of JASNA and how to join it.

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 26th!

Local Music/Dance News

2011-02-27T15:18:00.011-05:00

First, the music news: Dr. Joanna Manring of the Jane Austen Singing School for Young Ladies (JASSYL) has set up a blog for JASSYL. Click here for the link; we've also added it to our list of links on the right. And we will certainly include it among the sites we discuss at our Lady Day meeting--"iJane: Jane Austen in the Information Age, 2011"--in the Sargent Room of the Liverpool Public Library, 310 Tulip St., Liverpool, on Saturday, March 26, at 2 pm. We'll give more details about this meeting in an upcoming post.

Second, the dance news: Here is a video of the debut of a new English Country Dance that was written for Co-Coordinator Lisa Brown and named after her! “Lisa’s Maggot” is truly an all-Upstate-NY effort: It was choreographed by two dance callers from Syracuse--Carmen Guinta, a chemistry professor at LeMoyne College, and David Smukler, an education professor at SUNY Cortland. The music was composed by a dance musician from Binghamton, Charlene Thomson, who works at SUNY Binghamton. And it is performed in this YouTube video (made by Eric Borresen of Rochester) by the Rochester Country Dancers.

For those of you who may well be wondering about the word “maggot,” it's an archaic term for a whimsical or fanciful dance. The best-known maggot is "Mr. Beveridge's Maggot," because it plays a pivotal role in the 1995 BBC version of Pride and Prejudice, starring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle.

Lisa says that the video shows the first time anyone has danced this piece, and there were several beginning dancers participating, so it doesn’t look as polished as some other dance videos. However, your Regional Coordinator is impressed as all get-out by how well the dancers all perform this very complex maggot on their first run-through. And if you'd like to see some English Country Dancing performed in costume, check out Eric's various YouTube videos of past Jane Austen Balls in Rochester--or, better yet, attend this year's edition on Sunday, May 1 (again, more details will be provided in future posts).

Reminder: Joint JASNA Syracuse/Colgate JABC Meeting, Sat., Feb. 12

2011-02-05T13:20:00.006-05:00

"Very well," was her ladyship's contented answer--"then Speculation if you please, Mrs. Grant. I know nothing about it, but Fanny must teach me."

Here Fanny interposed however with anxious protestations of her own equal ignorance...but upon every body's assuring her that nothing could be so easy, that it was the easiest game on the cards, and Henry Crawford's stepping forward with a most earnest request to be allowed to sit between her ladyship and Miss Price, and teach them both, it was so settled....[T]hough it was impossible for Fanny not to feel herself mistress of the rules of the game in three minutes, he had yet to inspirit her play, sharpen her avarice, and harden her heart, which, especially in any competition with William, was a work of some difficulty....

Thus Jane Austen introduces the famous Speculation scene in Mansfield Park. Although we won't have the dubious benefit of a Henry Crawford at hand to teach us the rules, we're going to observe the second annual joint meeting of the JASNA Syracuse Region and the Colgate Bookstore JA Book Club by trying a few rounds of Speculation ourselves--and by talking a bit first about Regency card and parlour games in general. The David Parlett Games site's "Rewrite" rules for Speculation seem to be the clearest set available online, so those are the rules we'll be using. (Click on the link for the online version, although hard copies will be available at the meeting.)

Please don't be shy about joining in the game: Your JASNA Regional Coordinators have never tried it before either, so we will all be starting from a position of "equal ignorance," unless some of you can advise us! And, to "inspirit your play, sharpen your avarice, and harden your hearts," a prize will be awarded to the player with the afternoon's cumulative high score: a copy of the book Regency House Party, by Lucy Jago (this was the companion to a U.K. Channel Four TV series a few years back).

So we hope you'll join us at the Colgate Bookstore (3 Utica St., Hamilton) on Saturday, February 12, at 2 pm! The Bookstore's meeting rooms are on the third floor.

Upcoming JASNA Syracuse Meetings

2011-01-16T14:27:00.008-05:00

Here are descriptions of JASNA Syracuse’s late winter and spring 2011 meetings--which, as noted last fall, are being held as close to the Regency “quarter days” and “cross-quarter days” as we can manage. All meetings will be on Saturdays at 2 pm, unless otherwise indicated. Note especially the new location and date of the Lady Day meeting: The Books and Memories location wasn’t working out very well for Syracuse-area meetings, and we were unable to reserve a meeting room at the Liverpool Library for the originally scheduled Lady Day date of April 2.

February 12, 2011 (Candlemas): Colgate Bookstore, 3 Utica St., Hamilton. The “official” joint meeting of JASNA Syracuse and the Colgate Bookstore Jane Austen Book Club (JABC), even though many JABC members are also JASNA members. After a short discussion of Regency card games in general, we’ll try our hands at playing Speculation! For those who would like to begin familiarizing themselves with the rules for Speculation in advance, here are links to two sets: one on the David Parlett Games site and one on the Jane Austen Centre Magazine site. A prize will be awarded to the most successful player!

March 26, 2011 (Lady Day) (NEW LOCATION AND DATE): Sargent Room of the Liverpool Public Library, 310 Tulip St., Liverpool. An update of the “iJane: Jane Austen in the Information Age” conference co-sponsored by JASNA Syracuse and JASNA Rochester in spring 2008 in Rochester. Although “our Jane” is now such a commanding presence on the Internet that full coverage of Austen-related web offerings is impossible, your Regional Coordinators will attempt to provide some basic guidance to what’s out there. Bring URLs and descriptions of your own favorite websites and blogs as well!

May 7, 2011 (May Day): RiverRead Bookstore, 5 Court St., Binghamton. When those attending the Binghamton meeting in November were offered a choice of topics for this meeting, they chose the Juvenilia--the delightful short comic sketches that JA wrote as a teenager. We’ll make arrangements with our friends at RiverRead to stock the Oxford University Press paperback Catharine and Other Writings, which includes the Juvenilia. However, no prior acquaintance with these stories is required, as we’ll spend much of the meeting just reading aloud from them. A sense of fun is the only prerequisite!

June 25, 2011 (date approximate) (Midsummer): To be announced. We’re exploring a couple of possibilities: an author event to be co-sponsored by JASNA Syracuse and the Colgate JABC, or a “Box Hill” picnic.

A Happy New Year with Persuasions On-Line!

2011-01-01T19:02:00.004-05:00

Between the excitement of the JASSYL/JASNA concert and the typical demands of the holiday season, we're rather late in wishing all CNY Janeites a Happy "Austenmas" (Co-Coordinator Lisa Brown's term for Jane Austen's birthday on December 16), a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year. But one Austenmas treat can be savored at any time: the new issue of JASNA's electronic journal, Persuasions On-Line. This appeared on December 16 and can be accessed by clicking here. Several of the presentations from the Portland AGM appear as articles in this issue, including Susan Allen Ford's "Ingenious Torments" breakout session (see the November 8 post below). And the "Miscellany" articles provide much food for thought as well--particularly Juliet McMaster's delightful discussion of "Jane Austen's Children," and Linda Robinson Walker's contribution to the increasing debate about the nature of JA's final illness. So, especially if you've never read Persuasions On-Line before, do give it a try one of these January evenings!

More Photos of the Christmas Concert

2010-12-29T13:46:00.003-05:00

More photos of the JASSYL/JASNA concert can be found here.

"A Georgian Christmas with Jane Austen": Concert Photos and Review

2010-12-27T17:36:00.025-05:00

It was standing room only on Sunday, December 19, at the Fellowship Hall of the First Presbyterian Church in Skaneateles, for "A Georgian Christmas with Jane Austen"--the first of what we hope will be many collaborations between the Jane Austen Singing School for Young Ladies (JASSYL) and the JASNA Syracuse Region. Herewith, some photos of the concert, annotated by your Regional Coordinator. Unless otherwise noted, the photos were taken by Mr. Bill Hecht and are used by courtesy of JASSYL. The album on JASSYL's Facebook page has many more photos.

JASNA Syracuse members participating in the concert were (from left below) Regional Coordinator Ms. A. Marie Sprayberry, Co-Coordinator Miss Lisa Brown, and Ms. Banna Rubinow. Ms. Sprayberry read two birthday tributes to Jane Austen: the epigraph to Rudyard Kipling's "The Janeites," and the Rev. George Austen's announcement of his second daughter's birth ("We have now another girl..."). Miss Brown acted as dancemistress to the JASSYL members and provided the audience with a short introduction to English country dance. And Ms. Rubinow (who is also the mother of Lt. Doran Baltus; see below) gave a wonderful reading of the scene-setting "Christmas at Bracebridge Hall" from Washington Irving's The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon.

But the real stars of the show, of course, were the Young Ladies and their dynamic director, Dr. Joanna Manring. Dr. Manring, photographed here during the dancing, did an outstanding job of working with the Young Ladies and Gentlemen. (This is not mere lip service; your RC was present at the dress rehearsal!)

The Young Ladies were (L to R below) the Misses Ellie Crough, Rebecca Gould, Allison Purdy, and Emily Short...

...and (L to R below) the Misses Grace Magee, Julia Hearn, Christina Marshall, and Phoebe Glowacki. All eight did excellently. The Misses Crough, Marshall, and Glowacki are JASSYL "veterans," and it's been a particular pleasure to watch and hear them develop as performers from concert to concert.

