JASNA Syracuse Candlemas Meeting in Liverpool, Sat., Feb. 2, 2 pm

On Saturday, February 2, at 2 pm, JASNA Syracuse will continue the worldwide celebrations of Pride and Prejudice's 200th anniversary (Jane Austen's "own Darling Child" was first offered for sale on January 28, 1813) by discussing "Pride and Prejudice: The Novel and the Films." The meeting will take place in the Sargent Room of the Liverpool Public Library. 

(In keeping with our custom of following the Regency calendar, this will be our Candlemas meeting--and, for once, the meeting lands on the feast day itself. To Jane Austen and her contemporaries, February 2 was the "cross-quarter day" of Candlemas, a/k/a the Feast of the Purification of the Virgin. Don't ask us how Groundhog Day got mixed up with this.) 

We hope to begin by showing clips of Mr. Darcy's first proposal to Elizabeth Bennet from at least the four film versions of P&P shown in the photo: the 1940 movie with Greer Garson and Laurence Olivier; the late 1970s BBC version with Elizabeth Garvie and David Rintoul (shown in the U.S. on Masterpiece Theatre in 1980); the 1995 BBC miniseries with Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth; and the 2005 movie with Keira Knightley and Matthew McFadyen. We'll use these as the jumping-off points for considering how each version relates to the novel. How much of the novel's own dialogue and language does each film use? What liberties does each one take with language, setting, and plot? Do the liberties enhance the viewer's experience or detract from it? 

(As you can see in the photo, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, the Official Spokescat of JASNA Syracuse, is deeply loyal to the text. But certain scenes may have become so embedded in our thoughts about P&P that, for better or worse, they're part of the P&P "experience." What do you think? Come and have your "share in the conversation"!)

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 2nd!