December JASNA Meeting Features Dean Carolyn Dever

Please join us for the next meeting of the Middle Tennessee JASNA Region on

December 11 from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m.

We are honored to welcome as our speaker Carolyn Dever, Professor of English and Dean of the College of Arts and Science at Vanderbilt University. Dean Dever joined the English Department at Vanderbilt in 2000, and became Dean of the College in June 2008. Her academic specialties are Victorian literature and gender studies, and she recently served as the co-editor of The Cambridge Companion to Anthony Trollope. She will speak to us on the topic of

"Jane Austen and the Art of Persuasion: Forming the Next Generation of Janeites"

The meeting will be hosted by Roberta Maguire at her home at 

217 Kensington Park in Abbottsford.

 

As always, please bring a treat for tea.

Carolyn Dever

Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences

Vanderbilt University

Tennesseans Enjoy Fort Worth AGM

Mildred Tilley and husband Richard Stewart take a break from Sense and Sensibility lectures to ride the bull at BIlly Bob's in the stockyard area of Ft. Worth! 

YEEHAW!

Jo Ann and Phil Staples eagerly await the beginning of the AGM's  Regency Ball. 
Their costumes were two of the finest worn by those who opted for a
"Regency look" at the banquet and ball.

Roberta Maguire (left) greets a friend whose pink hat and gown epitomize

"elegance."

All details of the 2012 AGM were special--including the Texas pecan pie and white chocolate
candy dessert that was served at Saturday night's banquet. 
As evident from the photo, the white chocolate candies were specially
made to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the publication of

Sense and Sensibility.

JASNA's October Regency Dinner is a Culinary Sensation!

Nineteen Middle Tennessee JASNA members participated in a sumptuous Regency "feast" on the evening of October 22 at the home of local members, Phil and Jo Ann Staples.  All those who attended, made part of this elegant meal.  As participants arrived, they were treated to a powerpoint display of photos taken at JASNA's 2012 AGM projected on  the Staples' flat-screen television.  For those Middle Tennessee JASNA members who were unable to attend the AGM in Ft. Worth, these photos provided a glimpse into all the scholarship and fun and Texas hospitality which marked this large (more than  600  people) gathering.

Before dinner was served, diners gazed at elegant menus made by Caroline Davis, heard Regency-era music via Phil Staples sound system as well as heard an oral explanation by JoAnn about each course. Every dish was carefully adapted by Jo Ann from a recipe found in a Regency period cookbook. From "soup to nuts," this was an unforgettable meal for all!

(l to r)  Jo Anne Staples, Yvonne Boyer, Roberta

Maguire, Carmen Gherman, Mildred Tilley

and Sharon Hogge look forward to being served!