As the concert title "A Georgian Christmas..." indicates, the chosen carols were ones that Jane Austen might at least theoretically have known. In some cases, they were quite unfamiliar to a present-day U.S. audience ("Rejoice, Ye Tenants of the Earth," "Let an Anthem of Praise," and "Christians, Awake!"); in other cases, they were familiar lyrics set to unfamiliar music (for example, "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" was sung to a tune by the eminent musician Dr. Charles Burney, father of one of JA's favorite novelists, Frances Burney); and in still other cases, they were quite familiar ("O Come, All Ye Faithful," "Joy to the World," and "The Twelve Days of Christmas"). Interspersed with the carols were seasonally appropriate brief readings from JA's published and unpublished works. Among the most enjoyable of these was JA's delightfully sassy 1798 letter to Cassandra ("I wish you a merry Christmas, but no compliments of the Season").

The Young Ladies were joined in the familiar carols by several Young Gentlemen: Mr. Thomas Grande (who also assisted Miss Brown with the dance instruction), Lt. Doran Baltus, Lt. Adam Connor, Mr. Jeffrey Connor, and Mr. Will Tobin. Below, the combined Young Ladies' and Gentlemen's chorus, watched by a most appreciative audience.

And, as this photo of Lt. Connor demonstrates, it's probably a good thing Miss Lydia Bennet wasn't in the hall!

The singing was followed by dancing, as befitted a Georgian revel! Dr. Manring and Mr. E. Robinson (the front couple below) joined the aforementioned Young Gentlemen and several of the Young Ladies in "The Duke of Kent Waltz" (the Duke for whom this was named was King George III's fourth son and the father of Queen Victoria) and "The Old Wife behind the Fire."

And the Young Ladies and Gentlemen enjoyed a hearty and well-deserved round of applause at the end of the concert!

Finally, an equally well-deserved tribute to the musicians: Miss Katherine Klein and Mrs. Eleanor Wilcox, flutes; Miss Caroline Manring, violin and viola; Mrs. Claire Howard, piano; and Miss Emily Dean, cello. (Photo by Mr. Edward R. Voytovich.)

"A Georgian Christmas with Jane Austen": Update and Rehearsal Photos

2010-12-01T19:38:00.010-05:00

Further details about the "A Georgian Christmas with Jane Austen" concert on December 19 in Skaneateles, to be presented by the Jane Austen Singing School for Young Ladies and the JASNA Syracuse Region, are now available! The Young Ladies appearing in the concert will be Ellie Crough (Manlius Pebble Hill), Emily Short (Marcellus), Becca Gould (Tully), Christina Marshall, Phoebe Glowacki, Grace Magee, Julia Hearn, and Allison Purdy (all students at Skaneateles Central Schools). Claire Howard, former manager of the Skaneateles Festival, will be accompanying the Young Ladies on piano and will be joined by Eleanor Wilcox and Kate Klein on flute, Caroline Manring on viola, and Emily Dean on cello.

And not only is English country dancing definitely on the program, but the Young Ladies will be joined by several Young Gentlemen for the dancing: Doran Baltus (Manlius Pebble Hill), Jeffrey Connor (Cornell), Adam Connor (University of Vermont), and Will Tobin (Cornell). JASNA Syracuse Co-Coordinator Lisa Brown has been providing dance coaching to the Young Ladies and Gentlemen.

Finally, we have some delightful rehearsal photos to share with you, courtesy of Dr. Joanna Manring (the director of the Singing School) and her mother, Margaret Manring (who took all the pictures). First, a serious view: The Young Ladies rehearse a choral selection. L to R: Allison Purdy, Emily Short, Julia Hearn, Christina Marshall, Becca Gould, Phoebe Glowacki, Ellie Crough, Joanna Manring, director, Claire Howard, piano.

Next, a not so serious view: The Young Ladies and Gentlemen work on their dancing. L to R: Christina Marshall, Will Tobin & Emily Short, Lisa Brown & Allison Purdy, E. Robinson & Joanna Manring, Jeffrey Connor & Becca Gould, Adam Connor, Ellie Crough.

Finally, a completely unserious view: The group takes a well-deserved break--and the Young Gentlemen try on some Regency attire! Back row: Joanna Manring, Allison Purdy, Emily Short, Christina Marshall, Ellie Crough, Becca Gould, Claire Howard. Front row: E. Robinson, Doran Baltus, Will Tobin, Jeffrey Connor.

So do come to the Fellowship Hall of the First Presbyterian Church, 97 E. Genesee Street, Skaneateles, at 3 p.m. on Sunday the 19th. Clearly,"A Georgian Christmas with Jane Austen" is going to be a memorable occasion!

JA Singing School for Young Ladies/JASNA Syracuse Christmas Program

2010-11-14T15:28:00.011-05:00

The JASNA Syracuse Region is very pleased to announce its first collaboration with the Jane Austen Singing School for Young Ladies: "A Georgian Christmas with Jane Austen," a concert to be held in the Fellowship Hall of the First Presbyterian Church of Skaneateles on Sunday, December 19, 2010, at 3 pm. (Note the difference in day and time from our usual Saturday 2 pm meetings.) Although your Regional Coordinators have been warm admirers of the School and its director, Dr. Joanna Manring, since the School's first concert in November 2009, this program will be the first in which the School and JASNA Syracuse have actually worked together.

Co-Coordinator Lisa Brown has assisted Dr. Manring and the Young Ladies in ensuring the historical authenticity of the vocal selections. (Many of the carols familiar to present-day Americans come from the mid-19th century or later, and thus would not have been familiar to JA and her contemporaries.) And perhaps some English country dancing will be on the program as well! Finally, in honor of JA's 235th birthday on December 16, Coordinator A. Marie Sprayberry will read from the Rev. George Austen's letter announcing his second daughter's birth, and will recite the epigraph to Rudyard Kipling's short story "The Janeites"--a traditional birthday toast in many JASNA Regions. Admission to the concert is free, but donations to support the continuing work of the Singing School are welcome. We hope that Janeites from all over Upstate New York will attend this very special event!

2010 AGM Report

2010-11-08T20:46:00.014-05:00

Your Regional Coordinator writes:

This year’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) of JASNA--”Mystery, Mayhem, and Muslin: Jane Austen and the Abbey”-- was held October 29-31 at the Hilton in Portland, Oregon, and a hugely enjoyable time it was. Excellent accounts of this AGM are already available on other blogs: Maggie Sullivan’s AustenBlog, Laurel Ann Nattress’s Austenprose, and Deb Barnum’s Jane Austen in Vermont. This report provides yet another perspective.

My Regency Beau and I arrived in Portland on Wednesday the 27th. On Thursday, we took the all-day tour to the Oregon coast offered in connection with the AGM. (Above, Regency Beau and Regional Coordinator at Cannon Beach.) Neither of us had previously visited the Pacific Northwest, and we were as much struck with the beauty of the landscape as Anne Elliot is with Lyme. We were also much impressed by what a green (in all senses of the word) and pleasant city Portland is. Any place that can boast an excellent mass transit system, clean and civil streets (even the panhandlers are polite!), Powell’s Books, a large number of pleasant and leafy city parks, superb restaurants, and drive-through espresso bars definitely gets our votes. Even the much-maligned weather actually included two sunny days.

On Friday morning, I was most unfortunately prevented from attending the “Team Tilney Explains It All” panel presentation by the responsibilities of office—the Regional Coordinators’ workshop was in direct conflict—but Mags Sullivan, who headed the panel, provides a splendid account of it on AustenBlog. And the workshop featured its own panel discussion, in which RCs Nili Olay of New York Metro, Bonny Wise of Greater Louisville, and Aspen Anderson of the brand-new Utah Region shared their views on heading regions of different ages, sizes, and needs.

The AGM proper began Friday afternoon with Stephanie Barron’s splendid plenary address, “Suspicious Characters, Red Herrings, and Unreliable Detectives: Elements of Mystery in Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey.” Barron, well known as the author of the Jane Austen Mysteries, made a case for Henry Tilney as “the consummate detective” and Catherine Morland as a better one than she sometimes seems to be. And in the Q&A period following the lecture, she provided a spirited response to the recent uproar in the press concerning Oxford professor Kathryn Sutherland’s claims about JA’s manuscripts. Click here for a full version of her views on the Sutherland controversy.

The first two breakout sessions followed Barron’s plenary. I attended Elaine Bander’s “‘How Were People, at That Rate, to Be Understood?’: Reading Mysteries at Northanger Abbey,” and Vicky Hinshaw and Kim Wilson’s “About Those Abbeys: A Trip through History, Literature, and the Picturesque.” Elaine Bander, whom I met on the 2009 JASNA tour of England, was as well worth hearing as she always was during the tour. (My favorite comment: the assertion that Catherine, under Isabella's influence, is in danger of becoming "addicted to the literary crack cocaine of the 1790s," but is actually an "excellent empiricist" much of the time and certainly learns to read "the unstable text of John Thorpe" quickly enough!) And Hinshaw and Wilson provided a lively guide to the abbeys whose ruination “has been of infinite use to the landscape of England in general,” as JA put it in “The History of England.”

I managed to spend a little time and money in the Milsom Street Emporium on Saturday morning before that day’s sessions began—and, as you can see in the photo above, there were “such beautiful ornaments as made [me] quite wild”! (Well, not quite as wild as Lydia Bennet, but almost.) I encountered Juliet McMaster at the Juvenilia Press table a mere 20 minutes before her plenary address, “‘A Surmise of Such Horror’: Catherine Morland’s Imagination.” With her customary wit and verve, McMaster argued that the “ignorant and uninformed” Catherine, because of (as well as in spite of) her Gothic reading and in spite of (as well as because of) Henry Tilney, ultimately becomes as “finely aware and richly responsible” a character as those preferred by Henry James.

Of the three breakout sessions that followed McMaster’s plenary, I most enjoyed Shannon Campbell’s “The Mystique of the Pineapple: A Lure for General Tilney” and Susan Allen Ford’s “Ingenious Torments: Reading Instructive Texts in Northanger Abbey” (I had the honor of introducing the latter). Since one of my great-grandfathers was an unsuccessful pineapple grower in Florida a century ago, I was greatly interested in Campbell’s description of the difficulties of hothouse pineapple culture in Regency England, and of why General Tilney would have had a “pinery” and taken such pride in it. Ford—well known to all JASNA members as the editor of Persuasions and Persuasions On-Line--began by looking at the essay in the Mirror that Mrs. Morland wants Catherine to read, which describes the ill effects of grand society on “John Homespun’s” daughters. She then went on to examine other instructive essays and conduct books that are implicitly present in the novel, as well as one “anti-conduct” book: Jane Collier’s An Essay on the Art of Ingeniously Tormenting, reflected in both Henry’s and Catherine’s frequent use of the words “torment” and “tease.” Ford will address JASNA Rochester in May, and her topic then will be Mr. Collins and Fordyce’s Sermons!

Because of the Halloween theme, the ingenuity of the costumes at Saturday night's banquet and Bal Masque surpassed anything I'd seen at previous AGMs. There were a couple of zombies and a sea monster, in homage to the recent spate of Austen “mashups”; several gypsies and pirates; and many amazing masks. I'm sorry I didn't get the names of the three spectrally elegant ladies in the first photo above; in the second, Rochester's Celia Easton (at right) pauses with Fort Worth's legendary Baronda Bradley and Baronda's Regency Beau. Joining other banqueters in assuming different identities for the evening, my own Regency Beau and I called ourselves “Mr. and Mrs. John Homespun” in honor of Ford’s breakout session. (Below, Mrs. Homespun whispers her hopes that such grand society will not have any ill effects on Mr. Homespun. Mr. Homespun doesn't seem too worried.)

After the Regional Coordinators’ business meeting on Sunday morning came both the business and the considerable pleasures of brunch. First, Bonnie Helm, the winner of the J. David Grey Writers’ Workshop first prize, read her essay “Exposure of Truth”—an imaginative alternative version of the crucial Northanger Abbey scene in the late Mrs. Tilney’s bedroom. Then the second- and first-place winners of the annual JASNA quiz were announced. It would be both immodest and unbecoming of me to state the top finisher’s name directly here. Suffice it to say that the quiz championship has returned to Syracuse—and that Mags Sullivan was spontaneously impelled to bestow an honorary “Team Tilney” membership upon yours truly!

Then came the customary previews of the next two AGMs. New York Metro’s RCs, Nili Olay and Jerry Vetowich, gave bravura performances to advertise the 2012 AGM, “Sex, Money, and Power in Jane Austen’s Fiction”—although Jerry was with difficulty prevented from giving a performance on his bassoon. Not to be outdone, the committee for the 2011 AGM in Fort Worth, “Jane Austen: 200 Years of Sense and Sensibility,” showed a video in which scenes from the 1995 film of S&S were intercut with scenes from John Wayne movies. I haven’t laughed that hard at a Western since Blazing Saddles.

The AGM concluded with a panel discussion called “Dispute without Mayhem,” which in fact involved neither mayhem nor serious dispute. Indeed, the panelists--William Phillips, Joan Klingel Ray, and Diana Birchall--agreed that both Northanger Abbey and its heroine deserve more respect than they sometimes get. At the end, they all declared themselves members of “Team Catherine.” (To my mind at least, this involves no real conflict with “Team Tilney.”)

A delightful Sunday afternoon at Powell’s Books and the Multnomah County Library’s “Lit Chicks” exhibit of late Georgian first editions and caricatures, and the Monday all-day tour of the Columbia River Gorge (above) and Mount Hood, concluded our AGM experience in Portland. And it would be highly improper to conclude this account without heartfelt thanks to the Portland organizers, Susan Schwartz, Pauline Beard, and Frank McClanahan, for all they did to make this AGM welcoming and memorable.

Next Meeting in Binghamton on November 6th

2010-10-30T03:12:00.003-04:00

While our fearless leader, Marie Sprayberry, is in Portland at the AGM (Annual General Meeting of the Jane Austen Society of North America), your co-coordinator is holding down the fort here in Central New York.

Our next meeting is just one short week away on Saturday, November 6th at 2:00 pm in Binghamton at RiverRead Books, 5 Court St. The topic will be "Jane Austen and Dance"; a favorite subject of your co-coordinator's. We know this a popular subject with many Binghamtonians so please bring your favorite dance-related passages from the novels to share. Even if you are unfamiliar with this topic, please join us for an afternoon of Austen fun. All are welcome and encouraged to attend.

Fall Reminders and Announcements

2010-10-10T12:39:00.007-04:00

A happy late Michaelmas, and happy 10/10/10, to all CNY Janeites! There are quite a few reminders and announcements to be made:

* Don't forget our next JASNA Syracuse meeting, to be held at RiverRead Books, 5 Court St., Binghamton, on Saturday, Nov. 6, at 2 pm. The topic will be "Jane Austen and Dance"; please bring your favorite dance-related passages from the novels to share!

* Don't forget the special event being offered at the Colgate Bookstore, 3 Utica St., Hamilton, on Saturday, Nov. 13, at 2 pm: David Shapard, editor of the just-published The Annotated Persuasion, will be present to autograph and discuss the book. This will be followed by tea at the Colgate Inn. See our first August 24 post, and the "Events" listing, for more details.

* We are very pleased and excited to be able to announce plans for our JASNA Syracuse December program: We'll be joining the Jane Austen Singing School for Young Ladies in Skaneateles for a Regency Christmas concert! Note a change in date: This will be on Sunday afternoon, December 19 (not Saturday, Dec. 18, as noted in the tentative 2010-11 schedule given in our second August 24 post). Watch future blog posts for time, venue, and other details.

* Finally, we're also extremely pleased to announce that Syracuse Co-Coordinator Lisa Brown will be giving a presentation on Regency fashion for women, to be called "Dressing the Miss Bennets," at the first annual Jane Austen Festival sponsored by the JASNA Pittsburgh Region on Saturday, March 12, 2011. Check out JASNA Pittsburgh's website (www.janeaustenpgh.org) for further details about the festival as these are announced.

Dance Like Jane Austen (in Syracuse)

2010-10-10T12:22:00.009-04:00

The September 26 post has described how Janeites in the Binghamton area can learn to dance like Jane Austen this fall. Now Syracuse-area Janeites have the same opportunity through the Syracuse Country Dancers, who will be offering a series of English country dance classes on Sundays from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m., beginning Oct. 17 and continuing through Dec. 12 (except no class on Nov. 28). The cost is $5 each or $25 for all eight classes, which will all be held at the United Church of Fayetteville, 310 E. Genesee St., Fayetteville, NY. The class is designed to prepare dancers for the SCD's Special Holiday English Country Dance on Saturday, Dec. 18. For more information, call Carmen at (315) 632-4992, or write to david@syracusecountrydancers.org.

Dance Like Jane Austen (in Binghamton)

2010-09-26T18:31:00.008-04:00

There is a wonderful opportunity for dance classes this fall that ties in with our November 6 meeting in Binghamton regarding dance in Jane Austen’s novels.

The Binghamton English Country Dancers will be offering English Country Dance classes beginning this Wednesday, September 29, 2010. The series of 8 Wednesdays starts Sept. 29, 7:30-9:30 p.m. (beginner session at 7) at Christ Church, corner Water and Henry Streets (about 2 blocks from RiverRead Bookstore). $25 for all 8 classes. Callers are Cheryl Spiese and Terry Glasspool. Live music by Greenwood. Beginners welcome. Call Lee Shepherd for more information at (607) 722-9327.

Binghamton Janeites and country dancers are very lucky to have live music for dance classes as most dance classes are conducted with recorded music. You may remember Cheryl Spiese and Charlene Thomson of Greenwood from our last Jane Austen meeting in Binghamton on April 10th of this year. They gave a lovely mini-concert of traditional dance tunes and recently composed music inspired by a dance trip to England.

Reminder: Michaelmas Meeting in Syracuse, Saturday, September 25

2010-09-19T10:26:00.004-04:00

Here's a reminder of the JASNA Syracuse Region Michaelmas meeting at Books & Memories, 2600 James St., Syracuse, 13206, on Saturday, September 25, at 2 pm. Our topic, as noted earlier, will be "This Is a Day Well Spent: Jane Austen's Juvenilia." After a brief introduction describing the circumstances under which the adolescent JA composed these wonderful comic sketches, we'll read aloud from "Frederic and Elfrida," "The History of England," "Love and Freindship" (yes, that's JA's own youthful spelling of "Freindship"), and "The Beautifull Cassandra."

A reminder also that parking on James St. in front of Books & Memories is limited and metered. In the past, we've recommended parking on Woodbine Ave. (the store is on the corner of James and Woodbine), and you can still do this. However, we've also discovered that the business just east of Books & Memories on James, MTS (Maine Technical Source), has closed and has ample off-street parking. Everyone else in the vicinity seems to be making use of the MTS parking lot, so we see no reason why we shouldn't do the same!

JASNA Syracuse 2010-11 Schedule

2010-08-24T19:05:00.009-04:00

We're approaching the start of a new season for JASNA Syracuse, and here's the schedule as it presently stands. Note that it follows the Regency calendar of "quarter days" and "cross-quarter days," as explained by Co-Coordinator Lisa Brown at several meetings last year. Syracuse meetings will take place at Books and Memories, 2600 James St., Syracuse, unless otherwise noted. Binghamton meetings will take place at RiverRead Books, 5 Court St., Binghamton. All meetings will be on Saturdays at 2 p.m.

September 25 (Michaelmas), Syracuse: "This Is a Day Well Spent: Jane Austen's Juvenilia." Most of this meeting will be devoted to reading aloud from these short, delightful comic pieces JA wrote between the ages of 12 and 17. After a brief introduction, we'll read from "Frederic and Elfrida," "The History of England," "The Beautifull Cassandra," and "Love and Freindship."

November 6 (All Hallows), Binghamton: "Jane Austen and Dance." We'll talk about the importance of dance in JA's time and in her works, and discuss favorite dance-related passages from the novels (come prepared to share!).

December 18 (Christmas), Syracuse: To be announced. We're examining a couple of possibilities for celebrating both the Yuletide season and (two days late) JA's birthday on the 16th.

February 12 (Candlemas), Colgate Bookstore, Hamilton: A joint meeting with the Colgate JA Book Club, many of whose members are also JASNA members. We'll see whether we can learn the game of Speculation as quickly as Fanny Price does in Mansfield Park!

April 2 (Lady Day), Syracuse: An update of the "iJane: Jane Austen in the Information Age" conference in Rochester that JASNA Rochester and JASNA Syracuse co-sponsored in 2008. We'll briefly recap the 2008 presentation, and describe some of the numerous "Austenworld" websites and blogs available now.

May 7 (May Day), Binghamton: A discussion of the book A Truth Universally Acknowledged: 33 Great Writers on Why We Read Jane Austen, edited by Susannah Carson. There's something for everyone in this fascinating collection, and we'll look at a few of these many different "takes" on JA in general and on particular works.

June 25 (Midsummer), Lorenzo Historic Site, Cazenovia (tentatively): A joint "Box Hill" picnic with the Colgate JA Book Club.

If you're already a JASNA member, we hope to greet you at some or all of these meetings. And if you're not yet a JASNA member, we certainly hope you'll pay us a visit. We urge you to join JASNA at the national level (click on the link for the national website)--and thus automatically join JASNA Syracuse!

Save the Date at Colgate: November 13

2010-08-24T18:52:00.003-04:00

Heather Elia, JASNA Syracuse member and coordinator of the Jane Austen Book Club at the Colgate Bookstore in Hamilton, writes:

*****

On 11/13 at 2pm, David Shapard (the editor of the Annotated Pride & Prejudice and the new/upcoming Annotated Persuasion) will come to talk about the process of annotating the beloved novels of our beloved author, to help lead a group discussion of Persuasion, and to sign copies of the books. (Although we would all rather have signed editions by Jane herself, we may content ourselves with signed editions by a contemporary editor/annotator.)

After the Bookstore part of the program, I thought it might be fun to assemble at the Colgate Inn for afternoon tea -- by which I mean a semi-traditional English-style "full tea" of hot soup, fresh salad, gourmet tea sandwiches, scones with clotted cream and jam, a pastry assortment, and of course a cup (or a whole pot) of Earl Grey, Darjeeling, Lapsang Souchong, etc.

Since I could not convince the powers-that-be at the Bookstore to pick up the whole tab for this event, and I do not possess an independent fortune to treat everyone myself, there will be a charge, but I hope it is not prohibitive. (I do feel a bit like Lydia Bennet: "triumphantly display[ing] a table set out with such cold meat as an inn larder usually affords, exclaiming, 'Is not this nice? is not this an agreeable surprise.' And I mean to treat you all, but you must lend me the money, for I have just spent mine.)

Hope this program sounds like fun to all of you. If you know you will definitely be able to make it and want to register now you may do so at http://www.colgatebookstore.com/special/2010/08/austen.html but I don't need a definite head count until October 31st.

*****

This event does indeed "sound like fun" to your JASNA Regional Coordinators! If you agree, put the date into your calendars now.

Concert Review

2010-08-01T17:32:00.004-04:00

The Jane Austen Singing School for Young Ladies presented its summer concert last Sunday, July 25, at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Skaneateles. Despite competition from the Antique Boat Show on the waterfront and a rock concert just across U.S. 20 from the church, the Young Ladies of the summer session--the Misses Marietta Burt, Ellie Crough, Anna and Mary Ellen Ducayne, Caroline Edinger, Christina Marshall, Olivia Sheppard, and Maren Walsh--all performed excellently under the able direction of Miss Joanna Manring.

After the concert opened with an ensemble performance of H. Harrington's "How Sweet in the Woodlands" (which your Regional Coordinator believes she recalls from the 1980 BBC production of Pride and Prejudice), each musical number was preceded by appropriate readings from either JA's works or a secondary source on JA and her times. For example, "The Spinning Wheel" by Thomas Arne was prefaced by the passage from JA's letters about the family benefactress Mrs. Knight's offer to give JA her spinning wheel ("I cannot endure the idea of her giving away her own wheel, & have told her no more than the truth, in saying that I could never use it with comfort"); "The Soldier's Adieu" by Charles Dibdin was introduced with the passage from P&P about the arrival of the militia in Meryton ("I remember the time when I liked a red-coat myself very well"); and so on.

Very appropriately in view of the Young Ladies' ages (the two youngest, the Misses Ducayne, are aged only 10 and 11!), the final reading was a series of excerpts from the Juvenilia--the delightful comic sketches JA began composing at about age 12. And rousing renditions of William Shields's "From Night till Morn" and Robert Burns's "My Love, She's But a Lassie Yet" made a lively conclusion to the program.

As your Regional Coordinator noted in her introductory remarks, it's refreshing simply that some members of the next generation can tell Lady Catherine de Bourgh from Lady Gaga, but the Young Ladies went well beyond this minimum standard. We hope that Miss Manring and the School continue their fine work for many seasons to come.

And, by a happy coincidence, JA's Juvenilia will be the topic of JASNA Syracuse's first regional meeting of the 2010-11 season, on Saturday, September 25, at 2 pm, at Books and Memories (2600 James St., Syracuse, 13206). More details about this will be given in a future post.

Carriage Competition in Cazenovia

2010-07-13T02:47:00.002-04:00

This weekend on July 17 & 18th in Cazenovia at the Lorenzo State Historic Site, the annual Lorenzo Driving Competition will take place. This is carriage driving not automobile driving!

Although the carriages and costumes are Victorian, the beautiful Lorenzo mansion was built in 1807.

JA Singing School for Young Ladies Summer Concert

2010-07-12T19:23:00.015-04:00

This just in from Miss Joanna Manring, director of the Jane Austen Singing School for Young Ladies:

********
Dear Friends~

Sunday, July 25th at 3 o' clock at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Skaneateles, the Jane Austen Singing School for Young Ladies will present our Summer Programme of readings and music sure to delight!

Our concert is free and open to the public. There will be a free-will donation to be used toward future projects, potentially A Jane Austen Christmas.

For more information, please go to Miss Manring's website.
********

Your Regional Coordinator plans to be there! Hope you can make it too. (The church is at 37 W. Genesee St., Skaneateles.)

The "News" section of Miss Manring's website announces that the School has received a grant from the Skaneateles Area Arts Council, which has made scholarships for several pupils and thus the summer concert possible. Huzzah for the School and the Council!

Jane Austen Ball Photos

2010-07-12T01:16:00.006-04:00

An elegant Tudor-style ballroom was the setting for the Jane Austen Ball held on May 2, 2010 in Rochester, NY. Click here for more photos.

Now's a Great Time to Join JASNA!

2010-07-04T15:16:00.007-04:00

A happy Fourth of July to all!

Just a reminder that now is a great time to join JASNA at the national level. The JASNA membership year runs from September 1 to August 31--but if you join between July 1 and August 31, you'll receive an extra issue of JASNA News (the Society's thrice-annual newsletter) and otherwise be enrolled for the coming full membership year. To join, you can go to the JASNA national website (www.jasna.org) and click on the "Membership" link on the home page. Remember that joining JASNA at the national level automatically makes you a member of the JASNA Syracuse Region--this is our one and only regional membership requirement at present.

Our next two meetings will be Saturday, September 25, at Books & Memories, 2600 James St., Syracuse, and Saturday, November 6, at RiverRead Books, 5 Court St., Binghamton. (Note that we're trying to match our meeting dates to the "quarter days" and "cross-quarter days" of the Regency calendar; these will be our Michaelmas and All Hallows meetings, respectively!) Watch this site for further details about these and future meetings. And if you have ideas about topics you'd like to see featured at meetings, by all means add a comment to this post, or drop your Regional Coordinator or Co-Coordinator an e-mail (see "View My Complete Profile" for contact info).

Portland AGM Registration Is Open!

2010-06-21T19:33:00.003-04:00

Important news for all JASNA national members in good standing (and even those who aren't can sign up for a 2-year membership on the registration form): The registration materials for the 2010 Annual General Meeting in Portland, Oregon, on October 28-31, are now available on the JASNA website (www.jasna.org) and will also have reached most members' snail mailboxes by today. If you have any serious intentions of attending the Portland AGM, fill out the form immediately and run, don't walk, to your nearest U.S. post office with it. (Registration still takes place via U.S. mail, in order to "level the playing field" for members who don't use computers.) In keeping with the Halloween weekend, the theme this year is "Jane Austen and the Abbey: Mystery, Mayhem, and Muslin in Portland." From the curtain-raiser to the Bal Masque, mysterious fun for all will be in store!

Jane in June

2010-05-30T18:20:00.005-04:00

Two events of great interest to Janeites will be taking place in or near the Syracuse Region in June.

First, the Colgate Bookstore Jane Austen Book Club--several of whose members are also JASNA Syracuse members--will be having a "Box Hill" picnic on Saturday, June 12, at 1:00 p.m. The picnic will take place on the hill beside the Colgate University Chapel House in Hamilton (the rain location will be the third floor of the Colgate Bookstore, 3 Utica St., Hamilton). Club coordinator Heather Elia notes: "We're asking everyone to bring a luncheon item to share, their favorite Austen 'outdoor scene' to read aloud, and as many picnic blankets as they have available. Plates, cups, napkins, utensils (all of the disposable variety, to make for easy clean-up), lemonade, iced tea, spring water (and perhaps some Donwell Abbey strawberries) will be provided. Restrooms are available inside the Chapel House. Those interested in attending are asked to RSVP to Heather Elia by Monday, June 7 at (315) 228-6944 or helia@colgate.edu with their name, email or phone #, and what they will be bringing (so we don't get all desserts, or all salads, etc.) and I will reply with detailed directions & info about parking."

Second, the Genesee Country Village and Museum in Mumford, west of Rochester, will be hosting its annual War of 1812 Weekend on Saturday and Sunday, June 26 and 27--with attention to Regency-era civilians in general and Jane Austen in particular as well. The tentative schedule for both days includes presentations on Regency women's fashions at 1:00 pm, military uniforms of the era at 1:30, and "Jane Austen's Military Men" at 2:00 pm (this last will be given by JASNA Rochester Regional Coordinator Celia Easton), all at the Village's Town Hall. On Saturday only, at 3:30, the Rochester Country Dancers will give a demonstration of English country dancing in the Village's Meeting Center. For more detailed information about the weekend's events, as well as directions and information about admission fees, etc., go to http://www.gcv.org or call (585) 538-6822.

Persuasions #31 Is Here; or, In the Garden with Jane Austen (Literally)

2010-05-18T16:23:00.004-04:00

As you can see, Persuasions #31 (the newest issue of the journal that is a major benefit of JASNA membership) is reaching the mailboxes of JASNA members everywhere. (If you're a JASNA member and it hasn't reached yours soon, let your Regional Coordinators know; see contact info in other posts or under "View My Complete Profile.") And as you can also see, Marie is taking the May 22 meeting theme of "In the Garden with Jane Austen" to heart! See the preceding post and the "Events" listing for meeting details.

Reminder: Meeting in Syracuse on May 22

2010-05-09T10:57:00.005-04:00

A happy, if slightly snowy, Mother's Day to you all!

Just a reminder that our next JASNA Syracuse meeting will be at Books & Memories, 2600 James St., Syracuse, on Saturday, May 22, at 2 p.m. Please contact Regional Coordinator A. Marie Sprayberry (amsprayberry@gmail.com or 315-446-7787) if you need directions. As we noted back in February, parking on James St. itself is limited and metered, so we recommend parking on Woodbine Ave. (Books & Memories is on the corner of James and Woodbine.)

Our topic for this meeting will be "In the Garden with Jane Austen." Using Kim Wilson's excellent book by that title as well as some photographs from the 2009 JASNA tour of England, Marie will talk a bit about JA's own garden at Chawton Cottage; we'll also hear a little from Co-Coordinator Lisa Brown about garden designers and design trends of the Regency period; and we'll then discuss garden-related passages from the novels (please bring your favorites to share!).

Finally, whether or not you can attend the May 22 meeting, let's all start thinking about possible meeting topics for the 2010-11 season. It's your Syracuse Region; what would you like to see and do at a meeting? Our tentative schedule is as follows (all meetings will be on Saturdays at 2 p.m.): September 25 (Syracuse); November 6 (Binghamton); December 18 (Syracuse); February 12 (joint meeting with the Colgate Bookstore JA Book Club in Hamilton); April 2 (Syracuse); May 7 (Binghamton); and June 25 (Syracuse). Syracuse meetings will be at Books & Memories unless otherwise noted; Binghamton meetings will be at RiverRead Books, 5 Court St., Binghamton.

Two Austen-Related Diversions

2010-05-06T20:09:00.004-04:00

First, the Syracuse University Drama Department is presenting a musical titled I Love You Because at Syracuse Stage's Arthur Storch Theatre through May 15 (call 315-443-3275 or go to www.vpa.syr.edu/drama for details). This production is said to be based on Pride and Prejudice--although characters with the names of Austin and Jeff Bennet, Diana Bingley, and Marcy Fitzwilliams suggest that genders have been switched!

Second, Miss Joanna Manring and the Jane Austen Singing School for Young Ladies will be presenting a spring concert at the Morgan Opera House in Aurora on Sunday, May 23, at 2 pm. CNY Janeites in general, and those in the western part of our region in particular, are urged to attend!

"The Shade of a Departed Ball"

2010-05-05T18:15:00.017-04:00

"...as the morning afforded her an opportunity of talking over Thursday night with Mrs. Grant and Miss Crawford, in a very handsome style, with all the heightenings of imagination and all the laughs of playfulness which are so essential to the shade of a departed ball, [Fanny] could afterwards bring her mind without much effort into its everyday state..."--Mansfield Park

Well, it may take some time to get our minds into an "everyday state"--but the fourth annual Rochester Jane Austen Ball is now "departed." And here are a few photographic reflections of its "shade."

JASNA Rochester Coordinator Celia Easton (left) and JASNA Syracuse Co-Coordinator Lisa Brown.

Caller Judi Rivkin, with the band, "Persuasion."

Miss Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy seem to be having an important conversation.

And the elegance of both the setting and the costumes was beyond expression.

One Week Until the Jane Austen Ball

2010-04-24T23:39:00.012-04:00

"Come, Darcy," said he, "I must have you dance. I hate to see you standing about by yourself in this stupid manner. You had much better dance."

The Jane Austen Ball, the highlight of everyone's social calendar, is just a week away. We are all anticipation. There are still observer tickets left although the dancer tickets sold out last week. Go here for more information:

http://www.rochestercontra.com

Your Co-Coordinator has been preparing for weeks by taking ball prep dance classes. (Your Coordinator will be on the sidelines admiring her and the other dancers.) And there will be an elegant tea, authentic Regency toasts, and a raffle/silent auction with items guaranteed to appeal to Austenites in particular and Anglophiles in general. Come and join the fun!

Fashion and Thrift

2010-04-08T20:57:00.004-04:00

Your Regional Coordinator and Co-Coordinator announce, with blushes, that they are this week's models on the recurring "Thrifty Threads" feature of the "My Year Without Spending" blog (http://myyearwithoutspending.blogspot.com). Many thanks to "My Year..." blogger Angela Barton for the post. And those who are thinking of attending this year's Jane Austen Ball in Rochester (or a JA Ball anywhere, for that matter) should lose no time in following the links to your Co-Coordinator's guides to Regency fashion on all budgets for both men and women--or just going to the "Jane Austen Ball" page of the Rochester Country Dancers' site (http://www.rochestercontra.com/?page_id=97).

Easter Thoughts and Spring Reminders

2010-04-04T09:52:00.005-04:00

"Colonel Fitzwilliam's manners were very much admired at the parsonage, and the ladies all felt that he must add considerably to the pleasure of their engagements at Rosings. It was some days, however, before they received any invitation thither...and it was not till Easter-day, almost a week after the gentlemen's arrival, that they were honoured by such an attention, and then they were merely asked on leaving church to come there in the evening." Thus Jane Austen describes Elizabeth Bennet's Easter in Pride and Prejudice. Fortunately, the acknowledged pleasure of a conversation with Colonel Fitzwilliam about music--and the unacknowledged pleasure of a verbal fencing match with Mr. Darcy--are more than adequate evening rewards for having had to sit through Mr. Collins's Easter sermon in the morning!

A very happy Easter, late Passover, and spring to all CNY Janeites. First, there's some spring news about publications from the national JASNA organization. Persuasions No. 31--this year's edition of the hard-copy journal that is a major benefit of JASNA membership--will be mailed to members in early May. In addition, Persuasions On-Line 30.2 can now be accessed through the JASNA national website (www.jasna.org). This new edition of JASNA's electronic journal is a collection of papers from the "New Directions in Austen Studies" international conference held at Chawton House Library in summer 2009. The table of contents for Persuasions 31 can be viewed on www.jasna.org as well--and if you've never looked at our "mother ship" website before, do pay jasna.org a visit. You'll be glad you did.

Second, here are reminders of JASNA Syracuse's spring meetings. We do hope that all current JASNA members and would-be members in or near Binghamton will join us for our informational meeting this coming Saturday, April 10, at RiverRead Books on Court St. at 2:00 pm. See earlier posts and our "Events" listing for details; our guest musicians will be flutist Cheryl Spiese and keyboardist Charlene Thompson of the band Greenwood. And we equally hope that all current and would-be members in Syracuse and its suburbs will join us on Saturday, May 22, at Books & Memories on James St., also at 2:00 pm. Our topic there will be "In the Garden with Jane Austen" (again, see "Events" for details).

Finally, don't forget about the JASNA Traveling Lecturer's visit to Rochester on Saturday, April 17, at 11:00 am at the downtown Rochester Public Library. Professor Peter Graham of Virginia Tech will be speaking on "Jane Austen and the Labor of Leisure." There will be a $25 charge for this event, which includes lunch at the library's in-house branch of Simply Crepes. Registration for this event is open till April 14. If you're interested, go to the JASNA Rochester website (http://jasnaroc.wordpress.com) for a registration form.

Happy Lady-Day!

2010-03-25T18:59:00.002-04:00

Today, March 25, is what Jane Austen and her Regency contemporaries knew as "Lady-Day." In the Church of England calendar, it was (and still is) the feast of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary--that is, the day when the Angel Gabriel visited Mary to tell her that she was to become the mother of Christ. In the Regency calendar, it was one of the four "quarter days" on which important business was transacted. In particular--as Co-Coordinator Lisa Brown explained in Rochester on March 20, and will explain again in Binghamton on April 10--it was the day of the agricultural new year, and accordingly the day on which farm workers either renewed their contracts with their employers or sought new ones.

It was also the date of at least one important financial transaction in the Austen family. On December 9, 1808, Jane Austen wrote to her sister Cassandra that "my Uncle and Aunt [James and Jane Leigh Perrot, Mrs. George Austen's brother and sister-in-law] are going to allow James [the oldest Austen son] 100 pounds a year....The Hundred a year begins next Ladyday." In retrospect, we might well ask ourselves whether the wealthy Leigh Perrots couldn't have allotted the 100 pounds a year to Jane and Cassandra, who arguably needed the money even more than James and his family. However, as Jane herself expressed no open resentment on the occasion, let us as her 21st-century admirers try not to express any.

And if you'd like to learn more about the Regency "quarter days" and "cross-quarter days," do come to the JASNA Syracuse meeting at RiverRead Books, 5 Court St., Binghamton, on Saturday, April 10, at 2:00 PM. Regency history? Information about joining JASNA? Live English country dance music? The company of your fellow Janeites? Who could resist?

Whatever Shall I Wear?

2010-03-06T17:10:00.010-05:00

Co-coordinator Lisa Brown reprises her popular workshop on assembling a Regency wardrobe on Sunday, March 7 at 5:00 pm in Rochester at the Friends Meeting House at 84 Scio St. Learn how to tie a cravat, choose a dress pattern, curl on ostrich feather and much more. A savory tea (optional) will be served during the presentation for a cost of $5.00.

Ball Dress from 1815

"Pride and Prejudice" at Skaneateles High School

2010-03-03T21:22:00.003-05:00

Late-breaking news: "The Skaneateles High School Drama Program will present Jane Austen’s romantic comedy Pride and Prejudice March 4, 5 and 6 at 7:30 p.m. at Skaneateles High School. For tickets, call 291-2296. Tickets cost $7 for adults and $5 for students and senior citizens. All of the wit and romance of Jane Austen's classic 1813 novel comes to life in this refreshingly fast-paced and engaging new adaptation by renowned producer and director Jon Jory."

This much is from the Skaneateles Central School District website--but your Regional Coordinator has also just learned that Hana Polacek (one of the Young Ladies from Joanna Manring's Jane Austen Singing School for Young Ladies) will be playing Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Yours truly is going to try to catch one of the performances this weekend for this reason alone, and encourages all CNY Janeites who can manage it to do the same!

Spring Plans for JASNA Syracuse

2010-02-28T10:14:00.002-05:00

Weary of our winter weather? Don't despair; spring is coming--and the JASNA Syracuse Region is making plans for it!

First, we'll be holding another of our informational meetings on Saturday, April 10, at 2:00 PM--this time at RiverRead Books, 5 Court Street, Binghamton (www.riverreadbooks.com). Your Regional Coordinator will present information about JASNA and membership in JASNA. Then, as this meeting's example of "what we talk about when we talk about Jane Austen," Co-Coordinator Lisa Brown will discuss the "quarter days" on which Austen and her Regency contemporaries would have conducted various business matters: Michaelmas (Sept. 29), Christmas, Lady Day (March 25), and Midsummer (June 24). Finally, as a special treat, two Binghamton-area country dance musicians will favor us with a few tunes!

Then on Saturday, May 22, also at 2:00 PM, we'll be hosting a second meeting at Books and Memories, 2600 James Street, Syracuse. This meeting's topic will be "In the Garden with Jane Austen" (and we'll certainly be referring to the splendid book with that title by longtime JASNA national member Kim Wilson). We'll look at pictures of the beautifully restored garden at Jane Austen's Hampshire home, Chawton Cottage; talk a little about Regency-era gardening fashions and trends; and share some garden-related passages from the novels (attendees should plan to bring their favorites!).

JASNA Traveling Lecturer to Visit Rochester

2010-02-28T10:02:00.002-05:00

Our sister region, JASNA Rochester, will be having a special meeting on Saturday, April 17, at 11:00 AM. Professor Peter Graham of Virginia Tech University, one of the national JASNA organization's three Traveling Lecturers for 2010, will be speaking on "Jane Austen and the Labor of Leisure." The presentation, which is funded in part by a JASNA Traveling Lecturer grant, will be held at the Rundel Auditorium in the Downtown Rochester Public Library, and will be followed by lunch at the library's in-house branch of the Simply Crepes restaurant. There will be a $25 charge for the event, but in your Syracuse coordinators' opinion, it should be well worth it. A registration form is available at the new JASNA Rochester website (see the "Links" list at right).

Dance Like Elizabeth and Darcy

2010-02-16T04:43:00.000-05:00

Have you ever wanted to dance like Emma and Mr. Knightley, Catherine and Henry Tilney or Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy? Here's your chance to learn how. No partner needed. Lots of fun in a low pressure atmosphere.

Dance Classes in Rochester

English Country dance classes begin. 3:30 – 5 pm at the Friends Meeting House.

Beginner sessions Feb. 14, 21, 28 & Mar. 7 will teach the basics of English figures and style in the context of simple dances. Newcomers are urged to attend all of these. Ball Preparation sessions continue Mar. 14, 21, 28 and Apr. 11, 18 & 25, offering a chance to learn & practice dances that will be done at the Jane Austen Ball on May 2 – strongly recommended for Ball registrants who don’t dance regularly. $5 per class or $40 for all ten.

http://www.rochestercontra.com/

"Lovers' Vows" Review

2010-02-15T09:49:00.001-05:00

The staged reading of the 1798 Elizabeth Inchbald play Lovers' Vows at the Colgate Bookstore in Hamilton on Saturday, February 13, was a highly enjoyable event for cast and audience alike. Members of the Colgate Jane Austen Book Club and JASNA Syracuse (there is some happy overlap between these two groups!), plus several brave members of the local public, read the roles.

Heather Elia played the tragically wronged heroine, Agatha Friburg, with suitable gasps, moans, and swoons. Karen Kawa was brave and martial as Agatha's illegitimate son, Frederick, and Clara Lantz played Agatha's repentant seducer and Frederick's father, Baron Wildenhaim. Nadia Vedder was a properly pert Amelia, the Baron's legitimate daughter; Theodore Ayoub III played the clergyman Anhalt, Amelia's former tutor and present object of affection, who also assists in resolving Agatha's and the Baron's dilemma. Among the minor characters, Deborah Knuth Klenck distinguished herself in all the roles Tom Bertram plans to enact in the Mansfield Park production of the play, particularly the Cottager and the rhyming butler, Verdun. Signe Weaver also provided comic relief as Cottager's Wife, and three courageous members of the audience (April, Clarence, and a gentleman whose name your Regional Coordinator didn't catch) took on several minor roles in Act I at very short notice. Finally, yours truly (A. Marie Sprayberry) played Count Cassel, Amelia's conceited, foppish suitor.

Below, Anhalt describes the nature of good versus bad marriage to Amelia. (A local daughter and mother, members of the audience, look on at right.)

Next, Agatha prepares to spurn a purse of gold sent by the Baron to relieve her financial distress (she misinterprets it as an attempt to buy her off). Three dollars' worth of pennies tied up in a cloth napkin makes a very satisfactory "thunk" when it hits the floor, incidentally! Frederick is at right.

Finally, Cottager's Wife and Cottager debate the propriety of accepting the gold. (The practicality of Cottager's Wife carries the day!)

And for those of us who just can't get enough Austen-related acting this month, remember that JASNA Rochester will be doing a reading of "The Trial of William Walter Elliot" from the JASNA Script Bank this coming Saturday, February 20 (see "Events" at right for details).

P.S. The Colgate student newspaper has also reviewed the presentation (http://www.maroon-news.com/austen-fans-act-out-1.1163939). And Deborah Knuth Klenck has identified the helpful spectator who played the Countryman in Act I as E. Adger Williams.

"Lovers' Vows" for Valentine's Weekend

2010-02-08T16:11:00.000-05:00

The Colgate Bookstore Jane Austen Book Club will be hosting a dramatic reading of Lovers' Vows at the Bookstore (3 Utica St., Hamilton, NY) this Saturday, February 13, at 2 p.m. Lovers' Vows, of course, is the play the young Bertrams and Crawfords choose for their home theatrical performance in Mansfield Park, to Fanny Price's horror and to the ultimate detriment of several budding relationships. The play was freely adapted by the English actress Elizabeth Inchbald from the German play Das Kind der Liebe (The Child of Love) by August von Kotzebue. Members of the Colgate JABC, JASNA Syracuse, and the local public will read the parts (there are still some openings; call 315-228-6944 if interested in volunteering). The performance is free, refreshments will be served, and a fine melodramatic time should be had by all. Your Regional Coordinator is particularly looking forward to donning a pink and blue cloak and playing the part of Count Cassel, with his well-known two-and-forty speeches! Do plan to attend.

A Special Anniversary--and a Reminder

2010-01-28T18:59:00.000-05:00

On January 28, 1813, Pride and Prejudice was first published in London. Jane Austen wrote excitedly to her sister, Cassandra, on the 29th, "I want to tell you that I have got my own darling Child from London." With both Cassandra and their housemate Martha Lloyd away from Chawton, Jane and her mother invited Miss Mary Benn--the impoverished spinster sister of the rector of a nearby village--over to hear them read half of the first volume, without telling her of its authorship. Jane reported that "She was amused, poor soul!" As Claire Tomalin says in her biography of Jane Austen, "Just for once in her life...Miss Benn was the luckiest person in the kingdom."

And here's a reminder that to commemorate the anniversary of the "darling Child's" publication, JASNA Syracuse will be holding a meeting at Books and Memories, 2600 James Street, Syracuse, on Saturday, February 6, at 2 p.m. We'll be talking not only about P&P itself, but about the vast number of sequels/retellings/etc. in various media it has inspired; come prepared to discuss! For those new to JASNA, we'll also be providing information about how to join.

Please contact Regional Coordinator A. Marie Sprayberry (amsprayberry@gmail.com or 315-446-7787) if you need directions to Books and Memories. Unfortunately, parking on James Street itself is limited and metered. We recommend parking on Woodbine Avenue (the bookstore is on the corner of James and Woodbine); please observe alternate-side parking on Woodbine.

New "Emma" Starts Tonight on PBS

2010-01-24T12:44:00.000-05:00

Although we suspect that most Janeites won't need a reminder about this, the new four-part miniseries of Emma will begin airing tonight at 9 p.m. on PBS Masterpiece (WCNY-TV in the Syracuse area). The first two parts will be shown tonight, the third on January 31, and the fourth on February 7. We'll try to allow some time at the Feb. 6 JASNA Syracuse "Candlemas" meeting for reactions to the first three parts. (See "Events" at right for meeting details; we'll put up a reminder post with more details closer to the date.) Or drop us a comment about the miniseries below!

Happy Twelfth-day!

2010-01-06T20:47:00.000-05:00

Many years after Jane Austen's death, a young friend of her nephew James-Edward Austen-Leigh recalled "being at a Twelfth-day party where Jane Austen drew the character of Mrs. Candour, and assumed the part with great spirit." (Mrs. Candour was a gossipy character in Richard Brinsley Sheridan's play The School for Scandal.) Wouldn't we all have loved to see this particular party skit, enacted on this day over 200 years ago?

Happy Twelfth-day, everyone!

Regency Era Christmas Tree

2009-12-24T03:03:00.000-05:00

Although Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria usually gets the credit for bringing the Christmas tree to England, it was actually Queen Charlotte, wife of King George III, who was responsible for England's first Christmas tree. German born Charlotte set up the first known English tree at Windsor in 1800.

"In the middle of the room stood an immense tub with a yew tree placed in it, from the branches of which hung bunches of sweetmeats, almonds, and raisins in papers, fruits and toys, most tastefully arranged, and the whole illuminated by small wax candles. After the company had walked around and admired the tree, each child obtained a portion of the sweets which it bore together with a toy and then all returned home, quite delighted."

A Report from the Big Apple

2009-12-20T14:44:00.000-05:00

Your Regional Coordinator had a wonderful "all-Austen" day in New York City on December 5. First, in company with her hostess, Margarita Levin, and several other JASNA New York Metro friends, she visited the "A Woman's Wit: Jane Austen's Life and Legacy" exhibition at the Morgan Library and Museum. This exhibition is everything everyone has said it would be, and CNY Janeites are urged to make every effort to see it before it closes on March 14. The Morgan is located at 225 Madison Ave. in NYC.

The exhibition includes a generous selection of JA's letters to her sister, Cassandra (several written in the paper-saving criss-cross style described by Mrs. Bates in Emma as "chequer-work"); the first several letters from the fair copy of Lady Susan, to which a few heavily marked-up pages from the rough draft of The Watsons present an intriguing contrast; one of the letters JA received from the Prince Regent's librarian, the Rev. James Stanier Clarke (who, perhaps fortunately, never seems to have realized the close resemblance between himself and Mr. Collins!); JA's "Plan of a Novel," incorporating helpful hints from the Rev. Clarke and other self-appointed critics; a rich assortment of supplementary material (too much to list here, but your RC confesses to liking the caricatures by James Gillray best); and the beautiful and moving letter written by Cassandra to niece Fanny Knight after JA's death ("I have lost such a treasure, such a Sister, such a friend...").

The second great pleasure of the day was the JASNA New York Metro quarterly regional meeting, held at the Midtown Executive Club on 45th St. The NYM co-RCs, Jerald Vetowich and Nili Olay, presided with characteristic flair. After a brisk diversion called "Mrs. Jennings's Match Game" (involving pairing up suitable characters from different Austen novels; even the relentless Mrs. J herself might have been stumped by this!), the day's main event was a presentation on "Women's Health Issues in Jane Austen's Time" by longtime JASNA member Dr. Cheryl Kinney of Texas. This highly informative and entertaining talk covered a wide range of topics: mother and infant mortality rates in 1809; the respective knowledge bases and social roles of "quacks," apothecaries, barbers, surgeons, midwives, and "gossips" (neither term in quotes had the meaning it has today); the status of birth control efforts (primitive/ineffective) and sexually transmitted diseases (widespread/virulent); some appalling treatments for menopause; and, finally, the various current theories about the cause of JA's death at age 41 in 1817. Of these last, the most interesting to your RC by far is the idea that JA could have caught a form of tuberculosis from her brother Henry, whom she nursed through a serious illness in London at the end of 1815. Henry is known to have had a serious respiratory ailment during the very early 1800s, but he survived both this and the 1815 attack and lived until 1850, so he may have had a less deadly form or less virulent strain of TB. JA, alas, was not so fortunate: She may have had the form affecting the adrenal glands, which at that time was invariably fatal.

The talk was followed by an excellent tea, the traditional birthday toast to JA, and a raffle drawing. And the visiting member from Upstate--JASNA NYM generously considers all NY State JASNA members as its own--was made to feel most welcome.

JASNA Syracuse "Candlemas" Meeting

2009-12-01T19:00:00.000-05:00

JASNA Syracuse's next informational meeting about JASNA and membership in JASNA will be held at Books & Memories, 2600 James St., Syracuse, on Saturday, February 6, 2010, at 2:00 PM. Our original intention was to try to hold JASNA Syracuse meetings on or about the "quarter days" that Jane Austen would have known (Michaelmas, Sept. 29; Christmas; Lady Day, March 25; and Midsummer, June 24). However, the realities of modern life convinced us that trying to hold a meeting near Christmas would be impractical. So we've decided to hold a meeting near "Candlemas" (February 2), the date that marked the end of the extended Christmastide in JA's time--as those of you who attended Lisa Brown's "A Regency Christmas" presentations in Oswego and Rochester now know! As this meeting's example of "what we talk about when we talk about Jane Austen," we've chosen to discuss Pride and Prejudice and at least some of the "paraliterature" offerings (sequels, retellings, etc.) it has inspired, since this meeting date is also close to the anniversary of P&P's publication on January 28, 1813.

"JA Singing School for Young Ladies" Concert

2009-11-30T18:42:00.000-05:00

Here's a slightly belated review of the concert given by the "Jane Austen Singing School for Young Ladies" at the Skaneateles Library on November 21. Your Regional Coordinator attended the concert along with new JASNA member Sophia Battaglia (and, at the gracious invitation of Miss Joanna Manring, assisted in welcoming the audience). Under the capable direction of Miss Manring, the seven Young Ladies--the Misses Ellie Crough, Sofia Darovskikh, Phoebe Glowacki, Christina Marshall, Hana Polachek, Olivia Sheppard, and Chloe Strang--acquitted themselves admirably. The selection of songs from JA's period (some from her actual hand-copied collection) included several that are familiar to viewers of film and television adaptations, such as "Slumber, Dear Maid" and "You Who Have Tasted Love's Mystic Spell" from the 1995 BBC Pride and Prejudice, and "Weep You No More, Sad Fountains" and "The Dreame" from the 1995 film of Sense and Sensibility. The songs were interspersed with readings from the novels and letters--and your Coordinator was extremely pleased to learn that the Young Ladies have been studying the Regency period this autumn in various other ways (including experimenting with recipes that would have been familiar to JA). Altogether, a splendid time was had by all, and we can only hope that this is the first in a long series of public performances by the School.

P.S.: Here's a link to another review of the concert, with quotes from Miss Manring's opening remarks about the School and its studies (http://www.cnylink.com/cnynews/view_news.php?news_id=1259587639).

JA Exhibition at the Morgan Library

2009-11-29T12:18:00.000-05:00

The Morgan Library and Museum in New York City is having a very special exhibition this fall and winter. "A Woman's Wit: Jane Austen's Life and Legacy" opened November 6 and will run through next March 14 (for details, go to http://www.themorgan.org/exhibitions/exhibition.asp?id=22). The Morgan holds the largest collection of Austen manuscripts and other materials in this country, and it sounds as if any CNY Janeite who can possibly make it down to the city to see it should do so. Your Regional Coordinator, indeed, will be visiting the metropolis soon and will bring back a report.

Jane Austen's Birthday Lunch in Rochester

2009-11-29T10:53:00.000-05:00

JASNA Rochester Regional Coordinator Celia Easton announces: "We will gather on Saturday, December 12, 2009, to celebrate the 234th anniversary of Jane Austen's birth at 11:00 a.m. in the Chatterbox Club, 25 N. Goodman St., Rochester. This gathering is made possible through the invitation of Chatterbox Club member, Sharon Buzard. Our speaker, Amy Green, will address us with a talk entitled, 'An Easy Step to Silence? Politics and Dancing in the Late 18th Century.' The food at the Chatterbox is always a delight--and the popovers are generously distributed."

The cost of the luncheon is $30 per person--but your Syracuse Coordinators make haste to add that it's well worth it and that they are planning to attend. If you decide to do likewise, please mail Celia Easton a reservation at 488 Harvard St., Rochester, NY 14607, with a check made out to JASNA-Rochester (or contact her at easton@geneseo.edu). Registrations must be received by Saturday, December 5.

A Musical Afternoon in Skaneateles

2009-10-18T16:50:00.000-04:00

Soprano and doctoral student in music Joanna Manring announces that she has been conducting a "Jane Austen Singing School for Young Ladies" in Skaneateles this autumn, for pupils between the ages of 12 and 18. Ms. Manring reports that the school's first concert, in costume, will take place on Saturday, November 21, at 2:00 p.m. in the upstairs performance hall of the Skaneateles Public Library. Songs will include music from Jane Austen's personal collection, as well as a few solo songs from popular film adaptations; readings will be interspersed. The concert is free and open to the public, though donations are appreciated. Music-loving Janeites are urged to attend!

AGM Report

2009-10-18T16:29:00.000-04:00

The 31st Annual General Meeting of JASNA, which took place on October 8-11 in Philadelphia, is now history--but it will certainly remain a fond memory for the three members of the Syracuse Region and seven members of the Rochester Region (plus three companions) who attended it. Excellent full accounts of the proceedings are available on several sister blogs, such as AustenBlog and Jane Austen in Vermont (see "Links"); only the Upstate New York highlights will be noted here.

Rochester Regional Coodinator and SUNY Geneseo Professor Celia Easton, above, may have chosen a controversial title for her breakout session ("The Sibling Ideal in Jane Austen's Novels: When Near Incest Really Is Best")--but in fact she reached the interesting and much less controversial conclusion that Austen characters with opportunities to experience "pseudo-sibling" relationships (along the lines of those advocated in Plato's writings) may in fact have the best chances to get to know one another before marrying, and thus the best foundations for solid marriages.

Colgate Professor Deborah Knuth Klenck, above, titled her breakout session "'You Must Be a Great Comfort to Your Sister, Sir': Why Good Brothers Make Good Husbands." The quotation, of course, is from Mrs. Allen's praise of Henry Tilney's knowledge of muslins in Northanger Abbey, and Deborah made the point that brothers who can enter into their sisters' interests as Henry does--or who can otherwise assume a feminine frame of reference, as Frederick Wentworth does in comparing an old ship to an old pelisse in Persuasion--indeed may make much better husbands than "locker room" types like John Thorpe may!

Syracuse Co-Coordinator Lisa Brown's fashion demonstration, "Dressing Mr. Darcy," was agreed by all to be among the biggest hits of this AGM. Beginning with nine volunteer models in shirtsleeves and breeches, Lisa showed how the Regency look for men can be achieved in various ways and on all budgets. The models got thoroughly into the spirit of the occasion, and the audience reaction varied from enthusiastic to downright impudent!

And at Saturday night's Regency Ball, Upstate's accomplished country dancers distinguished themselves. (Of course, they've now had three Jane Austen Balls in Rochester to practice--and all upstate Janeites should make their plans now to attend the fourth edition, on May 2, 2010!)

JASNA Rochester Announces Traveling Lecturer Grant

2009-09-27T13:07:00.000-04:00

Our sister region, JASNA Rochester, has just been awarded a Traveling Lecturer Grant from the national JASNA organization for next April. On Saturday, April 17, 2010, Professor Peter Graham of Virginia Tech will give a presentation titled "Jane Austen and the Labor of Leisure." This event will take place at the downtown Rochester Public Library, and will include a lunch at the library's in-house branch of the Simply Crepes cafe. There will be a charge for the event--but it should be well worth it, and all upstate Janeites are urged to save the date! Further details will be provided as they become available.

Informational Meeting in Oswego

2009-09-20T15:35:00.000-04:00

Regional Coordinator A. Marie Sprayberry and Assistant Coordinator Lisa Brown will hold an informational meeting about JASNA and membership in JASNA at the river's end bookstore, 19 West Bridge St., Oswego, NY 13126 (www.riversendbookstore.com), on Saturday, November 7, 2009, at 3:00 p.m. Banna Rubinow, a river's end employee and JASNA member, will be assisting with the meeting.

JASNA AGM in Philadelphia: "Janefest"!

2009-09-20T15:06:00.000-04:00

The high point of the JASNA year is coming up soon: the Annual General Meeting, to be held this year in Philadelphia on October 8-11. This year's theme is "Jane Austen's Brothers and Sisters in the City of Brotherly Love." For Janeites, the AGM has it all: stimulating plenary speakers and breakout sessions; workshops and demonstrations; the Regency Emporium; and a banquet, promenade, and ball!

Registration for this AGM closed long ago, alas, but several upstate Janeites will be making the trek to Philly, and three will be among the presenters. Celia Easton, the regional coordinator of JASNA Rochester and a professor at SUNY Geneseo, will be giving a breakout session titled"The Sibling Ideal in JA's Novels: When Near Incest Really Is Best"; Deborah Knuth Klenck, a professor at Colgate, has titled her breakout session "'You Must Be a Great Comfort to Your Sister, Sir': Why Good Brothers Make Good Husbands"; and Lisa Brown, JASNA Syracuse assistant coordinator, will be giving a fashion demonstration called "Dressing Mr. Darcy," on Regency men's wear. (A. Marie Sprayberry, JASNA Syracuse coordinator, will also be defending the quiz championship she won at the Chicago AGM last year!)

Do any other Syracuse Region members besides those just mentioned plan to attend the AGM? If so, let us hear from you!

Colgate Bookstore JA Book Club's fall schedule

2009-08-30T13:02:00.000-04:00

The Jane Austen Book Club at the Colgate Bookstore in Hamilton, NY, has announced its fall 2009 schedule. All meetings will be held at the Bookstore (3 Utica St., Hamilton, NY 13346) at 2 p.m. Go to "Events" at the Bookstore's website (www.colgatebookstore.com) or contact Heather Elia (helia@colgate.edu) for more information. (Heather is a JASNA member, by the way.)

On Saturday, Sept. 19, "Catharine" and other early writings by JA will be discussed. On Saturday, Oct. 17, Colgate professor Deborah Knuth Klenck (also a JASNA member) will share her impressions of the JASNA AGM in Philadelphia and discuss her AGM breakout session, "Why Good Brothers Make Good Husbands." On Saturday, November 12, the group takes on the new novel Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters, which follows in the bloodstained footsteps of the recent bestseller Pride and Prejudice and Zombies! And on Saturday, December 12, the group celebrates JA's birthday.

Informational meeting

2009-08-04T21:04:00.000-04:00

Regional Coordinator A. Marie Sprayberry (at right in the photo opposite) and Assistant Coordinator Lisa Brown (at left) will hold an informational meeting about Jane Austen and membership in JASNA at Creekside Books and Coffee, 35 Fennell St., Skaneateles, NY 13152, on Saturday, September 12, 2009, at 2:00 pm. http://www.creeksidebooks.com